home made releaser?

[gmcooper]

Thinking of things I could do here has anyone made a small vacuum releaser that works. I did look through some of the old topics here but not enough info there. I have small location we tap that might have 50 taps I could use our old SP-11 pump for if I could build a simple releaser for it. A new releaser is not in the budget this year. I have an idea for it but if someone has one that worked how was it set up. Or no one ever got one work I don't need to waste my time trying to invent a square wheel.

[maple flats]

Glen Goodrich told of a simple releaser that involved several feet of PVC pipe, mounted vertically that works well. No moving parts. I understand it works by having a vertical column that somehow builds vac until it reaches a certain point and then it get a gulp of air, the sap drops out into the tank and the process cycles. Maybe someone on here knows the specifics. I have forgotten the details. Good luck!

[super sappy]

Last winter a guy was selling stuff on here from Arlington VT. Dave Hagleberg. He has one of these and they seemed to work good. Maybe you can look back and find his postings.He had a 6x16 rig he was trying to sell in jan o7- ss

[Russ]

OK, I had a huge posting ready to go to explain our "Gravity Releaser", but I accidentally closed the browser before posting it. I don't have time to retype it now, but here's a diagram of it (below). Part physics, part voodoo, but it does work. I'll try to respond to questions and retype the explanation of construction, implementation, and operation in a few days.

[royalmaple]

Is this the same thing glen was talking about?

I'd like to see the actual set up if you had a picture and a few mins to post it. Kinda interesting but those mainline heading uphill into the top get me a little worried.

Mark-

I'll send you a pm in a min. Might have something for you.

[sweetwoodmaple]

Oh My....we had a big discussion on this two years ago. I'll do some digging. Oh Governor, where are you? Can you comment on this?

I made my own releaser that functions very similar to the giles bernard, but I use electric solenoids instead of vacuum valves.

I have about $400 in it. Can think of how you could possibly do it for less. Hence why the smallest mechanical is $900.

[Brian]

I don't know all the details but it works by the weight of the sap overtaking the vacuum. There is a math formula for this but I have forgotten what Glenn said. You need a big trap over your sap tank (like a column of pvc pipe) with a flopper valve in the bottom. The vacuum sucks over the top of the trap (like a milk pail works but they don't dump) and when the weight of the sap overtakes the vacuum it dumps some sap out into the tank. Then the flopper valve is sucked shut until the next dump.

[maple flats]

Yes, that is what Glen talked about.

[Russ]

OK, now that football season is over, I have some time to retype the description of our Gravity Releaser design. The theory is that a vacuum can draw up and support a column of liquid in a containment vessel. Any liquid added to the column will cause some liquid to be expelled out the open bottom of the containment vessel. Refer to the drawing as I explain the construction, implementation, and operation of this contraption. As a disclaimer, I will state that we saw this working well at another sugaring camp and we built our own for one of our remote woods. We used it for one year, then opted for a Zero tank with a submersible sump pump as a kicker pump out to the storage vat.

Construction... the containment vessel is a 3" PVC pipe (I'll call this the tower from here on). Ours was 30' tall in order to ensure that the sap column and incoming sap from the mainlines never got near the vacuum line connection, at the top of the tower. About 2' below the top of the tower, we drilled holes and mounted several 3/4" barbed mainline connectors, one for each mainline we expected to bring to the site. We then clamped on 3/4" mainline tubing to each connector, long enough to reach a comfortable working height once the tower was vertical (I'll call these risers). We used 2" black line for our vacuum connection.

The bottom of the tower is placed in an open barrel (or drum). The bottom of the PVC must be open to allow for sap to flow in and out, so you either suspend it, place it on some kind of support that doesn't seal off the bottom, or make holes or angled cuts to allow for sap flow at the bottom. Further up the side of the barrel, fit some kind of drain pipe or overflow into a larger storage container (vat) so the barrel doesn't get plump full and spill over. NO flapper is required at the bottom of the tower.

We mounted the tower to a straight tree using ratchet straps. It doesn't have to be perfectly vertical, but should be as close as possible to straight up and down. We spliced each mainline to a riser, using clamps and clear tubing that fits OVER the 3/4" mainline. We use this for all our splices in the woods. Why? Two reasons: 1) The traditional barbed splices that go inside the mainline create a smaller diameter opening, which is more susceptible to catching ice chunks and slush on colder days; and 2) By not having the two mainline ends touch inside the splice, we get a 1-1.5 inch viewing port to visually check for flow at each splice point. Kind of handy. Now, at a point prior to where the mainlines/risers start to curve upward, you need to drill a pinhole on each mainline run. This allows the vacuum to grab a little air to help lift the sap up the risers.

OK, so let's assume you have the vacuum connected, mainlines are connected to the risers, the tower is set inside a barrel, which in turn has an overflow into a larger container. Looks like some kind of Rube Goldberg device, eh? Neighbors laughing yet? On to the operation section...

