New to Vacuum

[CaptT820]

I've realized that this year with 85 taps that I am getting tired of collecting all that sap from all those different locations and bringing them back to the holding tank. I am looking to get the basics on how to run a vacuum type system to save my back and my wife's for next year.

I assume that I need to plumb all of the trees together and then run a mainline (1/2" or 3/4"?) back to the vacuum that I want to place in the sugar shack?
Looking for details on mainline sizing and pump for this size system.

Thanks in advance as we are new to this aspect of the process.

[Biz]

If you have slope, you could use 3/16" tubing and skip the vacuum pump and mainline. Simple, cheap, and effective. Add a small diaphragm pump at the bottom for added vacuum. Keep it to about 30 taps per line or less for best flow during peak periods (but I have 39 on one line and it runs well).

Dave

[maple flats]

Give some info about what you are working with, slope, distance and such.

[CaptT820]

My sugarbush goes down both sides of my driveway, so I have a bit of a split system in a u shape headed towards the sugar shack at the base of the driveway. I will end up having a 200-ft line from the back bush and twin 400-ft lines down either side of the driveway. The 200-ft line will be a head change of no more than 10-feet uphill. The northern 400-ft line will be downhill to start then uphill about 8-ft to the shack. The southern 400-ft line will be downhill to the shack the whole way.
Thanks in advance.

[BreezyHill]

Up hill...time to look into sap ladder threads. There are numerous. They do work when installed correctly.

I would suggest getting the tubing book that Flats will give you the link for. The info in it is worth every penny the price is.

Depending on if there is room for growth in the future I would use 1" main only. No reason to have spare saddles of 2 different sizes and the 1" will give you future growth and leave room for better vac transfer until that time.

I made the mistake of using some 3/4" main in one section and in time it will be removed for 1".
Ben

[Cedar Eater]

Sounds like a job for three 3/16" tubing runs and a single Shurflo 4008. Put a vacuum gauge at the top end of each line and one at the pump. 3/16" is very easy to run.

[CaptT820]

So if I plumb the 3/16" tubing runs into a manifold then to the pump, do I need some sort of recirculation system to keep the pump from burning out or some sort of controller? I have been using tubing for a couple years, but I am new to the vacuum game, so any help with the setup would be appreciated.

Tim

[stieler]

I'm new to vacuum. I'm running a small system myself. Originally I set it up back in the bush on gravity only into a 50 gallon barrel. I have 42 taps on it coming from 2 directions. Last year I carried 2 5 gallon pails at a time up a long grade. Overall rise was about 25 feet. It's all on 5/16.
This year I was short on time for hauling sap out by hand. So I took the shurflo 12v pump out of mycamping trailer when my wife wasn't looking, got a couple brass pex fittings from Home Depot that are the pump thread size. I used an old 12 volt power supply from a computer, and an intermatic timer for powering the pump. From there I built a mini manifold from pex, and brass fittings. I Used a 500' roll of 3/16 I had for a future line install, as well as another roll of 5/16 I had and ran it from where I setup of my collecting bin to the beginning of the lines. I setup in my enclosed car trailer to keep the pump from the weather. Then used a male 5/16 brass fitting, and a female 3/16 brass fitting to adapt the 3/16 to the one 5/15 line and connected straight onto the other 5/16.
For my manifold I have a ball valve with a length of line into my tank to recirculate, the two lines from the bush and a vacuum gauge. I dump a bucket of sap into the collection tank for recirculation. Then with the pump running adjust the ball valve for the recirc valve until it's just a trickle. Once you get sap in the lines at the pump adjust again.
The last 36 hours were decent conditions here for running. I pulled 62 gallons of sap off that little pump. I bucket the sap and bring it to my house to boil out back, so I also valved the dump side so I can fill buckets without any extra labor.
For a smaller set up like yours, shurflo pumps work great and are a cheap way to go. I think the extra slope downhill with vacuum helps when possible. Today I checked the gauge at the end of the line highest up and I was pulling around 27 inhg. Sorry for the long response. Just wanted to be as clear as I could to help with some setup ideas. I know it's not the most ideal setup but I was more less experimenting with what I had before spending lots on other equipment.
1628916290

[Cedar Eater]

So if I plumb the 3/16" tubing runs into a manifold then to the pump, do I need some sort of recirculation system to keep the pump from burning out or some sort of controller? I have been using tubing for a couple years, but I am new to the vacuum game, so any help with the setup would be appreciated.

Tim

Shurflo and other diaphragm RV type water pumps can usually run dry without damaging anything, but they suck way better when the diaphragms are wet, so a recirc line that draws a small flow from the collection barrel will help to maximize the vacuum.

[spud]

Anytime I hear about Driveway trees or road side trees I think big SUGAR. I am not sure how big your trees are but if there very large and you only have 85 taps I would go all out. I would run 1 1/4 mainline both sides of the driveway and have no more then two taps per lateral line. The extra cost for bigger mainline and more saddles will pay for themselves the first year. Use a sap ladder at the end of the low side of the driveway. I can already see you making .5-.6GPT. If the price is right buy a large ( used ) releaser from someone and don't worry if it only dumps 5-10 times a day. You could make 50 gallons a year if the trees are big. What has your sugar been testing ? I know some will think this is overkill but I say spend a little extra money now and benefit from it for years to come.

Spud

[CaptT820]

We have some driveway trees, but mostly woods trees, so I am thinking about thinning the woods a bit for next year to increase sun availability. Don't think I'm quite ready for the 1 1/4" mainline that Spud talks about, but like the enthusiasm. Our sugar has been testing 2-3% even at this point in the season, mostly because we have several microclimates in our woods that see very different weather conditions. Still have nearly 2-feet of snow in parts of the sugarbush.

Should I stick to 5/16" tubing if I go to a vacuum system, or should I go down to 3/16" tubing? I'm still new to learning about what size tubing I should be using.

Thanks