pump hose ?

[pierre]

what kind of hose would i use for a gas operated semi trash pump for the suction and discharge . im looking into a 2" portable to pump sap out of my two holding tanks in the ground to the tank in my truck . then haul it to the sugar shack and then pump it into my head tanks . any ideas ? do i need to order some food grade hose or use the ones they come with .

[Jeff E]

For sap transfer, I would say just use the lines that came with the pump. I am assuming they are new and have not been used for the pumps advertised purpose!:) Probably a good idea to clean the lines and pump to eliminate any manufacturing oils etc that may be present.
I always filter my sap before it goes to my main tanks. Maybe when you transfer to your feed tank, you can run the sap through a filter.

[pierre]

well there not food grade so i dont think ill use them im ordering new hoses and fittings . just wondering if aluminium is ok or go ss ? any thoughts??

[Bucket Head]

I would go with stainless fittings. Since your already upgrading to the food grade hose and not using the supplied hoses, it would'nt make sense to skimp with the fittings. Stainless will be food-safe forever and they are more durable than aluminum. The day is coming when sap and syrup will only be allowed to come in contact with stainless and/or food grade plastic and polyethylene.

Steve

[pierre]

well what about the plastic fittings food grade are they able to hold up to outside elements and temps ?

[Bucket Head]

I've never had a broken fitting, but theres always a first for everything. Nothing is failproof. Plastic fittings are pretty durable for the most part.

Steve

[unc23win]

Plastic fittings will work fine a lot of people use them. Either one will work, if you drain the line out it shouldn't freeze and break. A couple of years ago I had a plastic ball valve that broke after draining. I guess it was real cold and got some sap in between the ball and the pipe not sure.

[sapman]

If you go with food grade clear hose, like I've gotten from US Plastics, you want to use the Banjo style fittings. Regular poly fittings fit way too tight, and even crack the hose sometimes. Now Banjo makes a white food grade fitting (I use cam-locks), but I just went with the typical black ones. That's all the maple suppliers sell from what I've seen.

[pierre]

well i plan on hooking them up to the pump and empty tanks and put the pump and hoses back in the sugar shack where its heated so would i be further ahead to go w/the plastic ones i mean im not going to drag them behind the truck or stuff like that i hope:) so they should last. now the one i looked at were not the banjo ones . they were cam-locks but im not sure the name thanks for all the input
If you go with food grade clear hose, like I've gotten from US Plastics, you want to use the Banjo style fittings. Regular poly fittings fit way too tight, and even crack the hose sometimes. Now Banjo makes a white food grade fitting (I use cam-locks), but I just went with the typical black ones. That's all the maple suppliers sell from what I've seen.

[sapman]

Cam-locks all seem to be pretty much the same. So they should fit that style of hose fine. Some of mine have been Gator-lock over the years.

[David in MI]

I use the black hose/piping that is used in fresh water wells. You can buy it at Home Depot. I run 1.5" and the only drawback is the inflexibility in the cold weather. If you're not moving them around much it should work well. Seems like I paid around $65 for 100' last year. I would expect the 2" to be a bit more.