Shurflo 2088 in Parallel?

[john henry]

I currently have 2 Bosworth type vacuum systems in use 1 dual and 1 single. I also have several setups using the shurflo 2088 pumps. I have another area I plan to do with @ 300 potential taps. I was wondering if I could place @ 3 - 2088 shurflos in parallel to a common 1" mainline each having its own trickle line to keep the diaphragms wet . I plan to use batteries and solar panels to keep the batteries charged. I realize that the dual diaphragm Bosworth style would work well for this area but in my experience the power use is quite a bit more which is why I want to try the Shurflos. Will this give me more CFM's to keep a decent vacuum level if I keep the leaks to a minimum? I have several shurflo set ups with one pump and a trickle line on up to @ 100 taps each and they serve me very well. What do you think?

[Ultimatetreehugger]

I ran a Shurflo 4008 on 200 taps and I made 20 pounds of vacuum on my mainline. I tried a bigger Shurflo on 300 but vacuum was minimal. I don't use any recirculation lines on my setups.

[RileySugarbush]

Running them in parallel can work, but you have to be careful. I would have them both draw on a common 1" diameter header that feeds down into both and run a single recirculation line with a needle valve into that header. The key points are that the inlets are always wet, hence having the pumps oriented so that the sap flows down into the pump inlet. The reason for the common and good sized header is so that both pumps are wet, drawing on a pool of sap at the bottom of a small reservoir. If they are drawing independently and one sucks too much air loses suction then the vacuum in the whole line goes down. I have tried a lot of orientations and I think that is your best bet. I would try it with a test setup and some water to see what works best for you. A couple of needle valves, one on a line drawing water and one drawing air can simulate the flow conditions with different ratios of gas bubbles and sap.

[mol1jb]

It would probably be much easier and work better to just break those 300 taps into 2 different mains and put a pump on each main.