Pushing an sp22 to the limits!

[Russell Lampron]

For those of you with sp22's you can pull 27" of vacuum sometimes 24 - 7 without killing it. This season I kept my tubing system leak free and was able to maintain 27" of vacuum, verified with 3 vacuum gauges, right up until the end. The secret is the pump oil. I use Castrol Edge 5W-30 motor oil. It puts out a pretty good smoke cloud when it gets hot out so you want to keep the oil topped up. I add a 1/4 to a 1/2 cup of oil after a 24 hour period. That slightly overfills it and I don't let it get down much below the full level.

[maple flats]

I ran a BB4 at 26-27" all season, using TSC vacuum oil. Changed the oil 2x in season from Jan 15- Apr 2 when that woods stopped flowing.

[BreezyHill]

I have run BB1, BB2, BB4, Sp 11 all with high vac of 26-28 inches.

These pumps are great pumps if you protect them very well. NON Foaming oil is necessary for them to last multiple seasons. A foaming oil will damage the bearing surfaces and cause rust with from the water trapped in the oil when the pump sits during cold spells and during the off season.

TSC oil, westfalia, delaval are all good oils and it is just a mater of what one wants to pay for the oil and how far to travel.

I have seen the pitted cam shaft of bb2 and sp models from using motor oil for more than an emergency situation. These pumps have a short life with this type of damage.

When it is used it is best to clean out the reservoir with diesel fuel and then run vac oil for several hours to heat up the pump and hope to get all the sludge out of the unit.

Good Luck and good post!

Ben

[sam2145871]

BreezyHill
If price and distance aren't a concern for oil, what is your recommendation for the best one?

[BreezyHill]

I have had very good luck with the TSC oil and the delaval in a jar next to it is looks to be the same. Delaval oil is more expensive. So I would have to go with which ever you can get easier.

TSC might be a touch lower vapor temperature than the delaval but only about 5-10 degrees from the batches that I ran in the dame pump and checked the pump temp with a non contact infared temp gun.

They booth turn the same greenish color when water is trapped and separate out in a mater of minutes when it cools.

Cant say I liked the westfalia oil as it didn't seem to separate out the water as fast as the other two.

For me I want an oil that the water will go to the bottom when the pump is off for a few minutes and can be drained off. In the sp 11 you can add a pipe nipple and install an elbow and ball valve to make a water drain into the oil drain plug port. This makes draining the water on the fly easy; and if you add a section of clear hose on a tee rather than an elbow you can have a fill level tube and an easy oil fill point. For those days that the sap runs all night and into or thru day 2 or 3. Those are the days that pumps get the most abuse. I have run mine for a week straight with only topping of the oil after draining the water.

These are truly a great sap pump and must be cared for if you want them to last. A little TLC goes a long ways.

[Mark-NH]

I have run ATF fluid in my SP-11 for a dozen years now with zero issues. No foaming, no overheating and consistent levels of 25" + vacuum. Wish I could find an SP-22 for my other orchard.

[wiam]

I have run ATF fluid in my SP-11 for a dozen years now with zero issues. No foaming, no overheating and consistent levels of 25" + vacuum. Wish I could find an SP-22 for my other orchard.

I have one that the motor went bad on. Shaft broke right off by pulley bearing.