Used this video to diagnose slow vacuum leak. I, like many others before me, found it to be the drain valve had failed. Purchased a $10 gas valve at Home Depot and everything working perfectly now. My medium freeze dryer is 16 months old and I join the crowd saying that using the cheap valve that Harvest Right uses is useless if it failed that soon.
I am so happy we found this video! Putting the drain hose in a glass of water showed us exactly where our leak was. We will replace the drain valve and hopefully be back off to the races.
Thank you for making this video. My FD started acting up, I started thru this, decided to start at the beginning. And it worked! I just took the ring off the door, washed it with nice soapy water, rinsed, and patted dry, checked the groove, replaced, did a test - took over 12 minutes but it DID finally get down under 500 mTorr.. so I started it up, loaded my food, and it worked thru an entire process successfully! Awesomeness! Thank you!
Very thorough coverage of vacuum leak troubleshooting. I could have used this after we received our second unit. We followed Harvest Right's troubleshooting guide and resolved the problem. It turned out to be a loose screw on the valve knob. Since then, we have had a couple of months of daily use without any vacuum problems. One problem that I would like Harvest Right to address is the build-up of dust being sucked across the refrigerant's condenser fins. Dust build-up makes refrigerant condensation less effective, which results in problems cooling the freeze drying chamber. An air filter would be expected at the least (although it would reduce air flow). At least it could be changed. However, this problem could be eliminated and the unit could be made more energy efficient by using a water cooled heat exchanger (as is done on high end gaming computers). The seal on the door could be improved by attaching a flange plate that mates parallel with the face of the door. The larger sealing surface would provide a better seal. The latching metal piece is too soft and yields to the pressure. It needs to be harder steel, or better yet, use a bolt and threaded closure, as on a vise. Finally, I would be more pleased to see Schrader valves for recharging the refrigerant, rather than a sealed system.
@ichetuknee These things are targeted at CONSUMERS who typically know nothing more than "I push the button, do what the screen says, and after a while, it tells me it's done, so I pull out whatever I put in and seal it in bags/jars/whatever." Putting a Shrader on the cooling system would, at best, confuse the majority of buyers, most of whom have *NO* concept of how a fridge works, and could lead to SERIOUS liability problems when somebody with just enough knowledge to be dangerous decides "It ain't cooling, but there's a tire valve, so maybe I need to put more air in it", then literally blows themself off the face of the map after introducing air into a system that doesn't explode BECAUSE it's sealed and there's no oxygen in it. The door seal works on the "flats" (actually circular, but let's not nitpick) of the vac cylinder that protrudes from the machine - the back side of the gasket (at least on ours) doesn't even TOUCH, never mind seal to, the front of the unit, so it's irrelevant. As for the dust sucked through the condenser coil's fins - That's too simple to even worry about - pull the cover panel and vacuum it away *EXACTLY* as you should be doing with your kitchen fridge, freezer, or window A/C unit. Adding ANOTHER layer of heat-exchanger would do nothing but increase production costs, add weight, and introduce another point of failure - and again, confuse "Jane End-user" who most likely thinks that there's some sort of magic involved, and that it's invoked by pressing the "start" button. You sound as though you have at least some idea what's actually involved with this rig, and I know beyond a doubt that I've got an EXCELLENT understanding of how it works (other than the software - haven't gotten around to reverse-engineering that part - the hardware is an open book to me, though) but bluntly, the HUGE majority of customers who buy one of these things consider the "how it works" to be deepest, darkest black magic, and the best that can be hoped for from them is that they don't screw things up too badly if they decide to go exploring inside.
On the industrial side, when we looked for leaks on vacuum systems, we used shaving cream sprayed around the suspected component and looked for the "inward pimple" on the surface of the shaving cream. We also used vacuum grease on the fitting connections instead of Teflon tape.
I have watched this video multiple times going through all the different issues it could be. Out of an act of desperation I purchased the self sealing silicone tape and wrapped all the crimped hoses. AND IT WORKED!!! Thanks for the advise. Ive never even heard of this tape before. Im back to freeze drying with zero issues now.
FINALLY FIXED! I took off all the sides, turned on the vacuum, and started spraying MAF cleaner on all the places. Vacuum showed 1200mTorr when I sprayed the vacuum sensors wires it shot up to 1324mTorr. Removed the old foam tape thing. Then I Got some black auto silicon and smeared it about 1/4inch thick between the 4 wires and all around the top and down to the threads. Immediately as I applied the silicon it went down to 200mtorr and it is now fixed 😊 Thank you for the video!
We were having vacuum errors, couldn't finish loads it got so bad. Super mechanical hubby went through everything, replaced 0-rings and all sorts of things and then we upgraded our old software and it's working like brand new! We were about to buy a new pump, but tried this first so glad we did!
I'm sitting on two Harvest Right freeze dryers. My first one worked for a few years, after replacing the pump (under warranty, at least), because of an oil leak. It then fried a circuit board which I replaced. While it was down, I bought a second dryer. That one worked once, eventually. The fitting on the tank that accepts the pump hose was loose from the factory (finger tight, couldn't possibly have been tested). Tightened it up and got one successful batch dried before it started showing pressure errors. Been fighting it off and on for a year, achieve vacuum in test mode sometimes, but it errors during the full cycle. Luckily the old machine still works most of the time, so it gives me a chance to fight with the new one... Anyone considering spending the money on one of these should remember that even when it's under warranty, you will be the one repairing it. The warranty may give you a free part if it's defective, but that's probably not what the problem will be. It'll be diagnosing and doing hands-on testing. Be prepared to learn a lot about repairing freeze dryers and to get your hands dirty.
Thank you for this. When I got my freeze dryer, I had this issue. I called customer service and was told 8 days before they could call back. Well, that wasn't acceptable to me as I wasn't available for the date and time they suggested. They called me anyway. Didn't like I said not okay. For me, it seems to be the door handle. My next-door neighbor is an engineer, so he helps. It seems that it's loosened up again. So frustrating. Also, my drain valve is actually upside down. It's aggravating when the issue happens and you're 16 hours into the cycle. Thanks for explaining this and being so detailed.
I had vacuum errors almost every cycle and sometimes more than once in a cycle. Once I replaced the drain valve I have not had one. That was about 2 dozen cycles ago. Be aware that tightening the little screw may not solve the issue because that simply makes the knob harder to turn, it doesn't necessarily prevent air from leaking out around the ball.
Running into issues with low vacuum pressure. Tried 3 times getting it to start left it running over night to see what would happen. Made sure oil level was right, made sure drain valve was closed. Didn’t even know there was a power switch for the pump! Thanks for making a video. Wish they would have mentioned the power switch on the pump in the instructions 😂
We had a vacuum problem and watched your video. I found a brocken crimp on the drain hose. I made the repair with two hose clamps. Thankyou for the video!
Didn’t pull water up the drain hose, but I decided to replace the valve anyway, even though it’s a brand new machine. I noticed small bits of Teflon tape in the ball valve. The new valve got it pulling below 500… but as soon as I put the tray rack back in… the rubber seal is hitting the bottom of the tray rack and lifting slightly under vacuum. Thanks for the chamber / door adjustment advice! I’ll try it as soon as I get home! Thanks Brian!
OMG, thank you for this video. I bought an air freezer I’ve been down a couple weeks due to “inadequate vacuum issues”. I’ve only been able to process around 10 loads but have run the machine around 15 times. When everything goes fine, the product that comes out of the machine is incredible. I’m getting ice around the rubber seal when I get a notice when there is an issue. I’m so frustrated because I have so much to process and the world is getting crazy.
I have the same issue...have had the machine a few months and only been able to run 16 loads. We replaced the door seal, but still have issue and heavy ice/frost around the seal. Adjusted the door. Still trying to resolve.
