Vac Sys Clamp with Venturi Vacuum Generator?

[jbasen]

Has anyone tried a Vac Sys clamp with a venturi vacuum generator hooked up to their compressor?  Something like:
http://www.infinitytools.com/Venturi-Vacuum-System-w_-Air-Compressor-Adapter/productinfo/VEN-001/

Buying just the Vac Sys clamp and the Venturi system would save you about 50% off the cost of the full Vac Sys if you already have a compressor.  I also posted this question to customer service at Infinity Tools to see if they have tried it.  Maybe there is a Festool dealer local to them and they will get together to try it out. 

Thanks

 

[rst]

Any system that produces vacuum will work.  I have the Sys Vac I and II and spent Friday morning replacing and rearranging the inlets so that I could use my $15.00 surplus industrial vac pump.  It was 220V, hence the price, but I only use mine in the shop.  My first vacuum jig patterns made 30+ years ago used my Sears shop vac.  I went from that to using the inlet of my air compressor before finally finding the used refrigeration pump that I've been using the last 25 years. 

 

[jbasen]

Thanks [member=25351]rst[/member]

I expect that anything that will produce a vacuum will work to some degree.  The more vacuum the more holding power.  I'm specifically interested in whether the venturi produces enough vacuum to produce a solid hold for sawing, sanding, routing, etc.

It should be interesting to see what Infinity tools comes back with.  Hopefully they recognize the potential market of Festool users and jump on the idea of running a test with the 2 products.

 

[Nat X]

I'm sure they can tell you how many inches of mercury they expect that thing to be able to pull and you can go from there. Any pump will work; whether or not it's portable and quiet is another matter entirely, but if neither of those things are important to your use case, then there are tons of cheaper alternatives.

 

[jbasen]

Looking at the new Festool Catalog (Thanks Festool Nirvana!) it says that the Vac Sys pump is capable of producing 150 mbar of pressure.  There is a video on the Infinity Tools web page for the venturi and it shows it hooked to a compressor producing 80 psi and -25 inches of mercury when I read the optional gauge that is attached in the video.  According to google, 25 inches of mercury is 846 mbar. 

Please someone correct me if I'm wrong but that seems to say the venturi is MORE than capable of producing clamping pressure for the vac sys. 

 

[rst]

I'm a "do it, try it, fix it" kinda guy, I make a lot of calculated quess'.  In thirty years of using vacuum jigs I never checked the amount of pressure my systems generated, I just pulled on the material.  For my pattern jigs I use cheap self adhesive weatherstrip and have made hundreds of pieces on them.  Like I mentioned earlier I've used a shop vac, an air compressor inlet, and a refrigeration vac pump.  Just for S***s and Giggles I bought a gauge to check my pump and it pulls 28 inches.

 

[Nat X]

Looking at the new Festool Catalog (Thanks Festool Nirvana!) it says that the Vac Sys pump is capable of producing 150 mbar of pressure.  There is a video on the Infinity Tools web page for the venturi and it shows it hooked to a compressor producing 80 psi and -25 inches of mercury when I read the optional gauge that is attached in the video.  According to google, 25 inches of mercury is 846 mbar. 

Please someone correct me if I'm wrong but that seems to say the venturi is MORE than capable of producing clamping pressure for the vac sys.

I asked that exact same question when the new pump was announced and I think that "150 mbar" number that gets quoted is completely imaginary. The gauge built into the thing shows it pulling well into the negative 20s on every reasonably surfaced substrate I've stuck on mine.

 

[jbasen]

Looking at the new Festool Catalog (Thanks Festool Nirvana!) it says that the Vac Sys pump is capable of producing 150 mbar of pressure.  There is a video on the Infinity Tools web page for the venturi and it shows it hooked to a compressor producing 80 psi and -25 inches of mercury when I read the optional gauge that is attached in the video.  According to google, 25 inches of mercury is 846 mbar. 

Please someone correct me if I'm wrong but that seems to say the venturi is MORE than capable of producing clamping pressure for the vac sys.

I asked that exact same question when the new pump was announced and I think that "150 mbar" number that gets quoted is completely imaginary. The gauge built into the thing shows it pulling well into the negative 20s on every reasonably surfaced substrate I've stuck on mine.

That makes more sense.  Since the gauge in the Infinity Tools video shows -25 it sounds like they might have very similar holding power. 

 

[Brandon]

Any updates on this? I just ordered the Venturi from Infinity with hopes that it may work.

 

[jbasen]

Unfortunately no.  However, I am going to be making the 3 hour trip today to my "local" dealer.  I believe they have a Vac Sys on display so I may be able to play with it a little and see what I can figure out.

 

[jbasen]

I just got back from woodcraft and took a look at their Vac Sys.  The bad news is that the connectors used by Festool for the vacuum hoses are not the standard connectors used in the US for compressors.  The connector is larger.  I'm not sure if this is a standard size used in Europe.  So, unless the connectors can be individually purchased as parts from Festool I don't think it will be possible to hook a vacuum generator up to the Vac Sys clamp instead of an $800 Festool vacuum pump  :'(

 

[blk65brd]

From ekat breakdown on the Vac sys clamp the hose coupling 494574 - $50.87 and plug nipple 474202 - $17.10, they should be items that can be ordered

 

[Brandon]

Got some parts on the way, I'll keep you posted how it goes

 

[jbasen]

Thanks [member=7770]Brandon[/member] !!

I'm taking a slightly different route.  I picked up a vacuum generator at woodcraft yesterday (10% birthday discount [big grin]).  I'm going to try and make my own clamping system.  If it doesn't work I haven't invested a lot of money and can always drop back 10 and get the Vac-Sys clamp and try to connect the vacuum generator to it.  I have a couple of other projects to finish up first so it will be a little while before I get to dig into this.

 

[Brandon]

Did you get the Hold Fast Vac generator?

 

[jbasen]

Did you get the Hold Fast Vac generator?

I got the Hold Fast TM Vacuum Generator
http://www.woodcraft.com/product/159883/hold-fast-tm-vacuum-generator.aspx

 

[rst]

in regard to the Festool connectors...I use a surplus refrigeration vacuum pump.  I cut off the female connector and replaced it with a standard Milton connector using a barb fitting.  As I also bought the Sys II, so I had to modify the other connections also.  I have a call into Festool service trying to determine the female entry into the actual parts as I would like to replace the fittings in order to use push/pull fittings so i can remove the hoses for storage and ease of setup.  I think that they are probably dedicated pneumatic fitting sizes, either F or G as the threading is not pipe or metric.

 

[Cheese]

[member=25351]rst[/member]
I'm 98% sure that Festool uses a G-thread (BSPP: British Standard Pipe Parallel, a Whitworth variation  [eek]) on the Vac Sys components. I pulled apart a few of the items and the major & minor diameters of the internal and external threads all fall within the BSPP G3/8 specifications.

A further hint is on the Festo website, under "Threads in Pneumatics", I also found the information below.
https://www.festo.com/wiki/en/Threads_in_pneumatics

Festool uses a teflon sealing gasket on the connections and the P/N is 478814. Hopes this helps...

 

[rst]

Thanks Cheese, I was pretty sure this the one also but wanted verification before I ordered fittings...gotta love FOG.

 

[Cheese]

Thanks Cheese, I was pretty sure this the one also but wanted verification before I ordered fittings...gotta love FOG.

Ya I'm going to order some fittings tomorrow. I'm hooking this up to a Milwaukee vacuum pump that was used for a Vacu-Rig, a core drilling piece of equipment.