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Today my releaser was froze up a little bit, and at times the sap would start to pool inside the chamber, and I would have to manually dump the sap using the release valve. What would happen if I had not been there to dump it, I assume it would enter my vacuum line and end up at the vacuum. What kind of damage if any would that do to my vacuum
That would depend on what you have for a vacuum pump. It won't hurt a liquid ring pump but will kill others. You need a moisture trap to prevent sap from getting into the vacuum pump. Mechanical releasers always screw up, some more so than others.
Would not be good for an oil cooled liquid ring.Quote:
Originally Posted by Russell Lampron
I believe I have an oil cooled liquid ring, but am not entirely sure. It is an airablo 8 cfm vacuum
You need a moisture trap for it. You probably wouldn't kill the pump but the sap would mix with the oil and make a mess of things. Plus if it's in a closed system, you would probably have other issues due to overpressure to say the least.
As others have said, a moisture trap is needed to protect the pump. Be aware that it is best to put the trap in a warm space if possible. Traps can suffer the same problems as releasers do in freezing weather. If you get only a little blow-by of sap at a time, it can accumulate and then freeze around the ball, trapping it in place, which renders the mechanism inoperable (meaning that it won't stop sap and protect the pump).
That is a rotary vane pump. If sap is in there for an extended period of time with pump running, it isn't good for vanes. They now make modulating valves you can put between releaser and trap that close when they sense any moisture. If you do get sap in pump, it is best to drain, fill with fresh oil, run for a while, then drain and fill again.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tap&sap
Neil
Thanks for the info, I'll look into installing that type of trap
I've got two moisture traps at my releaser which is 1500' away from my pump and a heat source. I also have a trap about mid way up the vacuum line to catch anything that might make it past the first two. I had sap make it all of the way up to pump which is about a 35 to 50 foot elevation change before I installed the moisture traps. I consider them to be pretty cheap insurance. It was a lot of down time that cost me a lot in unmade syrup when I had to take the vacuum pipe all apart to drain the sap out of it.Quote:
Originally Posted by DrTimPerkins