at present i use a fridge compreser setup but quite like the idea of a small quet and simmple set up for smaller molding jobs and thought for a few £ its worth a little play as athough it doesnt sound it they are extremly reliable pumps.
One thing that’s deceptive about these little pumps is the suction you get at the end of a 1/8" or 1/4" hose. It feels like almost nothing. But when you feel the suction using a larger footprint their capacity is more apparent.
As previously stated, these things were designed to run 24/7 for a couple years with zero maintenance. I really don’t know how much more reliable a backyarder needs. Low volume and relatively low vacuum but it’s enough so suck down a 2mm oak veneer over an 8ft board and pull some resin through the veneer without a problem.
Just sayin’.
Have you ever used one of these Whisper (Tetra AP 150 or AP 300) diaphragm aquarium (deepwater) air pumps for vacuum applications of composite skins? For continuous operation with deepwater fish tank systems over periods of time greater than one year?
ive looked up the tetra pumps but they apear to be a defferent looking item. the ones avalable im my local store (in the uk) are made by hoze lock http://www.hozelock.com/aquatics/pumps/air-pumps/air-pump-320-1800.html they even give you a little vid showing you the inside but it doesnt look as simple as my current one to switch the vacuum direction.
Give the small pump a try. Maybe just do a “dry” test to see how strong the vac is. My brother and I use a shop vac to get most of the air out of the bag then we hook up the pump. That would help to get the bag emptied enough and then get a good idea if you’ll have enough pull from the small pump. If not you can move on.
The Whisper AP 150 and AP 300 are designed to pump air deeper into the water column than their other models. Near as I can tell, the 300 is just the inner workings of 2, 150s combined. According the pump literature, they’re designed to pump air to a depth of 8 feet, 96 inches. That is, they can operate at a static pressure of “96 inches of water.”
If you are going to use another brand of diaphragm pump, it needs to be capable of pumping air to a depth of “96 inches water” (operating “static pressure”). If it can handle that, it should be able to draw a similar vacuum to the Whisper AP 150 when the diaphragms are reversed.
Don’t you come to the US occasionally. Maybe you could pick one up then.
Anyone tried these type of pumps with a weathered bag? I’d be conserned that with a bag with a few leaks the low CFM would be a problem.
I figured I would have to be using bags that are in fairly good shape with these Whisper pumps. The advantage of using an AP 300 should be that it would have twice the cfm of the the AP 150, static pressure probably would not be additive, still 96 inches H2O.
ive done a little digging and i beleve althought they look different from the out side the tetra pumps look the same on the inside so i think it will be worth the £20 to have a play with. I do ocasanly come over to the us. but its a pain having to change all the plugs over and use transformes to work on 240v.
The static pressure your unit can handle will affect how much vacuum you can draw. CFM will affect the speed of draw down and the total time required to reach final vacuum pressure
I’m real careful with my bags and I use release ply to keep my resins and veneers away from the bag itself. It’s true that these little units don’t draw enough volume to outrun a leak, but then it doesn’t take much to defeat the larger units, either.
The main reason someone might consider trying one of these is not because they’re a one-for-one swap with the 12-pieceJoe-the-Woodworker vacuum rigs with pvc reserve tanks, vacuum switches, mac valves, wiring and industrial pump. You might consider the smaller units if running a louder industrial pump is a problem when/where you do your vacuum, and if you want a really simple set up with only two connections that can leak instead of a dozen , and if you’re willing to settle for enough vacuum to clamp but not enough to crush a light density foam.
These rigs aren’t right for everyone but they might be right for a few people who just want to try vacuum bagging without the big investment in time and money.
Finished and out of the vac bag. Shake n Bake
Resinhead,
Outstanding! Can’t tell who’s wood skins I like more, your’s or Huie’s.
Is that a Upol finish? If so, I’m sold!
It's UPOL. I was going to shoot a mix out of my gun, but I noticed I dodn't have any Acetone type stuff to clean my spray gun. So instead of going to HD for chemicals, I went to the Auto place and grabbed a can of UPOL. $20.00 later, you get what you see here.
Yeah, it was $20.00 for the can. 1 Can = 1 Surfboard
Nice one Jay! Beautiful bookmatched grain on a nice shape with a nice finish. Probably light as hell. What's not to like?
Nice one Resinhead. I love that outline! Finish is great too. Is that for you or a customer?
Resinhead, wow. such a nice finish. would you mind giving some tips on how to use UPOL including safety? I found it gums up sandpaper badly and I am a little afraid of its toxicity. many thanks
Its a personal board I made for an upcoming trip. I spray UPOL with a full mask, and I cover as much of my skin as possible. I spray outdoors. So as for safety, that's about it. Spray the board to a wet shiny, no overlaps or orange peel, usually 3 coats are more than good. I sand after the 2nd coat, then I put the finish coat on last. I rub it out with a quality 3M 500 grit wet dry sponge pad, then polish with Perfect polish,(Black ploish w/ Black foam pad) then the 3M Ultra swirl remover (Blue polish / Blue foam pad)
As for the sanding part? I have only sanded UPOL with 500 grit, and I do it after its been sitting for 24 hrs. Usually wet sand to get any over spray or orange peal etc. I've never had it get gummy, maybe you are doing it after it's been humid or not enough cure time? There are a lot of 2 part LP and straight urathanes that work like this stuff. I use the rattle can of UPOL when I get lazy, it's expensive but you have no clean up, and the results are good.
Thanks for the props guys.
Wow Mr. Head, that is one good looking surfing board! Seems to be missing a fin though.
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nice board mr head''
neutral rails good to see skin core skin amazing how few have caught on?
cheers huie
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You were the one that warned everyone about making coffee tables. A few of the creations I did early on with parabolic rails, HD foam rails, and thick bamboo skins...were very durable, but stiff like a coffee table. It's pretty easy to get wrapped up in the over engineering of this stuff...over engineering is the swaylocks way.