cost and availability of used vac setup for under 100 taps in connecticut

[Starting Small]

I am curious as to the cost of a used vacuum setup would be. I am guessing all i would need (besides lines and fittings) is the releaser and vac pump? Is a moisture trap needed? If anyone in connecticut is growing out of their smaller vac setup please let me know i may be interested. Thanks!
-dave

[spencer11]

you could build or buy one like a bender, then get a small pump for around $100, or you could spend the money up front and buy a pump like the maple guys guzzler, so you wouldnt need a releaser or moister trap(which are cheaply made), but that pump is around $600 where a releaser and pump would cost around $3-400

[concord maple]

I have also been thinking about vacuum for the last two years on around 50-75 trees on flat land but not sure it would be worth it, can be done, and what exactly I would need as far as pump, releaser, etc. I'm kinda of lost when it comes to the terminology of the items needed for a vacuum system.

[Hop Kiln Road]

Guys - I'm just finishing a 120 tap 1/2" gravity system on a new bush. Ran the numbers for putting a "guzzler" system in. The numbers say, that the gravity system, averaging .25 g of syrup per tap per season over a 5 year period has a lower unit (sap) cost than the "guzzler" averaging .45 g of syrup per tap per season. I'm pretty confident my gravity system will average over .25 per season. No idea if a guzzler would increase the average yield to .45 per season over 5 years. Happy to send you the spreadsheet. Bruce

[lastwoodsman]

Last year my gravity system on 400 foot of 1/2 inch mainline 30 taps gave me around 25 to 30 gallons a day. The catch was the season was only about 3-4 days long. So not much to judge by.
It worked very well and at least gave me someting to measure by for a normal year, which I hope this year is.
Woodsman

[spencer11]

also a gravity system is quite a bit different that a vac system, you use about the same amount of tubing etc. but like last year, when it was very bad most people on gravity got a quarter of sap they usually did, while people on vacuum got half of what they usually did. ive heard several people say several people say that vac saved there season, and one the really good years you will get even more

[SWEETER CREATIONS]

We struggled with this for many years ! There is NO way were going to suck the sap out of the tree, but as times change so does the demand for more maple products ! There is no more trees to tap then guess what you'll be doing adding vacuum system and managing your woods a lot better , and yes vacuum saved our season last year. We now have 3 systems set up on vacuum. We only run 18 -20 inches and the return last year was .4 gallons syrup per tap. We still had syrup to sell all year:-)

[Starting Small]

So is it feasable to get a used pump, releaser, new 500 feet of mainline, new fittings etc for less than $500? $750? Where do i find used setups? I have heard dairy farms but i am uneasy (perhaps without cause) of merging used equipment from different places and make thd system up myself. Is this an unjustified concern? Where did you all get your firstvac systems?

[SWEETER CREATIONS]

We bought the released from Leader ($ 900.00) a new CONDE vac pump and new tubing had about 8.00 a tap invested. I know that is more than you want to spend,but you,ll be glad you did in the end when you have product to sell year round. This equipment should last at least 10 years so 5000.00 would only be 500.00 a year. Or about 12 gallons syrup a year.

[Starting Small]

you could build or buy one like a bender, then get a small pump for around $100, or you could spend the money up front and buy a pump like the maple guys guzzler, so you wouldnt need a releaser or moister trap(which are cheaply made), but that pump is around $600 where a releaser and pump would cost around $3-400
Curious as to why a releaser would.not be necessary for the guzzler. Just checked it out online. What makes it unique?

[PARKER MAPLE]

because this pump is operating a diaphram inside it, so as its pulling the sap in its pushing it out. these are great pumps for small producers but you have to becarefull about ice getting in there and ripping the diaphram

[heus]

Approximate cost of my new vac setup not counting tubing and fittings:
Gast 3040 rotary cane vac pump $80+ shipping from ebay
Marathon 2 hp compressor motor from TSC $180
New lapierre electric releaser $450
Goulds 2ST pump from ebay $105
Of course all of the fittings, check valves, ball valves, piping, moisture trap materials etc add up to a couple hundred bucks.
New subpanel, breakers, wiring, etc for pumps $450
Cost of building pumphouse with reclaimed materials $75

[Starting Small]

because this pump is operating a diaphram inside it, so as its pulling the sap in its pushing it out. these are great pumps for small producers but you have to becarefull about ice getting in there and ripping the diaphram

Interesting...so does that mean if there is any ice in the lines it cannot be used? Does it need to be drained each night to avid freezing? This seems like the quickest an easiest setup for someone like me with no vacuum experience.

