Best pump configuration suggestions sought

[NTBugtraq]

The lowest point of my main line is, more or less, level with the ground in my sugar shack. If its lower, its no lower than 1' or so. Lowest main line point is what it is, can't be lowered or raised. Main line is 3/4"

From that point, I run 150' to a 1/2 hp self-priming centrifugal pump. It discharges into a 100' garden hose, which gets lower than the pump inlet (a bit) but then goes up 8' over the top of the sugar shack wall. Due to the length of the hose, it then comes down 8' again, and then back up 8' to the top of the storage tank.

My question is, will making the garden hose from the pump to the storage tank only go up 8' make any difference? The pump is always on no matter what (there is no on/off float). Because its self-priming, I believe I don't have to worry about air locks.

I ask because before I ran the hose into the storage tank, I was pumping directly into 5 gallon pails at 4' above intake. I was getting ~ 5 gallons per hour. After putting a longer garden hose on, and pumping up 8' and down again into the storage tank, rate seems to be 1.2 gallons per hour.

Cheers,
Russ

[GeneralStark]

The less pipe, the better the flow due to less friction. Ditch the garden hose and use something rated for potable water.


The lowest point of my main line is, more or less, level with the ground in my sugar shack. If its lower, its no lower than 1' or so. Lowest main line point is what it is, can't be lowered or raised. Main line is 3/4"

From that point, I run 150' to a 1/2 hp self-priming centrifugal pump. It discharges into a 100' garden hose, which gets lower than the pump inlet (a bit) but then goes up 8' over the top of the sugar shack wall. Due to the length of the hose, it then comes down 8' again, and then back up 8' to the top of the storage tank.

My question is, will making the garden hose from the pump to the storage tank only go up 8' make any difference? The pump is always on no matter what (there is no on/off float). Because its self-priming, I believe I don't have to worry about air locks.

I ask because before I ran the hose into the storage tank, I was pumping directly into 5 gallon pails at 4' above intake. I was getting ~ 5 gallons per hour. After putting a longer garden hose on, and pumping up 8' and down again into the storage tank, rate seems to be 1.2 gallons per hour.

Cheers,
Russ

[NTBugtraq]

General,

Come on, its 150' to the pump with no taps to get from the lowest point in my main line. How's the additional garden hose creating "more friction" with a pump behind it? As for potable concerns, aren't we boiling this stuff?

[RollinsOrchards]

Garden hose is typically 5/8ths inch instead of 3/4, so the slight size reduction increases "head" pressure significantly. Curves in the hose also add "head" to the flow. Your pump is rated by XX gallons per minute at YY feet of head and there is probably a chart for that pump either with the manual or online that will give you the performance curve.

I use sap pipelineline to move sap at my sugarhouse. It doesn't sag or droop, is clear enough to see sap flow, and above all it is cheap. Try buying food grade hose for less than a dollar a foot, yet 3/4 sap line comes closer to 35 cents a foot.

Self priming pumps sometimes have trouble using air to push a column of water uphill and can still get airbound. Some will work fine new, but with a little wear and age they work less well.


Non-Potable to me doesn't mean bacteria it means CHEMICALS. I have a garden hose that when left with water in it for an hour will give the first few gallons a paint thinner smell and will make suds. Garden hoses are meant to wash your car, not carry your food.

[DaveB]

FWIW, I use a PVC pipe with couplings to move my sap 150' from where I drop my sap off to where my sugar house is. The 1" pipe cost me about $60 and the couplings were about $10. A 1/2" pipe on the same run cost me $40. The 1" pipe can move more sap.

Also, before someone is condemned for using a garden hose, some garden hoses are safe for potable water:

http://www.amazon.com/Apex-7612-50-NeverKink-Camper-50-Feet/dp/B0007UQ2N2/ref=pd_sim_sbs_lg_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=0XYMJV7ZBGMZF0TPSGKD

http://www.amazon.com/GatorHyde-Drinking-Water-Safe-Garden/dp/B001M5ADDG/ref=pd_sim_sbs_lg_4?ie=UTF8&refRID=0XYMJV7ZBGMZF0TPSGKD

[NTBugtraq]

Well, I can't get any more main line right now so what I did was disconnect the pump from the end of the main line, insert the garden hose there instead, and attach the pump to the other end of the garden hose. This puts the pump directly beside my storage tank. So its gravity to the pump, and now the pump only has to move the sap 8' up and 2' over. So now there is zero head, no friction issues, just the fact I am not supplying the pump as much fluid as it can handle. Seems to be working and not much else I can do about it this season.

Cheers,
Russ