West Epoxy pumps

rhumlady

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Or should thet be poxy pumps! I have used this damn thing till it got to about an inch from the bottom of the B pack when the tube and the bit it fits into dropped off. As there wasn't much left in the container I was able to decant it and recover the bits and put it back together. Just started on the second B pack and it has done it again and the ball bearing has dropped out. Any surgestions on a fix?
 

Avocet

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Me too for the scales. A tenner gets you a perfectly useful, repeatable and (as far as I can tell) accurate set. It's just some much easier! I think the West pumps are a bit sensitive to speed of stroke too. The only thing if you're getting scales is to make sure they have a "tare" function and that the auto power-off function leaves you a reasonable amount of time before switching the damned things off!
 

fluffc

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I very much appreciate, and thoroughly recommend the use of, the West Epoxy pumps. I've never had one disintegrate as you describe. Take it back, and get a replacement.

The pumps just make the process so much quicker.

Sounds odd that the inlet tube is quite so far off the bottom. Are you absolutely sure you have the right pump?
 

PuffTheMagicDragon

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I normally stick a piece of masking tape to the outside of a convenient container and make two marks on it to show the levels of the two parts for the quantity that I need in the correct ratio. Eg., for a 2:1 ratio there would be a mark at, say 2cms from the bottom and another mark at 1cm above that.
Instead of 'proper' pumps I use old hand-soap dispenser pumps from our bathroom, the type where you press the spout down to get a dollop of soap on your fingers. Rather than count strokes, I just pump until the liquid reaches the mark, then do the same for the second component.
Works for me and the cost is zero. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 

Pasarell

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They changed their pumps earlier this year. The new ones have a much narrower pipe to the bottom of the container and you have to be careful to get the right mix now. They can pull up a smaller amount than expected if you pump too quickly. I think digital scales are much more accurate
Don't know if the change affected the length of pipe or quality though.
 

rhumlady

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I got a new set today which must be the old style as the pipe has a wide bore. the duff set had a bore of about 6mm and took forever to return once you had pushed it down. I will be contacting Wessex Resins direct as I don't see why we should put up with substandard kit. I thought about the scales route but as said earlier the pumps are so quick to use.
 

rhumlady

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I e-mailed them last night and have had a reply back this morning:

'We must point out that this problem only occurs when the epoxy is stored at too low a temperature or when excessive pressure is applied to the pump. If the epoxy's temperature is low then the viscosity is increased therefore requiring more pressure to pump out the epoxy. The ideal storage temperature for WEST SYSTEM epoxy is 20 to 25°C.'

So it is a known problem and they have offered me a replacement set of pumps which I have accepted as I have quite a bit of work to do and a spare set will be good to have.
 

rhumlady

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The new one I bought the other day went and stopped pumping!!! I ended up stripping it and cleaning it out then it decided to work after some pumping when I thought it was a gonner. I had only used about a quarter of the pack as well. I did notice that when I first used it today there had been some runback as it didn't give a full output on the first stroke. Maybe time for a set of scales.
 

huldah

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'We must point out that this problem only occurs when the epoxy is stored at too low a temperature or when excessive pressure is applied to the pump. If the epoxy's temperature is low then the viscosity is increased therefore requiring more pressure to pump out the epoxy. The ideal storage temperature for WEST SYSTEM epoxy is 20 to 25°C.'

What they do not say, is that at low temperatures, epoxy forms crystals which not only block the pump, but also form 'fish eye' when used as a coating. This has to be cut away before overcoating, if the next layer is to stick.

The answer is to warm the epoxy until the crystals are absorbed.

Philip
 
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