Alamo oilers

[Bricklayer]

I've read on past posts that the original non-adjustable Alamo oilers can be modified to allow more oil to pass through by snapping the hollow wire in the oiler off1/8" at a time.

Questions I have after trying it last night

1. Is the wire actually removable from the oiler. I tried to get the top nut loosened from the body of the oiler but it will not come off. I can remove the glass from the oiler but that's it. Doesn't leave much room to grab the wire and snap it.

2. I tried to reach in through the side of the oiler with pliers with the glass removed and snap the wire but all that happened was I squished the wire flat when putting just a little pressure on the pliers.

Is there a trick to doing this. I've got the adjustable oilers on order but I figured if I can make these oilers work then I have a spare set for backup if I ever need them.

[mountainvan]

The oilers along with the wires can be removed from the pump and replaced with the adjustable ones. I did this on all four of mine. Be careful snapping the wire, it may slip into the pump, then more learning on Alamo maintenance.

[Bricklayer]

The oilers along with the wires can be removed from the pump and replaced with the adjustable ones. I did this on all four of mine. Be careful snapping the wire, it may slip into the pump, then more learning on Alamo maintenance.

I have the adjustable oilers on order. I would like to have the original ones with the wires as back ups. But instead of scrambling around when they are needed to modify them I'd like to do it now while they are on the pump. I'm able to get 5 drips per minute now with somewhat cold oil. But I don't run the pump long enough to really heat up much. I have regulator set at 26"hg. Since it has a reclaimer I'd like to lay as much oil to it as I can. I was thinking of just taking the stone in the oiler out. Then it would basically be a steady 1/16 stream into the pump. Not sure if the bearings need this much oil but I'm sure the flood oiler is ok to run wide open.

[mountainvan]

I also took the stones out, but I installed a fuel oil filter between the reclaimer and the pump.

[Bricklayer]

Are you talking about the stones in the oilers themselves or the stone filter in the reclaimer. Mine has a stone filter that screws into the 3 way tee that screws into the reclaimer. It also has stones inside the oilers. Im pretty sure the stones in the oils doesn't act as filters but as a valve. They have a wide o ring on them and basically close off the oiler when no vacuum is applied. When the stone is forced down towards the pump when it's on and vacuum is applied they let oil through the oiler and vacuum through to pull oil into the oiler. I'll take s picture of one and post it later.

[Ontario Ian]

I removed the one in the reclaimer, and changed to adjustable oilers. If you want to run at 26" your going to need more oil than 4-5 drops per minute. What size pump do you have?

[Bricklayer]

It's an alamo 100. Running it about 600-650 rpms right now At 26" hg. Only going to be on about 800 taps next year but more in the future.
Did you install an oil filter after you took the stone filter out of the reclaimer?

[mountainvan]

Yes I did. My pumps are all powered with gas engines so the reclaimers are not on top of the pump anymore.

[Bricklayer]

Do you have any issues with the oil filling the pump when not in use? I ran my oil lines out of 1/4" copper. Came off bottom of reclaimer and ran copper tubing up higher then the oil level then down to the oiler. I read on a couple posts that this will stop the oil from filling the pump when not in use.
With the stock oilers the pump filling up doesn't seem to be an issue since the stock oilers have the vacuum valve in them. But I'm assuming the new adjustable oilers don't have the vacuum valve in them.

[Clinkis]

I removed the stone and installed a screw on Hydrolic filter housing and filter. I also installed a ball valve because oil will drip through when pump isn't running. Worked very well. You can also install a loop in the lines the goes above oil level in reclaimer if you don't want to use a shut off valve as you have done.

You definitely need more then 4-5 drops a minute but you don't want too much. If you have too much oil it can negatively effect vacuum levels and even with a reclaimer you will loose a lot to vapour. I also had issues with oil back feeding into my accumulator tank if i over flooded the pump. Your looking for the sweet spot where you achieve max vacuum, minimal oil consumption and appropriate temperature. On my pump I found the optimal oil amount as 10 drops per min on the bearings and 20 drips per min on the intake. Your pump is a larger Alamo so it will likely be different.

[Clinkis]

16519

Here is how I setup my oilers. On most de Laval pumps the oil reservoir is below the pump so there is no need to have any means to prevent pump filling with oil when not running.

[Bricklayer]

I've been thinking about installing a screw on filter like that. I was going to order a new stone filter but they are $40 and the whole oiler assembly needs to be taken off to change it. Screw on filter seems way more practical. Probley helps cool the oil a bit also, more surface area exposed to outside air temps.

[Clinkis]

Got it at princess auto. I think it was about $20.

