Top Tip: 5 tips to keep in mind when designing a vacuum system

Protection is key in designing vacuum installations and, undoubtedly, most of your attention will inevitably go to the inlet (or air intake) side of your vacuum pump. But there are other steps you should not forget in the process.

Precision Pneumatics & Atlas Copco recommends that you pay particular attention to the following:

• Pipework should slope away from the pump inlet and outlet. Liquid running back into the pump’s exhaust can damage it as much as when it is sucked into the inlet
• Think about vacuum gauge location and measurement range. Put tappings where you want to monitor pressure and also rate of pressure rise (leak rate quantification)
• Fit inlet commissioning screens and/or filters
• Fit liquid separators on the pump inlet as necessary
• Do not forget to allow adequate maintenance access

Last, a word of warning: try to avoid inadvertently designing-in excessive pressure drop by applying a belt and braces approach to protection, or having a tortuous pipe run.

As a Premier Distributor of the highly efficient  Atlas Copco rough vacuum pump range, GHS VSD+, Precision Pneumatics has availability to supply a range of accessories to make equipping your system easier. Why not check out our vacuum page?