Description

COMPACT, RELIABLE & EFFICIENT!

CULMI Single & Two Stage Vacuum Pump

Model

1)CULMI VP115 (1/4HP) Single Stage Vacuum Pump (50Hz 1.5CFM, 60Hz 1.8CFM) 150 Microns = RM284.00 PER UNIT
2)CULMI VP240 (1/2HP) Two Stage Vacuum Pump (50Hz 3.5 CFM, 60Hz 4.0 CFM) 15 Microns = RM628.00 PER UNIT

3)CULMI VP260 (1/2HP) Two Stage Vacuum Pump (50Hz 5.0 CFM, 60Hz 6.0 CFM) 15 Microns = RM683.00 PER UNIT

4)CULMI VP290 (1HP) Two Stage Vacuum Pump (50Hz 8.0 CFM, 60Hz 9.0 CFM) 15 Microns = RM948.00 PER UNIT

5)CULMI VP2200 (1HP) Two Stage Vacuum Pump (50Hz 10.0 CFM, 60Hz 12.0 CFM) 15 Microns = RM1,146.00 PER UNIT (NO STOCK SINCE 28-10-2024)

Note

1)22-8-2023 (AAA=NO.1 TO 4 [40.01111])
2) 22-8-2023 (AAA=NO.5 [45.00017])

3) 9-9-2022 = 40 (1-4) 45.26 (5)

Spart Part

1) INTAKE PORT FITTING FOR VP2200 VACUUM PUMP = RM40.00 PER PC

2) FRONT ROTARY VANE AND BACK ROTARY VANE (VP260)
3) FRONT ROTARY VANE AND BACK ROTARY VANE (VP2200)

4) OIL COMPARTMENT (CULMI VP290)

News

Aitcool (CULMI's Brand Vaccum Pump Original Maker) has had gotten the TUV Certification. TUV is a safety certification (which is widely accepted in Europe) that customized by TUV Germany for electric appliances and component products. TUV Germany is the largest, oldest and most authoritative inspection agency.

AITCOOL has gotten the certification means that our products are assured through testing and review, and also means that our products satisfy safety requirements of European and International standards. Therefore, we can show you our strong confidence about our products and also you can truly believe our products.

AITCOOL is dedicated to producing high quality and safety products to every customer. We are indeed grateful to you to trust us and choose our products. We promise to provide high quality and safety products and best service.

TECHNICAL (FAQ PUMPS)

Why Is My Vacuum Pump Smoking?

Is your vacuum pump smoking and you are worried that it is malfunctioning? Are you concerned about possible damages? Well, you may not have a major issue. In many cases, the smoke you see is actually mechanical pump oil vapor. Many people tend to think that whenever there is smoke emitting from the pump, it means there is something wrong with the machine. But, oil vapor or oil mist is a natural by-product of creating vacuum in an oil sealed mechanical pump. There is nothing to worry when you notice this kind of vapor because the pump emits it while pumping on a specific chamber from the atmosphere.

Why does it happen?

A vacuum pump has several essential parts, and the oil reservoir is one of them. The air pumped into the chamber moves through the oil reservoir. When it comes in contact with the oil, some of it is vaporized, especially when there is excess air moving through the reservoir. The pump will try to provide enough pressure into the chamber. You will notice more vapor/smoke when there is more pressure. However, as the pressure reduces, the oil vapor also reduces dramatically. In other words, as a volume of air enters the vacuum pump, more oil mist is created. As the volume decreases, you will see less mist. Smoke or mist out of your exhaust indicates there is a volume traveling through the pump; if you see a constant flow of mist out of the exhaust, and you think you have exhausted your vessel or chamber that you are pumping down, it may indicate there is a leak somewhere into the pump, or that the gas ballast is in the open position. Many manufacturers recommend installing an oil mist eliminator on the exhaust to coalesce the oil mist. Most oil mist eliminators have replaceable filters which need to be changed when they become saturated with oil.

Occasional oil discharge

Some designs of vacuum pumps contain an internal oil mist separator inside the exhaust cavity. It usually remains closed with a cover plate. This part is made of a fibrous material that gets wet when oil passes through it. The more the oil passes through this part, the more chances of the smoke emitting when the pump is operating in full throttle. When the exhaust mist separator becomes saturated it needs to be replaced. Running the vacuum pump with mist separator that is overly saturated can create a plugging-effect on the exhaust, which creates back-pressure throughout the vacuum pump. Backpressure can lead to leakage in the seals as they are forced backwards to their design, and in some cases can even damage or break the seals.

