Vacuum pressing with Festool vac-sys pump

[Getmaverick]

I know this has been asked before, but I'm looking for real use experience.
Is there any fittings that is needed and which ones?
What bag are you using?
What results have you had?

I have never vacuum pressed before so I'm a complete noob at the process.

 

[afish]

Try joewoodworker.com lots of vacuum pressing info over there.  However none of it specifically related to (Festool vac-sys) but lots of good general vacuum pressing info. The site is a little hard to navigate but that might just be me. 

 

[rst]

Vacuum is vacuum no matter how generated.  30 years ago I used my shop vac for homemade jigs.  From there I used the intake on my air compressor.  25+ years ago I bought a used  surplus HVAC vac pump for $15.00 which I still use for my Virutex and Festool vac stations.

 

[blaszcsj]

I bought mine for the same reason. I am planning on doing doing some vacuum press laminations in the near future. I spoke to Jory Brigham as he is a dealer and he uses the vac-sys as a pump due to it being a continuous duty pump. he does his ping pong table laminations using the pump.

I bought it, and have mainly used it for clamping using the pods. A-Maze-balls! blows my mind why i did not have these before now. just having the pods around is enough of an excuse to buy it.

 

[afish]

Yes I agree vacuum is vacuum.  The pump cfm and duty cycle is whats impotant. How big of an area or volume you are trying to vacuum. 4x8 sheets will take longer with low CFM pump. Some press 3d parts with lots of volume too. So all this matters for the pump.  I just converted my old Senco 2hp 4 gallon compressor over to a vacuum pump.  Its funny I was about to junk the thing since all it was used for was small nail guns but now everything is battery operated so it came time to either repurpose or get rid of it.  Its been a great compressor so I hated to toss it.  It pulls vacuum to 27" in short order even though I havent timed it but guessing about 30 seconds.  It will get to 28" if I leave it running another 30 seconds but 27" is more than enough.  I am about as close to sea level as you can get though. I dont do any vacuum pressing but plan on making some vacuum clamps for it but who knows maybe one day. 

Does the Festool vac sys have a vacuum switch that cycles the pump on and off if it drops below a certain threshold?  Or does it just run constantly?  I would want to know the cut in and off pressures for the switch if it has one.  If it doesnt and just runs constantly it would be a no go since any and all vacuum setups will loose vacuum over even short time compared to some of the glue times needed.  I would be concerned with life span running it non stop for 12hrs straight.  I havent seen one in person but it looks fairly small.     

 

[dltflt]

This is from a post a long time ago. It specifies the fitting required to connect to a bag.

Oetiker hose clamp, 479816, that Festool specifies is $1.50.

The plug nipple, 474202, has one end threaded to fit a G1/4" connection. The G1/4" is also known as a BSPP, British Standard Pipe Parallel thread and uses a flat gasket for a seal.

However, if you're connecting up to a standard NPT connection, Parker makes nipples that will couple the Festool hose coupling to a standard sized NPT. Use the 254 series.

 

[blaszcsj]

Looking at EKAT it does not appear to have anything besides a check valve, and there is no pressure switch listed in the parts catalog.

In use I have not ever had the pump shut off or cycle.

Yes I agree vacuum is vacuum.  The pump cfm and duty cycle is whats impotant. How big of an area or volume you are trying to vacuum. 4x8 sheets will take longer with low CFM pump. Some press 3d parts with lots of volume too. So all this matters for the pump.  I just converted my old Senco 2hp 4 gallon compressor over to a vacuum pump.  Its funny I was about to junk the thing since all it was used for was small nail guns but now everything is battery operated so it came time to either repurpose or get rid of it.  Its been a great compressor so I hated to toss it.  It pulls vacuum to 27" in short order even though I havent timed it but guessing about 30 seconds.  It will get to 28" if I leave it running another 30 seconds but 27" is more than enough.  I am about as close to sea level as you can get though. I dont do any vacuum pressing but plan on making some vacuum clamps for it but who knows maybe one day. 