[Bricklayer]

So I took all the stones out of the 3 individual oilers this morning. So basically there is no restriction on each oiler. Just whatever the pump can pull through the 1/16" hollow wire. Ran the pump for 10 minutes and set vacuum regulator to max 30hg so basically deadheaded the pump. Maxed out at 28.5 or so hg with a steady 1/16 stream of oil to flood oiler. And bearing had a steady 1/16 stream of oil also. I was expecting a little increase in hg's but not that much. Quite impressed. I'm thinking to keep these oilers as backup once I get the adjustable oilers I'm going to install 1/4" brass needle valves on these oilers. Then I can adjust them. The flood oiler was actually backing up and filling the sight glass because its getting more oil then it could pull through the 1/16 wire. I plan on putting needle valves on this week and testing it out. My guess is I will start with 25 drops per minute with cold oil on the bearings and 30 on the flood and see if it stays nice and cool after running it for an hour or so and see how much oil it goes through compared to what the reclaimer will save. She is definitely going to like her oil. I don't plan on running it at 28" during the season more like 22-25" less stress on the gas motor and pump. But knowing me I'll probley crank it up to 28" so I'm going to set the oilers at that vac level. I extended the copper oil lines almost all the way to the top of the reclaimer then back down to the oilers. Only problem is that whatever oil is in the line on the down slope will drain into the pump. It seems to drip for about 5 minutes steady then stops. Pump seems to turn over ok after this. So I'm not really worried about pump filling with oil. But true test will be when oil is warm.

[Clinkis]

I ran mine around 25". When I first started running it I had oilers set a lot heavier and pump seemed to work good but was going through over a litre a day in oil and had a lot in the accumulator tank at the end of the day. I installed a check valve between pump and accumulator tank which resolved that and backed off oilers to a point until I started noticing a slight drop in vacuum and then bumped it up slightly. Oil consumption dropped drastically and pump still stayed at a good temp.

[Ontario Ian]

mine is set up similar to clinkis, I have a 100 and a 75 like this. between reclaimer and filter I used soft copper and made a loop around 10' long to try and cool the oil more. 26" of vacuum no problem.

[Bricklayer]

mine is set up similar to clinkis, I have a 100 and a 75 like this. between reclaimer and filter I used soft copper and made a loop around 10' long to try and cool the oil more. 26" of vacuum no problem.

Do you have any pictures of your setup with the 10' of copper tubing. I picked up my adjustable oilers exact same as Clinkis today. They are Delaval oilers. I'd like to incorporporate as much copper as I can for cooling. And try to loop it up past oil line to stop it from flooding pump when pump is off. If it was me starting pump every morning or checking on it I would never forget to turn valve for oil on. But this setup next year will be a shared bush and I won't always be the one turning pumps on. So I'd like to no have to worry about pump flooding with oil or having to shut valve every night or time pump is off. If it rains tomorrow and I'm off work I'll probley go to princess auto and get a screw on hydraulic filter. I drained my reclaimer today ( top section doesn't drain to bottom section) and I've probley only ran the pump for maybe 2 hours total and oil is pitch black. I ran it a bit tonight and oil seems to be a lot clearer but a filter is never a bad idea.

[Clinkis]

Here is the filter housing

https://www.princessauto.com/en/detail/3-8-in-npt-in-line-filter-head/A-p8076085e
And the filter
https://www.princessauto.com/en/detail/3-4-in-long-10-micron-cellulose-hydraulic-filter-element/A-p8155327e

[Bricklayer]

Thanks
How often did you change the filter?

[Clinkis]

Once, about 2/3 the way through the season. The filter never plugged but I did a full oil change because oil was starting to look a little creamy from moisture accumulation. Probably could have gotten the season out of it but better safe then sorry.

[Ontario Ian]

my cooling line just went strait out 5' and straight back into the oilers. I don't have any picks of this, I am going to make some changes for next year. Last year I cut out the plate between top and bottom of reclaimer, so the oil just recycles itself, I also rolled a piece of plate and welded it in where the screen would be. For next year I am going to try making a moisture trap (for the oil), where the 3 way tee was on the bottom of reclaimer, clinkis picture he has a 90 elbow there, I"ll put a tee with with a piece of clear hose coming straight down with a valve on bottom. water is heavier than oil so the vapour that gets in the oil will hopefully separate and i can drain it off when i see it accumulate in the hose.

[Clinkis]

My hope with this style of filter was moisture removal as well. In theory the water should accumulate in the bottom of the filter. Not sure how well it worked as you can't see into it. I could definitely see as the season progressed that the oil began to look a little creamy. Not sure if this is normal with this style of pump.

[Ontario Ian]

I got the hose idea from the de leval reclaimers. It defiantly collects some water, if it will be enough to make a difference we'll have to wait and see!

