We are having problems with our Becker vacuum pumps. The vanes are expensive and we had some fail after a few months. They are suggesting the 5 year old pump may need a rebuild. I have 2 so I am looking at alternatives.

I searched it and all the threads I come across are very old. are rotary vane the new standard or do people still spec liquid ring?

Any insight is appreciated.

I love my Sullair rotary screw.

Dump the vain pump. Get a used screw or liquid ring. Much more forgiving and heavy duty.

5 years for a rebuild seems extreme, how many hours a day are you running?

i recently saw a few shops with Atlas Copco variable speed pumps when on a tech tour with Biesse. The hold down was amazing, the pumps were very quiet. I think it might be more than new beckers but worth looking into imo.

On my previous machine I ran Becker vltf250. The first one was as old as the hills and pretty worn out and I would still get about 2 years out of it. I replaced it with a brand new Vltf250 and got the same life. My new machine has Bosch rotary claw pumps that are maintanence free for some ridiculous amount of hours and no consumble vanes and great vacuum. We clean the filter every couple weeks.
I sold my old machine and pumps but found a set of Bain’s that I had for back ups. Contact me if you are interested they can be had for a fraction of the new cost.

I have had a Travaini liquid ring vacuum pump that has had only regular maintenance over the past 15 years. We keep it in the compressor room, out of the dust, but I don't know if that is the reason for the long trouble free life. We put it in there to keep the heat and noise away from the operators. I have had less luck with rotary vane type pumps.

Mike how far is the plumbing from the compressor room to the machine?

I got a quote on a Dekker and a Kaeser. They are both over 20K. I could plumb the exhaust of the Dekker out so any oil it passes would not be an issue. My compressor room is quite far away from the Machine so I am not sure that is feasible. We have Kaeser compressors they are bulletproof but the maintenance cost is high.

If I was going to replace what I have I would lean towards the Dekker because I think the maintenance cost over time would be less.

I run 50 feet of 3" pipe from the pump to the CNC.

I used suction hose from a vacuum truck. Less expensive and has camlocks on both ends so easy to move and re-plumb.

Bill, not in the shop right now, but guessing 50-60 feet. Kaeser would be my choice.

Bill,
Maybe get a quote on a Travaini. Mine has been awesome and not as much $ as a Kaeser unless something has drastically changed. The only issue we have had is kicking a thermal when someone forgets to turn on the exhaust fan in the ceiling that circulates air in the summer. With both machines running, it can get very hot without the fan running.

I just reached out to them. I'll see what they say, thanks.

used to have 2 becker pumps and like you had many problems. After about 3 years of use we needed to rebuild. Eventually switched over to Travaini liquid ring pumps. We now have 4 and I would highly recommend. These run in pretty tough conditions and we have had little to no issues. The pumps vary in age from 1- 10 years in service.

After looking at many alternatives I bought a used Kaeser BSV100 with low hours.

We do not have it in production yet but I feel it will meet our needs.

I'll follow up for future people searching this topic.

2-10 Hp Becker dry vane pumps with new air filters would pull 24-1/2" on a new sheet of plywood.

By the end of a sheet with a lot of cuts it would be down to 20. Small parts could move, but it is not terrible if you manage your technique.

With a 25 Hp Kaeser BSV100 the same sheet would pull 28" and hold that to the end of the sheet.

In theory that is 8" x 14.1 (14.1 PSI is the hold down pressure we can expect at our altitude and average temp) = 113 PSI of additional holding force vs the Becker Pumps.

This pump will be going to a new machine and the plumbing is temporary. It is supposed to go through 4" pipe the whole way and we have it choked down to 3" at one point so I only expect better performance once we permanently plumb in the new machine.

If you've ever had a leaky water pipe or watched helplessly as a sink has slowly filled with water, you'll know how important it is to have a reliable and powerful vacuum pump in your home. It's an essential part of any plumbing system. Here's the basics of vacuum pumps.

http://www.west-technology.co.uk/vacuum/sales/vacuum-pumps/reco