I just purchased a medium Freeze Right 4 weeks ago and also having these issues. The door gasket is icing up and loosing vacuum and erroring out when it goes to the drying cycle.
@@joym.3755 I finally fixed the issue and the issue ended up not being related to the door seal at all. I'm not entirely sure what the fix ended up being because I did quite a few different fixes at once. I would look at applying silicon to the epoxy plug as that seems to the issue with most people's machine. I also put silicon at the base of the epoxy plug for good measure. I also self sealing silicon tape around all the connection points on the two hoses. Before that, I couldn't get below 740mTarr, now I have seen 185mTarr when running a load.
Thanks for this great info. Been running my freeze dryer for nearly a year before finally getting the vacuum error. Had run close to 200 batches before it popped up. After completing everything on your list my unit still struggled to get down below 650 Mtorr. I finally changed the inlet vacuum hose going to my pump and it solved the problem. The hose wasn't faulty but had developed a thin residue of black soot like material around the gaskets. It only presented itself after I had not used the unit for a few months because we caught up on everything, we needed to freeze dry. But then when I tried starting it back up it refused to reach operations vacuum levels. Anyway, really enjoy your videos and appreciate the info!
Thank you, thank you. I have a new freeze dryer that within only 3 months started this vacuum error message. Last time I had checked your site, there was nothing on the subject. I called HR but they're never really very much help at all, which I find to be the only drawback to HR. I had read the manual but this video combined with the manual is enormously helpful! I had no idea the pump plugs into the dryer and my manual does not mention that! That seems to have fixed my problem for now, at least. Thank you so much.
Good video Brian! Having an issue did all the tests in the manual. Saw your water technique and tried it under 500mTorr. Disappointed that I found zero issues after 3 failed batches. MTorr stayed low when I sprayed on the water. Had a ticket with HR in as I am under warranty for a few more months but saw this video and was very interested. Long story short the HR tech had me do a water batch which failed 3 times in Vac Freeze Mode. Was instructed to LEAF to Dry mode which gave me the inadequate vacuum error twice and then finally achieved mTorr and completed batch..Tech analyzed data and wanted to do a MOCK run.(no food or trays). It worked great. I sent the data. I'll speak with the Tech in 3 days. Meanwhile I ran a 9lb batch in the medium FD which ran absolutely perfect. Did a lot of checks, everything was good, fixed nothing and my FD began working. Go figure. But due to this video and HR literature I'm pretty confident there's no mechanical issues Thx again, good clip
I've had my medium freeze dryer little over a year and got the vacuum error after sitting idle for a month while on vacation. I have some knowledge of vacuum systems through my work on an industrial level. Long story short I replaced the vent valve with a brass on from Home depot. Switched out the pump oil run pump on test mode for about 15 min. Noticed the oil still cloudy changed out the oil again and ran the pump again for another 15 min. I repeated this till the oil was clear as water. Now I'm back in business.... I used the filter pitcher that came with the premier pump to cycle the same oil. The oil not only lubricates the pump but also draws air out of the chamber as well.
I really hope this helps, I’m about to lite this thing on fire. I did the vacuum test HR recommend and still had inadequate vacuum. I’m so bummed, I didn’t know I needed to be a mechanic to own this machine. I’ve only had ~10 successful loads. Thank you for putting out this video
Thank you for this in-depth video - praise the Lord I have not had this happen yet but if/when I do, I feel confident that I will be able to repeat your tests and hopefully find and fix any vacuum issues!
THANKS so much for this video! After one year of owning the dryer and not having vacuum problems (but had many other problems every month or two), I only had to watch this video, touch each part I suspected, and in the end just had to tighten the tiny screw on top of the harvest right drain valve. I'll replace that drain valve as you said.
Thank you so very much. We’ve had problems with our from the time we bought it last year. So frustrating. Call into Harvest Right and each time they don’t seem to know that much about it. Kept having problems until our pump was out of warranty and so wound up buying a new pump at our expense. Much better with Premier pump but not quite there yet. Will try going through the steps you offered to find it. Harvest Right should be this helpful.
Wow! How did you know?! I got my machine in March 2020 and have the oil-less pump and have had no issues. Until I ran my 70th cycle this past week, and repeatedly get this error. The timing of this video is amazing for me. It’s much more in-depth than the troubleshooting on Harvest Right’s page. I will be going through the steps to find the issue.🤞Thanks so much!
I had a vac problem on my two month old drier. I went through all the tests to no avail; then called HR, which is a pain, but got a ticket started. After sending them the diagnostics from my machine I had my second call to them where I found out they have a repair person that covers Northern UT, where I live. They set up an appointment and the guy came. He took one look at my drier and said your problem is your software version. He updated the software and also used silicone around the wires going into what they call "the epoxy fitting" where the wires enter the cylinder. The drier works wonderfully now, but I don't know, if due to the software upgrade, or sealing the wires. I had version v5.1.19. The new version is v5.1.23. Hope the helps, sorry it's so long.
David, forgive me for replying to a 3 months old post. The software v.5.1.19 was buggy and could have potentially caused permanent damage on the machine, HR recalled the software and supplied an updated version and told customers not to use their machines with this version of software installed. However, some must have not gotten the recall notice or HR didn't have their email address on file. I still run v.5.0.12 which doesn't have all the bells and whistles but it is bug free.
This a great video. I wish there were more like this for my older machine. When I called harvest right about a problem with my machine there didn't seem to be anyone there who knew my machine and could help. I definitely would not pour water over my door seal since my screen is in the bottom right corner of the front. there are no testing spots that I know if on my screen either. However I am putting this into my file since there are a lot of things common to mine. Thanks so much and please keep it up!!!
1. new quality ball valve for the drain. 2. pure silicone sealant around any fitting attached to chamber to include the epoxy plug as demonstrated with painters tape dam. 3. Self Fusing Silicone Tape around all hose crimps After about 6 loads vacuum error, didn't bother with testing, replaced drain valve, and just sealed everything pulled a vacuum of about 120 mTorr and let set over night. No more issues. Best it would do prior to sealing was 6-800 mTorr.
I am so thankful for finding this video of yours!! The best one I've seen! (LOVE your freeze drying room, too!) I have had this issue for 2 days now; thankfully I was only drying liver for the dogs, but still... I will follow all of your instructions today and try to get to the bottom of this issue! Thanks again for the informative, well-made video! Wish you were closer to me in Alabama, lol; I'd be calling you in hopes of hiring you to look at my freeze-drier. At age 74 (almost) my 'mechanical abilities' are slowing a bit, haha!😂
I'm in Alabama too, wish I could find someone here to fix my freeze dryer! I just bought it and ran 6 batches, now it won't get below 1300 mTorr. Great video, I will try each step.
Very informative. My Harvest Right has not arrived yet. Inevitably, I will probably need to know this. You took the scariness out of troubleshooting vacuum leaks!
As a follow up we ran the unit through the night and the Mtorr's are back to normal levels, (below 300) I think the silicone process you showed on the electrical connector was the final step that solved the problem. As directed, we left the unit under vacuum while doing this and after coming back an hour later, I could actually see that the silicone had been pulled into the wiring harness from the vacuum. Were back to normal now!
That should have been done at the factory. End consumers should not have to retrofit their machines!! Would you just expect to buy extra parts or seal something so your brand new car could get you to work?
Wow! This is a very comprehensive video on how to test for vacuum leaks. I've got to save this one so I can refer to it the next time I have one of those issues with inadequate vacuum. Thanks for the information. 🤣
I had this problem 2 months ago and was researching like mad to figure it out. After exhausting literally everything you listed here, I replaced the vacuum pump and that solved it, lol. Apparently I only got 1 year out of the standard pump, upgrading to premier has been worth it so far!
@@thefreezedryingcommunity me too! Been so busy the last few days and won't have time to work on it until Monday afternoon. Praying for understanding to do this. Thank you for all you do to help others!
