Homemade releaser questions

[DaveB]

I'm going to need a couple of releasers for next season and I'm trying to figure out the most economical way to do that. One option I'm considering is a homemade one but outside of some ideas, I don't know the best way to go. After I know how complicated/not complicated building one might be, I can decide if building one or buying one is for me!

I know one way is an electric releaser and have a pump that pumps out the sap within and the other is a mechanical releaser that opens a valve using a float.

My main question is - where do I get the parts to build the releaser? Where can I can get a 2' piece of a 10 or 12" pipe? I have some stainless kegs, but I don't know if they are strong enough to support 25" of vacuum. If I go electric, where can I find a stainless steel (food safe) pump? If I go the mechanical route, what do people use for a float that is big enough to release a valve?

Let me start there and then I can ask my follow-up questions - unless someone knows a cheaper route to go.

[unc23win]

I think if I were going to build one I would build an electric one. There are a few traders who have done so Jake Moser is one and I believe Tweegs has built one as well as well some others. As you can see in these videos a booster/transfer tank can be purchased with 0 holes or holes sizes and locations you desire. https://www.youtube.com/results?sear...ybrkr=776fc080

[DaveB]

I think if I were going to build one I would build an electric one. There are a few traders who have done so Jake Moser is one and I believe Tweegs has built one as well as well some others. As you can see in these videos a booster/transfer tank can be purchased with 0 holes or holes sizes and locations you desire. https://www.youtube.com/results?sear...ybrkr=776fc080

I saw some of those but couldn't figure out what people were using for the pump.

OK - maybe a stupid question here but I know some people use dairy releasers. Could I buy something like this:

http://hambydairysupply.com/xcart/pr...?productid=383

and hook my vacuum pump up to the top and my incoming sap lines on the bottom (blocking off unused ones) and then put the output on the bottom in my holding tank? I'd probably have at most 75-100 taps coming into it.

At $260, that's pretty reasonable to me.

[Tweegs]

No, I didn’t build one.

Thought about it, hit a few road blocks in the design (how to cut a groove for an O-ring on the end of a 12” dia piece of PVC without a really large lathe being the biggest), then came across a good deal on a refurbished unit from LaPierre.

Still exploring options on a homemade unit though, which brought me here.

As for the milk releasers, some can’t take deep vacuum, say over 15”, keep that in mind.
Another option (and someone help me out here) I think it is the Zero (?) tanks that can take up to 20 or so inches without collapsing. No releaser needed, but it won’t be cheap, near the cost of a releaser I would expect.

An electric releaser will require a pump stronger than the vacuum it is subjected to.

There are a few You tubes on homemade releasers. My favorite used a couple of old milk cans.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjZ-szDK31A

[unc23win]

No, I didn’t build one

Sorry Tweegs I thought you had I know you seem pretty handy with other stuff. My apologies

[DaveB]

As for the milk releasers, some can’t take deep vacuum, say over 15”, keep that in mind.
Another option (and someone help me out here) I think it is the Zero (?) tanks that can take up to 20 or so inches without collapsing. No releaser needed, but it won’t be cheap, near the cost of a releaser I would expect.

An electric releaser will require a pump stronger than the vacuum it is subjected to.

There are a few You tubes on homemade releasers. My favorite used a couple of old milk cans.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjZ-szDK31A

Good point about the vacuum on the dairy releaser. I checked with the manufacturer and he indicated that anything more than 15" could damage the unit. I know I can get a regulator and 15" is about the same as what I currently get with my Shurflo's.

I thought about a zero tank but the cost turned me off. That and I'd like to automate the pumping of my tank back to the sugar house and with a zero tank I'd have to turn off the vacuum pump, pump out the tank and then turn it back on.

I have considered the idea of an electric releaser but I don't know what people use for food grade pumps.

I would consider using some stainless kegs that I have but I'm not sure if they can take the vacuum.

[GeneralStark]

The best pumps IMO for an electric releaser are deep-well submersibles, which get pricey pretty quick, but you may be able to find one used. The other challenge is the constant on/off can be hard on the motor which is why in my most recent version I opted for a 3-phase pump controlled by a VFD. The motor slowly speeds up and then slowly slows down. Then there is the fact that some submersibles have oil sealed bearing which as they wear can release oil into the sap.

[Moser's Maple]

Tim Meeth (tmeeth) was the member that I got my idea from in building the releaser

[lpakiz]

I need to throw my two cents worth in here about mechanical dairy releasers. By that, I mean the Bender units that hang on the wall of the milk house and pull milk from the step-saver tank in the barn aisle into the milk room and release it by gravity into the tank. Something like the link Dave posted to Hamby Dairy Supply. Not the units that use an electric pump to pull milk from a sealed jar.
I used a Bender for several years. They will function OK past 21 inches HG with minor modification. This is nothing more than adding more weight on the float rod so the float rod will be able to pull away from the vacuum source at the end of the dump.
The bad news is, they are a vacuum waster. I used mine with a Surge SP-11 piston pump and a 3.5 HP gas engine on 200 taps. Back then, 22 inches HG was cause for celebration. When I exchanged the Bender for a good releaser, vacuum jumped to 27-28. Same pump, same engine, same lines, same trees.
They are a low-dollar way to get into vacuum. So if you are interested in a Bender, I have several to sell.

[Tweegs]

No apology needed, Jared.
Didn’t want to take credit for something I didn’t do.

Electronics is my bag, mechanical…not so much.

Fortunately, I married an Aerospace engineer.
She keeps me reigned in on the mechanical stuff (actually, on many levels, truth be told )