The little suckers won't suck.

[BNME8EZ]

I have 3 JB Platinum vacuum pumps. 2 are over 6 yrs old, 1 is about 5. The oil gets changed after every burn out or after 3 or 4 uses {new systems, repairs, etc}.

The problem we are having is that after just a few jobs the pump will no longer pull down to below 500 microns. When we change oil it looks good yet, not cloudy or dirty looking. Even after we change oil it won't always bring it back to where we can get below 500 microns and when it does this the longer it runs the worse it gets. If we take it apart, wipe it down, spray brake cleaner on it and then wipe it down again we can get it to operate below 300 microns on a system. The problem is tearing it down and cleaning it with brake cleaner takes a good hour and the results don't last very long.

has anyone else had this problem. I was wondering if different oil would help? I was also debating on either buying replacement parts which is the pump assemble inside or buy new pumps. It seems strange to me that all 3 units are acting the same.

[billg]

I have this problem on a YJ pump the best I can figure is that the vanes are getting stuck in the rotors. Are you finding particulate in pump and on the vanes (vanes feel gritty until cleaned)? I was thinking of installing filters before pumps to try to avoid this, but particulate only filters that can hold under a vacuum is proving to be tough. I don't know where this scat is coming from. And yes doing this is a pita, a mess and a waste of time.

[BNME8EZ]

When we've had them apart the vanes just fall out and don't feel gritty, so I don't think they are getting stuck. As I understand it's the oil that creates the seal, so I wondered if the oil was breaking down causing the problem.

We haven't gotten this aggressive yet but I have thought about taking a Scotchbrite pad to the surfaces inside the cylinder with brake cleaner on the pad to see it I could clean it better {assuming the pad holds up to the brake cleaner}.

Right now we have one that will not go below 2500 microns. It has been used on 2 new installs and one coil change. Nothing dirty about any of those. The only other thing is if the read valves are getting weak, so when it gets hot they lose tension.

[Chuck]

What do they pull to if you just connect the micron gauge straight to the pump?

[BNME8EZ]

When they are working we've had them get below 200, when they don't like today, we can blank off the hoses and it doesn't make any difference, 2500 give or take.

[Chuck]

It should easily pull below 50. I would get new pump cartridges for them. Mine is 5 years old and still pulls down to 20.

What kind of oil are you using?

[BNME8EZ]

We are using JB Black Gold oil.

Part of the problem may be hoses. We changed oil in it this PM, and hooked it up to a micron gauge through a 4 valve manifold. Changing the oil didn't make a difference. Then I had him just use a hose, no manifold and it went down to 375, but when it was blanked off it went up to over 2000 pretty quick. The sad thing is this was a new hose just in May.

[danielworkerbee]

sometimes you can't find the issue, just start changing this and that is very difficult and expensive.
We clean our pumps and they are about back to new with a 500 vacuum pretty easy.
we use the yellowJacket, our installers hated the 'black gold', I think it was just because the bottle was different.
You can sell the old stuff on E-bay for a few dollars and buy new that's know to be good ?
luck dan

[meplumber]

I would say your hoses are the problem. We have all JB's in my company. Some of them are really old. Some of them are really new. All of ours are 7's and 10's and I dare say that they are the most reliable pieces of equipment that we own.

Try hooking your Vacuum gauge directly to the pump (no hoses) and see where they pull.

Good Luck.

[hvac5646]

We are using JB Black Gold oil.

Part of the problem may be hoses. We changed oil in it this PM, and hooked it up to a micron gauge through a 4 valve manifold. Changing the oil didn't make a difference. Then I had him just use a hose, no manifold and it went down to 375, but when it was blanked off it went up to over 2000 pretty quick. The sad thing is this was a new hose just in May.

The micron gauge will rise to 2000 or more. This is normal. There have been several videos and threads addressing this issue. Do a search and you will be surprised at what you might be doing wrong.

I use appion hoses

[XcelTech]

Have you tried different micron gauges?
What is the range of the micron gauges?
Have you spoken with a rep of the micron gauge and verified how it operates if it goes out of range or the sensor is dirty?
Are you sure the system doesn't have a leak?
Black and Gold in my opinion is junk, but I have no real evidence to prove my point. I like the Appion oil.
I have had 2 ton package units before that took overnight to vacuum to 500 microns due to overly long exposure or lack of proper vacuum by previous technicians.