anyone run a reverse slope releaser?

[tuckermtn]

I have about 350 taps I would like to lift 15 ft to get to the roadside tank. There is a wet-dry system beyond the 350 taps so don't think sap ladder will work.

I have been told that 350 taps is too much for a simple sap lift (anyone have experience to say one way or the other?)

So that leaves a reverse slope releaser. But not sure how much vacuum they rob, is there a min. vacuum level (20"+ I have heard) or how reliable they are. Lapierre has a regular double reverse slope and a newer small one (same size chambers as hobby releaser) but I am staying away from hobby reverse slope for now till they get bugs worked out.

thanks for any input...

[red maples]

Hi Eric, I have no experience but.... I know they take a lot of CFM's to run and that's at the releaser not at the pump itself. you can have High vac with low CFM if you have a tight system. But again the CFM is the key to these things. and supposedly they can be a little finicky especially in the morning when they are cold. you can ask Chris Hicks he's Morningstar farm on here he's got one. I know he has has a few issues and needs more CFM's at the releaser. He's in Plaistow, nh

[morningstarfarm]

Yup put one in for this season. Worked pretty good. But there are several things you need to consider before going to one. Unfortunately right now I dont have the time to type it all out here...if you give me a call I will gladly talk you through them all....otherwise I will try late tonight to put them all up here...my cell is 603-479-0804

[yards1520]

I used one this year as well. I bought the double horizontal and had great luck with it. I ran about 1,000 taps into mine. Not sure if I went overboard, but I went from my releaser to the reverse slope about 1,000' away with 1.5 inch wet line an 2" dryline to run the releaser and it worked great for me all year. never hung up. You really need to have it in an enclosed building with heat though otherwise you will have problems. I kept a small propane heater in there at night to keep it from freezing solid

[morningstarfarm]

One big thing to remember here is that the vert releaser is an intermediate releaser...meaning it releases the sap Into a line that is still under vacuum...you will need a second releaser to extract the sap from the vacuum...also this line must be a dedicated vacuum line...while it worked pretty well I would suggest just running a pump from a tank if at all possible...you can run a substantial amount of wire for the same cost...

Also, you need to have the vert releaser set into a tank anyways as when you shut the vac down it will drain whatever sap comes in just as any mechanical releaser...