HELP on vacuum pumps

[Leather Man]

I have been looking at Gast vacuum pumps on e-bay. There are so many different styles and models to look at I am not sure what to get. First, I do not know anything about vacuum pumps. What are the things I should look for in a pump? ie, HP, how many inches to pull, etc. I know one person uses and likes the HF pump, but I don't want to get one and later wish I had something bigger. Are the Gast pumps overkill? Any help or recommendations on this matter would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Ben

 

[dubdrvrkev]

If you have 220V available this is the best deal I have seen.
http://www.surpluscenter.com/item.asp?UID=2007012700454510&item=4-1540&catname=air
IIRC the HF is a venturi vacuum generator which you have to listen to you compressor run constantly to pull vacuum. If you might do vacuum chucking in the future get a real vacuum pump.

 

[Russb]

If you are looking for a pump to be used with the HF pot almost any kind of pump will work. Since the pot is well sealed that is why even the venturi systems work. If you are looking to make a vacuum chuck for things like bowls I would suggest a vane type pump. These have a greater CFM to help compensate for any leakage.

 

[aksarben]

Wow, 220 is a lot of juice for a 1/4 HP motor.

Scott

 

[Fangar]

Originally posted by dubdrvrkev
<br />I...the HF is a venturi vacuum generator which you have to listen to you compressor run constantly to pull vacuum...

Actually, this is not the case. When I pull a vacuum using the HF venturi, it pulls up to around 25 in. merc, and then I close a valve on my tank. Then the venturi can be disconnected. Also, at under 15 dollars, it works well. I got mine on sale for 10 bucks. You can also chuck all of the metal around the unit and have a venturi that is about the size of a deck of cards.

Cheers,

Fangar

 

[DocStram]

I just put together a vacuum chuck for turning bowls. I read a whole lot about it before getting started. You'll find lots of useful information by googling. One really helpful tip: Give Gast a call. Their tech support guy was a tremendous help. I had narrowed it down to a couple of choices in ebay ... I then gave the Gast guy a call and he talked with me about which model numbers were most appropriate for my needs. It didn't matter to him that I was buying a used one.

 

[Leather Man]

Thanks guys very much. I was concidering the HF venturi pump but if I ever wanted to use the pump for a vacuum chuck I would need the bigger Gast pump wouldn't I? This way I could use it for both. Does the Gast pump on the Surplus Center site need wiring? Any other advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you.
Ben