Basic smallish vacuum setup,shurflo?

[blucoondawg]

Hi everyone, I've been reading on this site for a couple years debating when to jump in to tapping my trees, I think this year I will finally get a start on a small scale.

Please forgive my ineptitude on using the search function on these forums, but could someone direct me to information regarding shurflo pump systems, how to put the pump together, what's needed as far as parts, etc. I'm probably going to start by running 3/16 line, as I do have some slope but at some point may want to convert to a hybrid system.

I have the land to possibly get a large bush going, I've got 5.5 acres at my home, my cousin has 13 acres next door that I could likely tap or lease to tap, and I just purchased 105 acres a couple miles down the road that probably has 85 to 90 acres that could be tapped. I have electric at my home land obviously but my 105 currently has not had power run yet though is available at the road, bi need to do a lot more reading on line systems and possibly figure out how to map my land for elevation

[S.S.S]

When your ready to go on a much larger scale i can get you in touch with a fella that will come out walk your woods flag trees for running mainlines and all that good stuff.

[blucoondawg]

Thanks I was wondering if there was someone around who was into helping set stuff up properly other than just checking out other operations. I've got mine in mfl and the back 45 or so is scheduled to be logged in the next couple years, I also need a Forester who is Maple friendly to work with so I don't end up with a logger going in with their own Forester and butchering it

[Thegreg20]

Shurflo is definitely the way to go. It doubled my sap production. I've got a really small op 20 taps. Wish I had more land. How many taps do you plan on going with? A shurflo pump can handle about 120 taps max per pump. How do you plan on boiling down? If you don't have an actual evaporator $$$ like me I would suggest building yourself a cheap RO system. Turned 12hrs of boiling down to about 2hrs

[Biz]

Not sure if anybody answered your question blucoondawg but here are some suggestions for the Shurflo setup.

1. Shurflo model 4008 12 volt DC pump or similar diaphragm pump. Good for 100 or so taps.
2. Shurflo swivel strainer. Items 1 and 2 you can get from ebay, Amazon, or an RV supply store
3. 12V battery. If you are near AC power, just use any old lead acid battery from a vehicle and keep a charger connected. Otherwise you need a deep cycle marine battery and need to charge it every other day or get a solar charger.
4. Some 1/2" PVC couplers are handy for connecting to the outlet hose without stripping it.
5. Inlet side: depends on how many lines are coming in. An easy way to connect multiple lines to the pump is to use a star fitting, set it up with elbows etc so it is vertical. Use 3/16 to 5/16 adaptors if you have 3/16 lines since they don't make them in 3/16.
6. It might also be useful to add a valve to each incoming line so you can isolate leaks.
7. Now the tricky part, how to turn the pump on/off at night (or have a heat light), and how to prevent it from freezing. There are lots of ways to do this. I have a controller I sell that does everything including draining the lines, monitoring everything, and thermostatic control - see website link at bottom. Or you can put a heat light on the pump, or drain it, during the cold nights. Some use an inexpensive thermostat from ebay to control the pump but you need to make sure everything is set up so the pump isn't damaged in cold weather.
Also need the obvious stuff like a collection tank and hose from pump to tank, valves, adaptor fittings.

If you have some vertical drop, even 10-15', you will get a good amount of sap using 3/16 lines without needing a pump at all. The pump will get you even more sap but you could start off with just gravity and upgrade to a pump at a later date. Lots of options to think about.

Have fun and let us know what you come up with.

Dave


Hi everyone, I've been reading on this site for a couple years debating when to jump in to tapping my trees, I think this year I will finally get a start on a small scale.

Please forgive my ineptitude on using the search function on these forums, but could someone direct me to information regarding shurflo pump systems, how to put the pump together, what's needed as far as parts, etc. I'm probably going to start by running 3/16 line, as I do have some slope but at some point may want to convert to a hybrid system.

I have the land to possibly get a large bush going, I've got 5.5 acres at my home, my cousin has 13 acres next door that I could likely tap or lease to tap, and I just purchased 105 acres a couple miles down the road that probably has 85 to 90 acres that could be tapped. I have electric at my home land obviously but my 105 currently has not had power run yet though is available at the road, bi need to do a lot more reading on line systems and possibly figure out how to map my land for elevation

[blucoondawg]

Thanks everyone so far, just dropping by quick, gotta head out and try to move a stubborn sow who's about to farrow into her new hut, I'll be back later to read and probably have further questions

[blucoondawg]

The way things are going this year I'll be lucky to get a couple lines of 3/16 so 40-60 taps, pump system is doubtful for this year more looking to when I start to grow, it's gonna be little by little, not taking out loans and going full tilt. For now I'll just be cooking on an outdoor Arch I throw together with an old pan I'll borrow from a friend who made a bigger one. I know absolutely nothing about building an r.o. I know what they achieve but don't know how they work exactly

[blucoondawg]

Not sure if anybody answered your question blucoondawg but here are some suggestions for the Shurflo setup.

1. Shurflo model 4008 12 volt DC pump or similar diaphragm pump. Good for 100 or so taps.
2. Shurflo swivel strainer. Items 1 and 2 you can get from ebay, Amazon, or an RV supply store
3. 12V battery. If you are near AC power, just use any old lead acid battery from a vehicle and keep a charger connected. Otherwise you need a deep cycle marine battery and need to charge it every other day or get a solar charger.
4. Some 1/2" PVC couplers are handy for connecting to the outlet hose without stripping it.
5. Inlet side: depends on how many lines are coming in. An easy way to connect multiple lines to the pump is to use a star fitting, set it up with elbows etc so it is vertical. Use 3/16 to 5/16 adaptors if you have 3/16 lines since they don't make them in 3/16.
6. It might also be useful to add a valve to each incoming line so you can isolate leaks.
7. Now the tricky part, how to turn the pump on/off at night (or have a heat light), and how to prevent it from freezing. There are lots of ways to do this. I have a controller I sell that does everything including draining the lines, monitoring everything, and thermostatic control - see website link at bottom. Or you can put a heat light on the pump, or drain it, during the cold nights. Some use an inexpensive thermostat from ebay to control the pump but you need to make sure everything is set up so the pump isn't damaged in cold weather.
Also need the obvious stuff like a collection tank and hose from pump to tank, valves, adaptor fittings.

If you have some vertical drop, even 10-15', you will get a good amount of sap using 3/16 lines without needing a pump at all. The pump will get you even more sap but you could start off with just gravity and upgrade to a pump at a later date. Lots of options to think about.

Have fun and let us know what you come up with.

Dave
A few lines is likely what I'll be starting with I'm just trying to figure out what methods are out there to achieve vacuum, so far there's the big full blown setup with releasers like the big operations have, then I've seen mention of shurflo and guzzler. It looks like shurflo or guzzler is a more economical way to go starting out though not sure which is better. Alot of info to try to sift through