One of the primary reasons why the mist may appear while the pump is switched on is due to a noisy pump.

Noisy pumps - Sometimes the smoke coming from the pump may be due to some genuine fault in the machine. If your new pump emits smoke, you should understand that it is the oil vapor that you are mistaking it for. However, if the pump is old and already worked for several years, the smoke may indicate there is an internal leak or that the pump is not functioning properly. You will also notice the pump making abnormal noises, and that the ultimate vacuum level is slipping. This can happen when some foreign objects get trapped inside the pump. It is a very severe problem, and you might notice heavy smoke from the oil reservoir. Apart from the smoke, there will also be erratic noises and vibrations. Many users overload the pump with water. This can also make the pump noisy, and eventually, it will emit smoke in addition to hydraulic and groaning sounds. Overloading the pump with water will reduce its efficiency and also increase the risk of malfunctioning. If you suspect there is debris or contamination that has gotten into the vacuum pump, try changing the oil and see if you can improve performance with a clean batch of oil.

Technicians think that it is not uncommon for oil-filled pumps to emit a mist when air is moving through the pump. Whenever the full vacuum pulls down the chamber, you will notice that the smoke disappears. However, if you continue seeing the mist after the chamber has been evacuated, it may be a sign that there is a leak somewhere in the system. You should contact an expert to inspect the pump thoroughly because if this problem persists, it can damage the unit altogether. Running a vacuum pump on a leak for an extended period of time will make the pump run hotter, and the increase in oil mist production will cause a dip in the oil level of the pump. Eventually, the pump will run out of oil; running the pump without oil will cause damage to the internals.

Understanding normal mist levels during operation can help technicians notice when something is unusual with during operation. Addressing issues with excess oil mist as soon as they occur will help to extend the lifespan of the pump. If you have questions about operation, please contact Provac and one of our technicians will be able to assist you.

Why is it so important to change the oil often in my vacuum pump?

The proper oil in a vacuum pump acts as a blotter and absorbs all of the moisture and non-condensables. As the oil becomes saturated with these contaminants, the efficiency of the pump is dramatically reduced. Maintaining clean oil in the pump ensures that the pump will operate at peak efficiency and prolong its life.

Why is it important to change my oil when the pump is hot?

As the pump cools, the moisture and contaminates start to separate in the pump and when drained, the contaminants cling to the walls of the pump. When you refill the pump with new oil, those contaminants will mix in with the new oil as the pump warms up resulting in the new oil quickly becoming contaminated.

If I am always pulling a vacuum on clean, dry systems, is there a way to check my oil in the pump to see if it is contaminated and not have to change it so frequently?

It is recommended that a micron gauge be attached directly to the pump and should pull to 50 microns or lower if the oil is clean. If the micron gauge does not pull to 50 microns, it is an indication that the oil is becoming contaminnated and should be changed.

Other than pulling air out of the system, how does my vacuum pump get rid of the moisture in the system?

Most two stage vacuum pumps will go low enough in vacuum and reduce the atmospheric pressure within the system, thus allowing boiling of the moisture at a lower temperature. Once the moisture is in a vapor form, it is readily removed by the pump.

What is a micron?

There are 25,400 microns in an inch. Therefore, with a compound gauge reading 0 inches to 30 inches, there are 762,000 microns.

I have been using my low side gauge to pull a vacuum, is this wrong?

YES. The low side gauge knows only atmospheric pressure and cannot sense moisture or non-condensables. A micron gauge is a heat sensing device that not only reads atmospheric pressure, but also measures the gases created by the vacuum pump as it boils the moisture. For example, if you were to pull a vacuum on an enclosed bottle of water, the low side gauge when pulling a vacuum will read a perfect vacuum. Using a micron gauge, it will immediately tell you with a high reading the you have a problem in you system.

I have been pulling a vacuum on my system using a micron gauge and cannot get it down to a low reading.

See FAQ #1. Another possibility is that some oil may have entered the micron gauge and is giving false readings. The remedy is to pour regular rubbing alcohol into the connector on the micron gauge, shake, and pour out (do not use a q-tip, rag, or any other material - use the liquid alcohol only). Do this about three times, then try to pull a vacuum with the gauge.

Can I mount my micron gauge onto the vacuum pump?

