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convert a tire inflator-type air compressor into a vacuum pump


by drcrash on May 30, 2007 Table of Contents convert a tire inflator-type air compressor into a vacuum pump . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Intro: Convert a tire inflator-type air compressor into a vacuum pump . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 1: Open the case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 2: Find the air intake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 3: Find/make an appropriate hose fitting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 4: Prepare the intake for the vacuum fitting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 5: Attach the vacuum hose fitting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 6: Attach vacuum hose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 7: Make a hole in the case for the vacuum hose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 8: Put the case back together . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 9: Cut off tire inflator end of compressed air hose (for now), stow hose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Related Instructables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2 4 4 5 5 6 6 6 7 7 8 8

http://www.instructables.com/id/convert-a-tire-inflator-type-air-compressor-into-a/

Author:drcrash author's website


I'm a research scientist who likes to design and build things, especially cheap, elegant tools for building things you wouldn't have thought you could make yourself.

Intro: Convert a tire inflator-type air compressor into a vacuum pump


A vacuum pump is just an air pump, like a compressor, where you use the input side for suction, rather than using the output side for blowing. Many air compressors make good vacuum pumps if you can find the air intake, enclose it, and attach an appropriate hose or fitting. In this instructable, I'll show how to convert a 12-volt "tire inflator"-type air compressor into a vacuum pump. This makes a vacuum pump suitable for vacuum bagging laminates and composites (like fiberglass), or for evacuating a tank for a small vacuum former. The vacuum created is several times stronger than any vacuum cleaner can produce, and most of the way to a perfect vacuum. (About 25 "inches of mercury" out of a possible 29.9, or 12.3 pounds per square inch---or 1768 pounds per square foot.) It is strong enough to achieve professional-quality results for many processes that require vacuum. I got my little air compressor for $2 at a Goodwill Blue Hanger store (a.k.a. "Goodwill Outlet Store"). New, it would cost about $20. Converting it to a vacuum pump required a few dollars worth of parts & glue. In addition to the pump, I used: a few feet of 1/4" inside diameter braided PVC tubing a nylon fitting with a hose barb for 1/4" I.D. tubing, and some J.B. Weld steel-filled epoxy All of these things are available at home improvement stores. Since this is a 12-volt device that draws almost 4 amps, it requires a fairly hefty (DC) power supply. I run it off my 6-amp car battery charger. (Or sometimes off of a 12volt deep cycle, trolling motor-type battery, for vacuum forming in locations where A.C. power isn't available.) Thanks to Doug Walsh and his book "Do It Yourself Vacuum Forming for the Hobbyist" for the basic idea. I've done very similar conversions of "nebulizer" air compressors (for medical equipment) from thrift stores. They're quieter, but don't pull as hard a vacuum. (About 17 inches of mercury or 8 pounds per square inch.) That's still several times harder than a vacuum cleaner can suck, and good for vacuum-bagging things like RC model airplane wings, but only a little more than half the ideal vacuum.) The upside is that they're quieter and run cooler, and will likely last longer. NOTES(added in light of comments below): If you use a really, really cheap tire inflator, such as the $10 "mini air compressor" from Harbor Freight, don't expect too much. Really dirt cheap inflators may only run for a few minutes before overheating. (Better inflators can run for up to an hour. ) Err on the side of not running your pump for too long at a stretch. If you don't know if it's rated for more than 15 minutes, only run it for 5 or 10 minutes at a time, giving it 5 minutes to cool down before restarting it. Ideally, you'd like a pump with a heavy finned aluminum cylinder, a cooling fan, and a powerful motor, rated for continuous long runs. (Really ideally, you'll get it for $2 at the Blue Hanger.) Failing that, be gentle with your cheap little pump. Some tips on keeping the workload within your pump's limitations: For vacuum bagging: (1) don't expect to use this pump for things like full scale airplanes, or to cope with substantial leaks, (2) use a modest-sized vacuum reservoir so that you don't need to run the pump all the time, or for a long time just to build up vacuum in the reservoir. Either use a vacuum switch to top off the vacuum automatically now and then, leaving the pump off most of the time, or do it by hand. If the pump is running most of the time, something is wrong. For vacuum forming: (1) don't expect to empty a 30-gallon water heater tank with this thing. (I use a 7-gallon $20 Wal-Mart air carry tank for my 12 x 18 inch vacuum formers.) (2) Use a two-stage plumbing system to reduce the load on the vacuum pump and make your small tank go much further. (Like this one, using a vacuum cleaner to suck most of the air out, and an evacuated tank to pull the plastic down hard: http://www.tk560.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=424 .) (3) Don't run the pump until it tops out at 25 inches of mercury or so unless you're forming thick plastic around tight details. 20 inches is plenty for most vacuum forming purposes, and the last few inches take longer, and wear out your pump that much faster.