Had the same problem and did all the normal stuff. When checking the nipple for the pressure sensor found it to be barely hand tight. Took it out, re-taped and re-installed. Replaced the valve, checked and replaced the door gasket, silicone on the wires, etc,.., and thought I had it fixed, but once the machine was back together and after about 2 loads it happened again. Took it back apart checked again and was still leaking around the 4 wires on the top (thermo-couple?). This time I used a 1" long piece of 3/4" of PVC pipe split in half and fit it around the wires filled it with Silicone and pulled a vac down to 450 TOR and let it sit for 24 hours and let the Silcone cure for about 5 days. Have run 5 loads since and all were good. In fact, looking a the logs, the machine has not worked this well since it came last February.
Really great information! Thanks so much for going through all that information. We have one of these freeze dryers and use it a lot. Haven't had any issues with it really but this is great to build confidence if something goes wrong. I'm in total awe of all that freeze dryer foods you have on those bakers shelves. Wow! I've been doing a lot of freeze drying milk for powdered milk. Even doing it with chocolate milk too. Thanks again!
If you put the door gasket on and don't push it all the way back, you can let the door closing motion seat the gasket. That will keep the gasket in contact with the door completely.
I feel like a fool, but maybe this will help someone. I had been experiencing Inadequate Vacuum regularly over my last three batches. It was pulling a vacuum (with the batch and with the vacuum pump test) but was slow to reach 499 mTorr where, with the batch processing, it would kick in and run as normal for a while. But then the Inadequate Vacuum message would come back. I was looking at all the steps you outlined that I planned to dive into after the last batch limped through to the finish. But along with way, I slightly repositioned my freeze dryer. Apparently, I had it turned in a way that was causing some sort of slight crimp or strain on the vacuum line between the pump and the dryer. And it must have been this stress or slight binding of the vacuum hose that was causing the error. That ever-so-slight repositioning that must have relieved this situation for the machine ran nominally for the last twelve hours or so of the freeze drying cycle. DUH.
We had a problem with Vacuum Error. After months of back and forth with HR and doing testing, getting a new pump, replacement seals, with no solution, my husband suggested tightening the door. Problem solved. UGH! All the trouble and frustration and it was simply the door had worked a little loose. Well, we are just thankful to have the problem solved. My husband wanted to send it back because there are too many things that can go wrong and it, obviously, can sometimes be difficult to diagnose the problem, causing lots of down time and much frustration. I really wanted to get the problem fixed. Thankfully, he was willing to stick with it and now the FD is finally running again. Hopefully, this is the last problem for a while. There have been several problems and more down time than working time since we bought it. HR does try to work with us to get things fixed but it can be difficult without an experienced repair person on the spot to do the testing and repairs. But it seems things do eventually get fixed if everyone is patient and sticks with it. Fingers crossed...
for better results on the epoxy harness fix, remove the white foam disc with a heat gun and a 90° pick (power off), then use 100% silicone the use vacuum for 1 hr to assure it sealed the pinholes. -Troy from repairs.
Whenever I repair mine with 100% silicone it will work at initial application. Then after the silicone has dried I cannot achieve a proper vacuum. Do you have any advice on this?
Thanks. just started with issues yesterday, so perfect timing ! Mine was getting stuck around 760. change the valve and it dropped to 425 in about 10 min 🎉
great video!! Learned a lot. I just went through a vacuum leak, you covered all the areas the company did. There are two places I learned that were operator errors. I noticed that my trays were not in the stray slots correctly. I have to wiggle the tray a little when placing them in the tray unit, they were not flush so they stuck out a little putting pressure on the inside of the door. The other element was the vacuum knob, it wasn't fully opened due to some stiffness when turning the vacuum knob. Very simple errors. Question: Where did you get the stand that your freeze dryer sits on.??
I would also check the o ring between the demistor and the pump body. Clean up all oil around that area and the channel on demistor that the o ring fits in. That was my issue and I can see that showing up since you have to unscrew to add more oil to the pump.
That was not your problem because you can pull a vacuum with out the demister on. You moved something else in the process of thinking it was the demister o-ring. The demister is on the exhaust and it is essentially a muffler and oil catch.
I just got my freeze dryer yesterday and my first cycle it said inadequate vacuum. I know everything is perfect as it’s all brand new and I did everything by the instructions! I was pissed. I hope it doesn’t continue to be a problem!
Ugh...I'm just now doing my first test on the new FD. My mTorr is still 156,000 at 20 minutes.Okay I'm editing my comment. I tightened the door and the mTorr is dropping fast. Thanks so much!!!
Brian one there is one other place that can give you a vacuum error: dirty coils fins. We had a vacuum error and after taking off the sides of our machine we saw the problem immediately. We vacuumed them off and I haven’t had a problem since. It’s basically just like your refrigerator coils where you need to keep them clean for your refrigerator to work properly. My machine is a 2018. Hope this helps someone else.
@@youtubejunky7481 all I can say is that we were having problems with our machine keeping a vacuum after it had been working for hours then after several hours it would say unable to achieve vacuum. As soon as we cleaned off the cooling fins it worked just fine. I’m not a mechanic , I’m just saying that it can be a problem with any cooling unit.
@@youtubejunky7481 Exactly. The cooling system and the vacuum system are *TOTALLY* independent of each other. The only functional "connection" between them is by way of the "brain board" behind the screen, and then only because the way they get turned on and off are located on the relay board that the brain board controls. A vac problem resolving after vacuuming the fins is due to SOMETHING ELSE (likely one of the hoses) being moved, jiggled, reseated, or otherwise adjusted (even if unintentionally) in the process of removing the cover and vacuuming the fins.
@@felsinferguson1125 what you said. I have gotten sick of trying to explain it I detail to people. Some people think they are smarter just because that have had a FD for a long time and I have only had mine for a short time. However I have been in the equipment and refrigeration world for over 23 years. But somehow the principles and physics of thermal dynamics and electronics all go out the window when it is becomes a Harvest Right machine. All some of these people know is the miss information that is fed to them by the so-called experts and that they know how to hit the start button on the easy bake oven.
@@youtubejunky7481 Yah, these things aren't that difficult, however much HR likes to try to make 'em seem so. The only "mystery" involved is exactly how they code the control program. Everything else about these things is as simple as it gets - A cooler that can take a chamber to -40 or thereabouts, a chamber that can be pumped down to a close-to-outer-space level of vacuum to enhance sublimation (as opposed to melting into liquid water, then being boiled off into steam/water vapor, only to hit the freezing cold walls and form frost/ice) and some circuitry to monitor the status and turn it all on and off as needed in response to what the temperature and pressure of the chamber is at any given moment, and some logic, in the form of the program the computer on board runs, and there you are. The only thing "tricky" about this entire beast is the software the computer is running - which could, if they weren't trying to automate it so that anybody able to push a button can operate it, be dispensed with altogether. (But I have to say, it absolutely boggles my mind that they wrote that code in C++, rather than straight C, or even better, straight-up ATMEL assembler - were they *DELIBERATELY TRYING* to make it as difficult to code and maintain as possible???)
Right out of the box doing the bread cycle had the vacuum fail. Went through the whole machine. Turned out to be the wire epoxy fitting. Got it siliconed and working good so far.
Although not touched on in the video, oil the 0-rings, the sealing surfaces inside the female fittings and on the outside of the male fittings AND on the threads. The oil helps the O-Rings seal and helps seat the threads better. Also, make sure that your hose is centered in the nuts (fittings) as you tighten them down. That little issue messed with me for a week, before I got it figured out.
I had multiple inadequate vacuum errors on multiple cycles. Mu hubby replaced the ball drain valve with a gas line ball valve which gives a “click” when closed and I haven’t had a problem since. I didn’t like the ball valves with the long handle.
I’m sure someone already mentioned it but the o-ring is 7/8" OD 3/4" ID 1/16 WIDTH. I bought the display model and it was missing the o-ring in one for the vacuum hose from pump to unit.