It is not recommended to do so as you are reading what the pump is doing and not what the pump is doing to the system (see DV-29). It is suggested that you tee off on the suction side of the system and mount the gauge there.

Understanding Vacuum

It is not my intention to give a lecture about vacuum nor to be complete in my explanation. See Wikipedia or other encyclopedia.

In the year 2000 when I started to study the possibilities for a DIY boat building project, I was a total composite greenhorn (still too much honor, actually I knew nothing) and there was almost no information about vacuum infusion except that it was some kind of black magic, operated behind closed doors by some very professional boat building plants.

However, vacuum resin infusion seemed to me the ultimate way of laminating a boat hull and I saw the possibilities to make my single handed boatbuilding project possible without having any previous composite experience. Vacuum infusion is a defined process that not depends of my initially lack on knowledge and experience and skills for laminating big boat hulls. Now that has been said, think about the following. Vacuum bagging is much more tolerant and can operate even with a not leak proof vacuum bag and at lower vacuum rates, so must be much easier to do. However, being not a defined process, requires experience and skills in the eyes of the novice composite worker because it has to start with a hand-lay-up laminate with all the accompanying tits and bits.

For the experienced composite worker it is a piece of cake and is the text above just BS. For the beginner in composites with a high tech composite yacht in mind, the choice for vacuum infusion is a logical one. Just acquire the knowledge and go for it ......

In the composite practice it is necessary to know a little more about the vacuum pump, the use of measuring units and to handle some pitfalls in the field of vacuum. At the start of my composite adventure I had wished this composite related vacuum information would have been available in that time and in such a way I could understand. With vacuum resin infusion the devil is in the details and it is these details that make the difference.

So, to operate vacuum infusion you just need some more knowledge and a little more understanding of vacuum is a good start.

Don't think I'm writing this down only for the coming vacuum infusion enthusiasts or other visitors to my website as this is at the same time a refresher for my own knowledge of the matter.

And regarding my workmanship with composites, that has reached an acceptable level now as I went through a steep learning curve since the beginnings in 2000.

So, coming vacuum infusion enthusiasts, here it is.

Vacuum

The quality of a vacuum refers to how closely it approaches a perfect vacuum. The perfect vacuum is a volume of space that is essentially empty of matter. In practice achieving complete emptiness is impossible. Even the outer space is not empty of matter. Go study quantum mechanics to understand why.

The quality indicators are low vacuum, medium vacuum, high vacuum, ultra high vacuum, extremely high vacuum and outer space. In this vacuum terminology the construction of composite parts with help of a vacuum process operates in the low to medium vacuum rates, being not better than 99% of atmospheric pressure. The other four indicators are for vacuum quality between 99,999% etc. and 100% of atmospheric pressure.

For the vacuum infusion jobs I often speak about 'high vacuum' , 'full vacuum' or 'deep vacuum' but what I mean is the use of a vacuum that can be as low (or high?) as 99% of the outside pressure. Say 29.5 'Hg or 1 Bar. Wow, that is a lot, but in fact in vacuum terminology this is considered as 'Medium Vacuum'.

Now that we know that please forget it immediately. I prefer to speak about 'full or high vacuum' meaning to achieve the best possible vacuum our vacuum pump is capable of. Most rotary vane pumps are capable of achieving an absolute pressure of 50 mbar (1,5 'Hg) or better.

I hear you saying 'But what about pulling 29 'Hg or better I'm reading in all these websites about vacuum bagging, resin infusion, vacuum pumps, etc.'

Now that is food for misunderstandings. I will try to explain.

Units (SI, Metric, Imperial, Mercury)

To understand vacuum you need to know a little about how it is measured in units of pressure. The SI unit for pressure is the pascal (Pa), equal to one newton per square meter (N/m²) Meteorologists often prefer the hectopascal (hPa) for atmospheric air pressure, which is equivalent to the popular unit millibar (mbar). Because pressure is commonly measured by its ability to displace a column of liquid another unit in use is the inch of mercury ('Hg) and the millimeter of Mercury (mmHg). 1 mmHg is equal to 1 Torr, the unit named after Evangelista Torricelli, an Italian physicist and mathematician who discovered the principle of the barometer. And finally a more obscure unit (forgive me, my upbringing is metric ;-) is the imperial pound per square inch (psi)

The atmospheric pressure that we experience on earth is caused by the weight of air above the measurement point and for this reason varies with the altitude above sea level . The standard atmosphere (atm) however is an established constant. It is approximately equal to typical air pressure at earth mean sea level and is defined as follows:

1 atm = 760 Torr = 29,92 'Hg = 14.7 psi = 101.3 kN/m²= 1013 mbar = 1013 hPa

In practice, atmospheric pressure at sea level will vary from about 980 mbar to about 1030 mbar, but pressures below 900 mbar have been recorded in the eyes of cyclonic winds and over 1080 mbar has been recorded under very still and cold conditions. At the summit of Mount Everest atmospheric pressure averages about 300 mbar.

