Mechanical Releaser Question

[DrTimPerkins]

We've seen several instances where producers will build a small insulated box out of foamboard that is just large enough for the releaser and a candle. Light the candle only as needed. Seems to help.

[ennismaple]

If you can heat a small enclosure for your mechanical releaser it will avoid a lot of problems. Our oldest releaser is 10 years old and last year it gave us nothing but problems. There are multiple places it can freeze up as the temps get close to freezing - especially if you have any small leaks in the releaser itself. If you can clear the ice and slush out of it after freezeup once the pump is off you should get an OK startup the following day. Sometimes it takes a while once the sap starts to run to get it operating perfectly - which is why we've gone to an electric releaser in a heated enclosure where possible. If you get better vacuum to the woods for an extra 15 minutes at the start and end of each day it adds up to a lot of sap over the season! Plus, I'd rather walk lines or sleep a while longer than mess with a frozen up releaser!

[minehart gap]

A couple questions that I have come up with since reading this thread, if pumps are problematic due to overheating so we have oil reclaimers, wouldn't this be ample heat to keep everything thaw if it is in a small structure that the releaser is located inside of. Also, would the pump house need to be sized to house the entire sap tank or only large enough for the pump, trap, reclaimer, releaser and a portion of the tank large enough to dump into so that the building could be smaller and easier to keep warm.

[JoeJ]

In my operation, I have the vacuum pump located at my sugar house and have vacuum lines to each of the sap sheds. So using the vacuum pump waste heat was not an option. 2 of the sap sheds are completely enclosed and heated at what I would say a very reasonable cost. One 12'x6' shed cost a quarter of a 30 pound propane tank and the other shed,10' x 16' cost $31.00 in electricity. Having the whole shed heated eliminates both the releaser freezing problems and the ice in the tanks. The third shed is not completely heated, only a small 3'x3' electric releaser room. The electric releaser pumps the sap into the old 400 gal bulk tank in the cold part of the shed through a 1" pipe. This tank occasionally will have a little ice on top, but does not freeze almost solid like it occasionally did before I built the shed over it.

I have a small portable sawmill so I really do not have much cost in these sheds frames. The only real outside expense for me was the metal roofing. When I insulated the 10' x 16' shed I spent $5.00 on a insulated steel door and frame at the local recycling store, $382.00 on 11 sheets of 4 x 8 2" R-10 sidewall foam and $200.00 on 5- 4 x 8 sheets of 2" foil faced r-13 foam board and $26.00 for the milk house heater. The value gained from the $608.00 spent on the foam board and heater is a relatively small expense compared to what I have spent in other parts of the sugaring operation over the past 18 years

Joe

[jrgagne99]

We've seen several instances where producers will build a small insulated box out of foamboard that is just large enough for the releaser...

I'm trying to figure out how to do this while still leaving an opening at the bottom so the sap can get out from the flapper.

[GeneralStark]

I'm trying to figure out how to do this while still leaving an opening at the bottom so the sap can get out from the flapper.

When I did this I just had hole in the bottom of the box for the sap to spill through. But, you can also get a fitting that replaces the external flapper and turns it into a length of pipe that can be directed where you want it.

[blissville maples]

They will freeze at night, 26+ not an issue 26 and below and yes good to go dump them at night so they don't freeze with too much ice.

I find if the releaser is freezing up there is little to no sap anyways, so your not losing much production. When it warms and sap starts to run this usually thaws out the releaser to a working order also.

Best to check in the morning;
1. Flappers are free and clear of ice so they can seal.
2. Make sure both floats are not bound in anyway by lifting.
3 good to check the flappers inside also. I usually do this visually and if I see an issue I will open cover and d
e-ice
4. If vaccum is on swap the chambers manually to be sure pistons are actuating and working correctly and this will also verify flappers are shutting properly

If the vacuum is off because it was super cold I will usually go around with hot water and splash into the horizontal chamber this will melt off the flappers and free the elbows.

I usually do all this during am coffee as im waiting for sap to start running. Usually a slow couple of hours anyway.... but heated building is much nicer- no issues

[corrowbasin]

Pete3046,

Looks like your shed will have access to power, we have run heat tracing that we wrap around the bottom of to releaser near the flaps to prevent icing issues mostly on start-up, but also around the inlet manifold and elbows with good results. Also helps on days where you get build up of slush that blocks flow.

[Amber Gold]

I used to use a mechanical releaser, unheated on the top of the tank. The transition from freezing to sap running always made me nervous because that's when it would fail and hang up. Every morning, I would go to the releaser, frozen or not, and make sure it'd cycle OK. 95% of the time, this worked fine.

If you can, put it in a little enclosure and heat it to prevent freeze-up issues.

Or, even better, go with an electric releaser like I did and put it in a heated pump shed. Much more reliable.

[tcross]

my neighbor has a little contraption he keeps over his machanical releaser and doesn't seem to have any issues. it's a basic little thing framed up with strapping and wrapped in plastic with a regular light bulb in it. just enough to keep things from freezing and not over heat anything.