How much can a Gast 1550 Handle

[Birddog]

I'm wondering if you vacuum guys can help me out. I'm wondering if a Gast 1550 could handle 150 taps stretched out over maybe 1200 feet of mainline with one or two 8 plus foot sap ladders. Maybe using a dairy releaser. Any insight would be appreciated.

[Mike's Sugar Shack]

I ran a oiless 1550 on 500 taps this year and got about 20inches of vacuum. I also ran a oiled1550 on 220 taps and was able to get 22.5 inches with that one. Only thing with a dairy releaser is they always leak a little vacuum.

[Birddog]

Thanks for the reply.. I guess I'll see if it can handle a sap ladder or two..


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[WESTMAPLES]

i ran a gast 1550 my first year got 20 inches on 220 taps and the other bush it was running a gast 1023 oiless with about 135 taps was pulling 25 inches, this year i replaced the 1550 oiless with a gast 1023 oiless direct drive and got 25 inches easily and that was with 310 taps ( both vac units have 42 gallon mositure / vac storage tanks that speeds the cycle/ recovery time to seconds, not minutes ) running into a bender washer/ releaser the bender do leak but with alittle seal modification to minimize the leak needed to break the vac and adding double+ the float weight they work flawlessly at 25 inches and are simple to trouble shoot

[madmapler]

I ran a 1550 on about that many taps and with a bender and pulled 23" by overspeeding it a little with a gas engine. Not recommending it but I had no troubles personally.

[Birddog]

Well - I just got my hands on the pump. I decided to plug it in and see what I got. It was blowing a little air so I put my finger over it just to see what kind of pressure it was putting out and it stopped blowing. Now it turns and doesn't put out air. Not good.

[Mike's Sugar Shack]

It sounds like your vanes are stuck.Probally will have to take apart and clean it.

[Birddog]

Are there any tips/tricks to taking these pumps apart that I should know about before I start?


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[madmapler]

Its been a while since I had one apart but I believe you take the bolts out of one side or the other and take the side cover off and it exposes the shaft and the vanes. I think the vanes just slide out. My memory is a little vague but I know it was pretty simple.

[mountain man maple]

Take bolts off dead end plate. Use a dead blow hammer or block of wood and tap on drive end of shaft. Dead end plate and rotor assembly should come out back side of rotor housing.

[Birddog]

Ok I'll feel dumb. I started looking at the pump to see how to take it apart and I noticed the pulley on the pump was slipping. I tightened it and it is now working. Another dumb question. The pulley on the motor is about 2.5 inches and the pulley on the pump is about 6 inches. Won't that slow down the speed and therefore vacuum level of the pump. The motor is rated for 1725 rpm. Should the pulleys be about the same size?


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[Mike's Sugar Shack]

It all depends on how many rpms your motor turns.

[mountain man maple]

If motor is 1725 rpm the you want pulley to be same size on both.

[Birddog]

The motor says 1725 rpm on the tag. So I guess I need to find some pulleys that match


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[WESTMAPLES]

yes both pulley should be the same size i think the pulleys on the one i used to have where 5- 6 inches and there should also be a keyway in the pump shaft

[Birddog]

yes both pulley should be the same size i think the pulleys on the one i used to have where 5- 6 inches and there should also be a keyway in the pump shaft Thank you - before I saw yours were 5-6 inch I orderd two that are four inch. Hopefully those will work OK.

[madmapler]

Those will work fine.

[lastwoodsman]

Thank you - before I saw yours were 5-6 inch I orderd two that are four inch. Hopefully those will work OK.


I use a four inch on my gast with a 2 inch on my Harbor freight 99 cc engine which runs at 3600 rpm. Speed on the gast pump is running at 1800 rpm. Runs fine for 3 years

http://gadi.agric.za/software/renting/pulley_calc.php

[Birddog]

I use a four inch on my gast with a 2 inch on my Harbor freight 99 cc engine which runs at 3600 rpm. Speed on the gast pump is running at 1800 rpm. Runs fine for 3 years

http://gadi.agric.za/software/renting/pulley_calc.php

Thank you. This is very helpful. It's amazing what is available on the internet!

[Birddog]

I put on 2 - 4 inch pulleys, definitely moves more air but the 1/2 HP motor dies when I put a load on it. Did or do any of you use an electric motor and if so what size and brand? I need to get something bigger.