@@Bama_J The older ones are more rough surface "Harder to clean. The new ones are smooth and "easy" to clean. Wipe out with out leaving behind paper towel or cotton tuffs.
Thanks for the video and info. A couple questions…(1) when spraying fitting with window cleaner, how much of an increase in mTorr is considered a “jump” equating to a leak? (2) when running a normal cycle with pre frozen food on trays, how long before mTorr should drop below 500? I performed vacuum test and it dropped below 500 in about 6 minutes. Now I’m running a cycle with tray of prefrozen veggies for almost 8 hours and holding steady at about 780 mTorr for last couple hours. Is this “normal” and should I expect it to start dropping further over night? Thank you.
The mTorr should not change much. You will increase in Mtorr a little if the pump is not running. The Mtorr gong below 500 will depend on food type and many factors. Below 500 in 6 minutes is pretty good for a test. On your veggies, it probably won't drop below 500 for 12-20 hours. With food in the unit, your FD will not drop below 500 until most of the water in the food has been turned into ice.
@ Well shoot! When we went to bed it was still hovering around 800 mTorr. We were woken up to beeping at 2:30 this morning. Went to check on it, and had the dreaded “Inadequate Vacuum See troubleshooting guide section #9” alert. The FD showed 11:36 hour run time and 846mTorr 😡. Even though my function test that I ran just before went well, why would it flash this error and not drop below high 700s when I run cycle with the veggies in it? Should I start tracing down a vacuum leak? Just confused why not vacuum leak noted on function test, but inadequate vacuum with food run. Thank for any help.
I have a leak in my vacuum chamber. I have replaced the valve with a brass one. Tested it and it shows no leak. I also coated all connections with liquid tape. Replaced the door seal. Replaced the pump and pump hose. Added rubber seal sealant to that hose. The vacuum will go down to 360 in 30 min IF the tray holder is removed. I can put it back in and not even plug it in and the vacuum will not fall below 860. The tray holder is a full inch away from the rubber seal on the door. I have adjusted the door, removed the door and turned it over to no effect. Can't figure it out.
After viewing and reading comments, I assume the manual does not show the steps in operating a vacuum pump. I worked at a construction equipment company for a few years that dealt with compressors and pumps. Those little pumps require a little extra care in their operation. Yes, they are very loud, especially before it gets a chance to get the oil warm and circulating. Depending on the type, it can take anywhere from 15-30 minutes to get the pump ready to work. You can hear the difference in the sound once the oil has worked it's way around. This will improve the pumps efficiency greatly; even the cheapest pump will last 10+ years. Once the job is complete, there is one key step that should be taken to extend the life of the compressor oil. The pump needs to be run at full capacity for 2-5 minutes with the air intake plugged. This will help purge the volatiles from the system. Volatiles are what are created by the pump (internally) and can damage the seals and parts of the pump. But that is something that should be done in a garage or outdoors away from where you are working. You will never get rid of that crud by simply emptying and refueling or even flushing. It has to be "burnt off" in a sense. Some of the newer, more like a sealed unit may not need the purge as some models have filters on them. But they still require a little warm-up prior to use.
You missed an issue with the door gasket. I was washing my regularly. It would still have water and when the chamber froze, it froze the water in the gasket. It changed the configuration as the water expanded. I still wash it regularly, but I make sure it and the chamber wall is bone dry. I went from 1200 to 300 mt.
Hi Brian, Been reading and hearing alot of people saying to use epoxy only, not silicone and others say to use silicone only not epoxy....can you clarify which one to use, what brand? I guess I'm confused on whether to use silicone or epoxy on the epoxy plug and don't want to mess it up. Also, lots of different types of both, so, if you can be specific, it would be greatly appreciated!!
I saw another video, where the guy said to open your hose vent on the side, and use hot water to run through the drain pipe. Sometimes there are small food particles that cause a leak.
Great video. After manually running the pump to test mt and then shutting off the pump, what it too fast on the mt's numbers increasing? What leakage is not normal, time to find the leak? Thank you so much.
Did your drain line come with a grommet or did you install it? Mine has none and I'm concerned about rubbing on the sheet metal edge. FYI Harvest Right is now telling people to tape the vacuum line fittings.
After checking all possible vacuum leaks spots we realized the code 9 error only comes when the machine is in a very cold state and trying to switch modes. When the machine alarmed code 9 I held a hair dryer on low heat on the epoxy seal and the mtorrs started dropping fast and the machine switched to drying mode confirming epoxy leak.
The drain valve that came with my FDer failed after about 10 batches. I was babysitting the machine and saw the oil turn white all of a sudden and turned it off. I believe the pump would have been damaged if I hadn't been watching it. There are two bosses (little round bumps) on the bottom of the handle that stop the handle at fully-closed or fully-open position. However, my valve would not fully close. When I looked inside the valve, it appeared that the edge of the hole in the ball just barely went past the edge of the ID of the valve. I removed the handle and replaced it 180 degrees from the original position. Now it fully closes and almost fully opens which doesn't matter.
En thinking the problem was the oil filter because it’s so cheap and strips the threads if you look at it wrong. Have you ever had that be a problem and can you get the fittings to not have to deal with Harvest right?
When you say "while under vacuum" when checking for leaks, is that while the pump is running? Or turn the pump off once it bottoms out and check before opening the drain valve?
Power outage abruptly cause this error. After numerous email exchanges with HR i did a oil change purge operation. Since my oil was only 5 cyles old i left it but i power cycled the pump 15 times. Off/onoff/on etc. This worked. My thought is an air or vapor lock. Problem never returned.
Used this video to diagnose slow vacuum leak. I, like many others before me, found it to be the drain valve had failed. Purchased a $10 gas valve at Home Depot and everything working perfectly now. My medium freeze dryer is 16 months old and I join the crowd saying that using the cheap valve that Harvest Right uses is useless if it failed that soon.
They use a better quality valve on their new pro models thankfully
I am so happy we found this video! Putting the drain hose in a glass of water showed us exactly where our leak was. We will replace the drain valve and hopefully be back off to the races.
Thank you for making this video. My FD started acting up, I started thru this, decided to start at the beginning. And it worked! I just took the ring off the door, washed it with nice soapy water, rinsed, and patted dry, checked the groove, replaced, did a test - took over 12 minutes but it DID finally get down under 500 mTorr.. so I started it up, loaded my food, and it worked thru an entire process successfully! Awesomeness! Thank you!
Most helpful freeze dryer video by anyone ever.
Very thorough coverage of vacuum leak troubleshooting. I could have used this after we received our second unit. We followed Harvest Right's troubleshooting guide and resolved the problem. It turned out to be a loose screw on the valve knob. Since then, we have had a couple of months of daily use without any vacuum problems.
One problem that I would like Harvest Right to address is the build-up of dust being sucked across the refrigerant's condenser fins. Dust build-up makes refrigerant condensation less effective, which results in problems cooling the freeze drying chamber. An air filter would be expected at the least (although it would reduce air flow). At least it could be changed. However, this problem could be eliminated and the unit could be made more energy efficient by using a water cooled heat exchanger (as is done on high end gaming computers).
The seal on the door could be improved by attaching a flange plate that mates parallel with the face of the door. The larger sealing surface would provide a better seal. The latching metal piece is too soft and yields to the pressure. It needs to be harder steel, or better yet, use a bolt and threaded closure, as on a vise.
Finally, I would be more pleased to see Schrader valves for recharging the refrigerant, rather than a sealed system.
