Vacuum powered sap piston pump ?

[miller maple]

im just wondering if anyone has any excperiance with Lapierre's Vacuum powered sap piston pump. we have a pump house right at 1000' from the sugar house down over the hill and were looking for a way to set up a pump to pump the sap up the hill and we want to set pump up on a float system, and we dont have electric anywhere close to the pump house i was looking around the other day and found this pump that Lapierre sells and i think this is the ticket, so im just wondering if anyone has used one or knows someone that has thanks.

[Thompson's Tree Farm]

They take about 10 CFM's to operate (basic model) so make sure you have vacuum pump enough. Head will be more of a problem than distance. How much volume are you moving and how high does it need to be lifted?

[miller maple]

it is about 75 feet of head the pump im looking at is a single action with dual vacuum cylinder it says its rated at 225 GPH@132'/elevation @20"/hg

[Thompson's Tree Farm]

Should do it fine. They are susceptible to freezing so you must be able to drain it or heat it somehow. The float switch should work fine for you.

[jason grossman]

I have used a lapeirre sap pump for 8 seasons now and they work very well.we move 1800 taps 40 vertical feet and 1100 horizontal feet.it use to pump it 2000 feet but we cut it done alittle.

[miller maple]

awesome thanks for the feedback how much vacuum does it take we are planing on running 1 1/4 vacuum line from the sugar house down to the pump house is it going to be a problem running the pump off the same line as the releser.

[Thompson's Tree Farm]

What CFM is your pump rated for? At 1000 feet about 13 cfm is all that will get there through a 1 and 1/4 inch pipe. The pump will need 10 cfm's so....

[miller maple]

i am getting 24- 25"/hg

[Thompson's Tree Farm]

i am getting 24- 25"/hg

That is an excellent vacuum level but does not reflect the capacity of your system. At 1000 ft with inch and a quarter pipe only about 13 CFM can be transferred. The vacuum piston sap pump will require about 10 cfm to operate leaving only 3 cfm for your releaser and sap lines. Perhaps a second vacuum line should be used. One for the pump and one for your releaser.

[unc23win]

I would agree with Thompson I did not get a piston pump yet I haven't gotten that far in my expansion yet, When I do I am going to run two separate dry lines I might even consider running the pump on a separate vacuum pump designated for the pump that way my other taps don't lose anything. Also I would get the biggest piston pump if I remember right they were not that much more $.

[miller maple]

ya thats a good idea what size line should i run for the pump i have around 500 taps on that system as of right now

[Thompson's Tree Farm]

I'd use another inch and a quarter line.

[BreezyHill]

Remember this is a pump and not taps so you are going to need to cushion the numbers. You should be looking at 1.5 to run the pump with out issues.

Every time the releaser cycles you will have a lull in the pump, same with a surge of sap, etc.

Far better to have a extra to the pump than to have not quite enough to do the job right.

Best wishes!

[travisdirtbikemiles]

I used one last season... single cylinder single action.. about 40 feet of rise and 400 feet of line to get over a small hill then 1600 feet to the sugar house. Could not be happier with the pump, it comes with the float, and deleted a huge obstacle, ran 900 taps. just had to put up a little building to keep it from freezing

[markct]

Just curious what you use for heat? If you had power you wouldnt be using a vac powered pump! Propane?