How to Decide What Type of Rotary Vane Vacuum Pump You Need
Rotary vane vacuum pump styles are some of the most popular vacuum pumps that are used in today’s manufacturing world and in day to day activities.
They are commonly placed in industrial vacuum environments which include packaging, thermal forming, hospital systems and vacuum handling applications.
One of the features that make rotary vane vacuum pumps popular is the simple construction of the vane pumps. Due to the simple construction of the vane pumps they are commonly inexpensive to manufacture. What is really nice is that even though they are fairly inexpensive they are a good value to anyone needing to use a vacuum pump.
There are two different types of rotary vane vacuum pumps. One of them is a lubricated pump. The other type is a non-lubricated pump which is commonly referred to as an “oil free” pump. Both of them operate using the same type of principles, but are used for different types of applications. This is probably one of the most important principles to understand and if you select the wrong one you could end up with a broken down vacuum pump.
Let’s take a look at the two different types and of vacuum pumps. The first one is the lubricated pump. One of the obvious reasons for choosing oil lubricating rotary vane vacuum pump is because the use of the vacuum pump requires a higher vacuum level. The reason an oiled pump can achieve a higher vacuum is because the oil in the pump creates a liquid seal between the vane and pump housing.
The non-lubricated vacuum pump is capable of generating a vacuum level of 27 in. There are oil free models that offer slightly higher vacuum levels, but fundamentally 90% is about as much as you’ll get. In the non-lubricated pumps, air slippage occurs between the vane and the pump housing. With that the air leaks back between the vane and the pump housing and therefore make it so that a higher vacuum can never be accomplished.
Most of the time people think they want a vacuum pump with the highest vacuum pump level as possible. Sometimes that isn’t always the right thing to get. A couple of questions that you will want to answer before making a decision are: What exact vacuum level is required and what is the application? These two questions should help you determine if you need and oil-free pump or one that is oil-lubricated.
There is much more information, but this helps you get a basic start on how the rotary vane vacuum pump works and a couple of things you can answer to decide what you need.
United Vacuum Pumps Inc (http://www.unitedvacuum.com/) specializes in the manufacturing, and remanufacturing of industrial rotary piston pumps and rotary lobe blowers. Art Gib is a freelance writer.