Where to Put the Vacuum Pump
Some CNC owners find their vacuum pumps perform better when located in a space that communicates with the outdoors. May 16, 2005
Question
Where is the best spot to have your vacuum pump? We had it inside and we just found it was the problem for our vacuum overheating and causing electrical damage to the main panel.
Forum Responses
(CNC Forum)
From contributor A:
We have our two large vacuum pumps in a separate room. The room is about 12 ft square, with double doors. The doors have cutouts that hold furnace filters, and the room has 2 large (30") exhaust fans linked to a thermostat. In the winter we run an exhaust fan that blows the heated air back into the building. In the summer we switch to the fan that blows the warm air out of the building. This setup works great, as the pumps are always kept cool with clean air. We need to change the furnace filters out 1-2 times per month.
From the original questioner:
We are thinking about putting it outside our shop, in this big covered area. It's on the other side of the wall that is beside the CNC machine. Do you think it will work good outside?
From contributor L:
Ours went inside. Outside subjects it to extra moisture/condensation from very warm internal temps. Also, we were concerned about cold temperature startup and possible thickening of lubricants.
From the original questioner:
After one day of having it outside, I think it helped give a better vacuum output to the machine. We got good pressure, and it's not losing vacuum fast, so far. The first day test of having it outside looks good. Let's see what goes on over time.
From contributor Z:
We faced the same problem as you three months ago. We built a box to prevent the dust from entering the vacuum and on top of it we installed a powerful exhaust fan (industrial type). After that, we have not experienced any more wire burn or trip.
