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Registered Member #75
Joined: Thu Feb 09 2006, 09:30AM
Location: Montana, USA
Posts: 711
Pretty much by accident I stumbled upon this: It is a blender that can also be used as a vacuum pump to evaucate pyrex food dishes. The vacuum will probably not be very good (I expect maybe 50mBar), but because it is cheap and convenient it could be usefull for a number of things. Think of it, a vacuum pump and a bell jar all for under 100€! Discharges in low pressure gases are one of the things that come to my mind, but I wonder if this could also be used for vacuum-potting homemade HV components like transformers and capacitors. If I get it correctly, the purpose of baking and vacuum potting these things is to remove the air bubbles. (Oh, did I mention you can heat up the jar in the oven and then evacuate it? Endless possibilities) So I suppose even a fairly low vacuum could do the trick.
One way to find out, I think I will get one of these.
Registered Member #56
Joined: Thu Feb 09 2006, 05:02AM
Location: Southern Califorina, USA
Posts: 2445
I have a feeling the vacuum from those kind of things is really bad
If would probably be good for vacuum potting stuff/vacuuming, but not for plasma. I remember reading an article somewhere where some guy took a vacuum sealer he picked up at the supermarket and used it to fiberglass a rocket body tube, apparently it worked out really well
Registered Member #341
Joined: Thu Mar 23 2006, 07:41PM
Location: Northern Illinois, USA
Posts: 69
Over the years I have required vacuum pumps for various tasks around the shop. The laboratory models were quite expensive, and the vapors that I was pumping were very corrosive. Consequently, I found that the best disposable vacuum pumps are the compressors that can be retrieved from old/discarded refrigerators, air conditioners, or dehumidifiers. Even the smallest unit will pump much more pressure/volume than you can possibly need. They are quiet, will pump a near-perfect vacuum, and will operate almost forever.
Be sure to use a tubing cutter, not a hacksaw, when you cut the compressor loose from the heat exchangers (to prevent chips from getting into the pump). Also, you should bend the high-pressure tube upward and cover with a piece of cloth, paper towel, or sponge just in case spits a little oil when you first start it.
Install a bleeder valve (pet or home improvement store) and a vacuum gauge (auto parts store) on the intake line and an on/off switch on the power line and you should be set. Be careful until you get the bleeder valve setting right because as stated above, it will pump a near-perfect vacuum.
The compressor that I currently have in the shop is from a little dorm fridge. It had some electrical control unit mounted on the side that caused it to cycle on and off. So that had to be wired around, but other than that absolutely no problem.
Registered Member #75
Joined: Thu Feb 09 2006, 09:30AM
Location: Montana, USA
Posts: 711
Nope, not up to that. I have actually been pondering for a long time if I should pick up a two stage rotary from eBay. That is pretty much the only way to produce a decent vacuum (10^-3 mBar range) for a decent price (200€), but they are heavy and messy. Refrigerator pumps are even heavyer and messier, and perform much worse, so thats definitely not an option. What I like about the kitchen thing is that it is a no-hazle solution, it is not noisy, does not take up a lot of space, does not need lots of additional components like connectors etc.
I know that if I ever get round to build a linear accelertator I will have to invest in a rotary vane pump, possibly a turbo, and lots of valves, tubing, connectors and other stuff. But for now I am just looking for an easy way to have some fun with "slightly lower pressure than usual" air, if that is what I should call it. Yup, I think I'll buy one.
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Kitchen vacuum for HV experiments?
