Honda wx10 versus Honda wx15

[Florio79]

Hi I really appreciate all the great info on this site! Lots of great info on Honda pumps too. I am relatively new to the hobby with 40 taps and am looking to get a pump that I'm also going to use for flooding ice rinks... I am likely going to try and expand in the future and am thinking it may be nice to pump up to my sugar shack... However it would be about 800 ft with a steep 75 ft hill from my collection tank... With that much hose I'm not sure it would be realistic to pump that far or whether the wx15 could handle it.... Another option I may look at if I grow is to pump from a collection tank up the 75 ft hill to a transport tank. When I say grow I can't imagine more than 150 taps....

I can get a used wx10 for $250 or a used wx15 for $300.... I'm afraid the wx15 might be too much pump... But also think it may be better for me to pump up my hill.... Currently I'm using 50 gallon drums with 40 taps.... The pumps don't come with any attachments or hose. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Thank-you!

[psparr]

One thing to think about when pumping that far is the amount of sap left in the line when the collection tank is empty. A smaller line will take longer to pump, but you won't have 30 gallon coming back down the hill after your done.

[Maplewalnut]

You cant make a wrong decision. I have the wx10 and it is more than enough pump for me and I pump everything about 50ft in elevation about 120 or so feet. As you allude to it has many uses and I too have put a fresh smooth layer of ice on sections of our pond using the pump, lent it to friends to drain swimming pools etc. Great pump

[maple flats]

Either size will do it but as for the used pump, are you absolutely positive that pump has only been used for sap or potable water, nothing else? I wouldn't chance a used sap pump where I didn't know it's history.
The WX 15 will just move the sap faster, if used with the right hose, you might not see much difference if you use a 1/2" hose to pump the sap regardless, but a 1" should work ok for either pump, while a 1.5 will pump faster on a WX15.

[wnybassman]

One thing to think about when pumping that far is the amount of sap left in the line when the collection tank is empty. A smaller line will take longer to pump, but you won't have 30 gallon coming back down the hill after your done.

I was surprised when I turned off the wx10 for the first time and it didn't drain right back to the tank like my electric pump did. That prompted me to put a valve in at the bottom end so I can close it before I unhook the pump, then drain the line back into a bucket. My pump out line is about 135 feet and is 3/4" pipe. I get 4 1/2 gallons that comes back to me.

[Father & Son]

Use cam lock fittings on everything and then you're covered.

Jim

[VT_K9]

Considering you want to expand and you want to move water for ice I would probably look at the WH line of pumps. The difference in the two pumps you mentioned is the diameter...1" vs 1.5". We run the WH15 pump for our sugaring operation. Our sap shack is the lowest point to serve our northern trees. It is about 75' below and 725' away from the sugar house. We run 1.5" black poly for the pipe. There is a neat tool on the Honda website...pump select. Check it out. It was pretty darn accurate in our case and we are very happy with the the WH15.

Your BIGGEST issue is how much sap you have. We have a 588 gallon SS tank at the sap shack. When we are done pumping there is about 70 gallons of sap in the line. We drain it into two 55 gallon barrels and haul it up to the sugar house with a tractor. Here is a link to get a quick idea of gallons per 100" of different size pipe.

http://www.quatic.com/uploads/pipe_sizing_chart_volume.pdf

Mike