Awesome Video! The fitting for the pump is a automotive air con connection for R134a Gas. You can find them at many auto parts suppliers (e.g Ashdown Ingram or NAPA auto parts here in Aust), esp. ones that service auto electrics / thermal control trade. Vacuum pumps are a required tool for working on car AC systems. Hope that helps anyone that may be starting this project.
You can save some money on a vacuum pump by using an old pump from a fridge/freezer. They are normally a sealed system (flow/return). Once you've removed the pump, you'll have 2 small copper pipes, just find out which is the return by running it (one sucks one blows). Connect the one that sucks and there you go! A vacuum pump😁👍 And as a bonus they are super quiet 😎
Super later reply from me, but yea I looked into this and felt I wasn’t technical enough to make it all work! Also I might be wrong, but the fridge pump might not be strong enough to use effectively. I found it needs to hold a pretty heavy vacuum to be effective. But if I’m wrong, then yep it really would be a cost effective solution! 👍🏻
This is exactly what I have been looking for. I am trying to eliminate movement on the gears in my wooden clock i have been making for the last 14 years . Can you tell me what cactus juice is? Dean
Sorry for the delayed reply! Cactus Juice is a very thin resin that seeps into all the air pockets in a dry piece of wood. Just search for Cactus Juice Resin and you'll find it. But for it to be effective, you need to vacuum out all the air from the wood and then release the vacuum and the resin will work its way into all the pockets left behind. Enjoy.
I find the vacuum side of it works more consistently (the pressure pot does sometimes loose pressure if I haven't screwed the lid tight enough) but it's extremely feasible!
I was thinking same thing- why two separate chambers for vacuum and pressure. But my application is for building silicon rubber molds needing vacuum to remove air bubbles from the rubber mixture before curing, and then using the mold in a pressure pot to cast resin for prototype plastic parts. Pressure is needed to remove bubbles in resin, whereas vacuum is needed to remove them from silicon rubber molds before curing. Unfortunately for that application the vacuum pot lids usually are see-through plexiglass or glass so you can see the progress of the de-gassing in the rubber mixture in the pot as it foams and rises. I suppose it might be possible to make such a lid with a piece of plexi or glass for your PVC vacuum chamber idea, but have never seen it.
Oops, sorry didn't see your plexiglass top for the vacuum, just assumed you had another PVC lid like the one for the pressure pot, and didn't need visibility for curing wood rather than silicon rubber mixtures. My bad, sorry. Great idea and I'm going to try it ! Thanks !
I'm just starting to learn about pressure pots and vacuum chambers. Excellent video. Is there a fundamental reason why there's no 2-in-1 pump for this setup? It seems like one pushes air in while the other pulls air out, could someone theoretically make a single reversible device that does both?
At 12:00 those damn vacuum connector threads are their own special size; probably a metric thread, but not standard plumbing, and finding any sort of adapter to ordinary pipe threads is nigh onto impossible. I have been trying to adapt a clever gizmo, a small Venturi vacuum pump, that uses compressed air to pull a vacuum, very effectively, but the connectors are the sticking point.
I bought the Chinese pump with a vacuum pot complete with gauge,hoses fitting etc,& the cost was $145 delivered. I am going to try and make a Pressure pot though using a bucket. I think the PSI is effective at reasonably low pressure. There is one guy on TH-cam who has success with his DIY pressure pot at 25 psi.
For the record that pipe is not rated for any pressure at all, pressure pipe is marked PN12 (12 bar approx. 180psi fluid pressure not air) up to PN18 (18bar). Yours is DWV (drain waste vent). I know this but frankly I'd probably do the same thing as you and live on the danger side, but don't take any comfort in thinking it'll handle 180psi as it'll almost certainly explode well before that. Oh and you are wrong about it cracking first, it would be a catastrophic explosion at the end cap but you'd see it bowing out before it did. That pipe is fine for vacuum though you can't get -30psi, its relative to ambient pressure so cannot be less then -14.7psi.
Thanks for the insight! Yea I looked up whether it would hold 45psi and it said it would (don't remember the exact details but I think it said 80psi on the fact sheet). Either way, only going to 45psi and it's not seemed to give any indication of being under duress to date!
Awesome video! Any recommendations on where to find PVC with overhanging lids on large sizes? I've only been able to find them rated for storm and sewer drains, and I'd rather make sure it stays in one piece when pressurized.
Just curious if there were any issues with Cactus Juice causing PVC to fail. I tried ABS pipe and the Cactus Juice ate away at the ABS causing it to crack and leak.
