Lapierre Rotary Claw Busch Vacuum Pump

[DrTimPerkins]

Anybody have any experience with the Lapierre Rotary Claw Busch Vacuum pump?

These don't require oil or water (for cooling) and supposedly require very little maintenance.

Any feelings....good, bad, or indifferent?

Tim Perkins
UVM PMRC

[gmcooper]

Haven't used thiers but I believe it is an air lobe pump. Lots of big dairies are using them now. I used one (airlobe style) for about 3 years and it worked ok but I think I was a bit under sized. Would hold 18" ok but near 21" it heated up quickly. Should have run a fan on it to help.
Mark

[vtmaplemaker]

Lapierre claims they are capable of pulling 26+", but I also would worry about the heat on the pump seems most I have read about claw pumps, require the cfm's through them to help with the cooling.. The other thing that scares me, is they say if you suck any sap, the thing is destroyed... On the plus side, they are capable of running for millions of hours, (the last pump you will ever buy so to speak).. My oppinion is, you are better off with a royal vacuum system or something along those lines..

[Dennis H.]

The 1st time a saw a pic of that pump the 1st thing that came to my mind was a Roots Style supercharger that you would use on an automobile engine.

Way back in the late 80's early 90's was the 1st I can remeber seeing that type, it was for a Mustang.

So it makes me laugh when they make it sound like it is ALL NEW tech! If I remember correct it was classified as a positive displacment "Blower"

[Homestead Maple]

They're basically the same design as the blower on a two stroke Detroit Diesel engine or other uses like that, only they're used in the reverse for this application. The tolerances between the rotors has to be really close, so any foreign objects entering into the rotors really can do a lot of damage. They will need a good filter. I wonder if they "scream" like a Detroit? They are probably muffled well by the filter.

[gmcooper]

My airlobe pump had sap run thru it many times over 3 years as I had an issue with releaser sticking on me. Never bothered the pump. It is quite loud compared to a liquid ring pump. The higher the vac level more noise.

[DrTimPerkins]

Has anyone actually tried one of these pumps (Busch) and got some first-hand experience?

Tim P.
UVM PMRC

[ennismaple]

I saw one as a demo this summer at the Ontario Maple Syrup Producers Association tour. They are noisy so you'd want a separate room for it and the variable speed would be preferable to minimize the noise and keep the electricity use down. I believe Lapierre runs one (or more) at their operation but I don`t know anyone who`s spent the $10k on one yet.