Hey guys, I’m just wondering where to buy a check valve from. Anyone have any recommendations? I have a Harbor Freight pump, so I can’t do a drop test to check vacuum integrity. It just lets air back into the bag when turned off. I just found out what a check valve is. I guess I need to put one on the vacuum line? Also, setup wise, I’m using the MTI hose and a Greisinger GDH-200 gauge, so I guess a check valve is the last thing I need?
I just took the vacuum fitting off my new HF 3 CFM two stage pump this morning to put a hose bib directly on the pump so as to not depend upon the cover caps on the dual ports to hold a vacuum. I found that the fitting has a check valve built into it. You might remove that fitting and see if yours has one too.
How good it is in holding a vacuum is another story so I am interested in a source for a good check valve as well. If I cannot find one I will put a ball valve between the pump and the hose bib.
Thanks for the info! I’ll check that later today. I actually got ridiculously lucky and someone local had a check valve from veneersupplies.com!↓↓↓
http://www.veneersupplies.com/products/Check-Valve---Heavy-Duty.html
It seems to work good! I was able to get my test vacuum bag down to 1mbar today. It took a while to get it down. Maybe the flow is a bit more restrictive? I lost 1mbar in 30 minutes during the leak test. Looking, total that check valve will be about $22 because of shipping.
http://www.vaccon.com/SearchResult.aspx?KeyWords=check%20valve ←←After browsing around the internet for LONG time since last night, I also found these. They are about double the price, but they are specifically made for vacuum. They mention that they are very unrestrictive to flow. I think I want one of these. Plus, look cool too lol.
Thanks for the info! I’ll check that later today. I actually got ridiculously lucky and someone local had a check valve from veneersupplies.com!↓↓↓
http://www.veneersupplies.com/products/Check-Valve---Heavy-Duty.html
It seems to work good! I was able to get my test vacuum bag down to 1mbar today. It took a while to get it down. Maybe the flow is a bit more restrictive? I lost 1mbar in 30 minutes during the leak test. Looking, total that check valve will be about $22 because of shipping.
http://www.vaccon.com/SearchResult.aspx?KeyWords=check%20valve ←←After browsing around the internet for LONG time since last night, I also found these. They are about double the price, but they are specifically made for vacuum. They mention that they are very unrestrictive to flow. I think I want one of these. Plus, they look cool too lol.
Sorry for the late reply. I tried to reply twice, but I think because I tried posting a link, I couldn’t without approval. Thanks for the info! I’ll check mine! I did manage to get a check valve from the Veneer Supplies website. It seems to work good! I was able to get my absolute pressure gauge to read 0mbar on a test part I did recently. It might be a little restrictive, but not completely sure. I’m thinking it might be a pressure oriented check valve, but it works fine. On the leak test I lost about 1mbar in 30 minutes. The check valve is $12 plus shipping so the total was $22.
There is also a company called Vaccon. Their check valves are a little more expensive, but they look NICE. They’re black anodized aluminum while the Veneer Supplies one is brass. The Vaccon ones are actually vacuum check valves and mention that there is minimum restriction. The highest priced one was $52 or something and the cheapest like $40 just depending on which size you need. I might buy one to try in a few weeks. If you go to the Vaccon website and click under Vacuum accessories you’ll find it there.
Hopefully someone else can chime in!
While making up an order for other things, I found the ACP in Livermore CA sells plastic vacuum check valves for $3.50 each, plus tax and shipping.
You can always use a clamp on the hose to isolate the pump , then switch it off