Just curious what's the norm at the end of the season. Any recommendations for cleaning ? Run water through or a mix of water and ?
Any thoughts are appreciated
Thanks
Just curious what's the norm at the end of the season. Any recommendations for cleaning ? Run water through or a mix of water and ?
Any thoughts are appreciated
Thanks
I flip my manifold to the exit of the pump head and pump hydrogen peroxide through mine and through all my tubes and let them sit full for at least 24 hrs before flipping it back and sucking them all as dry as possible.
D. Roseum
www.roseummaple.com
~100 taps on 3/16 custom temp controlled vacuum; shurflo vacuum #2; custom nat gas evap with auto-drawoff and tank level gas shut-off controller; homemade RO #1; homemade RO #2; SL SS filter press
2021: 27.1 gallons
2022: 35 gallons
I just run very warm/hot water through each of the pumps for a couple of minutes. As for the lines we run very warm/hot water (above 110 degrees) through all our mainlines and laterals. We put a shutoff on the end of each mainline that we open so each mainline is completely flushed. Then we close the valve and pressurize the mainline before cutting off each lateral. After flushing each lateral individually, we then reconnect it to the mainline so the system is ready for the next season.
Gary
16' X 24' Sugarhouse
2' X 6' Leader Inferno Arch with Revolution Raised-Flue Pans, Smoky Lake preheater and hood
Deer Run Maple gas-powered 250 RO
WesFab 7" filter press
Kubota 1100 RTV with tracks and 125 gallon tank for transporting sap
800 taps on gravity and vacuum
Very supportive wife who is the best coworker
http://mapletrader.com/community/sho...ing-Sugarhouse
I run a water bleach solution through mine, take off the suction line and run out what is in the pump and put away for the season.
Smoky Lake 2x6 dropflu pans and hoods on homemade arch
Smoky Lake 6 gallon water jacked bottler
Concentric Exhaust
250 Deer Run RO
325 taps
I take mine all apart and scrub it good in the kitchen sink with hot water. Take the screws out, pop it apart, separate the 3 different sections, and use a brush to scrub it. Make sure you separate the 2 sections of the diaphragm to clean. Also run a bottle brush in the intake and output ports. You will be amazed at the amount of buildup of scum inside the ports and the diaphragm. I leave it apart until everything is dry before reassemble. Usually takes 10-15 minutes to clean.
Sugaring for 45+ years
New Sugarhouse 14'x32'
New to Me Algier 2'x8' wood fired evaporator
2022 added a used RB25 RO Bucket
250 mostly Sugar Maples, 15% Soft Maples. Currently,(110on 3/16" and 125 on Shurflo 4008 vacuum, 15 gravity), (16,000 before being disabled)
1947 Farmall H and Wagon with gathering tank
2012 Kubota with forks to move wood around
We also take ours apart. While apart, we put new diaphragms in so they're new for start of next season. Cheap enough at $20 each.
305 taps on 2 Shurflo's, 31 taps on 3/16" and 229 taps on gravity. 565 in all
Mountain Maple S3 controller for 145 of the vacuum taps
2x6 Darveau Mystique Oil Fired Evaporator w/ Smoky Lake Simplicity Auto Draw
Wesfab 7” filter press
Awesome , thanks for all the great info
Best to store them someplace where there will be no ozone generated....so NOT in electrical room or where much electrical machinery is operating. The diaphragms are sensitive to ozone and will break down with exposure.
Dr. Tim Perkins
UVM Proctor Maple Research Ctr
http://www.uvm.edu/~pmrc
https://mapleresearch.org
Timothy.Perkins@uvm.edu
My main Shurflo (used as a transfer pump) is 6 years old and has pumped many thousands of gallons of sap. I usually take it apart at some point to check out the diaphragm, but it still looks good as new after all this time. You can't beat it for reliability. For cleaning I usually run permeate through at the end of the season, but that's about it.
Gary / Zena Crossroads / 42˚ 00' 24" N / Hobby in Early '70s, Addiction since 2014
175+ taps on 3/16 (60 of which are on two Lunchbox Vac/Releasers)
12x34 timber framed sap house w/attached 10x34 shed roof for storage
2 x 6 Smoky Lake hybrid pan on Corsair arch with AUF/steam hood/preheater/concentric exhaust
7.0 KW Sun Power PV System, Smokey Lake Filter Press/Steam Bottler, Modified NGMP RO - 2 4x40 posts 200 gph