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Thread: The Poorer Man's Diaphragm Pump Vacuum System

  1. #31
    Join Date
    Apr 2016
    Location
    Mapleton Twp, SW Ontario
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    361

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    Installed my little pump on Saturday night... It was a bad time of night to do much testing because the temperature was dropping fast and the sap was shutting down... but my initial stopwatch test showed about 100% improvement over the lines just hanging it the barrel.
    I should have taken a picture, but I built a little manifold with PVC T's, etc... incl a vacuum gauge, bypass and 4 barbs for the incoming 3/16 lines, with 9-15 taps each. I also added a small ATV battery, permanently, to keep the temperature controller powered up while changing out batteries.
    The pump would go to about 25" of mercury when it was moving liquid... and would drop down to about 18" intermittently when air bubbles from the trees accumulated. I do have a bypass line and needle valve... but it didn't seem to be helping much, so I just turned it off...

    Went back out yesterday and got it going again..... The temperature controller started it up a little early... but I was there to turn it off for a while. Started it up mid morning on 25 taps... Over the course of the next couple hours, I added an additional 25 taps... by last night, I think I had approximately 70 or 80 gallons. Large Car battery was still pumping after about 9 hours of running.
    Quite happy with the first day..

    BTW - My buckets in my own bush (more shade) netted very little yesterday.

  2. #32
    Join Date
    Apr 2016
    Location
    Mapleton Twp, SW Ontario
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    361

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    Hey Cedar Eater - Just looking at your photos... Noticed your strainer is mounted upside down... Was this intentional?

  3. #33
    Join Date
    Apr 2016
    Location
    Mapleton Twp, SW Ontario
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    361

    Default Little Update....

    My dad went out to check the system just before noon today... The pump just happened to start up while he was there.... Ideally, it would have started up an hour or two earlier. I guess I still have a little tweaking to do on the thermostat... He figured it was about 3C... But a couple positive notes... It did start up... and..... The sap from the trees was bypassing through the pump on gravity.. I didn't think that would happen.. but that's ideal.

  4. #34
    Join Date
    Mar 2015
    Location
    Alcona County, Michigan
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    Quote Originally Posted by wmick View Post
    Hey Cedar Eater - Just looking at your photos... Noticed your strainer is mounted upside down... Was this intentional?
    Yes. They can be mounted in any orientation. It is easier to see inside when it is mounted as I did.
    CE
    44° 41′ 3″ N

    2019 -- 44 Red Maples - My home and sugarbush are for sale.
    2018 -- 48 Red Maples, 7 gallons
    2017 -- 84 Red Maples, 1 Sugar Maple, and 1 Silver Maple , 13 gallons
    2016 -- 55 Red Maples, 8 gallons
    2015 -- 15 Red Maples, 6 Birches - 3+ gallons maple syrup
    An awning over my deck is my sugar shack.
    An electrified kitchen sink and an electrified steam table pan are my evaporators.

  5. #35
    Join Date
    Mar 2015
    Location
    Alcona County, Michigan
    Posts
    1,134

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    Quote Originally Posted by wmick View Post
    The sap from the trees was bypassing through the pump on gravity.. I didn't think that would happen.. but that's ideal.
    That is good news. I'll have to see if that happens with mine.
    CE
    44° 41′ 3″ N

    2019 -- 44 Red Maples - My home and sugarbush are for sale.
    2018 -- 48 Red Maples, 7 gallons
    2017 -- 84 Red Maples, 1 Sugar Maple, and 1 Silver Maple , 13 gallons
    2016 -- 55 Red Maples, 8 gallons
    2015 -- 15 Red Maples, 6 Birches - 3+ gallons maple syrup
    An awning over my deck is my sugar shack.
    An electrified kitchen sink and an electrified steam table pan are my evaporators.

  6. #36
    Join Date
    Apr 2016
    Location
    Mapleton Twp, SW Ontario
    Posts
    361

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    Quote Originally Posted by Cedar Eater View Post
    Yes. They can be mounted in any orientation. It is easier to see inside when it is mounted as I did.
    Noted -
    Any sediment will stand a chance of being "drawn back" when flow reverses as it will fall to to the inlet... and Easier to clean out with the sediment bowl down... but from what I've seen so far, regular cleaning will not be necessary, so should be a non-issue.
    Last edited by wmick; 03-20-2017 at 05:39 PM.

  7. #37
    Join Date
    Mar 2015
    Location
    Alcona County, Michigan
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    1,134

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    Quote Originally Posted by wmick View Post
    Noted -
    Easier to clean out with the sediment bowl down... but from what I've seen so far, regular cleaning will not be necessary, so should be a non-issue.
    Clean out of a sealed system should be seasonal, but this is an experiment so I wanted to see into it. I can tip the whole rig over easily to clean it out if I have to. I was also concerned about freeze up breaking the bowl, so I wanted to minimize the amount of liquid in it when the pump is off.
    CE
    44° 41′ 3″ N

    2019 -- 44 Red Maples - My home and sugarbush are for sale.
    2018 -- 48 Red Maples, 7 gallons
    2017 -- 84 Red Maples, 1 Sugar Maple, and 1 Silver Maple , 13 gallons
    2016 -- 55 Red Maples, 8 gallons
    2015 -- 15 Red Maples, 6 Birches - 3+ gallons maple syrup
    An awning over my deck is my sugar shack.
    An electrified kitchen sink and an electrified steam table pan are my evaporators.

  8. #38
    Join Date
    Apr 2016
    Location
    Mapleton Twp, SW Ontario
    Posts
    361

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    Quote Originally Posted by Cedar Eater View Post
    Clean out of a sealed system should be seasonal, but this is an experiment so I wanted to see into it. I can tip the whole rig over easily to clean it out if I have to. I was also concerned about freeze up breaking the bowl, so I wanted to minimize the amount of liquid in it when the pump is off.
    Yep - My first thought was.... "Maybe to avoid the freeze bust"... That's why I asked.

    how'd your system work today? I haven't been out to look,, but my dad said the 1000 L tote is better than half full... nearing 2 days on vacuum. Could be worse...
    Heading home now to check my buckets.

  9. #39
    Join Date
    Mar 2015
    Location
    Alcona County, Michigan
    Posts
    1,134

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    I got about 20 gallons overnight from 27 trees on one 3/16 line. The pump wasn't running when I got there, today. I'm assuming the batteries that I bought just aren't up to the demand for a full 24 hour run. I am thinking of buying a cheap 28 ah battery and alternating with my two 14 ah batteries connected in parallel.
    CE
    44° 41′ 3″ N

    2019 -- 44 Red Maples - My home and sugarbush are for sale.
    2018 -- 48 Red Maples, 7 gallons
    2017 -- 84 Red Maples, 1 Sugar Maple, and 1 Silver Maple , 13 gallons
    2016 -- 55 Red Maples, 8 gallons
    2015 -- 15 Red Maples, 6 Birches - 3+ gallons maple syrup
    An awning over my deck is my sugar shack.
    An electrified kitchen sink and an electrified steam table pan are my evaporators.

  10. #40
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    Princeton, MA
    Posts
    495

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    I got my Favson pump setup working over the weekend, mated up to my S3 controller and bypass valve. I used a cheap solenoid valve to replace the motorized ball valve that I usually use. So far I just have a test setup but hope to be able to connect it to a sap line this week before they stop running for the season. My initial impressions: It's loud and seems to strain harder than the Shurflo, so it remains to be seen how long it will last. It has hardly any suction at all when dry, can't lift sap 4 ft from a bucket, but if I lift the bucket part way it will draw. Once it is going, it rips! So make sure your sap line has enough pitch toward the pump to prime it. Got 20" of vacuum on my test setup, which is comparable to the Shurflo. I used 5/16 lines and jammed them onto the pump and valve, seems to work fine. Draws about 0.7 amps of electrical current from a 12 volt battery on my test setup, about half of what the Shurflo draws. I'll be tweaking the setup doing more testing, hope to post a video soon. A photo is on my Facebook page. Thanks Cedar Eater for the inspiration!

    Dave
    Mountain Maple farm
    2022 NAMSC award winning dark amber syrup
    2023: 320 taps, 70% red maples. Mountain Maple S4 diaphragm pump controller with automated sap transfer and text messaging
    Website:
    https://www.mountainmaplefarm.com
    https://www.facebook.com/MountainMapleFarm/

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