+ Reply to Thread
Page 2 of 2 FirstFirst 12
Results 11 to 15 of 15

Thread: How does your 12Volt Vacuum Pump Perform?

  1. #11
    Join Date
    Mar 2015
    Location
    Wind Lake, WI
    Posts
    520

    Default

    1. What Specific Pump you are using
    - Shutflo 4008. Wired to kick on when it warms up, shut off when it freezes with those handy little 12v controllers. Mounted in a plastic tote with controllers that also run fans to move air through when it's warm and turn on a light bulb when it's cold. On cold nights it stays right around 34 degrees in the tote.

    2. Number of taps
    - 43. mostly silvers. A few norways. 1.25" PVC (clear) manifold. Seven 5/16 lines run into the manifold. Valves for each line for easier diagnostics.

    3. If you have a recirc line to pump
    - Yes. This is a love/hate. It's a necessity. I'm pancake flat here so I need it to really get things moving and get decent vac/sap, but it's a great way to warm up the sap too much. The silvers really need vac and will shut down when the temperature starts to drop each day unless vac is pulling hard, then we keep getting sap until things freeze up. Probably more than tripled sap production compared to buckets on these trees. Really thinking about building a chilled "room" for my IBC tote with a cool-bot and window A/C to eliminate the warming sap problem.

    4. Typical vacuum level you can maintain
    - 22-26" with recirc and sap running well. 10" with no recirc (and then it doesn't pull in much sap at all).
    42.82N
    2015 - Small operation. 25 buckets. One excited 5 year old and one 35 year old that feels 5 again.
    2016 - One year older. New Homemade 2x4 Arch, Smoky Lake Pan and looking at 52 maples, 17 box elders and 2 walnut trees.
    2017 - Shurflo 4008 hooked to 42 stingy silver maples and a few Norways. A couple buckets on sugars and Norways. 10 box elders.
    2018 - ...a few more taps.
    2019 - ...more taps on 3/16 gravity. This spiral is heading downward in a hurry.
    2020 - 4x400 RO - RB20 (uh-oh!)

  2. #12
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    UVM Proctor Maple Research Center, Underhill Ctr, VT
    Posts
    6,391

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by wmick View Post
    Get the vacuum up. Based on this chart... I think it was from one of the proctor studies... It looks pretty linear...
    Yes, that is from https://mapleresearch.org/pub/m1007s...onvacuumlevel/ Essentially sap yield is linear with vacuum pressure and is generally 5-7% increase in sap yield for each 1" Hg you pull (at the taphole, not at the pump). This has since been verified by studies at Cornell and Centre Acer.
    Dr. Tim Perkins
    UVM Proctor Maple Research Ctr
    http://www.uvm.edu/~pmrc
    https://mapleresearch.org
    Timothy.Perkins@uvm.edu

  3. #13
    Join Date
    Feb 2013
    Location
    Freedom, IN.
    Posts
    184

    Default

    We run two, 4008 shurflo setups, one has 63 taps and the other 65. We've had one pump for two years, and installed the other in time for the 2021 season. On our older system we ran three, 3/16" lines into a pvc manifold, and from there to the shurflo. This system is actually on the wall inside our sugar house, and dumps right into the collection tank. We're running all 3/16" lines and drops on this setup, with around 30' elevation change from the end of the lines down to the sugar house. It consistently produces around 25" of vacuum, with no recirculation.
    The new system also utilizes all 3/16 currently, but the initial install used a 3/4" mainline around 300' long, with the 3/16 laterals feeding into it. Lots of natural drop on this system also, all the way to the pump, which we placed in a plastic tote. When we fired it up, we could not achieve over 13" of vacuum. No leaks, as it would hold vacuum after shutting off. After some head scratching we abandoned the mainline and ran individual 3/16 lines on all four runs right down to the pump, with another pvc manifold. Vacuum jumped to 25".

    I built controllers for both systems, using 12 volt power supplies to drive the pumps through relays, temp sensors, timers, and motorized ball valves to drain the lines and purge the pumps during freezing temps.
    Being on vacuum saved our season this year, due to the crazy weather making for a quick season.

  4. #14
    Join Date
    Mar 2021
    Location
    Barrie, Ontario
    Posts
    29

    Default

    When discussing vacuum lines people refer to "recirculation". What does that mean?
    2024 - 20 Taps Buckets - 97 taps - 3/16" - Drops 5/16" - Vacuum - TBD
    2023 - 20 Taps Buckets - 80 taps - 3/16" - Drops 3/16" - Vacuum - 136 liters of syrup
    2022 - 20 Taps Buckets - 80 taps - 3/16" - Drops 3/16" - Vacuum - 100 liters of syrup
    2021 - 20 Taps Buckets - 40 taps - 3/16" - Drops 3/16" tubing - Gravity - 25 liters of syrup
    2020 - 15 Taps Buckets - 5 liters syrup - Propane Turkey Frying Pan
    Thor 18" x 54" - 2021
    Nano RO-2022
    Shurflo 4008 Vacuum
    Barrie, Ontario CANADA

  5. #15
    Join Date
    May 2011
    Location
    River Falls, WI
    Posts
    831

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Bullet View Post
    When discussing vacuum lines people refer to "recirculation". What does that mean?
    The diaphragms in these pumps will pull a deeper vacuum when they are wet with sap than when they're pumping air. If you don't use a recirculation line, during some conditions you'll see the pump pulling 18-23" and then it'll run out of sap and drop to 12-15" or less. Then it'll get more sap and pull bigger numbers again. The cure is to run a line into the sap tank and back in to the vacuum side of the pump. Think a lateral going into the sap tank. You need some kind of valve (vice grips work) so you can adjust how much sap is recirculating.
    -Ryan


    Went off the deep end. Might be in over my head...

+ Reply to Thread
Page 2 of 2 FirstFirst 12

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts