Hi gang,

I am in the process of building my first vacuum system. It will have a Shurflo 4008 and a temperature controller for on/off, all built into a cooler…. My question is about connecting the incoming lines to the pump. I have 6 5/16 lines each of which has about 20 taps give or take. The lines all join at a ‘star’ connector which I usually connect right to the top of a 275 gal IBC tote. The tote is on a platform and star connector is about 5 feet above the ground.

Because I use 3/4” line and banjo cam locks to pump sap up the (big) hill, I have some extra 3/4” fittings and line.

What I would like to do is put a 3/4” cam locks on the star connector, the input and output of the vacuum, and on the top of the tote. Then on days when I want the vacuum I can run lines from the star connection to the vacuum setup and from there to the tank. And on days I need to bypass the vacuum I can just connect the star fitting straight to the top of the tank.

My question is about the lines connecting the star to the vacuum and the vacuum to the tank. The easiest place for the vacuum setup to sit is on the ground beside the tank. This is about 6 feet almost straight down from the star fitting.

A) will I end up getting some sort of air lock with a vertical drop right before the pump? I’m worried it won’t be able to clear the inevitable bubbles in the line.

B)What size line should I use to connect the star fitting to the pump? I guess the obvious options are 3/4” which I have kicking around. Or 3/8” which is the size that the pump will be plumbed with. But really I could use anything.

C) I guess I could put the vacuum setup on top of the tote and minimize the vertical drop, but that would make it tough to access.

Any feedback is appreciated!