[Bricklayer]

Got the adjustable oilers installed. And hydraulic oil filter. Topped the pump up with oil and let it run for about 10 minutes at 22" and played with the dripper settings. It seems like the pully bearing isn't taking much oil at all. It seems to be backing up in the tube right up to the dripper. Other bearing seems to be taking the oil fine at about 20 drips per minute. Flood dripper is a steady drip of about 40 per minute. Pump is smoking like crazy out the exhaust and running really hot. Can't even put my hand on the exhaust from the pump to the reclaimer. I've taken the tube off the pully bearing and it is pulling vacuum. Just don't understand why the oil is backing up in the tube. Does the pully bearing need less oil?

[Clinkis]

I know if I try to add too much oil they would back up. If the bearing is full of oil it can't take anymore. Depending on the pump some have open bearings, sealed bearings or brass bushings and this will affect how much oil they can take. I believe I had mine set to 8-10 drips a minute on bearings. How are you running pump? Is it deadheaded? The flow of some air through pump is very important in order to cool pump.

[Bricklayer]

If I stop the pump and disconnect the tube from the dripper it flows right into the bearing. I'll try turning it down a bit and set it to 10 drops and see if that makes a difference.
I have the pump running on a 12hp Tecumseh snow blower engine on about half throttle give or take. Pump is turning about 700-750 rpm
Pump is getting lots of air. I have a vacuum regulator installed on it but I've been using a 1.5" ball valve that I installed on the intake to make starting the motor easier to control vacuum. So basically I'm introducing a big leak to control vacuum. I ran it last night on 20" hg for maybe 20 mins and the pump got super hot. And was blowing blue smoke from exhaust. I guess testing it in the summer isn't ideal with the outside temperatures being warmer then maple season weather but with it getting s much oil I would figure it would run cooler. I have two different grade vacuum oils I've tried. 32 and 68. Get the same results with both types of oils. The reclaimer seems to be catching a lot of it but the blue smoke and heat of the pump are bothering me a bit.
I'll post some pictures of it later. Had to put it aside to work on my lawn tractor today.

[Bricklayer]

Picture of the setup. The copper coil works really good. The oil stops dripping when pump stops. Other then the little bit that's in the copper oil line going down. I used the clear plastic tubing for now just for testing purposes. I'm going to switch it out for copper when I get it all set up.
Played with the oilers. Got the smoking down a bit but there is still a little. The temperature is still a concern to me though. My heat gun doesn't seem to get an accurate temp reading. But the pump seems to stay really warm to the touch but the exhaust pipe out of the pump to the reclaimer I can't hold my hand on it because it's so hot. Is that normal. I did the old spit and sizzle test on the pump and nothing sizzled it just sat there. If I turn the drippers up to add more oil it's seems to smoke more. Is it normal for it to be runnng so hot. The oil that is actually going to the pump is cool oil. My reclaimer is separated between the two sections so I have to drain the reclaimed oil then add it back to the main tank. So it's basically outside temperature oil getting to the pump.

http://i1070.photobucket.com/albums/u495/bottenhof/Mobile%20Uploads/2017-06/25BFAB5C-F597-46BA-9E0D-EFF0316CE0BD_zps7owcsi1e.jpg (http://s1070.photobucket.com/user/bottenhof/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2017-06/25BFAB5C-F597-46BA-9E0D-EFF0316CE0BD_zps7owcsi1e.jpg.html)

[mountainvan]

My pumps get hot also. As long as there is oil coming in and good ventilation it should be fine. The smoke is just atomized oil, which is also normal with the Alamo reclaimers to have some. Longyear farm made a reclaimer from pipe and says it not mist at all. Looks like a nice setup.

[Clinkis]

Mine gets very hot to the touch. By the end of the season the paint was starting to peel a bit near exhaust but I've read that's normal. You will always have a little oil mist which does look like smoke. I extended my exhaust pipe strait up about 3' which helped reduce some of the oil mist but you will always have a some.

[Ontario Ian]

mine run hot, always around 200 degrees, and sometimes hotter. I've seen oil boil on them lol. all the heat is coming from the vacuum it self and not so much from the pump. as the molecules spread out they give off there heat or something like that, that would be a good Dr. Tim question. but don't be afraid of the heat, these pumps are tough! I've seized mine tight befor, overheated, ran without oil, the list goes on. but they still run, oil is the biggest factor, make sure if its not vacuum pump oil its at least non foaming.

