Surge Alamo vacuum rebuild

[raven2278]

Ok so I found this laying around the barn, used to be the vacuum for a dairy operation. It has been literally sitting there for at least 20 years. First off can you identify model for me, all I found is the serial number and couldn't link it to anything on internet. Took it apart this afternoon. Motor I'm guessing from everything that fell out is a junk. Now I'm new at this and don't know the proper terms that go with the parts. What is the tank on the right? What is the horizontal part coming out of the top? There is a lead weight at the end of the vertical tube on the top right, what is that? I can see the base for an oiling tank in the middle, seems ok. The Inside of the tank on the right was filled with a mouse nest, took that out. A lot of rust Inside, can that be cleaned out, sand blasted and repainted? Exterior also I guess. What hp motor I can fit on there? Also the Inside of the top part on the left seems pretty clean, not rusty, turns well with the belt from the motor. The motor is sitting on a shelf that is on a pivot...basically the weight of the motor is keeping the tension on the strap/pulleys. So do I put the time/effort on it? How does this thing work? 1407514076140771407814079

[maple flats]

The lead weight is for regulating the amount of vacuum. The tank on the side is a balance tank, it helps the vacuum remain closer to constant as 1 milker comes off and goes back on another cow. I can't ID the pump, but if Breezy comes on he likely can. However it may be necessary to get a view from another side to get a sense of the width.
Whatever model it is, it can still be serviced. It is a rotary vane pump and if needed, new vanes should still be available, either Surge ($) or after market (fewer $). That is well worth fixing.
It works by pulling air in one port and pushing it out the other. The in port is the one that goes to the balance tank and the out port goes to the muffler. Some type of oil reclaimer would help a lot. It would have the exhaust feed thru it, and much of the oil vapor would fall out and then recycle thru the bearings on each side to lube the bearings and then pass into keep a light film on the vanes. That helps the vanes seal against the housing to push more air out the exhaust. In the pics I don't see oil ports, hopefully there are inlets for oilers at each end cap.

[OGDENS SUGAR BUSH]

the horizontal piece is a muffler, looks like a model 30, but ne14080ed a better view of how wide it is

[raven2278]

maple flats It looks like the base of an oiler in the two pictures on the right, just above the rubber tubing...looks like the bottle for the oil reserve is missing basically.
ogdens I want to say also it is a 30 but it doesn't have that 'tank' on top which all 30s seem to have on the things I'm finding on internet (Google image and such, on here, other forums...). Is that what is called an 'oil reclaimer'?

[BreezyHill]

Looks like a 40 with an intake oiler. This is older than the ones with the reclaimer and the bearing drippers. 40 has the larger intake and exhausted ports 30 has the smaller. Same size body/rotor just larger porting for quicker air flow. 2-3 bucket verses a 1 bucket milker.

Sand blasting the body will make it look nicer but not affect the operation as long as there is no rust scale that will hamper cooling. You likely have a diamond in the ruff there. The housing inside will likely need a honing.

I am curious if this one is old enough to have metal vanes. There were very few models that tried metal vanes; but since it has the inlet dripper it may very well. This is nice for maple as they dissipate heat better from added oil. You will want to construct or buy an oil reclaimer to pull the vapor from the exhaust and recycle thru the pump.

I would strongly suggest a rehab project.

Closer pic of the drip cup above the inlet please.

Do not sand blast inside...if you do it wont pull much vac. Three stone cylinder hone is what you want and a cordless drill. Run it on low speed and you want a 300 grit or higher number to get the smoothest finish possible.

send a pm if you need help

Ben

[Wanabe1972]

It looks like the 30 plus that I run but mine only has an oiler to the intake and not the two bearings. I've had mine run non stop for days this year with no issues and use a small box fan when it gets warm outside. Mine has a 2 HP harbor freight motor that has run flawless. I only have 150 taps on mine with 2 10 foot SAP ladders and it pulls about 22 inches most all the time. Jeff

[raven2278]

14083 Here is how wide the pump body is.

[firetech]

It looks like a 30 frame to me I rebuilt one 2 years ago, All the parts ,vanes, bearings, seal and the like are available thur Hamby dairy supply. They are easy folks to work with. I got an oiler from a 50 and hooked up the oilers, I wasn't please with the unit as I could only pull 18 inches with it, Good luck

[Ontario Ian]

best of my knowledge it is a 30. as far as I know only the 30 had the motor underneath the pump

[OGDENS SUGAR BUSH]

i think its a 30 also. not sure but i thought the difference between 30 and 40 was the size of the motor and pulley size

[Clinkis]

I bought a surge Alamo 30 pump earlier this week as well. It was ceased up when I got it. Tore it all apart. It was pretty rough inside. Veins were stuck and there was a lot of corrosion. I spent several hours buffing and honing all the metal surfaces. It cleaned up pretty good but there was some minor pitting in a couple spots. Should I be concern with that? Also, the veins are scratched up a far bit. Should I be replacing them?

I decided to put it back together and try it. It spins nice and is definitely making vacuum but I thought it seemed to take a while to build up. Unfortunately I didn't have a vacuum gauge to see how much but I will get one and try it.

[maple flats]

You will be best off if you open the end plate and pull the rotor. When out, check the vanes, make sure they move freely in their slots and check the condition on the inside of the housing as well as the outer edge on the vanes. If those are good and the bearings are good, then put it back together, put some vacuum oil in the oil dispenser and start it up. Then test the vacuum it pulls. If the vanes don't move freely, remove them, clean the slots and the vanes with break cleaner or even kerosene, then wipe then with a thin coat of vacuum oil and slide then back into the slots, when installed the edge should match the outer surface of the rotor, and not form a point. I have found it easiest to stand the pump on end to lower the rotor back in, but I have also replaced them when horizontal, it just seems harder to get the far shaft to line up with the bearing on the back end that way. If the housing is not smooth, hone it, if the vanes need replacing, try Hamby Dairy Supply (online).

[raven2278]

BreezyHill, what do you mean by three stone cylinder hone? I did open it up. Some minor pitting underneath the intake and exhaust area and inside the vane slots but nothing major. The wall nearer the pulley has basically no rust, true also for the wall of the cylinder. The leftover 'oil' and grease Inside does have the Brown rusty looking color to it. But once wiped down it is basically near mint metal. Now, I don't have a motor for it right now. Once cleaned up how do I store it until I get a motor? Do I poor vacuum oïl down it and turn it around? Also, since zerts are on both bearings, do I grease them or wait to install oïl drippers? Definitely not metal vanes, once pulled out I could see the criss cross patern of the material synthetic vanes are made of and they are not metal. Now they don't fit perfectly Inside the slots meaning that if I push them down there is about 3/8 of inch of room. Is that normal? Once they spin they will want to go out and once they reach the lower room area they will still slide in I guess.
1413314134141351413614137