Breezy,
Thanks for the detailed oil course.
Just a clarification, my pump was not running 900 at the time of it's failure or any time before then.
I have a 2.5 inch pulley on my engine. That engine was turning 900 rpm and the sp 22 has a 14 inch pulley so my effective pump rpm is only 160. I have slowed my second one down to about 130 and it still has no problem pulling 26"
5" of fresh snow and a prediticed high of 35. I'm hoping for a good day
Tom
Tom,
Hope your season is better than ours. We have been in the high 60s since Friday and 80 today. We are toasted.
One time I gave to little info and a guy nearly destroyed his pump...so I rather fully explain than give to little info and have somebody assume something and cause damage.
I would think you likely pulled some water vapor in and had a rusty chamber that caused the seizure. Nothing beats a good moisture trap. Good does not mean expensive. A home made unit can be made for around $50 from pvc. The design is the rating. The units that connect the pump side to the center are not good. The moisture will hang on the lip of the suction pipe and be pulled into the pump.
Where if the pump sucks from the outside above the center pipe the moisture is propelled to the bottom and will be more apt to separate from the air flow that is being pulled up the larger area of pipe at a reduction in velocity and not be able to carry the moisture back to the pump.
I would suggest checking your pump temperature. It wants to be fairly warm to be able to dissipate the moisture. A cool running pump will fail quicker than a warm pump...provided that sufficient oil is cooling and lubricating the pump. Warm is also rather hot to the touch...185 is a good pump temp.
A small section of dairy vacuum hose...clear, thick wall. Will make a great pump water check. The drain plug on most pumps is the lowest point and is a great way to drain off water. Install a valve at the drain end and if you see water open the valve and discard. This also makes changing the oil quicker and safer when the pump is hot. Trying to remove a hot oil plug is not a fun chore. Draining hot is by far the best way to clear all the contaminates out of the case as they are still suspended. In a cool pump they have settled out and my be left behind.
Pump failure is usually not one fatal mistake but a group of small things that add up over time.
130 is a fantastic speed as long as the unit is generating enough heat. The other pump was likely weak from its first life. Remember you are working with a unit that is likely 30 plus years young. They will need a little more TLC to last another 30 plus.
Breezy,
Our season has been less than impressive as well, fifities for the last week and little or no freeze. Today I can't crack the freezing mark and tomorrow looks questionable. Time is running out. Started out hoping for a half gallon per tap and am now hoping for a quart.
Here it is April 14th and its to cold for sap so I took the old girl apart. One wrist pin was tight, slightly galled the aluminum on the piston but a easy cleanup. Bearings, crank and cylinder wallls show no excessive wear for decades of life with likely minimal maintenance. Managed to save the seals and will clean her up internal as long as I have her apart. She'll live to make syrup again.
Now that I have it apart and see how it operates my only question is what is supposed to lubricate the rotating valve on top, oil vapor?
As far as a moisture trap I have factory Surge tank and a CDL inline between the extractor and the surge tank. Based on your last post I think I need to kick the speed back up as I am seeing a lot more water than with the previous pump. I was considering adding a small oil resirvoir below the pump so any moisture that accumulates could settle in there and out of the pump crankcase.
Last edited by RE Acres; 04-14-2014 at 04:47 PM.
Rotor Valve is mostly vapor as long as the oil is vac oil and will vaporize at around 170ish. Otherwise and when you put it back together some grease is a good insurance policy.
To slow is bad. No heat so no oil to the top end other than any that makes it by the piston. No heat and more water in the crank case and the crank will become rusty. Cool pumps are dead pumps. It is far better to turn off a pump hot than to let off the vac and have a lot of cool or cold air drop the housing or case temp and then shut her down.
With the good oil just a 6-12" section of vacuum hose with a stall cock on the end is a cheap catch and drain for the water.
I took 2 gallons out of my reclaimer yesterday. It finally thawed out and let the drain work well. It had been so cold most of the winter I would only get a few drops out since the pump was running such high vac and not putting much heat into the reclaimer. Also the reclaimer is for a 150 cfm pump and not a 6 cfm that is on it. I guess I need to make a smaller version of the unit unless we are going to have to run the large pump.
Post a pic of the rotary valve in the top so people can see what we are talking about. Many don't realize what is inside one of these units. Pretty neat engenering from the 1950's and before for the bb2.
Ben
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