Gauge vacuum and absolute pressure

The barometer in our home or boat gives an absolute (atmospheric) pressure. The reading is the pressure above the absolute zero of pressure (or perfect vacuum).

The vacuum in the vacuum bag or resin trap is measured with a vacuum gauge and the reading is relative to the external atmospheric pressure, in units on the barometric scale or as a percentage of atmospheric pressure. This relative measurement is called gauge vacuum and is the pressure difference below the atmospheric pressure. Actually the vacuum gauge works the opposite way to the barometer.

Thus the absolute pressure in the vacuum bag or resin trap is equal to the current atmospheric pressure minus the vacuum pressure in the same units. Or the driving force for the resin to get into the part is the difference in the same units between the atmospheric pressure and the absolute pressure in the bag.

So, the good news is that in our low country (the Netherlands) I get more pressure and can infuse over a longer distance than someone building in the mountains of Italy or Colorado .......

......... the bad news is that I live in a wet country at the end of the North Atlantic track of depressions (= low pressure) and the guys in the mountains have more frequent fine weather (= high pressure)

This means that the residual pressure inside the lay-up may differ from the gauge reading because of changes in atmospheric pressure due to changing weather conditions and altitude variations.

For instance at sea level and standard weather (29.9 'Hg) a gauge vacuum of -25.9 'Hg is equivalent to an absolute pressure of 4 'Hg. In other words, the vacuum gauges that read, for example, -25.9 'Hg at full vacuum is actually reporting 4 'Hg, or 136 mbar. That is still in the low vacuum range.

While the vacuum infusion takes place preferable in the medium vacuum range ( is a vacuum (absolute pressure) less than 1 'Hg (35 mbar) the accuracy of the vacuum gauge is in the range of 1.5 'Hg (50 mbar) So, here comes the wish for an absolute pressure gauge.

An absolute pressure gauge measures relative to the absolute zero of pressure and is unaffected by weather or altitude. Various pressure scales may be used for the two different methods, with the relationships between some of the more common ones tabulated below:

Gauge Vacuum					Condition	Absolute pressure
- mbar	- psi	- kPa	- 'Hg	% vacuum		Torr	mbar
0	0	0	0	0	Standard atmosphere	760	1013
-253.3	-3.8	-25.3	7.5	25%		570	759.8
-506.5	-7.4	-50.7	15.0	50%		380	506.5
-759.8	-11.0	-77.0	22.4	75%		190	253.3
-911.7	-13.2	-91.2	26.9	90%		76	101.3
-1013	-14.7	-101.3	29.9	100%	Absolute zero of pressure	0	0

Note that the %vacuum reading is an easy one not depending of SI or Imperial or whatever unit. Although, it will be clear that the scientist operating in the, for us simple composite workers unreachable, ultra- and extremely high vacuum ranges only use the absolute pressure reading. However, the HI-Tech composite builder will follow that path too. More about that at the end of this page.

Vacuum pump and size

And what about vacuum pump size? Food for more misunderstandings I'm afraid.

Consider your vacuum bag, be it for a small panel or a 40ft yacht hull. Achieving a vacuum requires an air flow from the bag to the vacuum pump. This is not the best part of a serious vacuum pump (low volume/high pressure pump - not much airflow but lots of power) and the smaller the pump, the less air flow. This means that it will take a while till most of the air is out of the bag. For the small panel bag say 2 minutes and for the 40ft boat hull bag maybe 2 hours. The 'big pump' needs seconds and minutes to achieve the same.

That's it, that's the difference between a small pump and a big pump ! The bigger pump evacuates the bag much quicker than the smaller equivalent. The pump size is addressed as the quantity of airflow the pump is capable to evacuate in a certain time, in cubic feet per minute (cfm) or cubic meter per hour (m³/hr). It says nothing about the vacuum quality.

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