Hi all,

I've recently bought a small ½ HP rotary vane type vacuum pump which by specification should be capable of 4.5 CFM of air flow and generating an ultimate vacuum of 0.3 Pascal.

I use this pump for a small vacuum table and in some cases it works well - BUT if there's a small leakage between the vacuum table and the workpiece the vacuum pump's exhaust filter gets completely soaked in oil in about 10-20 minutes. This does not happen when the vacuum table to workpiece seal is complete/perfect.

However, even if the air leak is so small that it doesn't cause the workpiece to break loose, nor causes a high air flow, the exhaust filter still gets soaked in these 10-20 minutes. And actually to the extent that the oil starts leaking out of the pump and, well, goes elsewhere ... Not really great ...

Which brings me to my question: Is this normal or could it be that the pump's oil filter design is flawed?

And second: Can I within a reasonable budget get the same vacuum and air flow from an oil free vacuum pump (and if so which type/model would be suitable)?

I hope some of you have good experience with such pumps & would appreciate your input ...

Cheers & thanks

Jesper