vacuum pump repurpose

[skyfrybry]

I posted before that I was looking for vacuum pump info to try some cf laminating. I found a Gast DOA-501-AA for $55 on craigslist that I think may work to start with. 1/3 hp, 1.9 cfm up to 25.5 in hg. It came out of an unspecified "unit" such as some sort of medical equipment and has a wiring harness type plug. Has anyone repurposed one of these such pumps? It is rated 115v 60Hz so I'm thinking I can just wire in an extension cord and find some rubber feet, a pressure regulator and filter, and Bob's your uncle. What do you think?
Bryan

 

[FredA]

I always worry what contaminate are in the pump oil when considering used pumps.
Around here, they are usually pumping toxic stuff in semiconductor fabs.
Your pump in question might be a hazmat danger.....maybe not.....how do you know?

 

[skyfrybry]

I always worry what contaminate are in the pump oil when considering used pumps.
Around here, they are usually pumping toxic stuff in semiconductor fabs.
Your pump in question might be a hazmat danger.....maybe not.....how do you know?

It is an oil-less pump. I sent an email to try to find out what it came out of.

 

[FredA]

Oil-less may be of lower concern, but the innards still got coated with something.
What is it going to outgas into your working area?

 

[catman001]

Gast is a good name, and I would think that unit should work fine. While Fred has a good point, if the unit was from a medical device i would not be too worried about any residue inside the pump. Not sure if the pump is certified to come in direct contact with medical gases, but if it is, I don't think that the seals and gaskets would off gas anything to be dangerous. As to wiring, if the harness has 3 connectors, and they are color coded the standard Black, White and Green for 110, I would think it would be ok to wire in a cord. If the harness has four wires that might indicate that a external start capacitor might be needed. If that is the case I would contact Gast to be sure how to wire it. One nice thing about that unit is that it will work as either a pressure or vacuum pump. You could use it to run an airbrush or to pull a vacuum. Also if needed, rebuild kits are available.

 

[Steve Shannon]

Without looking to be sure, I suspect that’s the same model of Gast pump I have. Seal/gasket kits and probably even diaphragms are available cheap on Amazon.