@ichetuknee These things are targeted at CONSUMERS who typically know nothing more than "I push the button, do what the screen says, and after a while, it tells me it's done, so I pull out whatever I put in and seal it in bags/jars/whatever." Putting a Shrader on the cooling system would, at best, confuse the majority of buyers, most of whom have *NO* concept of how a fridge works, and could lead to SERIOUS liability problems when somebody with just enough knowledge to be dangerous decides "It ain't cooling, but there's a tire valve, so maybe I need to put more air in it", then literally blows themself off the face of the map after introducing air into a system that doesn't explode BECAUSE it's sealed and there's no oxygen in it. The door seal works on the "flats" (actually circular, but let's not nitpick) of the vac cylinder that protrudes from the machine - the back side of the gasket (at least on ours) doesn't even TOUCH, never mind seal to, the front of the unit, so it's irrelevant. As for the dust sucked through the condenser coil's fins - That's too simple to even worry about - pull the cover panel and vacuum it away *EXACTLY* as you should be doing with your kitchen fridge, freezer, or window A/C unit. Adding ANOTHER layer of heat-exchanger would do nothing but increase production costs, add weight, and introduce another point of failure - and again, confuse "Jane End-user" who most likely thinks that there's some sort of magic involved, and that it's invoked by pressing the "start" button. You sound as though you have at least some idea what's actually involved with this rig, and I know beyond a doubt that I've got an EXCELLENT understanding of how it works (other than the software - haven't gotten around to reverse-engineering that part - the hardware is an open book to me, though) but bluntly, the HUGE majority of customers who buy one of these things consider the "how it works" to be deepest, darkest black magic, and the best that can be hoped for from them is that they don't screw things up too badly if they decide to go exploring inside.
On the industrial side, when we looked for leaks on vacuum systems, we used shaving cream sprayed around the suspected component and looked for the "inward pimple" on the surface of the shaving cream. We also used vacuum grease on the fitting connections instead of Teflon tape.
Wow. Thats really good info. Thanks
Noted! Thank you.
Have you ever freeze dried uncooked meatballs?
You rock! With our ball valve closed, we sucked up water right into the machine. Problem identified is half the problem worth these things!
Great to hear! Happy freeze drying!
I have watched this video multiple times going through all the different issues it could be. Out of an act of desperation I purchased the self sealing silicone tape and wrapped all the crimped hoses. AND IT WORKED!!! Thanks for the advise. Ive never even heard of this tape before. Im back to freeze drying with zero issues now.
Glad it helped
Nice video, very helpful. Aux relay is used when another relay dies, you can reprogram the unit to use the spare relay and abandon the broken part.
FINALLY FIXED! I took off all the sides, turned on the vacuum, and started spraying MAF cleaner on all the places. Vacuum showed 1200mTorr when I sprayed the vacuum sensors wires it shot up to 1324mTorr. Removed the old foam tape thing. Then I Got some black auto silicon and smeared it about 1/4inch thick between the 4 wires and all around the top and down to the threads. Immediately as I applied the silicon it went down to 200mtorr and it is now fixed 😊 Thank you for the video!
great news! Happy freeze drying!
We were having vacuum errors, couldn't finish loads it got so bad. Super mechanical hubby went through everything, replaced 0-rings and all sorts of things and then we upgraded our old software and it's working like brand new! We were about to buy a new pump, but tried this first so glad we did!
I'm sitting on two Harvest Right freeze dryers. My first one worked for a few years, after replacing the pump (under warranty, at least), because of an oil leak. It then fried a circuit board which I replaced. While it was down, I bought a second dryer. That one worked once, eventually. The fitting on the tank that accepts the pump hose was loose from the factory (finger tight, couldn't possibly have been tested). Tightened it up and got one successful batch dried before it started showing pressure errors.
Been fighting it off and on for a year, achieve vacuum in test mode sometimes, but it errors during the full cycle. Luckily the old machine still works most of the time, so it gives me a chance to fight with the new one...
Anyone considering spending the money on one of these should remember that even when it's under warranty, you will be the one repairing it. The warranty may give you a free part if it's defective, but that's probably not what the problem will be. It'll be diagnosing and doing hands-on testing. Be prepared to learn a lot about repairing freeze dryers and to get your hands dirty.
This video should have a lot more views. It’s as thorough as a video can be.
Much appreciated
Live.Life.Simple................the guru for freeze drying. Thanks Brian!!!
Thank you for this. When I got my freeze dryer, I had this issue. I called customer service and was told 8 days before they could call back. Well, that wasn't acceptable to me as I wasn't available for the date and time they suggested. They called me anyway. Didn't like I said not okay. For me, it seems to be the door handle. My next-door neighbor is an engineer, so he helps. It seems that it's loosened up again. So frustrating. Also, my drain valve is actually upside down. It's aggravating when the issue happens and you're 16 hours into the cycle. Thanks for explaining this and being so detailed.
I had vacuum errors almost every cycle and sometimes more than once in a cycle. Once I replaced the drain valve I have not had one. That was about 2 dozen cycles ago. Be aware that tightening the little screw may not solve the issue because that simply makes the knob harder to turn, it doesn't necessarily prevent air from leaking out around the ball.
Running into issues with low vacuum pressure. Tried 3 times getting it to start left it running over night to see what would happen. Made sure oil level was right, made sure drain valve was closed.
Didn’t even know there was a power switch for the pump!
Thanks for making a video. Wish they would have mentioned the power switch on the pump in the instructions 😂
Right? It wasn't mentioned in the manual at all. The manual needs to be way more informative.
We had a vacuum problem and watched your video. I found a brocken crimp on the drain hose. I made the repair with two hose clamps. Thankyou for the video!
Didn’t pull water up the drain hose, but I decided to replace the valve anyway, even though it’s a brand new machine. I noticed small bits of Teflon tape in the ball valve. The new valve got it pulling below 500… but as soon as I put the tray rack back in… the rubber seal is hitting the bottom of the tray rack and lifting slightly under vacuum. Thanks for the chamber / door adjustment advice! I’ll try it as soon as I get home! Thanks Brian!
With all the new issues popping up, I'd love a version two of this video! Cover not finishing the freeze dry all the way, etc
OMG, thank you for this video. I bought an air freezer I’ve been down a couple weeks due to “inadequate vacuum issues”. I’ve only been able to process around 10 loads but have run the machine around 15 times. When everything goes fine, the product that comes out of the machine is incredible. I’m getting ice around the rubber seal when I get a notice when there is an issue. I’m so frustrated because I have so much to process and the world is getting crazy.
I have the same issue. Did you ever get this resolved?
@@jubei20111
I have the same issue...have had the machine a few months and only been able to run 16 loads. We replaced the door seal, but still have issue and heavy ice/frost around the seal. Adjusted the door. Still trying to resolve.
I just purchased a medium Freeze Right 4 weeks ago and also having these issues. The door gasket is icing up and loosing vacuum and erroring out when it goes to the drying cycle.
@@joym.3755 I finally fixed the issue and the issue ended up not being related to the door seal at all. I'm not entirely sure what the fix ended up being because I did quite a few different fixes at once. I would look at applying silicon to the epoxy plug as that seems to the issue with most people's machine. I also put silicon at the base of the epoxy plug for good measure. I also self sealing silicon tape around all the connection points on the two hoses. Before that, I couldn't get below 740mTarr, now I have seen 185mTarr when running a load.
Thanks for this great info. Been running my freeze dryer for nearly a year before finally getting the vacuum error. Had run close to 200 batches before it popped up. After completing everything on your list my unit still struggled to get down below 650 Mtorr. I finally changed the inlet vacuum hose going to my pump and it solved the problem. The hose wasn't faulty but had developed a thin residue of black soot like material around the gaskets. It only presented itself after I had not used the unit for a few months because we caught up on everything, we needed to freeze dry. But then when I tried starting it back up it refused to reach operations vacuum levels. Anyway, really enjoy your videos and appreciate the info!
