Yep pretty sure 1x10-4=26.5 if my math is correct. 
well, if so, the pump is working at its peak…now the question is…is 26.5 good enough?
Your good. Don’t sweat it.
cool D. im right in the middle of catching up on my thread…stay tuned!
ok let me catch up to where i am today.
the rest of my parts came in so i was able to finish the vacuum machine. with the help of dallas84 and rotorage it is up and running and holing a vacuum at -26.5 hg.
this is a dry fit up of the secondary vessel. it holds fresh air to feed to the pump when the pump shuts off. it takes the pressure off the pump so the pump isnt sitting static with a vacuum on it. it also helps the pump so it dosent have to re-fire under load.
to the left is the mac valve and to the right is the air filter. the mac valve just directs air. when the pump is on, it completes the the circuit, allowing air to travel from the bag to the pump thru the whole system. when the pump goes off, it returns to its de-energized state and relieves the vacuum from the pump. and the air filter… well…
this is the main vessel (propane bottle)…it is a chamber that hold surplus vacuum so the pump dosnt cycle off and on a bunch of times. on top is the manifold. one vacuum tube to the vacuum switch, one to the to the mac valve/secondary vessel, and one to the bag. and a gauge on top.
here a picture of the solid state relay. it is a 50 amp 120v. coil and 120v contact. my 3/4 horse motor pulls 45 amps at start up:eek::eek:, thats the reason for the 50amp relay. no way that little vacuum switch would survive switching that big motor. so the vacuum switch operates the coil which in turn operate the contacts to start the motor. its just a little switch turning on a big switch.
the vacuum switch…it is just a switch that senses a drop in vacuum. it has a tube that runs to the main manifold. if and when vacuum drops from the whole system, it senses this and turns on the vacuum pump via the relay. it also enregizes the mac valve to redirect the vacuum flow to the whole system.
pressure gauge on the main manifold. it shows 26 hg. this was before dallas84 shamed me into sealing up every single air joint with silicone. now it holds at 26.5…
oh yah, i almost forgot about this little guy. the resin trap…he is in between the main manifold and the bag. he keep excess ressin from the infusion from entering the system. he is a little safety net.
the rest are just pix of the system put all put together.
Only one thing I see that needs to be done. Paint the propane bottle to look like a Lego man head…if you plan to make it the most bad ass vacuum pump ever.
Oh hell yah!!!:d:d:d
I suggest this thread be made into a “how to build the most bad ass vacuum pump ever” sticky. Great job Doug! Oh and I’m seriOus about the Lego man head part… That needs to happen.
im all over it…a friend makes die cut stickers. problem is there are hundreds of different lego men:eek:. im leaning toward the skeleton;). i’ll email my buddy right now.
if there is interest, i will put a new build thread together…that way someone wont have to wade thru pages and pages of our banter.
i am working on my degassing chamber right now. i’ll post up some pictures when its done.
BTW, wile testing the pump yesterday i made my first mold:o:o:o. i’ll post up pictures so you can tell me if its trash or salvageable. LOL
thanks for your support D. 900 views and you and rotorage are the only ones with input…
Ha ha ha awesome! For sure we are not the only two watching. this site has it’s fair share of lurkers! When your done I’m getting the feeling your gonna get quite a few good job and that’s the coolest thing I’ve ever seen posts. Lol.
Alot of the guys in here have busy months with their projects and come out of the blue with some neat stuff. You’ll no doubt join us! Believe it or not there are some pretty bigity wigs in here in the industry… They just stay quiet. Lol
oh i know…ive seen some pix of some very nice stuff…you know, i was thinking…there is no reason this couldnt be used with a venturi…
Lol from the mold I saw a Venturi would have been more than enough. But you decided having godzillas right testicle of a pump was a better choice!!! and you succeeded in building it!
Yup 26.5" is fine. I’ve used a 24" pump before with no problems. I can’t wait to see what this lego head will look like, I think it’s going to be the sh!t!!
Last night I was searching vacuum switches and came the F-4300-X series. Isn’t yours the F-4200-X series? Well I didn’t know that company offered a different series of switches when we were looking. And the F-4300-X30 (1/8 pipe) I found last night looks to have some great specs. 1-30 adjustment, 1-1.5 deadband and $36 price.
good eye roto…it seems like i looked at that series…im going to have to go thru my receipts to see which model i got.
does anybody want to buy a used vacuum switch???:mad:
damn you rotoman:D
ordered;)
my dead band on the 4200 is about 2 hg…
i havent even made 1 single infusion yet and i am already up gradeing my machine.
and to think, i told my wife. “no baby, the initial investment will be pennies”…LOL
if you recall earlier in my vacuum machine build i was going to use a harbor freight paint pressure pot for my resin trap. but i decided to use a smaller resin trap and use the paint pot as a degasser. the paint pot is big enough to get my hand and a mixing cup into. so i think it will work fine. so really the paint pot was a waste of money. i probly could have made this out of an old crock pot and a piece of plexie glass.
anyways…i ordered a 12"X12"X1/2" piece of plexiglass on line for 10 bucks. i took the old paint pot lid and traced it onto the plexiglass. then i took my sawzall and cut out the circle. believe it or not, i did it in one shot and it turned out pretty damn good. just a little touch up with my disc sander.
then i robbed the gasket out of the paint pot lid, centered it onto the plexiglass and gorilla glued it down. then i used a 7/16 drill bit and chucked it up in the drill press to drill the holes. 1 hole for a pressure gauge, 1 hole for a 3/8 barbed fitting and 1 for a ball valve. the ball valve will release vacuum inside the deagasser if the resin want to boil over.
BTW, it dosnt do any good drilling your holes on a drill press if you run your tap in at an angle. ask me how i know:rolleyes::rolleyes:. i tapped all the holes with a 1/4 npt tap. because of the tapered tap, i ran my tap about 3/4 of the way. YMMV.
after gooping up the fittings and installing them it was time for a vacuum test.
so far so good with the test. we’ll see where its at in the morning.
one thing i forgot to mention. i had to machine down the hold down clamps because of the thickness of the plexiglass. i could have probly forced the clamps on, but because i will be in and out of the chamber, i didnt want to have to fight it every time i took the lid off. so i bit the bullet and machined them to fit. if i had to build the chamber all over again would i do it the same way? probly not…but i had the pot with the clamps, a gasket that fit, and a chunk of plexiglass. i decided to use what i had on hand.
I feel bad that I didn’t find the switch earlier. :o
And do I spy the first mold in the background?
Also could you take a pic with the plexi top taken off and a cup inside? I have wanted to pick one of these up for awhile.
no biggie roto. i should have research them a little better. at least there inexpensive. i will take a picture for you tomorrow.
heres your photo roto…(hehe)…
i didnt know what size mixing cup you where talking about so i just put a buch of soda cans in to give you an idea.
