Electric vs. Mechanical Releaser

[Amber Gold]

In my new 2000+ tap sugar bush we laid a rough grade out to the new dumping station and it looks like the new mainline will be coming in close to the ground. I'm debating with trying to get a mechanical releaser to work (low profile or partially buried tank) or going with an electric releaser. I know nothing about electric...are they good/bad, reliable, better than mechanical, expensive to operate, how are they sized, what is used for a transfer pump...etc. and etc.

Thanks for any info on this topic.

[Randy Brutkoski]

Or you could do what i did and have a 100 gallon tank with a sub pump with the ball float and then run your 1 1/4 black waterline up to the top of your holding tank.Worked great. I will post a picture later tonight.

[brookledge]

Electric releasers work very good. The biggest issue is keeping the releaser from freezing and having electrictiy to it. The mechanical ype will drain out when shut off but the electric ones need to keep sap in the line to the pump to keep the prime. In a lot of locations it is much easier to go with a mechanical one to eliminate the issues with the electric ones. I'd go as far as saying the electric ones will be more reliable over the long haul then mechanical. Best thing to do is build a heated room kept at 40
for either type of releaser if you can that way you never have to deal with ice ups.
Keith

[Amber Gold]

I like the idea of a dumping tank, then pump up from there. It would be a lot easier to partially bury a 100 gal tank vs. a 1500. Don't you have to worry about the sump pump freezing though? Can any sump pump be used to pump sap? I got a sump pump from a friend that was only used once to pump a basement out.

[Randy Brutkoski]

On the really cold nights i raise the sub pump up 6 inches and then the next day when the sap starts running it will still pump the sap but there will be a little less head room in the small tank. And when i show up the next day to draw a load off i will drop the pump back down to the bottom, of course the pump will run for a few miniutes but i have had no problems with this set up, and it is cheap.

[bigtreemaple]

My question is does it make sense to buy a portable generator to run at the pump house in order to have the ability to use an electric motor on the vac pump, a transfer pump, possibly an electric releaser, maybe a light bulb? Or is it better to just run the vac pump by gasoline use a mechanical releaser and a gas transfer pump?

[802maple]

I would much rather have a mechanical, but Keith if you have to leave sap in the pump to keep prime then something is be plumbed up wrong.

[bison1973]

I'm planning on adding VAC for next season.I kind of have a similar situation with the mainline coming in too low. I don't have an option to bury the collection tank and don't have electricity for a electric releaser. I was told you could put in a sap ladder before the collection tank to get it up to dump into it.

Does this sound like a good idea? I've never had VAC before so I'm still learning.

[Amber Gold]

Bison, you can, but it wouldn't be my first choice. You lose vac. on the other side of the lift and it's can be a freezing issue.

Jerry, why would you prefer a mechanical?

We're moving the dumping station to this new location because electric is available to power the vac. pump and it moves it off of his neighbor's property. So I will have electric available to power the vac. pump, sump pump or electric releaser pump, heater, and etc.

I was wondering if your typical generator can supply enough 110V/230V amps to power a 5hp motor, sap pump, and heater. I'm considering one as a backup in case the power goes out. A couple days of lost sap production can pay for a generator pretty quick.

[bigtreemaple]

Bison, you can, but it wouldn't be my first choice. You lose vac. on the other side of the lift and it's can be a freezing issue.

Jerry, why would you prefer a mechanical?

We're moving the dumping station to this new location because electric is available to power the vac. pump and it moves it off of his neighbor's property. So I will have electric available to power the vac. pump, sump pump or electric releaser pump, heater, and etc.

I was wondering if your typical generator can supply enough 110V/230V amps to power a 5hp motor, sap pump, and heater. I'm considering one as a backup in case the power goes out. A couple days of lost sap production can pay for a generator pretty quick.

That was my question also, does a gen set make sense, compared to all gasoline power. I was hoping someone with experience using both would chime in.

[Amber Gold]

What is the preferred type of transfer pump to use with an electric releaser? I'd like to run 25"+ and I want to make sure I get a pump that can handle it w/out losing vacuum.

How are the pumps sized?

Thanks