First post but definately not the last.
I have been looking for a vacuum pump for some time but the best i could come up with on my budget was an old fridge compressor. However recently i was offered a deal on a 2.5hp 100litre air compressor. Basic physics tells me that i should be able to use pressurised airflow to generate vacuum but i can’t find any info or kits to do this.
Can someone point me in the general direction, preferably UK based.
Thanks
Many people on here use the vacuum side of the compressor AS the vacuum pump! I do not know the specifics for using it well, and how much vacuum it can pull.
If you want to use an air compressor, what you are lookign for is called a venturi vacuum pump such as: http://www.vaccon.com/
http://www.coleparmer.com/catalog/product_index.asp?cls=46572
and so on.
You need a venturi vacuum generator something like this…
http://www.2linc.com/venturi_vacuum.htm
Should be readily available in the UK or Europe. I use one as a backup.
Have you tried using the compressor yet?? I’ve been playing with this for a few days and the fridge compressore works phenomenally, but the best part is how quiet it is. The Air Compressor is going to generate a lot of noise.
yep compressor venturi vacs are noisy especially without a muffler/silencer.
yep compressor venturi vacs are noisy especially without a muffler/silencer.
spend $25 and pick up a refrigerator compressor from a used appliance business.
i have not tried anything yet, i have to finish sorting my garden then funds allowing i will build a log cabin.
http://dhlogcabins.co.uk/uk/product/80/444/5m-x-3m-severn-3-28-log-cabin
i also have a brick garage which is just behind where the cabin will be. This is where the compressor currently lives.
I do have a fridge compressor which i took out of one of my old fridges but i have not tried to run it yet. The whole DIY carbon thing for me is pretty new. However i will definately be doing it along with rebuilding/modifing various bikes
One thing that hasn’t been mentioned is that it will be very expensive (electricity) to run a workshop compressor to create vacuum.
Welcome to the forum btw. 
Good point, i had not thought of that aspect. I will put a plug on the fridge compressor and see where a vacuum results.
Any ideas on set up would be appreciated, i mean once i find which line draws vacuum.
How do i stop resin being drawn into the lines?
Do i have to lubricate the pump etc?
Just do it right and get a decent vacuum pump. A RobinAir can be had for only a couple hundred $. Pulls a full vac and lasts a long time.
There are plenty of posts which will answer your questions, some are even saved as stickys. The most cheapest and effective way of seperating your resin from vacuum is to run it through a glass jar, one pipe in, one out, with some kind of medium (fine mesh, rag, cotton wool whateva) in the jar to stop it from transfering from one to the other.