Vacuum Rig Rebuild

Stuart Ablett

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15,917
Location
Tokyo Japan
Nothing wrong with the Old Vacuum Rig, it is just that I want it to fit into a tall narrow space now, so I'm going to change it around a bit, and make some modifications to it as well.

The space I want to use is against the wall, near the lathe, and will be fairly hard to get at once I've installed the rig there. I know that they recommend changing the oil in the vacuum pump every six months, so I'll have to make some system for easily removing the pump from the rig to do an oil change.

Basically, I will put the pump on the bottom and the double vacuum reservoirs on top of the pump.

I will have to build an enclosure of some kind around the pump, and I'm thinking of making is a complete enclosure to beat the noise, and to keep the pump from getting dusty. I'd have a hinged door on the side to get the pump out, for oil changes, and an opening for air flow, to keep things cool as well.

The motor on the pump has a big sticker on it that says "Caution HOT!!".

I was a bit concerned about this, so I ran the pump pulling full vacuum on the reservoir for a full 30 minutes, and the motor was only warm to my touch, not even approaching hot, so I do not know if that is a big worry or not?

vacuum_rig_running.JPG vacuum_rig_guage.JPG

Showing the system as it is now, and the gauge reading near full vacuum.

Do you think that enclosing the pump, with good ventilation, will be a problem?

I'm undecided if I'll get the extra goodies from someone like JoeWoodworker.com or not, the Mac and Vacuum valves that would shut off and turn on the pump at a set vacuum, would be nice, but I don't know if I really need them or not?

Cheers!
 
Stu looks like a good setup to me. I have a friend of mine that enclosed his but put a muffin fan on the end of the box with a opening at the top with fine screen to keep the big stuff out. Dust is not a problem because when the pump is running so is the fan so heat and dust he says are not a problem. I think he has a small filter on the fan side not sure though.
 
Stu, a muffin fan refers to something along the lines of a 120mm cooling fan for a computer case. They make different sizes and voltages, but it's a basic case cooling fan.

On the valves you mentioned from JoeWoodworker (VeneerSupplies, actually), I thought that since you had the reservoir tanks, you already had the valves in place.
What do the tanks provide on your rig as it is now? Without the valves, you can just run the vac pump straight without the need for the tanks.

If you're planning to do vacuum bag stuff, then the valves and tanks are a good idea, as I understand things (unless you want the pump running the full time the piece is in the bag). If it were me, I thisnk I'd buy the key components from VeneerSupplies, but probably not the who "kit" they sell. After putting together their "constant run" kit, I can see that I overpaid for some of the parts that I could have gotten locally. I have no regrets for having spent the money, because it was worth it to have everything I needed, but as it turned out, I still added more parts due to my own design changes.
 
Stu, (realising I'm NO authority, by any means on vacuum systems), I would think that a filter and the muffin fan might be a good idea, and I do think that making the unit so it would cycle instead of running all time, would cut down on the overall shop noise, as well as allow the vacuum pump to have a longer life. The size of your vacuum tanks will determine the length of time between the cycle from off to on, with any given demand on the system.
 
Stu
When it comes to hot running equipment, what I used to do in industry was fabricate an aluminum shroud (or umbrella) to sit right over the top of the equipment. It keeps dust and chip from resting on your equipment and the aluminum sheds heat so fast it makes for a safer installation. In your case you would have to install an elbow at your suction line to allow the shroud to fit close to the vac pump. See end view picture below.
I will probably do the same thing on the Joewoodworker vac system I am building.

shroud.jpg
 
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