jrgagne99
03-08-2013, 11:45 AM
I came home yesterday to see the oil in my vacuum pump was all creamy looking in the sight glass window. I suspected water in the oil. Sure enough, when I drained the oil, I got about 1/2 cup of water, followed by 1/2 cup of white creamy looking oil.
The mystery is that I have a 3"x24" water trap in line between the pump and my releaser. There was no water in the trap. Does anybody know how water could have got into my pump oil? The best explanation I can see is that water vapor condensed in the line between the trap and the pump, then flowed down into the pump. It may have been building up for quite a while before reaching a concentration/amount that was high enough to turn the oil white?
I attached a picture of my setup. The line from the releaser enters the water trap on the side. For the tee at the top of the water trap, one leg goes to a vacuum gauge in the sugarhouse, and the other leg goes to the pump. It's a 1/6 hp, 150 CFM pump with 1/2" lines to the trap and releaser.
7277
The mystery is that I have a 3"x24" water trap in line between the pump and my releaser. There was no water in the trap. Does anybody know how water could have got into my pump oil? The best explanation I can see is that water vapor condensed in the line between the trap and the pump, then flowed down into the pump. It may have been building up for quite a while before reaching a concentration/amount that was high enough to turn the oil white?
I attached a picture of my setup. The line from the releaser enters the water trap on the side. For the tee at the top of the water trap, one leg goes to a vacuum gauge in the sugarhouse, and the other leg goes to the pump. It's a 1/6 hp, 150 CFM pump with 1/2" lines to the trap and releaser.
7277