VR20 Vacuum Regulator

VR20 is a high quality precision vacuum regulator with vacuum gauge and female 1/4" BSP connections. It can be used to regulate the high levels of vacuum supplied by a vacuum pump down to the lower vacuum pressures better for some vacuum bagging or vacuum bonding applications.

VR20 is very low 'loss', meaning that it can be used for extended periods with typical rotary vane vacuum pumps, such as our EC4 Composites Vacuum Pump, without causing the pump to consume excessive amounts of oil as happens with more basic 'bleed'-type vacuum regulators.

The regulator is capable of delivered controlled vacuum pressure anywhere between the input pressure of the vacuum pump, down to around 1% vacuum (100 kPa).

Why Use a Vacuum Regulator?

The ability to accurately control the level of vacuum pressure in some vacuum bagging processes is very important.

When vacuum bagging 'wet-lay' laminates for example, pulling a 'full vacuum' on the laminate can lead to 'over-bleeding', where too much resin is removed from the laminate, leaving the surface finish pin-holed or dry. Likewise, vacuum pressure bonding at full vacuum can crush more delicate core structures. The answer is to precisely control the level of vacuum using an adjustable vacuum regulator. Typical vacuum levels when vacuum bagging a wet-lay laminate would often be around 20-30% vacuum.

Further Information

How to Connect

VR20 has standard 1/4" BSP female threads for both the inlet and outlet and so is easy to connect to a range of vacuum fittings. In the most common configuration, two 1/4" BSP hose-tail barb fittings would be used to connect the regulator inline with the vacuum hose. Suitable hose fittings for this configuration for both 6mm and 8mm vacuum hose are available as a drop-down option at the top of this page.

The VR20 regulator includes a mounting bracket for optional fixed installation to a variety of equipment. The small arrow on the regulator body should point towards the pump.

Maximum Pump Capacity

Please note, this regulator is suitable for use with our smaller EC4 Compact Vacuum Pump and other vacuum pumps with a maximum displacement of 140l/min. If used with a higher capacity vacuum pump (such as our DVP EC20), the regulator will not be able to regulate pressures in the lower half of its normal range (i.e. below 50% vacuum).

Leakage

Although this high quality vacuum regulator offers much less leakage than conventional regulators, its normal operation does still require a very small atmospheric intake (leak) which will typically be less than 0.6l/min. Leakage at this small level for extended periods is normally no problem for typical rotary vane vacuum pumps.