small vacuum pump

[Brent]

I have an opportunity to pick up a small vacume pump that runs with an electric motor, through a geared speed reduction box driving a couple of arms with rollers that collapse about a 1 1/2" tube. Looks very simple for a small producer. It will suck air and sap through to a tank without the need for a releaser.

I just got my first 500' of mainline, thinking I would go with gravity. There is not much opportunity for me to expand beyond what the 500' will cover.

Any thoughts on this type of pump and suitablity for me ??

[caseyssugarshack93]

RUN it its better than nothing,Unless the guy wants to much for the pump


just what i think

[maplecrest]

will work great for 500 taps. have plenty of spare hose on hand you will go thru it.

[Brent]

He's asking $1000 US for it.

How many hoses do you think it would use in an average season ??

[caseyssugarshack93]

thats not bad because u dont have to buy a relaser. if u can maintain at least 18" you should get atleast 1 gal per tap a day some days you will get 2 on flush out runs which have 2 to 3 times a year. On vac you will double you syrup production..

[Jim Brown]

Brent; It is called a persilistic(spelling) pump. The only draw back is that the hose that is in the pump rollers needs to be replaced regularly. It is a special hose.It is a great idea for small producers like Maplecrest said have plenty of extra hose

Jim

[HHM-07]

How is this going to be setup without a releaser???

Dick

[Haynes Forest Products]

I have the same type of pump (junkyard find) They work best if you use the right tubeing. You dont have to replace the hose as much if you move it around. What I mean by that is dont keep the hose in the same position for days at a time. Its like rotating your tires. Dont start it up with frozen sap in it and try and keep the pump low so you have full sap lines running into it. I would also pull the hose out of the rollers after your done for the day so you dont end up with flat spots. Mine was used for blood circulatin. Now before people freak out the liquid only contacts the inside of the tube and not the pump. I use mine for pumping honey. Im thinking of using mine for a bottling system. You dont need a regulater ,Releaser and you can run to multable tanks.

[Russell Lampron]

It sounds like you found a Sap Sucker. It is capable of producing about 5" of vacuum which isn't much. Some vacuum is better than none though. To work properly the hose needs to be full of sap otherwise it just sits there and wastes electricity. The hose that it uses is expensive and $1000 for it seems like a lot of money to me.

How many taps are you going to be able to get on that 500' line? It may be wiser to look for an old dairy vacuum pump and get a hobby releaser. There are diaphram type pumps for small producers out there too but I don't know how much they cost.

[tuckermtn]

I agree with Russ that $1000 sounds like a lot to me...If you took one "0" off you might be more reasonible. If you do get one, let me know as I have a good sized box of hose that I got when I ran one (3 yrs ago) that might fit yours...

Mark NH has a similar one....

search under sapsucker

[caseyssugarshack93]

Brent,In the classified adds theres a pump like that the guy had it on 400 taps and maintains 18" he stated its on the last page of forsale in the classified the guys wants 450 for the pump sounds like a deal to me his user name is, Teuchtar. just thought id let u know that there a pump like that that you dont need a releaser and for 450 you would be ready to go.

[Brent]

thanks for all the feedback guys. The mechanism is worth the money.

Motor, gearbox and pump body. But what its worth as a vacuum for maple seems to be questionable. I guess the bottom line is that not many seem to be in use and if they were cost effective, lots of folks would use them.

I might be able to get 100 to 125 taps and the payback on a real vacuum, generator, releaser system would be a long way out.

I think I'll let god do the vacuum and get a transfer pump from the low spot (aka swamp spot) to where I can get the gator to.