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Gast vs Thomas Vacuum Pumps

Tom Albrecht

Tom Albrecht

Joined
Feb 8, 2014
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Location
Evanston, IL USA
I have 2 pumps to choose from.

One is a Gast 0523 and I know the specs on that machine.

The other is a Thomas Industries TA-0040-PX. There are quite a few of these on Ebay, but none of them list the specs. The Thomas Industries website doesn't list the machine, so I am guessing it is no longer manufactured.

Is anybody familiar with the Thomas pump or, does anybody know the specs? CFM? Pressure?
 
I have a Gast bought new and works on 24" bowls with no problems ( as long as it's not warped). If Thompson is the respirator type piston pump we have some of those in our club workshop. We rebuilt it because it was down to about 15 lbs vacuum. It now pulls about 23lbs. Works very well and holds tight. The rebuild wasn't very difficult, just replacement of the rubbers and reed valves. It may come to budget concerns, but both work. Check at Joewoodworker.com. They have a ton on vacuum systems.
 
Gast Vs Thomas

I wasn't able to get the specs up that Allen sent, but I have a Thomas-Riechle (sp?) rocking piston type pump in addition to a Gast rotary vane pump - the Gast is used for chucking on the lathe, the Thomas was originally used on my old Jet 1642 and worked well enough - I had no problems chucking up to 15" bowls with it. When I stepped up in lathe size (Robust AB) I started using the Gast for chucking on the lathe. The Thomas is now used for chucking on a carving stand primarily where it continues to work well.

I think these type of pumps (the rocking piston) are used extensively in irrigation and pond aeration. When I did my original search for specs - a few years ago - the company, or at least the design of these pumps had been through a few company changes, so they're known by several different names depending on who owns the manufacturer at any particular time.

I'm pretty close to sea level here, and both pull very decent vacuum - the Gast will peg my gauge most of the time (depending on the piece), the Thomas pulls about 23 - 24 inches. I use the same chucks on both applications, so the situation is pretty much the same for both pumps. The cfm was less on the Thomas-Reichle, but I really haven't notice a huge difference in overall performance in real time use.

The Thomas was bought on eBay for less than $35, the Gast was also bought on eBay as new surplussed equipment for $85 (it was truly brand new, unused equipment) - both were excellent deals.

For what it's worth, the Thomas, even though it continues to function well, looks to have been through a few wringers in its life, so I rely on the Gast for anything that could turn into a flying hazard.
 
JeffSmith;t I have a Thomas-Riechle (sp?) rocking piston type pump in addition to a Gast rotary vane pump[/QUOTE said:
After doing some homework, the Thomas pump type I've got is completely different from the Thomas pump with the number you've shown. Mine is one of their WOB-L type pumps (rocking piston design). Evidently, they make a full range of pump styles. By the way, the TA series is listed as a pressure pump rather than a vacuum pump in their literature.

Sorry for the wrong info.
Click to expand...
 
Jeff, they list both TA 'P' and 'V' suffixed models... Pressure and vacuum, respectively.
 
AlanZ said:
Jeff, they list both TA 'P' and 'V' suffixed models... Pressure and vacuum, respectively.
Click to expand...

Tom referenced the P type in his OP. I would steer clear of anything where I didn't have sufficient information to make a good decision about whether it would fit my need rather than hoping that it does.
 
I'll go with the Gast.
The Thomas is a rotary vane that has worked with my vacuum chucks, but I'm just not sure of it's age or prior duties.
 
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