Knowledge You Can Build On — Est. 1998
Another vacuum pump question
Larry Mart
>I picked up a vacuum pump at an auction, a Gast rotary vane, oil-less, 1/3HP, 110v. It works fine for vacuum chucking for about 10 minutes then it overheats and shuts down. It seems to have a thermal cutoff because it will operate again as soon as it cools off. The pump case gets hot enough that I can't touch it.
What could be the cause of the overheating? Can I safely take it apart to check the innerds?
Thanks,
Larry
"Intermittent duty"
Fred in NC
>A vacuum reserve tank might help. The idea is to pump the air out of the tank before you start.
Re: Another vacuum pump question
� Joe Millsap
>Larry,
I don't know what kind of pump that you have but I take me pump apart all of the time. You might check and see if there is any dust in the cooling ports in the motor. I had to clean mine and it was full of grime.
Re: Another vacuum pump question *LINK*
John U
>You can take it apart quite easily - search the GAST website for the product literature, and download the service manual for your model. When you take the front plate off and have access to the cylinder with the vanes, pay attention to the direction of the bevel on the vanes BEFORE you take them out. If any of the vanes are damaged, replace the whole set, with the bevel in the same direction as they were before you took them out --- the wrong way, and you will need to replace them again as soon as you start it up. Be sure to clean the cylinder when you have everything apart - dirt and debris don't work well with the close tolerances and fragile vanes.
Also check your motor bearings, and replace with new bearings if needed. When you have it apart, give everything, including the motor windings, a good cleaning / blast with air compressor.
Check your exhaust port, and clean the filter/muffler, or replace it if air is not passing through - if an extension was added to the exhaust, you may need to take it off and mount everything to fit close. Likewise, if your pump has an inlet air filter (it should), make sure it's clean also.
When you're running the pump, let some "bleed-in" air in to your vacuum line to let "cool" air circulate through the pump.
Thanks
Larry Mart
>Thanks for all the advice. I'll give the pump a good cleaning and try it again.
Larry