Thank you, thank you. I have a new freeze dryer that within only 3 months started this vacuum error message. Last time I had checked your site, there was nothing on the subject. I called HR but they're never really very much help at all, which I find to be the only drawback to HR. I had read the manual but this video combined with the manual is enormously helpful! I had no idea the pump plugs into the dryer and my manual does not mention that! That seems to have fixed my problem for now, at least. Thank you so much.
You got it! Happy Freeze Drying!
Good video Brian! Having an issue did all the tests in the manual. Saw your water technique and tried it under 500mTorr. Disappointed that I found zero issues after 3 failed batches. MTorr stayed low when I sprayed on the water. Had a ticket with HR in as I am under warranty for a few more months but saw this video and was very interested. Long story short the HR tech had me do a water batch which failed 3 times in Vac Freeze Mode. Was instructed to LEAF to Dry mode which gave me the inadequate vacuum error twice and then finally achieved mTorr and completed batch..Tech analyzed data and wanted to do a MOCK run.(no food or trays). It worked great. I sent the data. I'll speak with the Tech in 3 days. Meanwhile I ran a 9lb batch in the medium FD which ran absolutely perfect. Did a lot of checks, everything was good, fixed nothing and my FD began working. Go figure. But due to this video and HR literature I'm pretty confident there's no mechanical issues Thx again, good clip
I've had my medium freeze dryer little over a year and got the vacuum error after sitting idle for a month while on vacation. I have some knowledge of vacuum systems through my work on an industrial level. Long story short I replaced the vent valve with a brass on from Home depot. Switched out the pump oil run pump on test mode for about 15 min. Noticed the oil still cloudy changed out the oil again and ran the pump again for another 15 min. I repeated this till the oil was clear as water. Now I'm back in business....
I used the filter pitcher that came with the premier pump to cycle the same oil.
The oil not only lubricates the pump but also draws air out of the chamber as well.
I really hope this helps, I’m about to lite this thing on fire. I did the vacuum test HR recommend and still had inadequate vacuum. I’m so bummed, I didn’t know I needed to be a mechanic to own this machine. I’ve only had ~10 successful loads. Thank you for putting out this video
What did you do to finally fix the issue?
I haven’t even been able to have a successful load :( can’t figure out the issue
Thank you for this in-depth video - praise the Lord I have not had this happen yet but if/when I do, I feel confident that I will be able to repeat your tests and hopefully find and fix any vacuum issues!
THANKS so much for this video! After one year of owning the dryer and not having vacuum problems (but had many other problems every month or two), I only had to watch this video, touch each part I suspected, and in the end just had to tighten the tiny screw on top of the harvest right drain valve. I'll replace that drain valve as you said.
Thank you so very much. We’ve had problems with our from the time we bought it last year. So frustrating. Call into Harvest Right and each time they don’t seem to know that much about it. Kept having problems until our pump was out of warranty and so wound up buying a new pump at our expense. Much better with Premier pump but not quite there yet. Will try going through the steps you offered to find it. Harvest Right should be this helpful.
Wow! How did you know?! I got my machine in March 2020 and have the oil-less pump and have had no issues. Until I ran my 70th cycle this past week, and repeatedly get this error. The timing of this video is amazing for me. It’s much more in-depth than the troubleshooting on Harvest Right’s page. I will be going through the steps to find the issue.🤞Thanks so much!
I had a vac problem on my two month old drier. I went through all the tests to no avail; then called HR, which is a pain, but got a ticket started. After sending them the diagnostics from my machine I had my second call to them where I found out they have a repair person that covers Northern UT, where I live. They set up an appointment and the guy came. He took one look at my drier and said your problem is your software version. He updated the software and also used silicone around the wires going into what they call "the epoxy fitting" where the wires enter the cylinder. The drier works wonderfully now, but I don't know, if due to the software upgrade, or sealing the wires. I had version v5.1.19. The new version is v5.1.23. Hope the helps, sorry it's so long.
David, forgive me for replying to a 3 months old post. The software v.5.1.19 was buggy and could have potentially caused permanent damage on the machine, HR recalled the software and supplied an updated version and told customers not to use their machines with this version of software installed. However, some must have not gotten the recall notice or HR didn't have their email address on file. I still run v.5.0.12 which doesn't have all the bells and whistles but it is bug free.
Lucky you! I wish there was someone in Alabama!
This a great video. I wish there were more like this for my older machine. When I called harvest right about a problem with my machine there didn't seem to be anyone there who knew my machine and could help. I definitely would not pour water over my door seal since my screen is in the bottom right corner of the front. there are no testing spots that I know if on my screen either. However I am putting this into my file since there are a lot of things common to mine. Thanks so much and please keep it up!!!
1. new quality ball valve for the drain.
2. pure silicone sealant around any fitting attached to chamber to include the epoxy plug as demonstrated with painters tape dam.
3. Self Fusing Silicone Tape around all hose crimps
After about 6 loads vacuum error, didn't bother with testing, replaced drain valve, and just sealed everything pulled a vacuum of about 120 mTorr and let set over night. No more issues. Best it would do prior to sealing was 6-800 mTorr.
I am so thankful for finding this video of yours!! The best one I've seen! (LOVE your freeze drying room, too!) I have had this issue for 2 days now; thankfully I was only drying liver for the dogs, but still... I will follow all of your instructions today and try to get to the bottom of this issue! Thanks again for the informative, well-made video!
Wish you were closer to me in Alabama, lol; I'd be calling you in hopes of hiring you to look at my freeze-drier. At age 74 (almost) my 'mechanical abilities' are slowing a bit, haha!😂
I wish you luck. Most vacuum errors are a pretty simple fix
I'm in Alabama too, wish I could find someone here to fix my freeze dryer! I just bought it and ran 6 batches, now it won't get below 1300 mTorr. Great video, I will try each step.
Thank you so much! Went thru your video and about halfway thru figured out what was wrong w my machine.
Glad I could help!
Very informative. My Harvest Right has not arrived yet. Inevitably, I will probably need to know this. You took the scariness out of troubleshooting vacuum leaks!
Thank you! We replaced the plastic valve with a brass 3/8" ball valve and it's pulling a strong vacuum now.
As a follow up we ran the unit through the night and the Mtorr's are back to normal levels, (below 300) I think the silicone process you showed on the electrical connector was the final step that solved the problem. As directed, we left the unit under vacuum while doing this and after coming back an hour later, I could actually see that the silicone had been pulled into the wiring harness from the vacuum. Were back to normal now!
That should have been done at the factory. End consumers should not have to retrofit their machines!! Would you just expect to buy extra parts or seal something so your brand new car could get you to work?
Wow! This is a very comprehensive video on how to test for vacuum leaks. I've got to save this one so I can refer to it the next time I have one of those issues with inadequate vacuum. Thanks for the information. 🤣
I had this problem 2 months ago and was researching like mad to figure it out. After exhausting literally everything you listed here, I replaced the vacuum pump and that solved it, lol. Apparently I only got 1 year out of the standard pump, upgrading to premier has been worth it so far!
This error just started with mine. Hope this works. Thanks!!! 😃
Thank you so much for this video! It's made us more confident about working on the machine to resolve our problem.
Our pleasure. Hope you are able to get your machine back up and running.
@@thefreezedryingcommunity me too! Been so busy the last few days and won't have time to work on it until Monday afternoon. Praying for understanding to do this. Thank you for all you do to help others!
Had the same problem and did all the normal stuff. When checking the nipple for the pressure sensor found it to be barely hand tight. Took it out, re-taped and re-installed. Replaced the valve, checked and replaced the door gasket, silicone on the wires, etc,.., and thought I had it fixed, but once the machine was back together and after about 2 loads it happened again. Took it back apart checked again and was still leaking around the 4 wires on the top (thermo-couple?). This time I used a 1" long piece of 3/4" of PVC pipe split in half and fit it around the wires filled it with Silicone and pulled a vac down to 450 TOR and let it sit for 24 hours and let the Silcone cure for about 5 days. Have run 5 loads since and all were good. In fact, looking a the logs, the machine has not worked this well since it came last February.
