Shurflo Below the Tank

[SeanD]

Ok, I'm embarrassed to ask this...

Can I set a Shurflo below the tank so that it pulls vac on the mainline and pushes the sap up about 3-4' and into the tank. All the setups I've seen, including my own, have the pump above the tank. I'm reconfiguring a tank and pump location and doing this would make everything a million times easier.

Sean

[bmbmkr]

Yes it will work

[MISugarDaddy]

On one of my Shurflo lines I have the pump pushing sap up from the mainline 5' to a 3/4" line that crosses a trail and then dumps into a tank. It does not seem to have any negative affect on the vacuum that the pump is producing.
Gary

[toothfairy050]

I would be afraid of the line freezing unless you drain it when the run stops

[SeanD]

Awesome. Thanks for the feedback. That's going to improve a lot of issues I'm having with the new spot for the end point and new tank. I'll get a better slope at the very end where things flatten out, I can move the line away from a high traffic area around the sugarhouse, and I can dump into a bigger tank. Win-win-win.

For freezing lines, I have that happening now and it's not an issue for the pump. I have a valve and a bypass just upstream of the pump box. My original plan was to switch the main to gravity just before freezing each day to keep ice away from the pump, but what has ended up happening a bunch is the temp plummets before I can get to the valve and the line and the valve are already frozen solid. The next day, things thaw and the pump gets going again. The bypass is still really helpful for when I have to clean the pump filter or do maintenance, but it doesn't work for its original intent. What does help with freezing worries is the light bulb in the box that clicks on when the temp gets below freezing, but I'm also learning some producers skip that and have no issues.

Actually, this might change the way I set up another spot that I'm adding a Shurflo to this year. If I can lower the pump, I can lower the mainline and pick up some trees downhill of the mainline that I've had to skip when this was a gravity setup.

Thanks again,
Sean