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Hi everyone.
I bought a used 2016 PRSAlpha ATC back in mid April, which came with a Becker vacuum pump. In April/May, it was pulling about 10-12" of vacuum for a sheet of plywood, and about 15" for acrylic.
We've probably run the vacuum table about 20-30 hours per week since. Now, it's only giving me 5-6" vacuum on plywood, maybe 8-10" on acrylic.
If this is a maintenance/wear issue, would the performance deteriorate this quickly? Yes, I clean the filter.
Only thing that springs to mind, is I get alot of leakage around the perimeter of my spoilboard, and if it hasn't been surfaced in a while I see a drop in pressure.
Also when we are running cabinet grade plywood we get a better vacuum than when we run construction grade CDX
Lots of seals in those pumps. I suspect one or more seals has given up the ghost and now is leaking prodigiously. I suggest running the pump and with a mechanic stethoscope ($15 on Amazon), listen for the leak. It will probably be obvious.
If you live in a decent size city, you should be able to find a place that can maintain that pump locally.