I don’t believe there is. I can see no degradation in the pvc at all. And I’ve been using the same pipe for months. I know that the cactus juice can have problems with the clear lid plastic if it comes in contact with it, but the pvc pipe seems to be completely fine so far. I’ll update if anything changes there. 👍🏻
Nicely put together, thanks for sharing. It looks like the pump may be low on oil, please check. I have the same pump and it arrived drained of oil with some deceiving remnants in the little window. Surprised to see you are using the cactus juice, where can you get it from here in OZ? Thanks!
Thanks mate, yea I was surprised how well this setup worked in the end! And yes, the oil level was deceiving (the instructions on that pump were abysmal!!) and I worked that out before any problem after making this video luckily! Cactus Juice took a while to find, but finally found timberbits.com sells it. 1.89 litres for $114. So not too bad.
Great work sir. I'm a wood turner so would like a pot solution to accept something like 200mm diameter by 200mm thick. Like you I'm trawling TH-cam for inspiration. Bob in the UK
Very good question! The pressure is for when casting resin in moulds. The vacuum is for when I'm stabilising wood. You have to vacuum all the air out of the wood and then when you release the vacuum, the Cactus Juice resin seeps into the gaps left. Yes the bubbles threaten to overflow at the beginning, but only for the first 5 mins. I just monitor the bubbles and switch the pump off to let them subside. Then on again. After 5mins, they settle down and you can just leave it going for the next 24+ hours!
![MV วิถีชีวิตใต้ - ผา อัยย๊ะ [Official MV HD]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/nODlkOUu9B0/mqdefault.jpg)
Awesome Video! The fitting for the pump is a automotive air con connection for R134a Gas. You can find them at many auto parts suppliers (e.g Ashdown Ingram or NAPA auto parts here in Aust), esp. ones that service auto electrics / thermal control trade. Vacuum pumps are a required tool for working on car AC systems. Hope that helps anyone that may be starting this project.
Cheers, it certainly does help!
Thanks Nick ,I was going to go out and by a vacuum pot. Not now I have pcv pipe at home. Legend!!!!!!
Glad it’s useful! Mine is still holding solid all this time later. 👍🏻
Very helpful Nick, thanks for sharing it.
Great video bud!
thank you !!
You can save some money on a vacuum pump by using an old pump from a fridge/freezer.
They are normally a sealed system (flow/return).
Once you've removed the pump, you'll have 2 small copper pipes, just find out which is the return by running it (one sucks one blows).
Connect the one that sucks and there you go! A vacuum pump😁👍
And as a bonus they are super quiet 😎
Super later reply from me, but yea I looked into this and felt I wasn’t technical enough to make it all work! Also I might be wrong, but the fridge pump might not be strong enough to use effectively. I found it needs to hold a pretty heavy vacuum to be effective. But if I’m wrong, then yep it really would be a cost effective solution! 👍🏻
Thank you. A real helpful video.
Really cool. Video. This is going on my must do list. Was looking for an inexpensive way to start stabilizing and casting. Thanks for the great idea
Thanks man. Yea it's working a treat for me. I've stabilised all sorts now. Get into it!
@@chefknifeco just cactus juice? I sometimes wonder how compare if epoxy instead
a definite must do . very little space in my place. will let you know the results .thanks for the idea.
How'd you go with this Geoff? Interested to know if it all worked for you?
This is exactly what I have been looking for. I am trying to eliminate movement on the gears in my wooden clock i have been making for the last 14 years . Can you tell me what cactus juice is?
Dean
Sorry for the delayed reply! Cactus Juice is a very thin resin that seeps into all the air pockets in a dry piece of wood. Just search for Cactus Juice Resin and you'll find it. But for it to be effective, you need to vacuum out all the air from the wood and then release the vacuum and the resin will work its way into all the pockets left behind. Enjoy.
@@chefknifeco Where in Australia can you purchase juice ?
thank you ive been thinking of doing something similar but didnt know how feasible it would be
I find the vacuum side of it works more consistently (the pressure pot does sometimes loose pressure if I haven't screwed the lid tight enough) but it's extremely feasible!
I'm trying to find the 4" threaded end cap with o ring but I'm coming up empty. Are you able to give me any info on that piece?
I was thinking same thing- why two separate chambers for vacuum and pressure. But my application is for building silicon rubber molds needing vacuum to remove air bubbles from the rubber mixture before curing, and then using the mold in a pressure pot to cast resin for prototype plastic parts. Pressure is needed to remove bubbles in resin, whereas vacuum is needed to remove them from silicon rubber molds before curing. Unfortunately for that application the vacuum pot lids usually are see-through plexiglass or glass so you can see the progress of the de-gassing in the rubber mixture in the pot as it foams and rises. I suppose it might be possible to make such a lid with a piece of plexi or glass for your PVC vacuum chamber idea, but have never seen it.
Oops, sorry didn't see your plexiglass top for the vacuum, just assumed you had another PVC lid like the one for the pressure pot, and didn't need visibility for curing wood rather than silicon rubber mixtures. My bad, sorry. Great idea and I'm going to try it ! Thanks !
