Will this vacuum pump work for sugarin ? see pics. . .

[WoodButcher]

hey guys .

i ran into an old blower/vacuum at a farm the other day .


its a Roots 22 urai (used in the dairy business typically). it has an electric 3/4 hp motor connected to it and can use either 110 or 220 v .

theres a bunch of surface rust , but i can move the belt freely by hand . it has maybe a 3/4" inlet .

i talked to a company that sells these pumps , and they want 1200$ just for the pump ! :o


the company that sells them told me this pump is the smallest of their lineup , but here are some specs i got from it :


up to 15" of vacuum on a gauge at max vacuum with a 3hp electric motor or a 5hp gas motor .

he said it wont do more than 3" of vacuum at 3600rpm with the 3/4hp motor currently on it .

he assumed it was probably used to milk individual cows (1 or 2) at a time since its a smaller pump .

its capable of doing 71CFMs .

anyways , heres the spec sheet on it :

http://www.airblowerservices.com/_blower_specifications/positive_displacement/roots/urai.pdf


Flow Range: to 71 CFM
Max ΔPressure: 12 psi
Max ΔVacuum: 15" Hg
Maximum RPM: 5275
Minimum RPM: 1530
Max ΔT: 225˚F
Connection Size: 1" FPT
Shaft Dia.: 0.625"
Drive End Lubrication: Grease
Gear End Lubrication: Oil



will this work for sugaring?
next season i will have 125-150 taps , but am switching from buckets to tubing and itll all be gravity since im on a hill . so i dont need it anytime soon. i wanted to possibly buy this for when i need it on different land ... hey at least i am admitting i am going to expand !
i know i would need a new motor since this is underpowered probably .

please let me know . i can probably get it for under 50$ if that helps.


http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z104/italianjeremy/forum%20uploads/010Large.jpg

http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z104/italianjeremy/forum%20uploads/005Large.jpg

[maple flats]

Looking at the specs sheet in the link you posted, it looks like a rotary claw pump. They make excellent vacuum pumps in modern ones. If the company says they have a max vacuum of 15" I suspect they don't have the close tolerances the modern "BUSCH" pump has. It also looks like they need to turn fairly fast, but with the proper drive motor it should work for you. As you expand your tap count you may find you out grow it but you should give it a try. Your next thing to find or make is a releaser. They are pretty costly for a small operator. Look on here for homemade ones. A small vacuum tank might be a solution, no releaser needed.

[maple flats]

It looks quite small for a 71 CFM unit and my 75 cfm pump has 1.5" suction, 1" seems undersized. I question if they gave you the right specs for that pump. However, on a tight system you only need 1 cfm/100 taps so you have lots of wiggle room as long as you can get the inches of vacuum. Even 15" will be a large improvement over gravity unless your's has excellent slope and suitably long laterals. For info on this search out natural vacuum threads.

[WoodButcher]

thanks for the replies ... funny thing , i was reading this post: http://mapletrader.com/community/showthread.php?8766-vacuum-pump-question

and Brent was saying to look into Gast pumps used . the OP's original question was similar to me .
you can get an 0823 pump for $300 or less ( http://www.ebay.com/itm/GAST-PUMP-0823-1010-G271X-/360313881959?pt=BI_Pumps&hash=item53e4618567 )

and the specs are much more encouraging than the one i found . . .

Max Flow (50 Hz) 6.5 cfm (11.0 m3/h)
Max Flow (60 Hz) 8.0 cfm (13.6 m3/h)
Max Pressure 10 psi (0.7 bar)
Max Vacuum 26.5 in-Hg (116 mbar)
Power Rating 3/4 hp (.056 kW)

Brent said he had one and it ran nearly 400 taps and it held 22" of vacuum . so much smaller than this big green box too .

i think i might just save up my pennies and get one of these when i need it .
what do you think ?

[FDA]

I see a 0822 on sugarbush.info for 150.00 completely rebuilt.http://www.sugarbush.info/forsale/showproduct.php?product=144&title=0822-gast-vac-pump&cat=3 This looks like the real deal compared to the ebay pump too me.

[WoodButcher]

Great find. Here's another ..same pump as other eBay auction. http://www.ebay.com/itm/THERMALLY-PROTECTED-DATP-EMERSON-ELECTRIC-G583X-/330727259445?pt=BI_Pumps&hash=item4d00e17d35

[FDA]

I still think the pump on sugarbush is the best deal. The guy selling it says it was gone through and it has the moisture trap and reclaimer that alone is worth 50.00 to me. Heck he even posted picks of the vanes, i have never seen that before.

[WoodButcher]

And it's also 3rd gen maple. Which is one of the founding fathers of the site. Very well respected

[Bucket Head]

Going back to the original pump in the first photo, how does the oiling system work? Is the piece on the top the reservoir, like the Surge Alamo style pumps? No outside oil lines? Will it get enough oil when running it at the rpm's required for however many inches of vacuum you need? I don't know anything about this make/style of pump, and I'm not saying it would'nt work fine, but I know many pumps have been destroyed by just hooking them up and hitting the "on" switch. I would try and find out some info on the lubrication system.

Steve

[WoodButcher]

im pretty sure the gray piece on top made by solberg is a thread-on air filter . i agree, its not exactly like the one on the spec sheet , but it is the same model number .