Vacuum Pump Problems (Bagging Wannabe)

General Discussion
1

It’s been long overdue but I need to get into vacuum bagging. I searched the site and heeded the advice to get a medical pump so off to ebay I went. I found some fair priced pumps and found one that I wanted. When the pump got delivered I tested it and the pump sounds/works fine. However, on closer inspection, my particular pump has a different attachment on its housing. This attachment makes it a compressor, not a vacuum pump! The first pic shows what a vacuum version looks like. See the white area on top, it has two ports, one vacuum and one blower/compressor.

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This second pic is closer to what I recieved (minus the tubing and jar). See the top white attachment? It only blows air out. Turns out there are two different models and I didn’t notice that in the ebay listing. I can’t return it since the listing was accurate.

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So what can I do?

At first I thought maybe I could get some sort of venturi setup going but I don’t want to attempt to ‘rig’ stuff right out the gate. Since there are two models, it looks like I could replace my white attachment with the 2 port one from its sister model but the only ones I’ve seen on ebay are more expensive, especially for a part (I would just use the whole new one probably). So far, I’m out $50 and it might be worth it to bite the bullet and look for another pump. Any advice?

2

Monk-a diaphram type pump can either ‘blow’ or ‘suck’ depending on how it is plumbed. On the second pic the side with the tubes and gauge going through the black handle is the ‘suck’ side.  Your pump inlet may be at 90 degrees instead of straight accross from the outlet hence the different shaped head.

PS My pump has both ports on the same side. To compress the inlet is left open to room air and you use the outlet , to evacuate use the inlet and the outlet is left open (in my case with a muffler). Picture is bagging fiberglass and aloha fabric onto a homemade mast track. The peel ply, breather, pink bagging film and gray sealant are ‘real’ vacuum bagging materials and make life easier with a small pump.

 

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3

I really wished you were right, but I went out and fiddled some more with the pump. I’m starting to think it might be the attachment that goes in to the 1 hole this pump has. There aren’t any other holes for air to go in to, other than a very small hole punch sized hole in the front of the blue section. When I take all attachments off that hole, air blows out. Here is a pic of my exact pump. The small hole under the power switch is the only place a minute amount of air is being taken in. 

 

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4

Usually there are two ports. one that suck in and an exhaust. The exhaust would be the output side and the intake is the vacuum side. Usually the fittings are the same thread size. The fittings would be a filter and a nippled outlet to place a hose on or a specific type connection.

Photo–Filter on top left(intake), Nipplel out put on right upper side. If I reversed these two to opposite sides it would pump and not suck.

where is your intake port?? The t piece prolly just multiple blowing port outlet for whatever it was used for

 

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5

other than a very small hole punch sized hole in the front of the blue section

Just highlighting what IP said. 

I think it’s a compressor. 

Could make a video, upload to YouTube with paper blowing and sucking on both ports 

6

I would Google the Schuco model number and look for more information. A picture of the other side of the finned head would be interesting too.

Some of the other model 130 pumps online have the head at 90 degrees to yours but also have a more visible outlet port.

Otherwise, if this ‘blows’ instead of ‘sucks’, how do you feel about airbrushing?

7

Second pic of actual device received from seller is a suction set up with fluid collector. 

8

Thanks for your help guys. The second pic is one that I grabbed off of the Internet. My response includes my exact pump. I messed with the white part at the top and removed it, when I replaced it, I turned the direction in hopes that it would do anything different. With the white cover removed, underneath is a black rubber circle that pumps up and down. I did the paper towel test everywhere and the only place air is barely being taken in would be in that small silver circle with a tiny hole. Also, the suction is not enough to bag anything. Well, it looks like I’ll be hunting for another pump, next time making sure it is a vacuum pump. If anybody has a used one, let me know. Thanks.

9

Update, update! OfferUp.com got me connected with a guy selling a Gast for $60. And he was 5 minutes up the street. I got it for $40.

Super stoked, it does vacuum and it came in a box. I didn’t know they did that. 

It’s a Gast MOA-V135. Specs say it can get up to 24 Hg. This wannabe is moving forward.

 

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10

Awesome Monk, I am glad you are back in business. 

11

It certainly will suck!!

What are you going to bag??

12

Good question. Since I’m just starting out I’m going to do it on ding repairs first, then probably some fins. If all goes well, hopefully a compsand.

13

Ahh dont be shy and just go for it :slight_smile: Read BB30s Threads which are pure gold and just do it.

14

Yes, just go for it and try it. But read any source about highest neg. pressure, it may avoid damages. I tried to glue up deck panels on a wooden frame and the pressure was to high (low!) the front part collapsed, but I could fix it. Veneering over foam is critical too, to much vaccuum will result in dents in the final surface. Thicker wood is far less critical.

My scale goes from 0 (no pressurre) to -1 (i think its measured in bar), my pump is able to suck to -0.8, if everything is really airtight. But for most applications I used, I got good results already at -0.1 for delicate stuff and -0.2 normally.

To test if you want to vaccuum a foam blank for the compsand, you may put a little piece of the foam into the bag, increase neg. pressure to realize, when its starts to crumble…

15

All good advice. I will definitely read BB30s posts and do as much planning/research ahead of time. I do have one question now, where can I get full sheets of divynicell (4’x8’)? I’ve found some smaller sizes available but nothing ‘full board’ size.

16

get a good sized reservoir

you can make one out of large pvc pipe or do like i did and get a 10 gal compressed air tank 

charlie helped me with mine and its been around since 2004. 

he uses pvc pipe attached to his racks 

mine I can take any where

I bought the DIY vac kit from joe woodworker and my brother has only had problems with it eventhough its more mobile than my home setup.

we developed a technique where use a shop vac first to pull move of the air volume and them switch to the pump putting less stress on the pump and cutting the time.

also the bigger the resevoir and tighter the bag the less your pump will need to cycle cutting dowm the noise for your neighbors.

17

I rebuilt the vacuum pump my brother Oneula gave me using an old 4 gallon compressor tank. I probably could have kept the Joe wood worker design but the wood had bad termite damage, and I didn’t want to end up replacing the wood again. The compressor tank I use now also has more volume, but it’s really heavy compared to PVC pipes.

I also found a bad connector and my bag had holes. Once I changed to a new bag with a new connection everything worked perfectly. The pump goes on for a short period then off for a long period. Using the shop vac to get most of the air out of the bag before using just the pump makes getting the pump to stop a lot quicker.