Vacuum Question SP11 pump

[Darkhollow Sugar Bush]

Will a surge sp11 hold decent vacuum for 600-700 taps? I cant get over 9in on the vacuum gauge on the releaser. Could i possibly have to much mainline out?
i had it up to 21 on the gauge on the pump before hooked the lines up.I think i fixed all the leaks...All the lats are froze so i think i have to many feet of mainline out....Would a booster work? And where would it go? Pictures would be sweet thanks

[Walling's Maple Syrup]

Will a surge sp11 hold decent vacuum for 600-700 taps? I cant get over 9in on the vacuum gauge on the releaser. Could i possibly have to much mainline out?
i had it up to 21 on the gauge on the pump before hooked the lines up.I think i fixed all the leaks...All the lats are froze so i think i have to many feet of mainline out....Would a booster work? And where would it go? Pictures would be sweet thanksWithout a doubt, you have leaks. Check all mainline connections. Did you get 21" with releaser hooked in?

[Darkhollow Sugar Bush]

ya i shut all the valves and got 21" at the releaser

[Thompson's Tree Farm]

You have leaks! Can't have too much mainline. Adding a booster would be the same as adding more or bigger mainline.

[OGDENS SUGAR BUSH]

if everything is frozen it shouldnt be hard to find the leaks, they all should be in the mainlines, when you get everything thawed out the sp11 will have its hands full keeping up with 22-23 "

[markcasper]

500 taps is about the limit for sp-11

[unc23win]

I was given good advice to put ball valves on all my lines. It sure does help to find leaks. Watch the gauge and turn them off one by one when the gauge reading goes up thats the line you need to check. Do you have wet and dry lines?

[Darkhollow Sugar Bush]

no wet/dry lines. everything thawed out today..found every saddle needed to be tighter and found some squirrel holes, fixed everything and the best we can get is 6" at the releaser and at the end of the main lines. so i don't know i think i need a bigger pump...i figured we have out about 3000' of 3/4 " mainline. so i dont know if a bigger pump will help or not..can you have out to much mainline for the pump?

[mapleack]

no wet/dry lines. everything thawed out today..found every saddle needed to be tighter and found some squirrel holes, fixed everything and the best we can get is 6" at the releaser and at the end of the main lines. so i don't know i think i need a bigger pump...i figured we have out about 3000' of 3/4 " mainline. so i dont know if a bigger pump will help or not..can you have out to much mainline for the pump?
SP 11's are rated for 5 cfms, so you're a little under 1 cfm per hundred taps. Ideally you'd have a bigger pump, but on a cold day when it's not running hard you should be able to get a lot higher than 6". You still have leaks guaranteed. Unfortunately they may be small leaks that you wont be able to isolate until there's enough sap running. It may be a dumb question but do you know how to bend a dip in the laterals to isolate leaks? Once the saps running head out there with roll of electrical tape and hunt down the little leaks, you should be able to run 15" plus with that pump and number of taps IMO. Good luck!

[Mark-NH]

I think you probably need a bigger pump and still have leaks out there. If your system is tight a good working SP-11 should get into the mid teens.

[Greenwich Maple Man]

ya i shut all the valves and got 21" at the releaser

If you have 21 in. at the releaser with the lines shut off and then you drop when you hook up the lines then you have leaks for sure, 100%. You need sap to fix the leaks. The pump showing 21 in. proves that the pump is working. The rest of the system is your problem. I would walk every piece of tubing and mainline when the sap is running and check it all for leaks. Once you get the leaks fixed your vacuum will go up.