Have you ever had a time that you have been watching television and turn off the television and then when you go to turn it back on it doesn't work? Or what is worse is you have some satellite company for your television service and when you turn on your television you have no channels and it is scanning forever and nothing.
Then you call them to get help and they walk you through troubleshooting tips. Sometimes that works and sometimes it doesn't. Recently I got on the phone with one of these companies and after much frustration we hung up with nothing fixed. They offered to come out to my home for a minimal $50 fee or more depending on the problem. I didn't want to do that so when my husband came home I made him take a look at it. Within a few minutes he had everything working just fine, but I just didn't know some of the basics on what to check.
If you have ever faced this frustration or something similar to this then you know that it can be frustrating and you wish you would have known a few basic things that you could have done to troubleshoot before spending your hard earned money on someone coming out and doing those basic things.
Vacuum pumps can be the same way. Whether you know it or not several of us rely on vacuum pumps for basic things. Many commercial businesses really rely on vacuum pumps and cannot afford to have them broken down. With this in mind here are some basic troubleshooting tips for a vane vacuum pump. Remember that these things might not solve your problems, but they are tips to help.
If your rotor is turning freely when the pump is cooled, but when it heats up it sticks it is obvious that it is overheating. More than likely the pump was operated at overload for too long. It could also be that there isn't oil lubrication to the upper rotor. Another one that many don't want to consider is that the cooling system has failed.
If the upper rotor is totally stuck then there could be powders that are stuck in the pump. It could also be that the processed gases are reacting to the oil and making it sticky. It could also be some of the same things as above.
With the scenario of it working the last time you used it and now it isn't working and the vacuum pump is locked up it could be that the oil has gummed up and now that the vacuum pump has cooled off it has set in place. It could also be that the processed gas went into the pump and corroded the internal parts of the vacuum pump.
It is important to keep up the basic maintenance and use the right oils and your vacuum pump can last you a long time.
United Vacuum (http://www.unitedvacuum.com/) is specializes in the manufacturing, and remanufacturing of industrial
vacuum pump. Art Gib is a freelance writer.
