Author Topic: My New Vacuum Pump  (Read 11641 times)

PonoBill

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My New Vacuum Pump
« on: September 04, 2014, 08:47:11 PM »
My oil-filled pump was a huge disappointment, spraying oil everywhere and giving mixed vacuum results. On DW's recommendation I took a look at the oil-less pumps offered by Veneer Supplies. Wound up buying a pump and then building out the control and accumulator system. this thing took all of today to build. Looks simple but it wasn't.





I built it on the tank frame of an old Coleman portable compressor I used in the pits before I got smart and bought nitrogen bottles. There's an unloader valve and the PVC is an accumulator tank to give the compressor time to spin up once the unloader valve closes. I still need to mount the relay. The toggle switch selects either vacuum valve control or continuous running. I also have a resin separator pot to connect to the thing, but I might leave that as a separate thingy to give myself some flexibility in using this. It's much quieter and much more compact than my oil sprayer, and pumps an honest 4cfm. I took it up to 29" to test everything--nothing imploded. So I got that going for me.
Foote 10'4X34", SIC 17.5 V1 hollow and an EPS one in Hood River. Foote 9'0" x 31", L41 8'8", 18' Speedboard, etc. etc.

stoneaxe

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Re: My New Vacuum Pump
« Reply #1 on: September 05, 2014, 03:58:03 AM »
Ooh...a new toy.

I'm thinking when/if we build the new house I'm going to put a shape bay in one side of the garage. I'd love to build some boards and I'll def want a vac pump. Obviously great for wood working too.
« Last Edit: September 05, 2014, 04:01:40 AM by stoneaxe »
Bob

8-4 Vec, 9-0 SouthCounty, 9-8 Starboard, 10-4 Foote Triton, 10-6 C4, 12-6 Starboard, 14-0 Vec (babysitting the 18-0 Speedboard) Ke Nalu Molokai, Ke Nalu Maliko, Ke Nalu Wiki Ke Nalu Konihi

Dwight (DW)

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Re: My New Vacuum Pump
« Reply #2 on: September 05, 2014, 05:43:47 AM »
Looks like you had some fun.

I'd love for someone smarter than me (Bill  :D) to figure out why the vacuum gauge is so unreliable. They work good for awhile, then go to shit. Despite having Joe's filter upstream of the gauge. I've got 2 gauges on mine now.

I'm running the pump full time, no switches or holding tank. I run it 4-6 hours with each bagging. Pump seems to be holding up well. It is rated continuous duty, so I'm testing whether that's true  ;)
« Last Edit: September 05, 2014, 05:45:28 AM by DW »

PonoBill

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Re: My New Vacuum Pump
« Reply #3 on: September 05, 2014, 08:04:13 AM »
There's two reasons bourdon tube gauges quit being accurate. One reason is wear on the gear mechanism and return spring stretching caused by little pressure fluctuations of the pump. You need an accumulator and some constriction between the pump and the accumulator. In my case the unloader valve and check valve provide adequate damping constriction.

Second, oil filled vacuum gauges need to be equalized often. If your vacuum gauge is oil filled you need to pull the rubber plug on the top every so often. Don't lose the plug or you'll get oil everywhere. I have a second non-oil filled gauge on my resin trap pot that doesn't need equalizing but would be shaken to bits in a day if it were near the pump outlet.
Foote 10'4X34", SIC 17.5 V1 hollow and an EPS one in Hood River. Foote 9'0" x 31", L41 8'8", 18' Speedboard, etc. etc.

southwesterly

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Re: My New Vacuum Pump
« Reply #4 on: September 05, 2014, 12:19:29 PM »
 I found these oil-less pumps on craigslist for a deal.

 Don't really know if they would be strong enough.

karl

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Re: My New Vacuum Pump
« Reply #5 on: September 05, 2014, 12:32:28 PM »
I've had the same kit for a few years. Works really well. But I did have a gauge failure that saw the oil go right through the whole system and ruin the motor.

stoneaxe

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Re: My New Vacuum Pump
« Reply #6 on: September 05, 2014, 01:12:47 PM »
I found these oil-less pumps on craigslist for a deal.

 Don't really know if they would be strong enough.

But they do come in a stylish bag and you could do 2 boards at once....just don't vacuum in public or you might offend some people........ :)
Bob

8-4 Vec, 9-0 SouthCounty, 9-8 Starboard, 10-4 Foote Triton, 10-6 C4, 12-6 Starboard, 14-0 Vec (babysitting the 18-0 Speedboard) Ke Nalu Molokai, Ke Nalu Maliko, Ke Nalu Wiki Ke Nalu Konihi

PonoBill

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Re: My New Vacuum Pump
« Reply #7 on: September 05, 2014, 02:11:19 PM »
I've had the same kit for a few years. Works really well. But I did have a gauge failure that saw the oil go right through the whole system and ruin the motor.

Hmmm. Yeah, that would be bad. A hole in the bourdon tube would make that happen. Maybe I'll move the gauge to directly on the tank to prevent that. I think the inline filter would help, but might not prevent damage.
Foote 10'4X34", SIC 17.5 V1 hollow and an EPS one in Hood River. Foote 9'0" x 31", L41 8'8", 18' Speedboard, etc. etc.

karl

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Re: My New Vacuum Pump
« Reply #8 on: September 05, 2014, 02:13:33 PM »
The filter soaked up a lot but I left it too long. Just need to keep an eye on it like any good tool.

PonoBill

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Re: My New Vacuum Pump
« Reply #9 on: September 06, 2014, 07:55:58 AM »
Finished product. Except I"m going to move the oil-filled vacuum gauge to my resin trap and put the non-filled one on the outlet. It will chatter a little but no chance of it damaging the pump.
Foote 10'4X34", SIC 17.5 V1 hollow and an EPS one in Hood River. Foote 9'0" x 31", L41 8'8", 18' Speedboard, etc. etc.

55NSup

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Re: My New Vacuum Pump
« Reply #10 on: September 06, 2014, 01:05:46 PM »
What do you guys thinkof this pump? 

supthecreek

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Re: My New Vacuum Pump
« Reply #11 on: September 06, 2014, 02:33:36 PM »
I saw a friend throwing this pump out and said "I'll take that, if  you don't want it"  ;D

It is quiet, and kept a very steady low pressure for days when I was drying a repair.

It has a fluid separator,  a filter to keep any leftover moisture out of the motor and a simple pressure control & gauge.

It is a medical pump.... may be available used online?

PonoBill

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Re: My New Vacuum Pump
« Reply #12 on: September 08, 2014, 07:11:04 PM »
You scored. It looks like a nice little diaphragm pump. Given that it's med gear it probably cost five k new. But it's pretty low volume, probably less than 1cfm, but it would bag just fine if you got rid of all the leakers.
Foote 10'4X34", SIC 17.5 V1 hollow and an EPS one in Hood River. Foote 9'0" x 31", L41 8'8", 18' Speedboard, etc. etc.

Bean

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Re: My New Vacuum Pump
« Reply #13 on: September 08, 2014, 08:13:51 PM »
Here is my low cost vacuum pump pulling some moisture out of my Icon.  (Thanks Hurricane Cristobal, no really, it was awesome).

spookini

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Re: My New Vacuum Pump
« Reply #14 on: September 08, 2014, 09:02:06 PM »
I saw a friend throwing this pump out and said "I'll take that, if  you don't want it"  ;D

Right Creek.  And you told Mom that the Playboy under your mattress was there b/c you enjoyed reading the articles.
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