Surflow question

[MunsterMapler]

This is going to be my first year with tubing, and I'm also going to run surflow pump like many other people do on the forum. My pump will be in a box on the ground with my 3/4 mainline running to the inlet. The property is like dead flat and there's no way of situating the top my gathering tank level or downhill to the outlet of my pump. With that being said is there going to be an issue with my surflow 4048 pumping up the 4 ft into my Ibc tote? Also should I make the outlet 1/2in or 3/4? I figured 1/2 might be better so the pump doesn't have to push as much volume up the 4 ft. Thanks guys

[Clinkis]

Yup should be no problem pumping up 4' into your tank. I had a 3/8 outlet line on my pumps and they worked fine but I would think 1/2 would be fine too.

[Wanabe1972]

I had my pump actually run all line up a tree after the pump and go to my sugar house so I could drive my truck under it. I think it was about 9 feet. Jeff

[MISugarDaddy]

Two of mine pump up 3' to the tank opening and it works great. I use 1/2" tubing and it works just fine. It helps having the pump low so the sap runs down to the pump rather than sucking it up to the pump as those pumps create better vacuum when the diaphram is kept wet.
Gary

[Super Sapper]

Is there any problem with the discharge line being frozen when it starts up if on a controller or is this usually thawed out along with the rest of your lines?

[MunsterMapler]

I'm not sure yet, this will be my first year on tubing and pump. If I have to I can put some heat tape on it if I need to. Also do I need to put some type of heat source in the box to keep my pump from freezing?

[BAP]

I would be more concerned about the pump being full of liquid and freezing splitting the pump open. A little freeze probably won't hurt it, but a solid freeze could crack the plastic pump.

[CampHamp]

I'm not sure yet, this will be my first year on tubing and pump. If I have to I can put some heat tape on it if I need to. Also do I need to put some type of heat source in the box to keep my pump from freezing?

I pump up a few feet to clear my barrel, too. It delays the start sometimes, but not too much. I've thought about freeze tape - but warm sap sitting overnight might breed bacteria, so I would want to switch it on only when it's ready to run. I find that if the tube is pretty straight and there is no fitting, all the ice pumps out pretty soon after the thaw. If your tube is in the sun, you'll be better off.

[Waynehere]

If you search shurflo on here you will find lots of info on these. Pumping is what these pumps were designed for, so they can pump up hill no problem. Lots of guys on here use a temp controller on these to save battery and pump life, and to help avoid freezing. Set them to kick on like 35-40 degrees and shut off at 25 or so. There a lots of pictures of different setups on here. You will find that the DC pumps will outlast the AC pumps too. Like 4-5 times longer. The brushes wear out more quickly with the AC pumps. Also, if you have a recirc line coming off your tank back to the pump, this will keep the pump diaphragm wet and really help with higher vacuum.

Try this one. http://mapletrader.com/community/showthread.php?27432-Shurflo-Pump-Question/page13&highlight=shurflo

Good luck and enjoy...