If you go to my album, you can see a crude drawing of the gravity releaser that has been discussed here. I talked to the user of the system last night; here are the specs that go with the picture:
- 3" PVC tower is 30' high.
- Four 1" mainline fittings are 5 feet down from the top of the PVC tower.
- Barrel is a 55 gallon drum, cut in half.
- A 1/16" hole is drilled at the beginning of the upslope on each mainline to allow the vacuum to grab some air to lift the sap.
- They run 20" of vacuum at the pump.
- It takes about 15 gallons of sap in the barrel to prime the column, plus have some left in the barrel to prevent sucking air from the bottom of the PVC tower.
My brother has attempted to build a 8'high 8" wide PVC tower, but recent research on how vacuums work may indicate that a wider column does not make a difference in the height required. Plan B is to have a 30' 3" tower built by next weekend, so we can test that as well. As I stated earlier, I will post our findings and perhaps some pictures as well.
Russell Berg
Mount View Sugar Bush - Since 1989
2004 5.5' x 18' Custom-built Stainless Evaporator w/ 7' Piggyback + Preheater
4,000 - 5,000 taps vacuum/gravity/bags
24' x 32' Sugar Shack