Pump recommendation

[Maplewalnut]

Alright guys have at it. I am going crazy waiting for some warmth. Have always run milk pumps and been happy but now I think it is time to move up to a big boy pump. Want to run 26inches plus. Feel free to comment. Will consider all oil, liquid cooled, rotary etc.
Give me your experiences

Specs- 1000 tap bush, on wet/dry have electricity at sugar house but mechanical releaser is about 40 yards away from pump

Thanks
Mike

[BreezyHill]

Well I run a Delaval rotary for 28+". When you want to part with the surge let me know I know a guy that loves them and is always looking for more.
Rotary will move get the vac level up faster. Heck you can even buy a brand new Delaval 76 from your local CDL dealer.

If you like Surge then you should look for an Alamo large body pump. They will go up to a 6 horse motor and can be direct drive to accept a VFD to conserve on energy. I just bought one for $100 with motor and an oil reclaimer from a farmer cleaning out the milk house. He want scrape price and we weight it up and he was happy. Now I have another project pump to cleanup and have for another future bush.

It is all a mater of how much you want to spend. $500, $2000, or $5000. That's the real decision.

Personnally I like to have a unit that is easy to fix and maintain and less costly so I can invest $$$ where it will make me more $$$. Not that a pump is not a great place for an up grade but get the most for every $ spent.

Last season my old reliable Delaval 73 ran a 600 tap bush with 8 ladders all season long at 28+" It is nearly stock with only a slight modification to the oil system. The pump that was to be the main pump spun the shaft the first week of running. I had just got the unit and cleaned it up and installed a new bearing and bushing and needed to see how the rotor was...so now it needs a quick trip to the wielding table and then back to the drill press for an up grade and she will be a 28+" puller also. Metal vanes in these girls for extra cooling capacity for those warm late season days in the 60-70's.

Good Luck!

Ben

[Schiefe4]

http://www.mapleexperts.com/ProductVacuum.html

[BAP]

Give Chris a call from the Maple Guy's about these pumps.
http://www.mapleguys.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=mapleguys&Category_Code=vacuum&Product_Code=&Search=&Sort_By=disp_order&Per_Page=-1

[Amber Gold]

Mike. I'm a big fan of my Atlantic Fluidics A10 liquid ring pump. It's been about bomb proof and it just works. It'll pull 26"+ when things are running, about 27" when it's froze. I use water to cool with, and trying out a groundwater well this year for a water source. If not, I'll grab water from a nearby stream. I have almost 900 taps on it and it handles it fine...think it's rated at 15cfm. The pump is 3 phase, so I do run a VFD, but if I wanted to, it allows for variable speed control, and it's cheaper to operate...pulls <5 amps running on full speed. Also, don't need a moisture trap if the releaser fails.

IMO. Put the pump at the releaser and run a 3" vac. line. It'll handle vac. leaks like a champ, and you don't have to worry about a vac. line freezing up. Another opinion, put an electric releaser in, build a small pump shed for both the releaser and vac. pump, and use the releaser to pump everything back to the sugarhouse and move the storage tank there.

[GeneralStark]

I'm in pretty much the same camp as Josh and like liquid ring pumps coupled with an electric releaser. They require a heated space so that can be a limitation. Also, LR pumps don't handle lots of leaks as well as a rotary vane pump, so if your tubing is old or poorly maintained the pump won't compensate as well as other options.

How much you want to spend is certainly a major factor. Busch claw pumps (or Airtech) are a solid option but they can be costly. LR pumps can be found for pretty cheap used, though buying a new pump through a dealer has advantages as well.

[Amber Gold]

Good points. I had my LR pump 900' from my releaser and it struggled with leaks. Last year, I put them right next to each other and now it can handle a few taps being completely out and still maintain decent vac. levels. As good as a rotary vane pump, no, but good enough for my needs. I'm also in the woods enough to stay on top of things. The vac. pump keeps my pump shed warm enough, and I have a space heater with a thermocube for those cold nights.

[Maplewalnut]

Question on liquid ring pumps- do you need a continuous 'fresh' supply of cold water or do most just fill a supply tank and recycle it?

One important detail I forgot, Pump and releaser are separated by 40 yards because there is about a 40 ft drop in elevation between sugarhouse and end of mainline. There is currently no lectricty at releaser station although I guess I could run a line. I currently pump sap (gas powered pump) from releaser/collection tank to a second tank in sugarhouse before it is put through RO.

[Amber Gold]

My pump sits on a 120 gal tank. Doesn't need to be this big, but it's what I had. You should have a storage tank in case something happens with your cold water supply line. Cold water is better, but you can still pull decent vacuum levels if the supply line freezes up and you're only recirculating with the storage tank. If the supply line freezes, the pump will heat the storage tank up in no time. You don't need much cold water either. A 5/16" line is more than enough.

I bought a Lapierre electric releaser and a 1/2hp sta-rite submersible pump and all <$1000. One of the best decisions I made. I'm not a pump expert, but since the releaser pump is pumping against vacuum, I'm not sure if you can overcome the vac. head and the 40' of elevation head with the releaser pump. The best option may be to have the releaser dump into a 100 gal s/s tank with another sta-rite in the tank to pump the sap up the hill. If you're really interested in doing this, I'd contact FW Webb and they have pump guys that can tell you what you'd need for a releaser pump to get it up the hill in one shot. A heated shed with the two 100 gal tanks, releaser, and heater needn't be too big and wouldn't take much to heat.

Running an electric line 40yds to run the vac. pump, one (or two) sta-rite pumps, and a heater isn't much of a load. There's enough electricians here that can tell you what you need for wire to do it.

[GeneralStark]

A continuous supply of water is ideal as the colder the water is the higher the vacuum level. I use a 40 gallon marine water tank to gravity feed the pump, and the water recirculates from the pump back to the tank. The tank overflows down the ro room drain and I can adjust the flow of fresh water from my domestic supply in the sugarhouse to the tank. I try to keep the water about 50-60F in the tank.

You can also cool a LR pump with an oil system.

I don't think a sta-rite type pump can pump 40' of lift under high vacuum, but a deep-well submersible may...

[GeneralStark]

Here ya go!!

http://mapletrader.com/traderclassifieds/vacuum-pumps-2f-extractors-2f-storage-tanks/p3160-2hp-busch-mink-vacuum-pump.html

[highvac]

http://www.mapleexperts.com/ProductVacuum.html

I second this guy. Atlas is the best pump I have ever owned. And lets say this, I have owned them all. Pricey to get into, but will make you money all the way to the bank.

[spud]

Looks like a real nice compact pump.

Spud

[AdirondackSap]

Im really liking my Airtech Rotary vane pump. They are the pumps cdl offers and are rock solid

[extracto]

The new Atlas copco rotary vane have it all over anything else.
Liquid ring pumps lose cfms as you go to higher vacuum. They are also energy hogs.
rotary vane produce the same cfm as liqid ring with half the hp. The best one is the atlas Copco. It can deal with the moist environment of your tubing system because they have gas ballast valves. Other vane pumps don't resulting in water in your oil which kils your bearings and ultimately the pump. That's the problem with air tech pumps. I have an atlas and love it. Can't wait to get rid of my liqid rings?