A Tale of Two Releasers

[Sunday Rock Maple]

We have two releasers:

1) 12" by 36" Lapierre Vertical Electric with a 1/2 hp gould pump (used)
2) 12" by 18" Gilles Bernard Double Mechanical (new)

Which one should go at the shanty (about 1,000 taps) and which one should go 1400 feet away with an 18 foot elevation drop (about 1,500 taps)?

There is power at both locations and the vacuum pump will be a 5hp flood transfered to the remote spot via a 1.5" line with a 1" return.

Also, does the return line go into the shanty releaser or just into a tank?

Thanks!

Brian

[bobbyjake]

Am I to understand that by "return" you mean the line that you intend to transfer sap from the lower location to the upper location??? If that is the case and the 1/2hp gould will pump it 18'vertical over 1400', that is the one I would put down there. I would plumb the return right to the tank and not to the other releaser. If you intend to have a second pump at the lower location and a tank there, then it doesn't matter which one is where.

The problem you will have being that the return line, unless drained at night, will freeze solid. You may consider Tee'ing into the return at the upper releaser and plumbing one side of it to the releaser and one to the tank directly, each with a valve. At night, you may be successfull at sucking some of the sap from the return up and through the upper releaser (you will need to let a little air into the return line at the bottom either with a valve or with one of those fancy air injectors for a sap ladder), which will reduce the amount of draining and pailing you will have to do. 1400' of 1" line holds 57 gallons if full, thats a lot of 5-gallon pails to lug every night.

[Sunday Rock Maple]

Yes, the return is the one that pumps back.

The 18' is all in the first 200' and then it's about a 2' slope back to the shanty over the last 1200'. Perhaps your idea of a "T" at the shanty releaser along with a"T" with two valves at the high spot would let the 200' drain back at night and the 1200' be sucked back to the shanty like a regular line?