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Part 1 |
From
James Bodnar's Combat Page (A vacuum system for RC planes/gliders) Continuous run vacuum pump for vacuum bagging.
My Dad found the perfect thing. It is a brass valve designed to bleed air out of natural gas lines for natural gas fireplaces. From there, it goes to clear 3/8 tubing to the vacuum bag. On the right side of the pump is the pressure side. The pump has oil in it. As it operates, a little of the oil flows out the pressure side. To fix this, that white bottle on the top of the pressure line is a reservoir. The bottom of the bottle (pointing upward in the picture) has holes drilled in it to let the air out. As the air and oil come out the tube into that bottle, the air slows down, the oil separates from the air and stays in the bottle as the air escapes out the bottom of the bottle. When you shut the pump off, the oil runs back into the pump. We've run this pump for as long as 48 straight hours with no problems. It did get slightly warm so we put a household fan on low pointed at it. The pump works great and is so quiet, you hardly know it's running. Now, you may ask, what am I vacuum bagging? My combat wings of course. I found a great place for inexpensive Fiberglass, Kevlar and Carbon Fiber fabric, West system epoxy, and peel ply. It is called the John R. Sweet Co. It is a nice sized business that got its start from supplying canoe and kayak enthusiast with composite materials. He now caters to Model enthusiasts too but at a signifigant savings compared to those other places. I'm using a two inch wide piece of 5.7 ounce Carbon Fiber on top and bottom of the thickest part of the wing, a layer of 1.7 ounce Kevlar from there forward then a piece of 2 ounce fiberglass over the top and bottom of the wing. Put on your epoxy, squeegee it off and put it in the bag for two days. Voila.
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