Campeon MRC-40 petrol syrup pump

01 · WHAT IT MOVES

Fifteen thousand litres an hour, and from below

Maximum flow is 15,000 litres an hour and the head 20 metres, with suction and delivery ports of 1½ inches (40 mm). It is self-priming to 5 metres, so it can draw from a container or tank below without hand-priming the line. For an outfit working with bulk syrup, that is the difference between pumping and carrying buckets.

02 · THE ENGINE

Petrol, portable and with an oil alert

The engine is petrol, 79.77 cm³ and 1.7 kW (2.3 HP) at 3,600 rpm, and meets the EUR V standard. It has an oil alert, which is what stops it running dry and seizing. At 13 kg net it moves between the workshop and the apiary with no fixed installation: this is a pump to take to where the syrup is, not one to leave plumbed in.

03 · BEFORE THE FIRST START

The oil does not come filled

Two things before the first start. First: the oil is not included. Use a 15 to 50 multigrade and fill it to the maximum level before starting; running it dry is the quickest way to unbox and ruin a pump on the same day. Second: it is a petrol engine, so work outdoors or in a well-ventilated space, never in a closed workshop.

04 · BEFORE YOU BUY

And the maintenance that decides how many seasons it lasts: flush it with clean water after every use. Syrup left inside crystallises as it dries and ends up seizing the impeller and the seals, and a pump with dried sugar inside is not recovered by blowing through it. Running water through for a few minutes at the end costs less than any repair.