In order to seal the bottom of the tower (remember, it's sitting open near the bottom of the barrel) and prime the sap column that the vacuum will draw up into the tower, we need to pour either sap or clean water into the barrel. Start your vacuum and keep adding water until the level in the barrel stabilizes. If everything else on your network is sealed, you'll hear a little hissing at your pinholes and as sap starts up the risers, you'll see them doing a macabre little dance like some kind of whacked out May Pole. At this point the neighbors are laughing hysterically, or herding their children into the safety of their home.

As sap gets drawn up into the tower, it spills down onto the sap column. The added weight cannot be supported by the vacuum, so the level decreases to equillibrium by releasing (ah ha!!) some liquid out the bottom, thus raising the level in the barrel. Eventually, the level in the barrel reaches your overflow drain and the sap runs into your larger storage container. Voila'!! Sap flow with no moving parts, just strange looks from the neighbors.

You might be thinking, "Russ, what about the liquid left in the barrel when we're not under vacuum? Won't it freeze solid?" Yes it will, until you install a drain plug at the bottom of the barrel so you can drain the tower and barrel after a run. Attempt this little science project at your own risk; your mileage may vary. Any questions?

[OGDENS SUGAR BUSH]

RUSS

so if im reading right you are lifting sap about 25/28 feet???

RICH

[Russ]

Yes, that is about right. I should have added that our tower was probably much higher than it needed to be. If anyone can find the math formulas, it is easy to calculate the theoretical height of the sap column in the tower, from there you just allow for whatever safety margin you want separating the sap intakes from the vacuum port. There is some voodoo at play here, but I saw it working. As I said, we only used it for one year, opting instead for something a little more traditional and less supernatural.

[802maple]

As I can remember it is somewhere around 1.17 feet of sap lift for every inch of vacuum. If you have plenty of elevation drop all you have to do is put your mainline near the bottom of your tank, say about a 1/4 inch from the bottom and then introduce your vacuum somewhere above where the sap lift line would be. I have seen 2 such setups as this. A few years back I showed a unit that worked on the same principal as the one discribed at the Vermont Maplerama put on by the Addison County sugarmakers.

[royalmaple]

Russ-

DId you have any gauges beyond this releaser on your mainlines? I'd be curious to know what this sort of system does to your vacuum level. Seems to me it would tax the system pretty hard to do what you are asking of your pump.

It would be interesting to know the effects out in the bush.

[brookledge]

Russ
first of all football isn't over until it's 19-0.
To bad for Favre I like him and a friend of mine M. Churmura played with the team until he got in trouble at that party. It ruined his career. He was Favre's favorite TE
Any ways I had heard that even though that type of releaser will work to pull the sap up that high uses all of the vacuum so ther is none left to pull out in the orchard. did you ever do any test to see how much vacuum you had left out in the woods?
Keith

[gmcooper]

Russ
Thanks for the drawing and description. Very nice. I understand how that system works and why it works. The height of that column would depend on vacuum level you are running. The drain for the overflow on the barrel is also critcal based on your vacuum level, too low and your in trouble.
I have been working on a couple ideas on a machanical releaser. The more I had drawn the more I changed. Not easy as it sounds. Getting closer to building a prototype.

Any ideas on how thick plexiglass needs to be to cover end of 10" pvc pipe with 25" vacuum?
Mark

[OGDENS SUGAR BUSH]

Doesnt seem like it would have vac at the taps??

RICH

[jemsklein]

is there a chance that you have a pic that you could post

[Russ]

Sorry, never took pix of the contraption.

Of course football season is over... the only reason to watch the Super Bowl now is for the ads and the number pools (of course, I only play for toothpicks).

As for vacuum in the bush, we never put a guage on it. Using the old cheek test at the end of the furtherst laterals, there was some pull there. This particular area was well sloped... not steep though.

I have to make a correction after talking to my brother tonight. He remembers the riser couplings being more like 3-4' below the top; I said 2'.

[802maple]

The ones I saw working still had vacuum in the woods. If they didn't it would not have pulled it back up to the static level.I too felt the way you did, although I didn't have a guage there was a lot of vacuum at the spouts that I pulled. The down sdie to the system was you either as Russ said was get water there or wait for enough sap to run to seal the system.

[Toby]

hello everyone. I thought about making one of these "gravity releasers" last year and ended up not having to. However I did quite a bit of thinking about how to do it. I've attached a picture of how i would try to build one. I would use a 2" SCH40 PVC stand pipe with a "trap" at the bottom. I checked my numbers from some calculations i did last year and I believe an earlier post was correct that 1" vaccum will lift a column of water about 1.17ft. This means the tower (dimension H on my sketch) would have to be at least 23.4 ft high for 20" of vaccum. This type of setup would require less sap to start up the system, and the check valve may allow you to start the system with no sap in it. And the drain in the bottom would allow you to empty the system at night. Oh yeah don't forget to include a moisture trap to so if the releaser fails you won't ruin the vacum pump!