[Clinkis]

One thing I did was weld a small shaft extension onto the main pump shaft and put a fan on it. It definitely helps but it still gets hot.16540

[Bricklayer]

One thing I did was weld a small shaft extension onto the main pump shaft and put a fan on it. It definitely helps but it still gets hot.16540

That's a good idea. ill keep my eyes open for a fan blade like that. Is it off a small oil cooler or radiator? I was thinking I could also maybe weld some fan fins onto the pump flywheel if I couldn't find a blade.

Ive got to work on the vibration from the gas motor also. It's a Tecumseh motor so she vibrates pretty good. Not as smooth as a Honda. I was thinking of using either hockey pucks or skidoo motor mounts to mount the motor. Might cut down a bit.

[Clinkis]

The fan is off the cooling unit for a milk cooler I purchased for sap.

I had a lot of vibration problems too even with the honda motor. Tried minimizing it at the motor but anything I tried made it difficult to keep the motor from moving and belt staying tight. I ended up putting a piece of heavy duty rubber mat under each foot of the whole vacuum pump unit. Worked great.

[Bricklayer]

I ran the pump today for 4 hours at 25" and put a box fan blowing on the pump just to kind of compensate for the warmer weather compared to the cooler weather it's going to be running at. I noticed that the top of the reclaimer is super hot also. Is this normal? I put my hand over the exhaust and the exhaust air wasn't hot at all. Just the top of the reclaimer.

[Clinkis]

Yes that is normal. My reclaimer gets really hot too.

[Bricklayer]

My next mission is to move the reclaimer off to the side and put a smal length of rad hose from pump to reclaimer. I plan on building a stand attached to the main frame but what did you use to mount the reclaimer?

[Clinkis]

I had some challenges with that. I also used a piece of rad hose to attach reclaimer with hopes that this would minimize vibration. I have a piece of plywood bolted to the stand and initially had a couple pieces of plumbers strap screwed to plywood to support it. But vibrations eventually broke plumbing strap. Ended up putting a piece of carpet in between to dampen vibration and attached it with a ratchet strap. Not ideal but it worked.

[Bricklayer]

I can seem to get the threads to stop leaking where the reclaimer threads into the pump. I used the yellow teflon tape for all the other connection for oilers lines. I'm assuming it would be ok to use on these threads. Would the teflon be ok at the temps that the pipe to the reclaimer get up to. I'm assuming around 180-200 degrees F.

[Clinkis]

I don't see why not. I used the orange high heat silicone for my thread connections

[BreezyHill]

Temp will get to as much a 240-250 on a pump and cause no ill affect as long as it cools evenly. Body will crack if one puts any low temp fluid on it, oil or water can cause an uneven cooling crack.

Oil is a tricky one. There are many different oils out there. Some have zinc as lubricant some none, some are designed to vaporize and condense easily others to vaporize and burn off. Non foaming is designed to not combine with water. Foaming oils will make a sludge that will plug drippers and even oil lines.

Always have a water trap and drain for any reclaimer design or retrofit for our industry or use. It can be as easy as a tee with a section of nipple with ball valve or as complicated as one with an electronic valve to open when the pump cools to a preset temp when the water should have all settled.

I can not agree more with the statement that oil is the key to pump longevity.

[Bricklayer]

i have a 90 degree elbow comming off the bottom of the reclaimer with an elbow. On side goes to oil filter with a ball valve to supply drippers the other side goes to a ball valve with a clear drain hose to drain water. I have run the pump for maybe a total of 10 hours so far and have not noticed any water separating from the oil. Might be different when running it in the cooler weather maybe.
What I have noticed is vibration is not good for the copper connections. I used flare fittings for all my oil connections. The copper eventually just broke off at the fitting and pulled out leaving the flare behind. I'm working on cutting the vibration and hopefully mounting the reclaimer on a totally separate stand. Not even touching the pump base. The separate base can hold my larger fuel tank and reclaimer. Going to be my winter project.

[BreezyHill]

This large amount of vibration is very odd. Check the pulley of the pump for something causing an imbalance, ie mud wasp larva cocoon, damaged pulley, etc.

if there were two veins stuck that were side by side you would get a little vibration but not this much normally.

there has to be a reason for it; but you can always mack a loop of the copper line to absorb some of the vibration.

[Ontario Ian]

I have an ongoing problem with vibration, the gas engines make a lot of vibration compared to an electric motor, I've always chalked it up to that. I welded some bracing on mine from the 1 1/2" up to the bottom edges of the reclaimer. helped a lot.

[Bricklayer]

I mounted the whole pump on a skid on unistrut and damped the vibration a bit with rubber pads. Only thing I have to figure out is how to keep the copper coil comming off the oil filter from rattling around. After about 6 hours of running the copper flare breaks off.
I was thinking of using a small chunk of rad hose between the oil filter and the copper line. Give it some flex.