vacuum pump

[jrthe3]

has anyone used a WELCH DUO SEAL VACUUM PUMP for sap if so how did it work another ? i read on here alot about converting to a flood system vacuum pump what is it how do you convert a pump to it and how dose it work

[Haynes Forest Products]

Jrthe3 The Welch vacuum pump is a low CFM pump. That is the first vacuum pump i tried about 10 years ago on 50 taps. They will pull high vac just not alot of CFMs to overcome leaks. If your looking on Ebay look for the oiless Gast vane pumps. You can do 300 taps with a 1/2 HP they go for under $100
Converting a vane pump that has a drip oil system is easy. a dairy pump is ment to run at lower vacuum and not all day long. On my Massport oil was pumped into the end caps threw the bearings onto the vanes and then out the discharge pipe used less than a pint a day. On this system you added new oil everyday. On my DeLaval the oil was sucked from a built in tank on the frame and was recirculated into the pump on one end threw the bearings into the vanes and back into the tank. In a flood system you still need to get oil to the bearings but you also add oil to the intake pipe. A flood system will run cooler and i think it will last longer.
Heat is the killer of these pumps and pulling high vacuum is what builds up the heat plus the fact that a vacuum pump also compresses air at the discharge side and that is the BIG heat source. With a flood system you will have alot of oil mist in the discharge air that needs to be collected. Its not a complicated as it sounds.

[tuckermtn]

check the archives...

http://mapletrader.com/community/showthread.php?t=3654&highlight=welch+vacuum