Looking to run a mainline in the woods- far away from power and no downslope.
Does anyone have a good solution for running a vacuum in the woods- battery or solar power ?
Looking to run a mainline in the woods- far away from power and no downslope.
Does anyone have a good solution for running a vacuum in the woods- battery or solar power ?
2010 40 buckets- 4 gals finished
2011 80 buckets- 14 gals finished
2012 105 buckets- 8 gals finished
2013 maxed at 130 buckets- 24 gals finished
2014 new max at 240 buckets- 18 gals finished
2015 newest max 240 buckets-+48 taps on 3/16 gravity- 22.5 gals finished
2016 150 taps on 3/16 gravity- 23 gals finished
2020 250 taps on 3/16 gravity- 22 gals finished
2021 385 taps on 3/16 gravity 25 gals finished
2022 385 taps on 3/16 gravity- 26 gals finished
6th season solo sugar maker in a young sugar bush of mostly red maples
320 taps
2x6 self built arch, Flat pans w/ dividers
New 12x16 sugar house
CDL hobby 250 RO
I run a couple small 12 volt pumps (1.7Amp max) together on a pair of truck batteries, along with 3 40watt solar panels... I find the solar panels don't keep up, and I need to charge the batteries fairly regularly... Especially this year, with the mild temps, I've been leaving the pumps run 24 hours a day lately.
On a side note... If its OK, I'd like to share a little related brainstorming, I've been doing... And invite any thoughts or ideas... (note: my trees are a couple miles from my home and sugaring equipment... I pump the sap to a trailer on the road and take it home)
This year, rather than carrying batteries in and out to charge them, I left a generator in the woods to run battery chargers periodically... but it is still a pain in the butt because it takes 2 or 3 hours to bring the batteries back up, with 10Amp chargers. So a fair bit of time or trips back and forth. An added bonus, was installing a 120v submersible pump, permanently, in my sap tank with a permanent 3/4" pipe to the road... (so, no more carrying pumps and hoses in and out) Just fire the generator up to run the pump and charge batteries at the same time) ... Now, I'm thinking that I could find a generator with electric start... and get a propane conversion kit. (available for most common small engines)... With propane you don't need to "choke" it, etc... and devise a controller that will fire the generator up whenever the batteries dip below 11.5V and run for an hour or two, to run the chargers.. This would allow me the convenience of being able to run some bigger 12V diaphragm pumps, while drastically reducing the man-hours spent re-charging batteries. I've thought about running a very small gas powered vacuum pump 24/7, but even the smallest of engines will break the bank in fuel costs for me.
Update... Just found a built in,"RV" style , propane, electric start 3400W generator on kijiji... (Canada's Craigslist) for $150 CDN. Will be picking it up tonight. Starting to come together already....
Last edited by wmick; 04-01-2021 at 02:20 PM.
How about a battery powered timer to start the generator to charge batteries a a regular basis.
Yep... but the shurflo is a much better unit with more diaphragms.... I don't know either, what it actually draws... Would be nice if someone on here has been tracking that.... I am just guessing, but with no restriction on the outlet, and just pulling vacuum, the energy required would be equivalent of 14.7 psi (perfect vacuum) or less... and according the chart in this spec sheet, that would put the pump at about 4 amps. This is just supposition on my part.
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon....1fsZQoRlVS.pdf
Last edited by wmick; 04-01-2021 at 02:11 PM.
Dr. Tim Perkins
UVM Proctor Maple Research Ctr
http://www.uvm.edu/~pmrc
https://mapleresearch.org
Timothy.Perkins@uvm.edu
I have set up a bunch of these Shurflo pumps, and the 3gpm 4008's always draw between 1.0 - 1.5 amps when used to draw vacuum on a typical sap line. My controllers measure pump current draw to detect an overcurrent condition or blown fuse so the current is always known. The current does increase if flow and/or pressure increases, maybe it will see 7.5 amps in certain situations, but they will not see high flow or high pressure in a typical sap vacuum setup. The 3gpm pump will run about 35 hours on a fully charged deep cycle marine battery.
I have measured up to 11-12 amps on a 5gpm pump when transferring sap uphill on a 550' long piece of 1/2" pipe with a 55' elevation.
Dave
Last edited by Biz; 04-01-2021 at 03:19 PM.
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/
I will do that.... Now you've got me thinking.... I'm aware that we cant get below 0 psia.... but I'm thinking.... With a positive displacement pump... Does it take the same amount of energy to draw a 30ft column of water as it would to push a 30ft column of water?? I'm thinking it would.... Not ??