Hot Pump!!!

[maple flats]

I am on my 4th season using an Surge Alamo 75 vacuum pump. When I went to check it yesterday I noticed that the oil in the reclaimer sight glass was almost down to the ADD mark. I got my vacuum oil and added (this one has a 1.25" vent tube out the side near the top of the bottom half) As I have done in the past, I added vacuum oil slowly until the sight glass showed half full. Then a few minutes the level reads about 3/4 full. This is typical (I usually need to add 1 or 2 times each season. ) Then I left the pump running (I don't remember checking the vacuum gauge) while I tried to get my transfer line to move sap (850' of 1.5"maple tubing) because it had frozen. About 2 hours later I returned to the pump and it was smoking hot. The vacuum was only at 3". I shut off the pump and then took small amounts of very grainy snow and dropped them on the pump very slowly. As each grain hit, it sizzled about 1-2 seconds and the evaporated. The pump still spun easily by hand. At the releaser I found it had a leak at one O-ring. The one that seals between the 6" manifold and the clear Lexan disk on one end. The leak had generated a pile of wet slush against the disk, a bunch had fallen into that one canister and had frozen holding that outside flapper valve partially open. (the air temp was about 39, but the rush of air that expanded rapidly as it got to the partial vacuum had cooled the slush to ice.
What should I check first? (I already fixed the releaser leak) 1. Open the reclaimer to check for sludge, 2. just start the pump and check the rate of oil drips and vacuum reading. 3. open the pump and replace the vanes (I have a spare set in stock). 4. Would the 3" vacuum slow the oil flow to the point the pump would overheat excessively? 5???

[nymapleguy607]

I think I would start the pump and see if it would build vacuum now that the leak is fixed. Maybe roll the pump over by hand and see if you can hear the vanes engaging. If that wasn't happening then I would tear it down. Are the vanes metal? Possibly the vanes expanded when it heated and stopped engaging the housing causing the loss of vacuum.

[maple flats]

The vanes are some sort of a composite, not metal. They were new 2 seasons ago. After need to replace the old one in season 2 yrs. ago and having to get them from a surge dealer, I shopped around on the net and found a source at half the price so I ordered a spare set. I also got a NEW tank valve for a tank that came without one. I don't like using ball valves on a tank because when they freeze the load can be lost or at least some of it. I find the butterfly type valve used on tanks do not have that issue.

[BreezyHill]

MF This is all to similar to the issue I had a couple days ago.

Do Not Run the pump until you have decontaminated the oil reservoir and all the drippers.

The likely scinerio is sludge of some sort has plugged the drippers and the reclaimer. Clean the entire system with kero fuel.

In my case the pumps main oil line was plugged and the flood dripper was also plugged. Carburetor cleaner with the red tiny tube will be needed to blast the crap out of the dripper. I needed to totally disacembal the dripper to get the site glass clean.

The copper feed tubes I cleaned with compressor air and the carb cleaner and then blue them again and finally they were back to normal.

The vanes you have are Kevlar. Do not get gas on them as they can soak that in and swell. If they swell they need replacing. You will likely need to blow out the body with air as some of the Kevlar will have left a mess.

When the system is fully cleaned then and only then would I run it.

Mine will need to got on the work bench and have the Face plate and the pulley plate taken down due to scoreing from small particles.

Next time don't cool with any thing colder than warm water. Under 100 degrees and the rapid cooling can crack the housing. Had a guy say the pump was fine til I cooled it then I heard a pop and then I saw a crack.

Fan on the pump for cooling is best. The harm was already done so don't make it worse by adding cold stress.

Good Luck!

Ben

[maple flats]

Breezy,
Thanks for your suggestions. The grainy snow I put on it was just 1 little grain at a time, I knew and had seen cast pop and break if cooled to fast. The grain of snow, much like what you get in a snow cone at the fair, was just equal to 1 or 2 drops of water at a time. I did try the pump for about 3 minutes today, no vacuum and shut it down. I'm glad you gave details. It will be done tomorrow. If I need new vanes I have a spare set, but not needing them is far better. Thanks Breezy!
Dave

[BreezyHill]

Welcome Flats...Realize you knew not to do to much but the next guy that searched a hot pump and read snow on the pump might just tose on a shovel full and it would sound like rice cripsies in the morning. LOL...actually not funny at all but you know what I mean.

I try to give detail as I have gotten pms from people appreciating being walked thru a problem when looking in the archives than waiting for a reply.

As you now know well; living thru a disaster gives a different perspective than those that have read about them.

While it is cheaper to learn from others mistakes it is far less memorable.

Hope the Alamo lives again!

Ben

[maple flats]

Pump is at sugarhouse. I tore it apart. The pump head and vanes look good. I still need to clean the reclaimer and drippers. Looks like the drippers got plugged. With all the sap and boiling, it seems to take a lot of time. I fuel every 9 minutes, add defoamer, check the RO, then work on the pump. Timer rings, get cleaned up, and repeat. Keeping me hopping., then another load of sap arrives (560 gal) and I need to test it and TF to the tanks. Timer rang, get cleaned up, and repeat. Wow, am I getting too old for this?

[maple flats]

Pump has been completely torn down, cleaned and is back together. It looks like the oil drippers got plugged. Most likely when I added the fresh oil, it moved some sludge in the bottom half of the reclaimer. All cleaned, sludge removed, vanes look good, bearings good. Vanes were slightly sticky, all cleaned in kerosene. Drippers totally cleaned, and sight glass for oil level is like new. I was out of fresh vacuum oil, so I went to TSC to get more, they were out too, expected to have a truck in tomorrow at 8:00 am with more. Time will tell.
The sap ran like crazy Wed. and Thursday, but very little today without the vacuum. No overnight freeze for 2 nights now, tonight likely to be the third, but then Sat. night it is forecast to dip into the mid 20's.

[Ontario Ian]

This happened to me Thursday night, luckily I was boiling and heard the pump start sounding funny so I shut it off. Took off the reclaimer and had about an inch of sludge in the bottom. got that all cleaned out but only pulling 15" now.

maple flats did you have to change your vanes or you just cleaned them?? I don't have a spare set on hand, going to put on my spare pump this morning.

[BAP]

Do you have an oil filter on the line coming out of your oil reclaimer? If you have one it should catch the sludge and keep the lines from plugging up. They use a cheap filter that can be replaced a couple times a year for less than $20 and prevent this from happening.

[BreezyHill]

Vanes should be fine as they don't soak up or are damaged much by heat.

A filter in this case would have been just as catastrophic as a standard paper filter will be plugged by water or sludge and stop the oil flow also. The filter needed for our setup is one that has a water separator system provided you are using vac oil. If motor oil it can be separated and will often settle in the water bowl also. RACOR makes a great unit but they are very pricey ate $225 but can be equipped with an optional electric sensor to alarm or shut down a system when mostly full. I ran a RACOR for years on our semi and it saved many a fuel filter. They too have a filter element option that are only around $8 now.

[Ontario Ian]

thanks guy's. I have a filter on it and that is what pluged, gonna start changing it on a regular basis.

[maple flats]

My vanes were still good, they looked perfect (but I also have a spare set for that pump, but not my Surge Alamo 30), and after cleaning them with some kerosene they moved freely in their slot. I now have no sludge in the bottom of my reclaimer. I now plan to take it off and go thru it every 2 yrs, unless I get the "real maple pump" I should have. But then there seems to be a load of things "I should have" and each costs too much to do them quickly. I only re-invest my earnings, I refuse to borrow for maple, sp things just come slower.