homemade vacuum pump?

[farmerfletch]

I am thinking of trying to build a homemade vac pump with a small 4-stroke motor hooked to a diaphragm pump type setup, has anybody thought about this or have any advice about how this might be done? any responses are helpful, thanks in advance

[maple flats]

It should work but depending on the pump size, you will be limited in vac level and CFM. One advantage will be that you will not need a releaser (extractor). You may have issues with diaphragm failures unless you address the ice issue.
This would not truly be building a homemade vacuum pump, but rather putting a motor on a diaphragm pump which can be used as a vacuum pump. Many producers put gas engines on vacuum pumps when they don't have access to elec. power.

[Rselleck91]

I have seen it done with a mud sucker pump head. The only problem is how many taps you want to run. The cons poor cfm only can run so many taps. The plus no releaser and you can lift the sap uphill from the pump so many feet.
If I was in your shoes depending on taps I would look on eBay there are allways wholesale dealers getting rid of pumps for cheap that we're removed from industrial applications. I was looking at bush pumps for around 300$ compaired to the 3000$ maple dealers wack ya for. Tunhill or stihi liquid ring pumps even dirt cheap..... You just need the right search words

[BreezyHill]

I would suggest thinking long and hard on your options. Over the years we have tried several different units and have always gone back to the tried and true vacuum pumps and a releaser. I have had so many issues with ice over the years and it is hard to over come something that is produced before every single good run.

Ice is the equalizer. You cant move ice and slush will pack into connections and fittings and will eat diaphragm pumps. There is nothing worse than finding that your pump is damaged and you need to rebuild it quickly. Been there, done that, sucks like hell!!!

I would suggest a sap sucker style. I have one, ice is not such an issue as the natural action of the pump warms the tubing.

If you know of a farmer with a retired liquid corn planter...they use the same pump style on them. One could actually adapt one of these to sap and hook multiple lines to these pumps. They can be stacked to do 4,6,12,20,24 row planters with each row having its own pump to supply a précis amount of fertilizer. Amounts are easily adjusted by changing the drive gears. With a motor you could simply adjust the motor speed to get more cfms rather than change pulleys.

[wiam]

Google peristaltic pump to find out about what Breezy is talking about. A had a couple that I "loaned" to friends. One was getting 16" on about 80 taps.