Venturi pump responses

Venturi pump responses

Paul Prusakowski

5/5/2004

Here are the responses that I got. Thank you very much.

Original question:

I am looking for good sources for venturi systems so that we can end our
reliance on the traditional pump. I have seen a number of them at various
facilities, and we are ready to upgrade our lab to full venturi.



Responses:

We use Vaccon high flow units, they work great, and are pretty reasonable,
check out www.vaccon.com.

If this is an upgrade remains to be experienced but THE manufacturer of air
powered venturi vacuum pumps is PIAB from Sweden.
piabna.piab.com

Call Steve Rubuhn (sp?) at the Otto Bock tech center. He set all of ours up
for us and made the lamination units.

Paul, I have a student who researched these venturis. He found that there is
an A/C venturi used for bleeding A/C lines that is the same thing only has a
pretty box around it. He says it is 16-24.00 at Harbor freight discount
tools and steves discount tools. These are venturis he has used for A/C
evacuation. If you want further info, let me know

We have several of these units in our labs they are awesome PIAB
800-321-7422

Check out McMaster Carr, they are the most economical I have found.

We bought our Venturi pump at Grainger, they have several models to choose
from. Ours is just a single in-line pump. So, when you turn it on (open
the valve) it drains down the compressor. I believe some labs have more
automated systems. I would love to see your responses.

We sell the VacCubes system. I have been using it for the past 2 years for
everything. Call me for info 7275284404.

A word of caution. Venturi pumps are great for some application and poor for
others. If you use a great deal of vacuum you are still better off using a
good quality oil bath vain type. It will move more volume and provide deeper
vacuum if required. The venturi pump is not the most efficient. It requires
a good high capacity air compressor to run on an on going basis. If you push
a small shop compressor you will replace your compressor more often. It's a
trade off. If you intend to run a number of these pumps off one compressor.
Be prepared to spend some serious cash on a big mother compressor.
   I own four types of vacuum pumps; the Otto Bock lamination type, two
(dry) carbon vain type, an oil bath vain type and a high quality Piab
venturi. Vacuum pumps are a science unto it's self. And I have found there
are few true experts.
    If you are simple doing some vacuum bag lamination and simple vacuum
forming the carbon vain will do the job. If you require deep vacuum, go to a
oil type. I have learned this the hard way. We do prepreg lay-ups on a
regular basis. This requires deep vacuum for extended period.
   If you are insistent on a venturi type look at the Piab line from Sweden.

I have purchased two venturi pumps from a company called PIAB thay have a
multi venturi set up that allows you to pull high volumes at low vaccuum and
than lesser volumes at high vacuum. Basicly it works like a automatic
transmision which shifts down when you need more power but you don't go as
fast. The amount of volume you can get out of these things is very
impressive. They are mostly used for robotics and thermoforming of large
pieces. I have found that there volume is so great that the is no real need
for a purge tank. They come in all sizes some consume 3.8 cfm of 50 psi air
supply to run full vacuum and some take 10.0 cfm or more and evacuation
volume increases as air cunsumtion increases. So there is a great range
that you can choose from to suit your needs. They also have a energy saving
system that stops air flow when vacuum level is reached and holds it there
and saves on air use. They can be found on the Piab web site for about
$350.00 and up. If you have a taste for EBAY I have purchased two of them
brand new in box, one for 9.99 plus shipping and one for $30.00 plus
shipping. I have been very impressed with them.

We have been using Venturi's for several years. I like them, and they have
been very reliable.
I bought ours from Steve Ribune, a tech at Otto Bock. He has a side business
setting these up. He also set us up with a double-pull station for
lamination.
I found Steve to be reliable and honest. Call him at the tech center. Good
luck!

We have been using the Vac Cube (www.vac-cube.com) out of Tarpon, FL and
love them. Out system has more than enough suction. The staff is very
helpful in helping to design a system based on your needs. They also sell a
line of accessories such as silencers and auto shut-offs. Great system.

As I am outfitting my new O&P lab, I'm curious about your preference for the
venturi system. What are the advantages of the venturi vs a regular pump?
I'm told that they cause the compressor to work harder and longer and the
hissing from the venturi is quite loud.

I used a venytri pump for our vacuumforming work for 5 years, but recently
switched over to a traditional vacuum pump and reservoir. Both systems
work well, but like the current one the best because I don't have to listen
to the constant hissing noise.

Hi Paul, Fabtech Systems carries Venturi pumps. Contact Greg
Mattson@866-733-9832

We are in the middle of the same search. I can share what we have located
(as far as components, manufacture, etc.) but we have not actually applied
the venturis yet, so I can't give you a performance review.
  We have met with a rep from Vaccon vacuum products. The component that
seems most intriguing for thermoplastic is the Dual-vac series. This
provides High Flow initially to quickly evacuate air, then auto-switches to
high pressure once the desired psi is achieved. This is composed of 2
actual vacuum pumps. For laminations, a single pump seems the best
application.
   Phone number is (508) 359-7200 or e-mail <Email Address Redacted> I will let you
know more detail as I learn it. I'll be curious to see if any others out
there are familiar with these products.


I've got one I bought from McMaster-Carr. It works very nicely but is very
noisy.

Look for a multistage ejector pump (venturi). They are around $175, and
available through McMaster Carr. Multistage are lots more expensive than the
$20 version, but a heck of a lot more efficient and pull higher Hg.

Try EBay.

I have seen all types of vacuum pumps listed.
As a caveat, a venturi pump will not pull as high a vacuum as a mechanical
pump.
  If you are using a venturi pump as the basis of a vacuum assisted resin
transfer process i.e., laminating, then you are probably safe using a
venturi pump.
  As for the instantaneous vacuum needed to produce molding pressures for
encapsulation or bubble thermoforming, you do need the highest vacuum you
can generate. EBay has had many listings for oil immersion rotary vacuum
pumps.
These are much better than the noisy dry rotary vane pumps common in most
O&P labs. The oil immersion pumps are practically silent, last for years if
you change the oil and will pull a full atmosphere of vacuum, for the
elevation of your lab.

Call O&P ENTERPRISES, 800-666-0356 Talk to Don