Most vacuum for the money

[BreezyHill]

Tim, Certainly talk to your brother. Is the surge a rotary or a piston unit? Both are good units while the rotary will take a vfd better than a piston unit as the speed of the crank shaft splashes oil on the interior of the pump body for cooling. Do strip down the pump prior to running it. Found a mouse nest in the last one I rebuilt. It would have destroyed it in a few hours of running with all the fiber glass insulation and seeds in the pumps oil reservoir and exhaust portings. There was a little insulation pushed into the main housing that would have scratched the vanes and housing negatively affecting the future of the pump. She is back together and waiting on vacuum oil delivery so that I can get her on the bench and test her. The test includes a cfm test at 20,25, & 28 inches cold and then after she hits 120 degrees I retest the cfms and then run her for 8 hours at 28 and record the temp to watch for bearing issues and unusual vane activity or any vane clicking and a final test of cfms.
The clicking is from a vane sticking and not maintaining contact with the housing. This is very bad for the housing and will lead to premature failure of the pump. You can check the vanes in a pump by turning it backwards by hand and listen for the vane dropping out of the rotor/ drum as it turns to a point that gravity will pull the vane to the housing wall. A click is a metal vane and a thud is a non metal vane. Metal has a much longer life but the use of incorrect oils will shorten the pump life. Vacuum pump oil is designed to vaporize off at lower temps for better cooling. The vaporized oil hits the oil reclaimer and is condensated to complete the releasing of the heat. Then it is sent back to the pump to restart the cooling process. The non metal vanes hold heat and have more friction on the housing and will shine the housing better than a metal vane. They both have their advantages and draw backs. Quality oil makes all the difference in the world. It isn't cheap but it beats having a pump that lasts vs one that fails part way into the season.

I am also working on finishing a new reclaimer design. Came across an old dairy designed one that is really simple but expensive to build and weights to much. So I am using the principals of design in some recycled materials of today. Should ne finished in a couple of weeks. that is if the boys soccer doesn't make it past sectionals. Another run to state finals will really take a chunk out of the schedule again.
Let me know one that surge if you need some pointers.

Ben

[sapman]

Hi Ben,
only thing with that pump is I doubt it will go much over 22",from what I've seen. I don't know, maybe a little a /c pump WOULD work for me? I don't suppose they make hardly any cfm.

Thanks,
Tim

[BreezyHill]

Did you isolate the pump from the vac controller? If not then you are looking at the maximum amount that the vac control unit will allow. This is typically 22" unless two weight kits are used in one controller and there is room for them in the unit. The older units were more adjustable than the current units. The only issue I see with an ac unit is it is designed to run in an oil bath. This can be duplicated by using that type of oil in a flood system and watch the temp. I used one of these to power a set of air horns when I was in the squad. Worked for a few years then seized up. But they are cheap and easy enough to setup.