11/08/2023
Vacuum trucks are used in many industrial, municipal, and construction applications and their usage is increasing as their versatility and utility become more understood. The vacuum pump dictates the performance and utility of the vac-truck, but the industry convention for reporting the performance is unreliable. The common practices are to cite the Free Air CFM under conditions of atmospheric pressure. This is basically the theoretical displacement of the pump, which may not fairly represent pump performance at actual operating vacuums down to 27 inches of mercury. Reporting Free Air CFM leaves a lot of room for gross performance manipulation.
Accordingly, there is an urgent need in the industry to standardize pump performance reporting, free from subjective user interpretation and marketing spin. To answer the need for valid and reliable standards for testing the performance of vacuum pumps, the Blower & Vacuum Section of the Compressed Air & Gas Institute (CAGI) has developed CAGI Vacpump-100: Simplified Acceptance Test for Bare Vane Vacuum Pumps for Mobile Vacuum Systems.
This standard prescribes in detail the testing and performance rating of positive displacement bare vane vacuum pumps at various levels of vacuum. Manufacturers of vacuum pumps that test their products to this standard will be able to demonstrate to consumers that their products will deliver the performance that they promise.
Similarly, the industry wide acceptance of the CAGI initiated Vacpump-100: Acceptance Test Standard for Bare Vane Vacuum Pumps, will go a long way to establishing a foundation of integrity to the vac-truck industry that for too long has had the reputation of being the Wild West with respect to vacuum pump performance claims.
Access CAGI VACPUMP-100 here: CAGI VACPUMP-100.
About the Compressed Air and Gas Institut
For more than 100 years, the Compressed Air and Gas Institute has been the leading source on all matters related to compressed air. As the united voice of the industry, CAGI’s activities include the development and organization of educational material, including compressed air system training programs to benefit the users of compressed air systems. For more information, visit www.cagi.org.
