Surge Alamo Vac Pump

[Dennis H.]

How can you tell which model Surge Alamo that I have?

I looked at the data plate on the pump head and can't find any model number, It just states Surge Alamo and the serial number.

It does have a 1.5 HP motor on it.

[caseyssugarshack93]

alamo 30, i believe it has 15 cfm at 15 inches of vac,

[Dennis H.]

Thanks Casey, it is strange that it has no model number though.

[caseyssugarshack93]

ya i dont think any of the alamos have the model on them

[Dennis H.]

So what do you use to tell what model it is? The motor HP? The pump case style?

[caseyssugarshack93]

Yes the 30 is the smallest width pump about 5" wide as well as the 40 pump model=just a bigger motor over the 30. and the 50-100 are about 8" wide. The RPM and motor HP determine if the pump is a 50, 60, 75 or 100 model.

[WMF]

She's a beauty! The 36 which is what you have has the inlet horizontal. The 75 is about twice as wide and has a verticle inlet and outlet.

They are rated to New Zealand standards so it will do about 17cfm @ 15hg and much, much less at high vacuum.

[caseyssugarshack93]

dennis maybe you should ask 3rdgen as he is considered and expert=he should know the correct answer for you.. he seems to know his vac pumps pretty well.

[Dennis H.]

Yeah 3rdgen and Haynes seem to be to "old wise ones" when it comes to vac's.

What kind of vac levels will these pumps run at? Can they be flooded?

[3rdgen.maple]

Nate not sure if that was a little sarcasim or not but you got a chuckle out of me. First off I don't consider myself an expert by any means I just have alot of experience with pumps in the line of work im in. Dennis at 37 I don't consider myself the OLD wise one I will leave that title to Haynes lol. Unfortunetly Im not familiar with that pump other than the info I posted on the may journal. So Im learning from you guys as this post progresses. Sorry I can't be of any help on this one other than the oil system.

[Haynes Forest Products]

Thanks 3rdGen.......Lets see Dennis first we need to know what type of bird has been giving his opinion of the pump :mad: Depending on how the vanes are mounted in the drum. Some are spring loaded and others need centrifugal force from higher RPMs to help keep the vanes sealed. On that pump I would change the oiler and if you do flood the pump I would put a 90 on the discharge to get the oil out of the pump ASAP. Cooling is the main reason for flood type oiling systems and then lubrication. Higher Vacuum = more heat needs more oil to cool. Vacuum regulator means less vacuum = less heat.

[caseyssugarshack93]

no sarcasim here, U helped me out on a vac pump before and seemed like a expert lol Thanks guys for all the help on my vac pumps too.



nate

[Haynes Forest Products]

Im all about the sarcasm:) Wait till I unvail my super releaser Then the crap will be flying. Only a few more parts from China and I should be good to go:emb: Its been running in my garage for 10 hrs stright without fail.

[3rdgen.maple]

Nate I was wondering the other day if you got that pump straightened out or not. Glad to help any fellow maple producer if I can. Haynes when you are done with that super releaser I got a project for you to convert some old milk cans over to releasers. Been thinking about quite a bit and I have 5 of them that are in real nice shape but have no current use for them so I figure I will get your brain rolling for me.

[Haynes Forest Products]

I did see the milk can releaser on the Youtube video but wasnt very clear how it worked. Now that I have made a complicated one Im going for the simple one next. The one nice thing about a milk can is the access hole that you can cover.

[3rdgen.maple]

Haynes I was thinking about taking a different path than that youtube video one. Not really the idea setup running on pulleys and gravity and weights etc. I want simple float setup one. I might have to send you a milk can so you can invent a setup for me.

[Dennis H.]

Dang 3rdgen all this time I thought you were one of the old ones here!!:D ANd you end up being the same age as me!:lol:

I looked at the oiler again and I think I fugured out why they might of have it upside down. If the jar was broke or lost they had to have some means of getting oil into the pump so they turned it upside down and fill the area under the flip lid thing. Just a guess.

Haynes I looked into the port on the side and got a good look at the vanes. They must be flung out of spinning because they stayed down in the rotating drum when I spun it by hand. I yet to have it running at home here. I did see it run at the auction I just couldn't check the vac output.

This flooding thing kind of confusses me a little, so when I get closer to setting one of these vane pumps up I will picking you guys brains, and I will need a few pics.

[Haynes Forest Products]

I think the word flood is what has people thinking its a big contraption. All you do is introduce the oil into the intake side of the pump amd then reclaim it on the discharge. Its as simple as putting in a T or drilling in a small oil line port. how much oil you allow to get sucked into the pump is up to you. I run my pump hard and need it for cooling so I run alot.....steady stream from a 3/16 line from the reclaimer tank.

[Haynes Forest Products]

I think the word flood is what has people thinking its a big contraption. All you do is introduce the oil into the intake side of the pump and then reclaim it on the discharge. Its as simple as putting in a T or drilling in a small oil line port. how much oil you allow to get sucked into the pump is up to you. I run my pump hard and need it for cooling so I run alot.....steady stream from a 3/16 line from the reclaimer tank. I also oil the bearings from the Coalesing filter that recirculates the oil back into the pump bearings.

[Dennis H.]

Maybe what we need to start is a Post here in the Vac section on "How to Flood your Vac Pump"

[MERIDIAN MAPLES]

I second that. We've got a pump similar to Hayne's and I'd like to know how he's getting that much Vacuum, and how to set up the entire flood system, and cooling set up.

Craig

[Haynes Forest Products]

Meridian Maples Between the constant oil supply to keep it cool and not using a vacuum regulator. I dont spin the pump that fast. I will be changing a few things on the beast this year. First I need to change the tank because when I made it I got carried away with the grinder on the corners and thinned them out. Then I Epoxy coated the inside to leak proof it. Then I didnt drain the water out and it froze and seperated a seam:mad: Leaked all the oil out so friend that used it this year had it welded and that caused the Epoxy to flake off and restrict the oil lines:cry: Ill try and keep it simple but mostly the same.

[tstew]

question on flood system. The pump i am working on setting up for next year has 2 small jars that you fill with oil and best i can tell each one of these oils the bearings on each side of the pump. I am going to add a reclaimer (probably cdl) and flood system to this pump. I've never set up pump and reclaimer. Was wondering if I go from air cooled reclaimer to lines oiling bearings as well as going to intake.

[jasonl6]

Haynes Forest Products.

Can you shoot me an email. Tried replying to you in pm and emailing and get internal server errors.

ja5onl6@hotmail.com

regarding our discussion on this same topic of flooding an oil pump

thanks
jason

[Haynes Forest Products]

Tstew Not knowing what the CDL looks like I cant tell you. Now a oil reclaimer will only reclaime the oil that is blown into it.............sounds stupid I know so let me explaine. On my unit I put alot of oil into the pump so I get alot of mist so after about 10 min of running I get a good supply of oil coming out of the reclaimer. Mine is a coalesing filter so as the oil gets hotter is warms the filters up so the oil runs right back into the pump. If the only oil that is going to lube your pump and bearings is coming from the reclaimer you need to make sure that you will have a constant supply ASAP at start up. The dairy type pumps didnt and dont need alot of oil to work at low HGs so when the pump shuts down a small amount is all that is needed at start up. On my unit there is a fair amount of oil sitting in the pump so it is well lubed at start up and gets a good supply after it warms up. You need ample supply of oil to account for loss into the air and leaks and to fill all lines tanks and reclaimer.