I'm just starting to learn about pressure pots and vacuum chambers. Excellent video. Is there a fundamental reason why there's no 2-in-1 pump for this setup? It seems like one pushes air in while the other pulls air out, could someone theoretically make a single reversible device that does both?
A very late response from me, but yea I think you can get them but they are pricey so I went with cheap versions of both. 👍🏻
@@chefknifeco Thanks for the response 🙂
Nice work! I have a few off cuts of pipe.. 🧐 ... Cheers. *that a Propel up the back 🚴🏻
Haha yes it is Jason. And a very nice ride it is!
Someone else did this at 25 PSI and had very good results too.
At 12:00 those damn vacuum connector threads are their own special size; probably a metric thread, but not standard plumbing, and finding any sort of adapter to ordinary pipe threads is nigh onto impossible. I have been trying to adapt a clever gizmo, a small Venturi vacuum pump, that uses compressed air to pull a vacuum, very effectively, but the connectors are the sticking point.
I wounder if a steel rectangle hollow pipe could replace the PVC pipe?
I bought the Chinese pump with a vacuum pot complete with gauge,hoses fitting etc,& the cost was $145 delivered. I am going to try and make a Pressure pot though using a bucket. I think the PSI is effective at reasonably low pressure. There is one guy on TH-cam who has success with his DIY pressure pot at 25 psi.
This was a great video mate thank you.
For the record that pipe is not rated for any pressure at all, pressure pipe is marked PN12 (12 bar approx. 180psi fluid pressure not air) up to PN18 (18bar). Yours is DWV (drain waste vent). I know this but frankly I'd probably do the same thing as you and live on the danger side, but don't take any comfort in thinking it'll handle 180psi as it'll almost certainly explode well before that. Oh and you are wrong about it cracking first, it would be a catastrophic explosion at the end cap but you'd see it bowing out before it did.
That pipe is fine for vacuum though you can't get -30psi, its relative to ambient pressure so cannot be less then -14.7psi.
Thanks for the insight! Yea I looked up whether it would hold 45psi and it said it would (don't remember the exact details but I think it said 80psi on the fact sheet). Either way, only going to 45psi and it's not seemed to give any indication of being under duress to date!
Awesome video! Any recommendations on where to find PVC with overhanging lids on large sizes? I've only been able to find them rated for storm and sewer drains, and I'd rather make sure it stays in one piece when pressurized.
Just curious if there were any issues with Cactus Juice causing PVC to fail. I tried ABS pipe and the Cactus Juice ate away at the ABS causing it to crack and leak.
I don’t believe there is. I can see no degradation in the pvc at all. And I’ve been using the same pipe for months. I know that the cactus juice can have problems with the clear lid plastic if it comes in contact with it, but the pvc pipe seems to be completely fine so far. I’ll update if anything changes there. 👍🏻
Nicely put together, thanks for sharing. It looks like the pump may be low on oil, please check. I have the same pump and it arrived drained of oil with some deceiving remnants in the little window. Surprised to see you are using the cactus juice, where can you get it from here in OZ? Thanks!
Thanks mate, yea I was surprised how well this setup worked in the end! And yes, the oil level was deceiving (the instructions on that pump were abysmal!!) and I worked that out before any problem after making this video luckily! Cactus Juice took a while to find, but finally found timberbits.com sells it. 1.89 litres for $114. So not too bad.
Thanks Nick, glad your pump is OK. I almost did mine, glad I checked first. Thanks for the link and enjoy stabilising!
Great work sir. I'm a wood turner so would like a pot solution to accept something like 200mm diameter by 200mm thick. Like you I'm trawling TH-cam for inspiration. Bob in the UK
Thanks Bob! Glad it's been useful. I'm still using both these all these months later!
How do you release the pressure for the pressure pot version?
Hey! The bike pump valve I use to add pressure has the release button in it. I use a nail punch to depress it.
I can’t seam to find pipe that size that’s rated to hold pressure
use metal pot you family probably would like to keep you in one piece.
What advantages does pressure have over vacuum? Don’t you need to monitor bubbles leaving your piece?
Very good question!
The pressure is for when casting resin in moulds.
The vacuum is for when I'm stabilising wood. You have to vacuum all the air out of the wood and then when you release the vacuum, the Cactus Juice resin seeps into the gaps left. Yes the bubbles threaten to overflow at the beginning, but only for the first 5 mins. I just monitor the bubbles and switch the pump off to let them subside. Then on again. After 5mins, they settle down and you can just leave it going for the next 24+ hours!
Better go with something professionally welded.
Certainly worth it if you can go that way! But for those just starting out like I was, this really does work well.