mechanical releaser woes

[tcross]

question on an issue i'm having with my michanical releaser. it's the hobby Lapierre version... probably 10 years old. i had this same issue last year and can't remember how i fixed it. the float will rise and kick the actuator up, releasing the sap. but it will only let the rod come back down half way. Going up, it actually runs into the screw the spring is attached to... which isn't good, but i can't seem to fix that? i spent 2 hours babysitting it and tinkering with just about every single part i could. adjusted the spring, the nut on the actuator, tubes that connect the big part of the releaser to the smaller top canister, re lubed everything etc... i was constantly adjusting between each dump. it started cooperating, but i have no idea what part of what i did, did the trick. has anyone had this issue? and if so, how did you fix it? the releaser sits a very tiny bit out of level, but that didn't seem to matter once i adjusted that? i'm dumbfounded and frustrated as yesterday my moisture trap did it's job and kept the sap out of my pump, but i lost the whole days run!

[western mainer]

Are the arrows lined up on the top cover? Did you put food grade lube on the rod? and I had to put a large nut on top of the plunger to aid in going down faster.
Brian

[tcross]

yup, i've done all that, besides the nut. the problem didn't appear until yesterday. i may try the nut idea!

[western mainer]

There is also a roll pin on the back side of the arm that may have worked it's way out and is rubbing.
Brian

[tcross]

that is also a possibility. i basically took all that assembly apart, cleaned it up and put it all back together. i'm also wondering if i could have had a little bit of ice build up. i usually have a light on it, or a small heater near it keeping it from freezing. perhaps i should have done one process at a time and could have narrowed down what the fix was. either way, it worked perfectly yesterday afternoon. They're pretty simple contraptions, but if a gasket or something is little bit out of whack, they don't like it much...

[DrTimPerkins]

...They're pretty simple contraptions, but if a gasket or something is little bit out of whack, they don't like it much...

And the higher your vacuum, the more persnickety and prone to issues they become.

[tcross]

And the higher your vacuum, the more persnickety and prone to issues they become.

i have found this to be very true. i run between 27.5 and 28.5. when my old pump... years ago... would only get to 25", i had zero problems.

[western mainer]

What did you find out?
Brian