Shurflo pump problems

[Mr. Red Maple]

Hey guys I am having some problems with my shurflo 4008 pump. I have it setup up on one 3/4 inch line about 200 feet long and about 30-40 taps. The problem is I am only getting 2 inches of vacuum now. I have walked the line 10 times and hear no leaks and see no leaks on the laterals. I have seen many posts where people have many more taps on there shurflo's. I'm wondering if anyone has any info on their shurflo systems and if any one else has had similar problems.

[jpcole]

If you have low vacuum close to the pump it mght be time to rebuild your pump.

[Mr. Red Maple]

The pump is brand new. I was wondering what the guys do that have shurflo pumps.

[Moser's Maple]

did you bench test your shurflo to make sure it was in good condition?
did you use a screen before the pump to make sure you did suck up a piece of ice?
do you have any sap flowing or is the system completely dry right now?

another way to try to get some vac if you think nothing could wrong with the pump is to saddle in a piece of 3/16 tubing in your line right before the pump. use a needle valve on the tubing to control flow and recirculate sap to keep the pump wet. these little pumps really don't hit their full potential until you get some liquid flowing through the line. if this doesn't doesn't work, or increase vac levels a little bit, then you either have a pump issue, or have some major leaks. At 2 inches, I highly doubt you would hear a vac leak, and if you have marginal flows, then they would be very difficult to see

[TerryEspo]

I made a manifold for my Shurflo.

The manifold had many uses, the best feature was not having to disconnect the pump from my mainline if anything needed a look at. It also allowed me to pump liquids into other containers by opening different valves and closing others. If I felt I had ice, clogged, not pumping correct the manifold saved me a lot of grief.

You can keep the manifold connected to your mainline as you test the pump using two different containers, suck from one and drain into the other, I would do that on mornings with warm water before sucking from my mainline.12656 12657 12658
The manifold also allowed me to shut off the pump at night and just allow gravity to work using the other valve to drain freely.

If your sap flow is poor right now the pump will not appear to be working as you expect it to, it can run dry, but really performs when the sap is flowing.

Hope that helps a bit.

Good luck.

Terry

[CampHamp]

At 2 inches, I highly doubt you would hear a vac leak, and if you have marginal flows, then they would be very difficult to see

I'd agree. I never rely on hearing leaks, I look for fast-flowing lines and walk them up-stream to find the offending tap(s).

When there is low flow, it's harder because air will travel over the sap unseen in your 5/16 tube. One thing I do in this case, is to grab a lateral and turn my wrist 30 degrees to create a uphill segment to collect sap there. Once it collects enough to fill the column, you'll see how fast the air rushes through that column. If your taps and lines are air tight above your check-point, then you will see a slow bubble that shouldn't be faster than one or two per second. If it is faster than that, move up that lateral and check again. You'll narrow it down pretty quickly this way.

Also, I consider a tap "good" if there is mostly sap in it (not dry), even if it is not actively dripping. Dry taps aren't always bad, but these deserve an extra tap if the lateral races below but not above...

When I drill above my head, I mess up more often and have had to pull a couple "leakers" each year (and plug that drop line) because I could not get them tight with a few whacks. If it's a big, healthy tree, I'll tap in another place.

[BlueberryHill]

I'm right down the road from Mr. Red Maples and I am in the same boat as he is. We are both on our first year with Shurflo pumps and we both seem to be getting less sap than we expected. I had some leaks and some sagging that I needed to address but everything is tight now. I really expected more than 15 gallons from 123 taps today. I messed around and experimented quite a bit and I have come to the conclusion that the trees probably just did not want to give up any sap today.

I noticed that there is a decent amount of sap in my 3/4 mainline within a few feet of the input and output of the shurflo, but nothing was moving much. A lot of the laterals have sap in them near the saddles but nothing seems to be moving much. If I pull a tap really close to the pump, or way back at the end of the mainline I get the same results. A pretty loud sucking sound. So that is good. I guess the trees just are not ready yet??

Having 0 experience with Sureflo's (or vacuum at all) I was concerned earlier today that I was doing something wrong. It seemed like I should be getting much more sap. But unless you guys have other suggestions, I'll just keep plugging it in on warm days until the trees decide it's time to go.

Thanks to everyone so far for your replies (and PICS!!!!) this site is great and I have learned a ton. Most appreciated!!

[mellondome]

You need liquid in the pump to build up vac.
How is your main line sloped? It should not have sap pool anywhere in it.

You won't be able to hear leaks with that little of vacuum on the line. Unless you are using a stethoscope. Probably won't hear them until close to 10" vac.

[sapman28]

it is also very early and everything is still froze up even though it feels warm out.

[Swampmapleman]

Everything needs to be pitched to pump. With little to no flow I was reading 15 inches everywhere in the system. When it started to run I was right at 23-25 each day. This is 100 taps and 300 of 3/4 main. I also have my pump with the motor pointed down. So the SAP would be on all 3 diaphragms. But like I said everything pitched to tank. The pumps work great.

Matt

[RIVERWINDS]

I have 100 taps on 900' of 1" main. Mine also works best with a little sap in the pump at all times. 24-25" vac even on slow days as long as the diaphragm has liquid in it.

[Super Sapper]

Blueberry, it sounds like your system is tight but the trees are tighter right now. If you had leaks you would not have any sap sitting in the line.