Any recommendations on these?. Are the 300 dollar pumps ok, or should I spend more. General repairs and some parts for sailboats. Is noise an issue with these for the home repair shop?

Post a pic, but I have mine for a while it has done probably less than 200hrs or use. But I have it on all the time while the piece is curing.

One tip is to set it up so that you can increase the vacuum on the pump side, by constraining the flow with a simple ball valve, rather than just allowing more air to into the whole system, as the oils then tends to froth, and overflow. Just get an extra ball valve. I have a pipe from the exhaust side of the pipe going out the window, rather than create a fine mist of oil in the room.

Gee whizz not $300.

I made a lot of boards with the $120 4.8cfm one from eBay, and a ball valve to induce a leak.
Then built a proper system that turns on and off etc, but still used the same pump for many more boards.
Some folks reckon they can't run continuously on partial vacuum, it's crap. They can.

Only thing is the cheapies have a rubbish exhaust to contain the oil (it doesn't) so vent it to outside. Plus, if using a ball valve to induce a leak and hold a set point it will very slowly rise or fall so u need to check it a few times every 10mins or so, before leaving it alone for hours.

Given our heat and continuous use, don't think about oil-less unless it is real pricey. Get the cheapie, vent exhaust to outside, put a fan nearby if the workshop is over 35C and use a mechanical timer to turn it off after a few hrs and go have a beer.

Hmm, sounds encouraging. Which one of these would support vacuum bagging and entire board? Are these things noisy? My shed is close to the neighbors ...

playwithcarbon.com/vacuum-bagging-equipment/?product-page=2

Also, what about de-airing resin? Will a pump like this and an appropriate canister support that?