Shurflo...very little vacuum??

[butler]

I have been running my shurflo all season now.. Cannot get it over 7"... I have 300' of 3/4" main and 80 taps on laterals
I have all brand new cdl saddles with bolt and I have reseated every tap... Walked and listened to every fitting, no leaks that I can find but it will not go over 7"... Any ideas out there that will help??

[moonshine]

I have my Shurflow pump hooked up to about 40 trees on 5/16s tubing. I also am getting no more than 10 inches, but what is more important to me, is watching that sap flowing down the line day and night. I will experiment with the system after the season slows down.

[butler]

I hear that... These little pumps are amazing sap is flowing great even at 7".
I just figured my system is super tight and should be getting higher vacuum?

[Maple guy]

i get a solid 10"-15" all through out my system which is 250 taps, which series pump are you running? i have a seaflo 5.5 gpm pump that cost $70 on amazon.
i would recommend double checking for leaks, when i first had my pump running i was only getting 5" of vacuum but then i started looking for leaks and it doubled in vacuum:D
you can look for leaks by seeing if the bubbles are running faster then usual in the 5/16 lines, i usually run up my mainline everyday to look for leaks.
it also might be that the pump is just maxxed out and thats all it can do vacuum wise.
it might also be a good idea to take it apart and check the diaphragm, maybe some ice went through it and chewed it all up? maybe it was bad to begin with? i personally have not had a problem with ice but apparently other people have.

I hope this helped!!!

[Russell Lampron]

I have been running my shurflo all season now.. Cannot get it over 7"... I have 300' of 3/4" main and 80 taps on laterals
I have all brand new cdl saddles with bolt and I have reseated every tap... Walked and listened to every fitting, no leaks that I can find but it will not go over 7"... Any ideas out there that will help??

You won't hear most vacuum leaks. You can see more leaks by looking for bubbles in the lines. If you see a lateral where the sap is racing you have a leak. It can be anything from a hollow tree to a squirrel chew. Look closely at where to tubing attaches to the fittings. If you see tiny bubbles that's a leak and it doesn't take many to lose a couple inches of vacuum. If there is a chew mark in the tubing the speed above and below the chew will determine if there is a leak there. If all of that checks out it could be that your pump doesn't have enough cfm's to pull a good vacuum on that much mainline.

[butler]

I do have one lateral that the sap speeds through... But I have triple checked it for leaks and still can't find any...

[butler]

My pump is a 4008 model

[Russell Lampron]

I do have one lateral that the sap speeds through... But I have triple checked it for leaks and still can't find any...

Have you looked at the line to see where the sap speeds up. There should be a drop or fitting where the sap speeds up and above that spot the sap moves slower. That is where to look for the leak. If everything still looks fine remove the tap and plug it to see if the sap slows down. If it does the tree is hollow.

[butler]

Well I found lateral with the leak.. Sap was speeding through the saddle... Pinched off that lateral and vac went to 18"... So then I proceeded to change out all five drops and put a new saddle. Opened lateral but sap still races through..?? Hollow tree maybe??

[Russell Lampron]

It's looking like you probably do have a hollow tree. now you've just got to figure out which one. Now you know that your pump will pull more than 7" and your on the right track to finding the leak. Good luck.

[lpakiz]

I have a small pair of needle-nosed vise grips that I softened the jaws on. I use it to clamp off the laterals- above the drop line or below it. When the bubbles stop speeding by, I have it narrowed down. If you suspect a hollow tree, then pinch off the drop line. You will soon see if you have found the problem.

[Maple guy]

if the vacuum went up to 18" when you clamped that lateral you must have a sizable leak in that line... so you would think you would be able to actually hear it leaking, i had a hollow tree this year already and i could hear it sucking all through out the tree, i would take a good hard listen to each of those trees and you might be able to hear it leaking.

[ryebrye]

I have a small pair of needle-nosed vise grips that I softened the jaws on. I use it to clamp off the laterals- above the drop line or below it. When the bubbles stop speeding by, I have it narrowed down. If you suspect a hollow tree, then pinch off the drop line. You will soon see if you have found the problem.

I do something similar. If I find a hollow tree and I don't have time to cut out the dropline, I will kink the dropline and take a piece of wire tie and twist it tight around the kink to shut off that dropline until I can fix it better later. I will just kink it with my fingers are first to see if the flow speeds up or slows down as a result.

[butler]

Well...decided to red drill 3 of the taps.. And yes it was a hollow tree!! Thanks so much everyone for all the help!