Weight on Vacuum Press Lid

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Shayla

Shayla

WOW Framer
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Awhile back, I saw a post where someone said not to stack anything on the lid of a vacuum press, because the pressure could wear out the inner liner over time. (My paraphrase; whoever wrote it is welcome to clarify). Since buying our DK4468 press a couple of years ago, I've used the lid several times as a 'tabletop' for mounting by other methods and then leave X project there under weights overnight. Probably the most that's been on it at any one time was thirty or forty pounds, spread all over the top. Sometimes, I've used weights on half the top for a smaller project. Am guessing that a zillion other framers do the same, but maybe not? And whether or not, is it really something that wears out vacuuming ability of the press?

Thanks.
 
This is a glass-top press?
 
The DK4468 isn't a glass top press.
It's a formerly "Seal" formerly "Bienfang" all metal one.

I have mentioned this in the past and so have other folks.
It can cause premature wearing out of the edge seal by compressing it if you put weights or stuff on top of the lid.
We still use the lid of the press to put things on occasionally, but I always keep a couple of small wood blocks under the front of the lid to keep it slightly raised.
The blocks are kept there when the press is not being used even if nothing is on top of the press.
This will allow the edge seal to relax and expand and it will last longer.

Also, never leave the top latched when you're not using it (if you have latches).
Some folks leave the top latched all of the time and that's not a good thing.;)
Our press works so well that we don't even need to use the latches.
I've rebuilt and repaired a few of these presses and I'm a mechanical junky.
 
Last edited:
Shayla,
I use the top as a staging area, and misc - it is a huge horizontal surface, so why not? However I have a piece of wood (poplar for those that want to know) as a spacer to keep the weight from crushing the foam. This beats having to 'reset' the hings when it won't seal.
 
neilframer said:
We still use the lid of the press to put things on occasionally, but I always keep a couple of small wood blocks under the front of the lid to keep it slightly raised.
The blocks are kept there when the press is not being used even if nothing is on top of the press.
This will allow the edge seal to relax and expand and it will last longer.
Click to expand...

FM Framer said:
Shayla,
I use the top as a staging area, and misc - it is a huge horizontal surface, so why not? However I have a piece of wood (poplar for those that want to know) as a spacer to keep the weight from crushing the foam. This beats having to 'reset' the hings when it won't seal.
Click to expand...

Great minds think alike....;)
 
So what can happen with the older Seal presses is the weight on the kid may be uneven and may cause partial compression of foam around edges of seal. This will effect the vacuum. Foam can be replaced.
 
Another issue can be wear on the struts.
The struts are engineered to balance out the weight of the lid but not any additional weight
If anyone has experienced lifting the lid of the press when your struts have failed, you know what I mean.
Without functioning struts, lifting the lid becomes like lifting 100 lbs. and sometimes the lid won't stay up and you have to use a stick like some people have to do with the hood on their car when the hood struts fail.

We have a glass top DriTac press at work and the temp sensor and the 4 struts had failed.
Because the temp sensor went crazy, the press would sometimes work fine and then the temp gauge would go crazy and the heat would shut off.
I replaced the sensor, which is glued in between the glass sheets on top
I also replaced the 4 struts at the same time.
We had to remove the top and separate the 2 very heavy sheets of glass to install the sensor in between the sheets.
It took 3 of us to remove and replace the very heavy top.
The 4 struts were easy, but not cheap.
 
Solid top, and just like Neil said, it's called by different names but the same thing. I looked later, and it actually says, 'Bienfang'. We always use ours (which is about 9 years old) without the clamps, and it works fine. Very much appreciating all these comments, and still listening...
 
I use my 4468 all the time as a design table - my shop is also my design room. There is never a lot of weight on it so I don't believe it is an issue. I do keep my clamps on the lid because I do not want the unwanted dust sneaking in causing me real problems with dents in the items I am mounting. Like everyone else, I don't need the clamps when running the machine but I do use them to keep as much equal pressure as I can all around. Like Neil, I too am a mechanical junky.
 
I use my VacuSeal lid as a work surface all of the time, my shop is fairly small and it is valuable real estate. I tried a piece of wood holding it up, but that presented more problems than it solved(dust/not level). I'd rather replace the foam every five years or so, it takes about 2-3 hours, ~$130 in materials. After replacing my foam, I get perfect vacuum every time, one of my better investments since buying the used press.
 
Aaron Randall said:
I use my VacuSeal lid as a work surface all of the time, my shop is fairly small and it is valuable real estate. I tried a piece of wood holding it up, but that presented more problems than it solved(dust/not level). I'd rather replace the foam every five years or so, it takes about 2-3 hours, ~$130 in materials. After replacing my foam, I get perfect vacuum every time, one of my better investments since buying the used press.
Click to expand...
Please share some tips on foam replacement. I'm about to do this and can find no info online as of yet. Foam thickness? Removing old foam? The "double sided heat sensitive tape" they sent me looks an awful lot like wide, heavy duty ATG..
Thanks,
Paul
 
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