[concord maple]

So it sounds like if, other than setting up the tubing and mainline, all you would need is this pump or a diaphragm pump and the collection tank for less than 100 taps?

[spencer11]

basically, but as for tank size, if you have 100 taps on vac you would probably want a 200 gallon tank just to be safe

[markct]

another option for that many taps is a Zero tank, its a vacuum tank used for dairy that are made to pull a vac on the whole tank without colapsing. i used many of them in my operation and they are simple and reasonably priced on the used market as you dont need a releaser just a vac pump. If you are intersted pm me and you could stop up and see my vacuum system sometime to get ideas i am in northwest ct

[spencer11]

ive never seen a zero tank under like 600 gallons, is the one you use that small? they are also stainless which is pricey for just 100 taps

[wiam]

ive never seen a zero tank under like 600 gallons, is the one you use that small? they are also stainless which is pricey for just 100 taps


I have a 350 and have seen others around.

[markct]

I have zero tanks i use that are 400 gallon, 500 gallon, and just picked up a 300 gallon one i plan to use at a new bush in the next few years. I also have a stainless water tank i modified to use as a vacuum tank but have not yet put in place. I have an area of about 65 taps that are on vacuum with a bender style releaser which are available new for about 200 bucks. it works pretty well but i like the simplicity of my zero tanks the best.

[ctjim]

you can find old dairy pumps fairly cheap if you look around, they're not all that hard to convert to maple use. we have an old delaval and bender releaser on about 155 taps without that we wouldn't get much sap on our red maples. the zero tanks are nice also but the smaller ones can be hard to find around ct. theres a member of ct maple producers, i think he may be on this site, that had a nice little set up he made to handle a small amount of taps. you could always go the diaphram pump route like the sap puller from goodrich, pretty sure the guys at green hollow sugarshack in moosup,ct have 1 of those in operation. very simple pump and you can build a real small insulated shelter for it and heat it with a small lamp to keep it from freezing or plumb it with a bypass to keep the ice from causing damage to the diaphram. i have been thinking about 1 of those myself for a small bush i may get and set up on tubing and vac maybe 150 taps max there.
http://www.goodrichmaplefarm.com/maple-producers-equipment/vacuum-pumps/sap-puller-pump-electric.html

[rjoly]

Me and my brother just put in a Guzzler pump in one off our fields 150 taps. Last week when we had the 2 warm days we where getting about 21 gallons per hour. This is the first time we have had vacuum on any off our fields and we are very happy with the results. After finding some vacuum painful leaks we where able to pull down to 22inches. I eneded borrowing a ultra sonic sound detecters from a friend and we found the leaks in a few hours i wish we had it from the start when we started. A cool tool but very expensive.
The Guzzler pump be careful there is a grease fitting on the linkage we didnt know it was there and the bushing wore out on the second day. I called the vender and they where really good about sending me another part. Also be prepaired to change the diaphram because off the amout off cycles you could put on the pump in a season. But it is very easy to change. The whole cost to put in in was about $520 for the pump and another $80 for the fittings we used cam lock fitting so could take the pump out when we are not using it. We are also using a small 1000 watt generator to run the pump we have no power where our field is located.

[sugaringman85]

I have an older sap sucker diaphram pump hooked up to 80 taps. Doubled our production off of that orchard. I can only seem to get 15" but its still better than nothing. I got mine cheap and used. I replace the diaphrams at least once a season. If you can find a used sap sucker they are great units.

[Starting Small]

Good to know about the linkage, someone else mentioned this to me as well. If I grow to 100 taps next season and go with a sap sucker type, whether it be a guzzler or some other model, what size evaporator should I go to. I was originally thinking of keeping my 2X3, and replace the pan with a hybrid pan of some sort. Then I am thinking that that would only solve my problem for a year until I grow again. Any suggestions? Maybe a Mason 2 X 4 1/2? http://www.wfmasonwelding.com/evaporators.html

Not sure what this would allow me to grow to, thanks!
-Dave

[spencer11]

Good to know about the linkage, someone else mentioned this to me as well. If I grow to 100 taps next season and go with a sap sucker type, whether it be a guzzler or some other model, what size evaporator should I go to. I was originally thinking of keeping my 2X3, and replace the pan with a hybrid pan of some sort. Then I am thinking that that would only solve my problem for a year until I grow again. Any suggestions? Maybe a Mason 2 X 4 1/2? http://www.wfmasonwelding.com/evaporators.html

Not sure what this would allow me to grow to, thanks!

-Dave

i would go with a 2x6, but thats me