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[WESTMAPLES]

mine was a 1/2 hp 1750 rpm dayton electric motor and it would keep pulling hard even with the intake blocked completely for a moment

[WESTMAPLES]

and just to add the pulley on the gast pump ( the original pulley) had a bit a weight to it to keep the momentum going

[Birddog]

Thanks westmaples. The 1/2 horse that is on it now is very old and tired. Someone else told me to go with a minimum of 1 HP. Hearing your experience I'm wondering if a 3/4 HP Marathon would be a good fit. I like the idea of lower amperage. I just want to make sure I get all I can from my pump because I want to try a sap ladder through a bender releaser.. I'll have fewer than 100 taps on it for now.


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[WESTMAPLES]

yeah any size motor will work and for the ladder just remember to have a small pinhole size air leak before the ladder to keep the sap lifting I am no pro with ladders but ive seen a few in use on basic vac systems and im going to install a small one on a bush I have for the upcoming season

[Birddog]

Westmaples - another dumb question. Is the gast 1023 a better pump for maple vacuum. For some reason I was thing the 1550 would be better. It looks like the 1023 produces higher hg - I don't knuw the relationship of hg and cfm. Does the 1550 produce higher cfm therefore moves more air faster but the 1023 creates higher vacuum pressure?


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[madmapler]

If you want a better pump then the 65 series pumps are higher cfms and rated for 28 hgs. The 2065 is rated for 17 cfms and the 2565 is at 21. You will get more out of a 1550 if you put a little larger pulley on the motor. I did it and raised my hgs to 23 however it will obviously produce a little more heat so ventilation is important. I personally did nothing and it was fine. No guaranties though. The hgs for gast pumps are taken at 0 cfms so those #s will naturally be lower when used in a tubing system depending on how many taps and how tight the system is. The 1023 is a really low cfm pump used mainly in laboratories and such.

[WESTMAPLES]

yes 1023 are a low cfm pump but when coupled to a 42 gal air tank and wet/dry system for lots of extra vac storage at 25 hg the gauge barely moves when the bender cycles and the 1023 easily out proformed the 1550 on same system with more 120 added taps . others will say you need high cfm pumps but they can afford to buy, run them, have large enough power service close by and so on.. im just happy with the efficiency of the system i have without over spending and within 1 1/2 seasons its payed for itself in full with profit on top of that so im happy just learn how it all works a grow from there

[WESTMAPLES]

and the 1023 is compact, direct drive , easily removable ( which i do in the off season ), can be run off 120 volt extension cord, and can be bought & shipped straight from ebay for under $200 and the same guy has every part to rebiuld them in stock. im always working on eqiupment and tweaking it to work 100 % the first 1550 and 1023 i got were from a auction and after running the 1550 and 1023 for a season at different locations the 1023 was easier to let - self start- from a timer the mainline has a Tee with check valve on one side so the sap could run `gravity` when the pump wasn`t running, and bender washer/releasers that can be diffcult when starting. 1550 just wasn`t doing it for me and i found the source for 1023 on ebay so to me it was a no brainer just buy it and use it no offense birddog or anyone but 1550 issues is what has bought all of us here to talk .....

[Birddog]

Thanks for the valuable insight . No offense taken here. I'm just trying to learn and you and others have some great insight and I appreciate hearing it all. Thank you. What do you use for a pressure tank?


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[WESTMAPLES]

the 2 i have are john wood 42 gal air tanks when i got the vac pumps from the auction the pumps where attached to them and paint as if they where part of a system of some sort . im not telling you any vessel for air pressure is good for vaccum but thats what some people use for mositure traps inline to the pump my gallery has a pic of the 1550 i had setup on the 42 gal tank

[mountain man maple]

I don't know how high of vacuum your after? But I run 2 1550 pumps on 2 seperate woods. One on mechanical releaser and one on electric releaser. Both pumps will pull 25" if u deadhead pumps. On my systems I can maintain 22-24". If a spout comes out of tree still had 17" at releaser. 2 spouts out and I only lost another 1" at releaser. A 1 hp pump won't take much more electric to run than 1/2 hp motor. My vacuum level was at 1725 rpm. If your pump won't pull 22-25" it probably could use a rebuild.

[Birddog]

For this first try on vacuum I just need enough vacuum from my 1550 for less than 100 taps but 2 - 8 foot sap ladders.


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[Birddog]

I bought a Marathon 1 hp tefc motor and used 2 - 4 inch pulleys. It's pulling about 22hgs and doesn't flinch if I put my thumb over the inlet. Thanks for the help!


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