Thank you! I've done a few of those things, but I'm saving this video for the next time!
Really great information! Thanks so much for going through all that information. We have one of these freeze dryers and use it a lot. Haven't had any issues with it really but this is great to build confidence if something goes wrong. I'm in total awe of all that freeze dryer foods you have on those bakers shelves. Wow! I've been doing a lot of freeze drying milk for powdered milk. Even doing it with chocolate milk too. Thanks again!
If you put the door gasket on and don't push it all the way back, you can let the door closing motion seat the gasket. That will keep the gasket in contact with the door completely.
I wish you did a group video chat of some kind. I would pay for that.
I feel like a fool, but maybe this will help someone. I had been experiencing Inadequate Vacuum regularly over my last three batches. It was pulling a vacuum (with the batch and with the vacuum pump test) but was slow to reach 499 mTorr where, with the batch processing, it would kick in and run as normal for a while. But then the Inadequate Vacuum message would come back. I was looking at all the steps you outlined that I planned to dive into after the last batch limped through to the finish. But along with way, I slightly repositioned my freeze dryer. Apparently, I had it turned in a way that was causing some sort of slight crimp or strain on the vacuum line between the pump and the dryer. And it must have been this stress or slight binding of the vacuum hose that was causing the error. That ever-so-slight repositioning that must have relieved this situation for the machine ran nominally for the last twelve hours or so of the freeze drying cycle. DUH.
The only vacuum error I've had was from the rubber gasket. I pull it out some and it fixes my issue :) Thanks for this video on all the other issues.
Thank you for this video…simple and clear, it has helped me maintain my pump.🎉
Great to hear!
Good....Harvest right took over 5 MONTHS to repair my machine!
Thank you so much! This gives me peace of mind before my FD even arrives :)
We had a problem with Vacuum Error. After months of back and forth with HR and doing testing, getting a new pump, replacement seals, with no solution, my husband suggested tightening the door. Problem solved. UGH! All the trouble and frustration and it was simply the door had worked a little loose. Well, we are just thankful to have the problem solved. My husband wanted to send it back because there are too many things that can go wrong and it, obviously, can sometimes be difficult to diagnose the problem, causing lots of down time and much frustration. I really wanted to get the problem fixed. Thankfully, he was willing to stick with it and now the FD is finally running again. Hopefully, this is the last problem for a while. There have been several problems and more down time than working time since we bought it. HR does try to work with us to get things fixed but it can be difficult without an experienced repair person on the spot to do the testing and repairs. But it seems things do eventually get fixed if everyone is patient and sticks with it. Fingers crossed...
for better results on the epoxy harness fix, remove the white foam disc with a heat gun and a 90° pick (power off), then use 100% silicone the use vacuum for 1 hr to assure it sealed the pinholes.
-Troy from repairs.
That is what was wrong with ours. Did exactly what you said. Have not had a problem since.
Great Gun?
@@thecardoc8234 ooops meant heat gun , thanks
Whenever I repair mine with 100% silicone it will work at initial application. Then after the silicone has dried I cannot achieve a proper vacuum. Do you have any advice on this?
Thanks. just started with issues yesterday, so perfect timing ! Mine was getting stuck around 760. change the valve and it dropped to 425 in about 10 min 🎉
great video!! Learned a lot. I just went through a vacuum leak, you covered all the areas the company did. There are two places I learned that were operator errors. I noticed that my trays were not in the stray slots correctly. I have to wiggle the tray a little when placing them in the tray unit, they were not flush so they stuck out a little putting pressure on the inside of the door. The other element was the vacuum knob, it wasn't fully opened due to some stiffness when turning the vacuum knob. Very simple errors. Question: Where did you get the stand that your freeze dryer sits on.??
I came to comments to try and find info on the stand/cart as well.
I would also check the o ring between the demistor and the pump body. Clean up all oil around that area and the channel on demistor that the o ring fits in. That was my issue and I can see that showing up since you have to unscrew to add more oil to the pump.
That was not your problem because you can pull a vacuum with out the demister on. You moved something else in the process of thinking it was the demister o-ring. The demister is on the exhaust and it is essentially a muffler and oil catch.
Great video! This will be very helpful! Only had our machine for a week now and on the 3rd batch...vacuum error!
Thank you. When you have to spray with windex or carb cleaner is there a reason why you couldnt just use water instead?
Great information! Thanks, I'll save if I need for future errors.
I just got my freeze dryer yesterday and my first cycle it said inadequate vacuum. I know everything is perfect as it’s all brand new and I did everything by the instructions! I was pissed. I hope it doesn’t continue to be a problem!
"Just hang in there. We're gonna do this together!" haha. Love it! Thanks for making great videos.
Thanks for watching!
Ugh...I'm just now doing my first test on the new FD. My mTorr is still 156,000 at 20 minutes.Okay I'm editing my comment. I tightened the door and the mTorr is dropping fast. Thanks so much!!!
Brian one there is one other place that can give you a vacuum error: dirty coils fins. We had a vacuum error and after taking off the sides of our machine we saw the problem immediately. We vacuumed them off and I haven’t had a problem since. It’s basically just like your refrigerator coils where you need to keep them clean for your refrigerator to work properly. My machine is a 2018. Hope this helps someone else.
That has no bearing on vacuum, that has effect on cooling.
@@youtubejunky7481 all I can say is that we were having problems with our machine keeping a vacuum after it had been working for hours then after several hours it would say unable to achieve vacuum. As soon as we cleaned off the cooling fins it worked just fine. I’m not a mechanic , I’m just saying that it can be a problem with any cooling unit.
@@youtubejunky7481 Exactly. The cooling system and the vacuum system are *TOTALLY* independent of each other. The only functional "connection" between them is by way of the "brain board" behind the screen, and then only because the way they get turned on and off are located on the relay board that the brain board controls. A vac problem resolving after vacuuming the fins is due to SOMETHING ELSE (likely one of the hoses) being moved, jiggled, reseated, or otherwise adjusted (even if unintentionally) in the process of removing the cover and vacuuming the fins.
@@felsinferguson1125 what you said. I have gotten sick of trying to explain it I detail to people. Some people think they are smarter just because that have had a FD for a long time and I have only had mine for a short time. However I have been in the equipment and refrigeration world for over 23 years. But somehow the principles and physics of thermal dynamics and electronics all go out the window when it is becomes a Harvest Right machine.
All some of these people know is the miss information that is fed to them by the so-called experts and that they know how to hit the start button on the easy bake oven.
@@youtubejunky7481 Yah, these things aren't that difficult, however much HR likes to try to make 'em seem so. The only "mystery" involved is exactly how they code the control program. Everything else about these things is as simple as it gets - A cooler that can take a chamber to -40 or thereabouts, a chamber that can be pumped down to a close-to-outer-space level of vacuum to enhance sublimation (as opposed to melting into liquid water, then being boiled off into steam/water vapor, only to hit the freezing cold walls and form frost/ice) and some circuitry to monitor the status and turn it all on and off as needed in response to what the temperature and pressure of the chamber is at any given moment, and some logic, in the form of the program the computer on board runs, and there you are. The only thing "tricky" about this entire beast is the software the computer is running - which could, if they weren't trying to automate it so that anybody able to push a button can operate it, be dispensed with altogether. (But I have to say, it absolutely boggles my mind that they wrote that code in C++, rather than straight C, or even better, straight-up ATMEL assembler - were they *DELIBERATELY TRYING* to make it as difficult to code and maintain as possible???)
Great Video! Thanks for all your hard work!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Right out of the box doing the bread cycle had the vacuum fail. Went through the whole machine. Turned out to be the wire epoxy fitting. Got it siliconed and working good so far.