Does the Festool vac sys have a vacuum switch that cycles the pump on and off if it drops below a certain threshold?  Or does it just run constantly?  I would want to know the cut in and off pressures for the switch if it has one.  If it doesnt and just runs constantly it would be a no go since any and all vacuum setups will loose vacuum over even short time compared to some of the glue times needed.  I would be concerned with life span running it non stop for 12hrs straight.  I havent seen one in person but it looks fairly small.   

 

[afish]

Looking at EKAT it does not appear to have anything besides a check valve, and there is no pressure switch listed in the parts catalog.

In use I have not ever had the pump shut off or cycle.

Yes I agree vacuum is vacuum.  The pump cfm and duty cycle is whats impotant. How big of an area or volume you are trying to vacuum. 4x8 sheets will take longer with low CFM pump. Some press 3d parts with lots of volume too. So all this matters for the pump.  I just converted my old Senco 2hp 4 gallon compressor over to a vacuum pump.  Its funny I was about to junk the thing since all it was used for was small nail guns but now everything is battery operated so it came time to either repurpose or get rid of it.  Its been a great compressor so I hated to toss it.  It pulls vacuum to 27" in short order even though I havent timed it but guessing about 30 seconds.  It will get to 28" if I leave it running another 30 seconds but 27" is more than enough.  I am about as close to sea level as you can get though. I dont do any vacuum pressing but plan on making some vacuum clamps for it but who knows maybe one day. 

Does the Festool vac sys have a vacuum switch that cycles the pump on and off if it drops below a certain threshold?  Or does it just run constantly?  I would want to know the cut in and off pressures for the switch if it has one.  If it doesnt and just runs constantly it would be a no go since any and all vacuum setups will loose vacuum over even short time compared to some of the glue times needed.  I would be concerned with life span running it non stop for 12hrs straight.  I havent seen one in person but it looks fairly small.   

If thats the case I would say its not the best choice for a veneer press.  Usually most people vacuum pressing leave the press on overnight 12+ hours from what I understand.  It doesnt matter how good you think you have everything sealed you will loose vacuum.  With a pump designed for veneer pressing they monitor and cycle on and off as needed to maintain consistent vacuum. Will the festool work and pull vacuum ? sure. Is it the best option ? NO. Having said that you could add the component's needed to make it cycle on and off as needed.  Depending on the pump specs. CFM, amp's it will require another $100 or so depending on how fancy you want to get. I would still want to know how much vacuum it pulls too. 

 

[Getmaverick]

Thanks for all the replies everyone. It seems nobody has any real experience with this pump for pressing.
I agree with the cycling of vacuum on and off. I do think though for the occasional use for pressing it would be fine running continually.
12 hours seems like a lot of time for panels, maybe for bent or curved pieces.

 

[blaszcsj]

Per veneer supplies .com a continuous pump is fine for veneering. Their excel series are all continuous duty pumps like the vac Sys. I do not see why this would be an issue.

https://www.joewoodworker.com/veneering/choosingavacuumpress.htm

 

[blaszcsj]

Veneer supplies also says you should use continuous mode for vacuum clamps due to the possible cycling damaging the pump. So continuous should be ok for both applications. They suggest a mod for vac control.

https://www.joewoodworker.com/veneering/EVS/mods-options.htm

 

[blaszcsj]

From other vac Sys thread:

How would the Festool pump work with vacuum bags?  Is it practical to get away with one pump for both Vac Sys and vacuum bag use?

Which of the three pumps would be best for both uses?

The Festool is (I believe) a 2 cfm pump, which would be totally fine for moderate sized vac bagging.  If you wanted to do larger vac bagging, I think the Excel 5 would be better.  If you look at veneersupplies.com, they have a chart comparing their systems, including the two continuous duty ones (Excel 1 and 5).  The Excel 1 is a 1cfm and supposedly can handle 4x4 bags (for flat work) and 2x4 curved.  The Excel 5 with 5cfm can do 4x15 or 6x10 flat and 4x6 curved.  So I would guess the Festool pump would spec somewhere in middle...