Problems w/Vacuum Chucking

[Hilel Salomon]

Some time ago, on the basis of complimentary posts, I bought two gast vacuum pumps from Surplus Supplies. I have had very uneven experience with both the pumps and with the oneway drum chucks. The first pump I had simply wouldn't work and Surplus sent me another one without any questions asked. That was the one in VA. Here in Columbia, after only a few uses, I have had little success with the pump. It heats up quickly and pretty much stops until I let it cool down.
Moreover, I can't draw enough air to use the larger of the Oneway drum chucks ever. I can use the Holdfast 6" chuck, but that's only when the pump is working. I've had a little more luck with the smaller oneway drum chuck, but it too doesn't hold as well as the the Holdfast.
Any suggestions? I'm wondering if I should just get a 120v gast from someone other than Surplus? There's one place on the internet which advertises a new gast 5.5 c.f.m for about $325, but on the eve of my trip to see my daughter in France, I'm broke.
Regards, Hilel.

[Skip Spaulding]

Hilel, I am not familiar with Gast pumps but the vacuum pumps I use all have a capacitor on the motor which if bad can cause motor problems, if your motor has a start switch that is not opening it will cause rapid over heating. Good luck and have a great trip, my Son and family are moving to Germany in September for a few years, we hope to have the funds to visit!

[Steve Schlumpf]

Hilel,

What model Gast pump do you have? Just curious. Don't worry about the pump until you get back from France - it will be here waiting for you.

Skip - what part of Germany? I went to high school in Weisbaden - course, that was a few years ago but it sure was a beautiful country!

[tom martin]

Are you wired correctly? Most of the pumps I've seen at surplus are 220. if you run them at 110 it could cause the problems described. I have a gast from surplus supplies that has run like a champ. I think they are designed for continuous duty for the medical industry and aside from being a little noisy mine has run for hour on end. Good luck with your system. I hope you get it up and running soon.
You may want to post a picture of it and see if any of the other creekers can spot something amiss.
Take care,
Tom