That's too bad that it had to be the last part to check. Glad you are up.and running
after 24 hours I had a Error 6 not getting cold enough! I downloaded the new update and ran a small batch and it worked fine.
what version was the update please?
Thank you! I just fixed mine. The ball valve was worn out.
Awesome. Pretty simple fix
I’m dealing with this issue right now. So frustrating!!
Although not touched on in the video, oil the 0-rings, the sealing surfaces inside the female fittings and on the outside of the male fittings AND on the threads. The oil helps the O-Rings seal and helps seat the threads better.
Also, make sure that your hose is centered in the nuts (fittings) as you tighten them down. That little issue messed with me for a week, before I got it figured out.
Thank you Bryan! Very helpful.
I had multiple inadequate vacuum errors on multiple cycles. Mu hubby replaced the ball drain valve with a gas line ball valve which gives a “click” when closed and I haven’t had a problem since. I didn’t like the ball valves with the long handle.
Thank you. You helped us fix the problem.
Great to hear!
Excellent video!👍👍👍
I’m sure someone already mentioned it but the o-ring is 7/8" OD 3/4" ID 1/16 WIDTH. I bought the display model and it was missing the o-ring in one for the vacuum hose from pump to unit.
Love the new drum in the new Freeze Dryers
? What do the old ones look like?
@@Bama_J The older ones are more rough surface "Harder to clean. The new ones are smooth and "easy" to clean. Wipe out with out leaving behind paper towel or cotton tuffs.
@@hazardsmurf1230 got cha! I’ve just had mine almost 4 months and it’s slick and shiny😊
@@Bama_J you got a new one. I have one old and one new. I am getting ready to get 2 large soon.
Thanks for the video and info. A couple questions…(1) when spraying fitting with window cleaner, how much of an increase in mTorr is considered a “jump” equating to a leak? (2) when running a normal cycle with pre frozen food on trays, how long before mTorr should drop below 500? I performed vacuum test and it dropped below 500 in about 6 minutes. Now I’m running a cycle with tray of prefrozen veggies for almost 8 hours and holding steady at about 780 mTorr for last couple hours. Is this “normal” and should I expect it to start dropping further over night? Thank you.
The mTorr should not change much. You will increase in Mtorr a little if the pump is not running. The Mtorr gong below 500 will depend on food type and many factors. Below 500 in 6 minutes is pretty good for a test. On your veggies, it probably won't drop below 500 for 12-20 hours. With food in the unit, your FD will not drop below 500 until most of the water in the food has been turned into ice.
@ Well shoot! When we went to bed it was still hovering around 800 mTorr. We were woken up to beeping at 2:30 this morning. Went to check on it, and had the dreaded “Inadequate Vacuum See troubleshooting guide section #9” alert. The FD showed 11:36 hour run time and 846mTorr 😡. Even though my function test that I ran just before went well, why would it flash this error and not drop below high 700s when I run cycle with the veggies in it? Should I start tracing down a vacuum leak? Just confused why not vacuum leak noted on function test, but inadequate vacuum with food run. Thank for any help.
I have a leak in my vacuum chamber. I have replaced the valve with a brass one. Tested it and it shows no leak. I also coated all connections with liquid tape. Replaced the door seal. Replaced the pump and pump hose. Added rubber seal sealant to that hose. The vacuum will go down to 360 in 30 min IF the tray holder is removed. I can put it back in and not even plug it in and the vacuum will not fall below 860. The tray holder is a full inch away from the rubber seal on the door. I have adjusted the door, removed the door and turned it over to no effect. Can't figure it out.
After viewing and reading comments, I assume the manual does not show the steps in operating a vacuum pump. I worked at a construction equipment company for a few years that dealt with compressors and pumps. Those little pumps require a little extra care in their operation. Yes, they are very loud, especially before it gets a chance to get the oil warm and circulating. Depending on the type, it can take anywhere from 15-30 minutes to get the pump ready to work. You can hear the difference in the sound once the oil has worked it's way around. This will improve the pumps efficiency greatly; even the cheapest pump will last 10+ years.
Once the job is complete, there is one key step that should be taken to extend the life of the compressor oil. The pump needs to be run at full capacity for 2-5 minutes with the air intake plugged. This will help purge the volatiles from the system. Volatiles are what are created by the pump (internally) and can damage the seals and parts of the pump. But that is something that should be done in a garage or outdoors away from where you are working. You will never get rid of that crud by simply emptying and refueling or even flushing. It has to be "burnt off" in a sense.
Some of the newer, more like a sealed unit may not need the purge as some models have filters on them. But they still require a little warm-up prior to use.
You missed an issue with the door gasket. I was washing my regularly. It would still have water and when the chamber froze, it froze the water in the gasket. It changed the configuration as the water expanded. I still wash it regularly, but I make sure it and the chamber wall is bone dry. I went from 1200 to 300 mt.
We just went through this. Ours ended up being on the top of the freeze dryer where the sensors come in. Step by step is key.
Only vacuum leak error code I've had (yet) was when my wife didn't close the door handle all the way! Pretty simple fix.😁
Hi Brian,
Been reading and hearing alot of people saying to use epoxy only, not silicone and others say to use silicone only not epoxy....can you clarify which one to use, what brand?
I guess I'm confused on whether to use silicone or epoxy on the epoxy plug and don't want to mess it up.
Also, lots of different types of both, so, if you can be specific, it would be greatly appreciated!!
I saw another video, where the guy said to open your hose vent on the side, and use hot water to run through the drain pipe. Sometimes there are small food particles that cause a leak.
Great video. After manually running the pump to test mt and then shutting off the pump, what it too fast on the mt's numbers increasing? What leakage is not normal, time to find the leak? Thank you so much.
aux relay was originally used for an electronic drain module.
Did your drain line come with a grommet or did you install it? Mine has none and I'm concerned about rubbing on the sheet metal edge. FYI Harvest Right is now telling people to tape the vacuum line fittings.
Same here went thru their fix and didn’t work
After checking all possible vacuum leaks spots we realized the code 9 error only comes when the machine is in a very cold state and trying to switch modes. When the machine alarmed code 9 I held a hair dryer on low heat on the epoxy seal and the mtorrs started dropping fast and the machine switched to drying mode confirming epoxy leak.
Thank you for the video. What sealing tape do you recommend?
Also waiting for my medium dryer. Any suggestions for a table like shown in video? Looks perfect. Wonder where he purchased his?
The drain valve that came with my FDer failed after about 10 batches. I was babysitting the machine and saw the oil turn white all of a sudden and turned it off. I believe the pump would have been damaged if I hadn't been watching it. There are two bosses (little round bumps) on the bottom of the handle that stop the handle at fully-closed or fully-open position. However, my valve would not fully close. When I looked inside the valve, it appeared that the edge of the hole in the ball just barely went past the edge of the ID of the valve. I removed the handle and replaced it 180 degrees from the original position. Now it fully closes and almost fully opens which doesn't matter.
I would have liked to see how long it took yours to bottom out and at what pressure.
When you turn your vacuum off is the chamber supposed to stay at the mtorr it was at while on or will it start to rise???
En thinking the problem was the oil filter because it’s so cheap and strips the threads if you look at it wrong. Have you ever had that be a problem and can you get the fittings to not have to deal with Harvest right?
Is the supposed to hold the Vacuum, after the test is turned off?
When you say "while under vacuum" when checking for leaks, is that while the pump is running? Or turn the pump off once it bottoms out and check before opening the drain valve?
Could you provide a link or tell me the type of tape you use on the hose crimp joints?
Power outage abruptly cause this error. After numerous email exchanges with HR i did a oil change purge operation. Since my oil was only 5 cyles old i left it but i power cycled the pump 15 times. Off/onoff/on etc. This worked. My thought is an air or vapor lock. Problem never returned.
Dude, is there any part of this machine that wouldn't cause a vacuum error?
Thank you ! I mean it - THANK YOU!