vac pump

[ihuntbear]

can I use a refrigeration vac pump for with a releaser or are they to small...I bought one years ago and have no use for it

[maple flats]

I have no idea what the CFM might be but years ago my brother used one to run a single milking set up. He regulated the vac to 14". It worked good on both a cow and on goats. He used it about 3 years before deciding to buy his milk and butter.
I'm sure it will work for 14", maybe even more but you will need to test in action to see if you get enough CFM to run your system and maintain a reasonable vac level. You still need a releaser or vac tank or make one. A bender releaser from an old milking set up is good if you can find one.

[SadSams]

A refrigeration vac pump that is used for residential a/c systems and or light com. typically will be rated between 3 and 7cfm. they will pull down to a very deep vac 28+ and they can run for days without a break. If you dont have sap ladders and have recommended pitch it could do pretty well on a smaller system. I see you plan to have 500 taps next year. You could try it with 500 but that might be to much for that pump. It would have to be a very tight system forsure. (no leaks)

[ihuntbear]

thanks...I'm going to try it.now i need to find or build a releaser....how many cfm do i need if this unit won't work????

[SadSams]

I cant answer that question without more info. about your pipeline. A rule of thumb is if you have good pitch with no ladders you need 1cfm per 100 taps. I'm in the hvac business and from experiance if i've got a leak in an a/c system i'm not going to pull down to 28+'' of vac. If I had to guess i'd say you won't come close to the deep vac. but probally could acheve 20'' or better. Good luck

[ihuntbear]

thanks again...im going to try it

[wiam]

Another thing for some one running on a lower cfm pump would be to go with an electric releaser. A mechanical releaser is a built in vac leak.

[ihuntbear]

how would i build one of those ..Havent seen any in operation..wow this is getting hi tech

[rchase]

i have a hvac vac pump 4cfm. on 86 taps and if works great. im using a 1/2hp liberty high head pump for a electric releaser. the vaccum pump will pull 28 inches but the releaser pump will only break 23" of vacuum. so i have to put a small leak in to regulate it.

[Greenwich Maple Man]

Another thing for some one running on a lower cfm pump would be to go with an electric releaser. A mechanical releaser is a built in vac leak.

Just wondering why you would think this?

[wiam]

Where do you think the vacuum that is built up in the releaser goes each time it opens to atmosphere? With an electric you do not lose any vac when it pumps out, you actually create more.