Piston Vacuum Pumps

[Lloyd'sMapleSyrupandSap]

Anyone use a big piston vacuum pump sugaring? I'm looking at a big Ingersol Rand piston pump to use in my sugarbush. 100 CFM or bigger, no milk room pumps, PLEASE. Its an industrial pump made for high vacuum, I'm thinking it will work. Plenty of parts available too.

[maple flats]

I use an old Babson Bros BB4, They eventually became Surge. It is a piston pump and gives me 26-27" vacuum. I have no specs on how many CFM it moves, but it does well on 400 taps, hopefully on 500, which I should get it in 2021 0r 22. If it needs more CFM when I get to 500 taps, I can just put the next larger drive pulley on the electric motor. It does not struggle, flip the switch and the rpm's seem to be there instantly.

[Lloyd'sMapleSyrupandSap]

I have used a Surge SP 22 piston vacuum pump with good luck but it wasn't intended for high vacuum. The one I used had a 2 hp electric motor, 120 volt, I think. I used a refrigeration thermostat to turn it on and off, the thermostat was rated for 2hp motor so no relay required. Milking machine vacuum pumps typically run at about 15" hg vacuum. When you try to run it at 24" hg, it gets very hot, uses a lot of oil, and the sugar in the sap vapor tends to cook onto the inside of the pump. They are very reliable and cheap to purchase. The 22 in the name SP 22 refers to the piston displacement in CFM. It can handle about 2000 taps if you feel 10 CFM per thousand is what you want. I lean toward more CFM per thousand, 15-20. It can be a good choice if you don't need to have higher vacuum, like 28-29" hg.

[tcross]

I have the same pump as Dave... bb4. i had it on 330 taps last year (shooting for 400 this year). i have it on a 1" wet and 1 1/4" dry line and my furthest gauge reads between 27.5 to 28 about 800 feet away at the end of the furthest main line. keep the oil fresh and it should run pretty much forever. i change the oil once a week, sometimes a bit more frequent because i do tend to get some sap mist/vapor that i find in my moisture traps (not sure if that's due to the hobby releaser or just he way it works?). i'm not sure if the mist makes it into my oil, but the oil isn't too expensive... much cheaper than a new pump! the guy i bought it from had it on 1200 taps with a 1 1/2" dry and 1 1/4" wet and was pulling 27" with it. that piston pump works well for me!

[Lloyd'sMapleSyrupandSap]

I have used piston pumps but I am wondering if anyone uses an industrial quality one, such as Ingersol Rand, 50 CFM or bigger, and how it has worked out. They are a bit expensive but kind of low tech, which I like. They often have a feature, called an unloader, I think, which I like as well.

[maple flats]

My BB4 does not get very hot, you don't want to hold your hand on it, but I occasionally spray a fine water mist to test it, it never evaporated the wet instantly. I do have a non contact infra red thermometer but never got a reading when in use.

[Lloyd'sMapleSyrupandSap]

One of the reasons I started this thread is I want to use a modern vacuum pump, with parts available, not an antique. And I wonder if anyone else, besides me, thinks a modern, low tech, piston pump, running at low RPM, could do the job well.

[arcticmaple8]

We use a couple cheap air comp heads, just remove air filters and hook up vac line. Make sure crankcase is vented or it will build vac and pull oil through rings. 25,26 inches no problem. Cfm is cfm that compressor is rated for. Ours are single stage.

[maple flats]

The main difference between a modern piston pump and an old piston dairy pump will be that the dairy pump is designed to keep oil to the bearings, I think most piston pumps now use sealed bearings which when the temperature gets to a certain point might need more lube. On my old BB4 I took the original dripper oil control off and replaced them with an industrial one with good adjustment control of the oil flow. That might be an issue on a "modern" one.

[Lloyd'sMapleSyrupandSap]

Modern industrial quality piston vacuum pumps are finned and have a fan pully, constantly blowing cooling air onto the finned piston cylinders and heads. Some have a feature, called an unloader I think, that cycles the pump from a load condition to a no load condition, while keeping the pump pumping and fan pully blowing. The internal heat is kept much lower than a rotary vane pump. Therefore the sap mist sugars will not be cooked onto the inside of the pump, so they say. I have heard that a type of oil that is water soluble can be used in the vacuum pump to reduce the water soluble sugar buildup. But I have no first hand experience with one of these vacuum pumps, modern industrial, 2 or 3 piston, air cooled, not an antique, and would like to hear from someone who has used them.

[maple flats]

The old BB4 has cooling fins built into the main driven pulley, as did both of my vane type pumps.

[Lloyd'sMapleSyrupandSap]

I saw several producers using piston vacuum pumps over the years on Maple Rama tours. Are you still using them?

[tcross]

i'm still using one. pulling 28" of vacuum for 400 taps. keep good oil in them and throw a fan on it when the temps get up there and it runs great!

[Russell Lampron]

You're asking if anyone is using a new piston pump for vacuum and you're getting a lot of replies from people using the old ones made for dairy use. I also use a dairy piston pump and find it to be almost indestructible. I don't think that anyone here can answer your question about a new one but given the reliability of the old ones I think that it will work good and that you'll be happy with it. For maple producers initial cost is a big factor and if the pump you're looking at is a lot more expensive than the other options available that would be why there aren't many in use.

[Lloyd'sMapleSyrupandSap]

You are right about no responses about modern vacuum pumps as yet. I have used a Surge SP22 with success. But that is a 22 cfm pump, designed to be used at 15" hg, maybe useful for a maximum of 2000 taps? But that isn't what I have in mind. A modern piston vacuum pump, like an Ingersol Rand v twin, seems like a great choice, simple design, low tech, plenty of parts and dealers. Capable of 29" hg. The low rpm means cooler internal temperatures, less sugar buildup from sap mist cooking on. Simple maintenance that the average Joe can do.

[Russell Lampron]

I use an SP22 on 700 taps with no vacuum regulator. It has no problem pulling 27" sometimes for 5 or 6 days in a row without shutting it off. I've been running it that way for several seasons. I run 5W-30 full synthetic oil in it and change it at the start of the season. It does use a little oil which is to be expected but not enough that I have to top it up more than once in 24 hours.

[Lloyd'sMapleSyrupandSap]

I am certain the SP22 is good for hobbyists, I need something for a real, profit making, big time operation, that can handle far more than 700 taps, and preferably at 29" hg. I had hoped to hear from someone that uses an industrial, modern, piston vacuum pump, but no such response, yet!