http://www.instructables.com/id/convert-a-tire-inflator-type-air-compressor-into-a/

http://www.instructables.com/id/convert-a-tire-inflator-type-air-compressor-into-a/

Step 1: Open the case


Figure out how to open the case, and open it. In this case, I had to remove an end cap by pinching it to release a tab, then unscrew a few screws, and I could take the two halves of the case apart. I also had to partly unstick some foam strips across both halves at the bottom. (The way some cases are put together, you may have to remove rubber feet that are glued over the recesses where the case screws are. Both of my nebulizer pumps were put together that way.) Inside you'll find an assembly with a little motor, a couple of gears, and a little piston pump. In this picture, the motor is near the center, and the pump cylinder is on the left, with the compressed air hose coming out near the top.

Step 2: Find the air intake


Once the case is open, you can flip the motor/pump assembly up and inspect the cylinder to find the air intake---that is, the holes where the air comes into the cylinder before it's squirted out the compressed air hose. Some pumps have a hose barb or other fitting connecting to a muffler. If yours does, that's great---you can just use the hose barb that's already there. This pump just has four little holes in the top of the cylinder. (Actually, there's a little filter under the holes, but we can ignore that.) Unfortunately, the holes are down in a funny-shaped recess, so we can't just glue a hose barb directly over them. We also want to make sure that the glue doesn't slop into the holes, so we need a couple more steps to make things fit.

http://www.instructables.com/id/convert-a-tire-inflator-type-air-compressor-into-a/

Step 3: Find/make an appropriate hose fitting


I chose to use 1/4" inside diameter braided PVC hose as my vacuum line. It's flexible and stands up very well to vacuum, and you can buy it by the foot in the plumbing department at Lowe's. I bought three or four feet for about a dollar. To fit the hose, I wanted a hose barb for 1/4" I.D. tubing. There are many fittings (also in the plumbing department) with a hose barb on one end. I chose a nylon double-ended hose barb (or "butt splice," for connecting two hoses), and cut off the extra barb with a razor knife. That left me with one barb with a flanged base suitable for gluing down, for about a dollar and a minute's work. Because of the funny shape of the recess on top of the pump cylinder, I also shaved down two opposite sides of the flange, so that it would fit down in the recess. That took another minute.

Step 4: Prepare the intake for the vacuum fitting


To prepare the top of the cylinder for the hose barb, I built a little wall around the intake holes using J.B. Weld high-temperature metal-filled epoxy. (Available at any hardware store for a few dollars; I used less than a dollar's worth.) First I prepared the surface, swabbing it with alcohol on cotton swabs to remove any dirt and especially oils. As you can see in the picture, the J.B. Weld was a bit runny at first, and almost flowed over a couple of the holes. Oops. I should have waited until it set up somewhat, to a more putty-like consistency. I pushed it back from the holes with a cotton swab a couple of times. Once it was thick enough to stay where I put it, I shaped it into a circular wall that the hose barb flange could sit on. Meantime, I mixed up a little more J.B. Weld, so that it would thicken a little, too, in preparation for gluing the hose barb on. This was the time-consuming part---waiting about hour or so for J.B. Weld to thicken. I had other things to do, though, so I only spent about 20 minutes actually working on this project. If you're in a big hurry, you could probably use faster-setting epoxy, but I like J.B. Weld because it's fairly good at conducting heat. (I didn't want to insulate the top of the cylinder too much. That probably doesn't matter, because a pump used for vacuum doesn't heat up as much as one used for compression---highly compressed air gets very hot---so you might try 30-minute epoxy instead.)

http://www.instructables.com/id/convert-a-tire-inflator-type-air-compressor-into-a/

Step 5: Attach the vacuum hose fitting


Once the little wall around the air intake was built and reasonably firm, I glued the the hose barb on, with slightly thickened J.B. Weld. I also put more J.B. Weld around and over the base flange, and let it all set overnight.

Step 6: Attach vacuum hose


Now we attach the vacuum hose by working it over the hose barb, and the motor/pump assembly back where it belongs, more or less. You don't generally need a hose clamp to hold it tightly to the barb, if your hose is fairly rubbery. (That's one reason I chose the flexible PVC.) Vacuum will tend to suck the hose inward onto the hose barb, making a seal, rather than stretching it outward and making a leak. Once the hose is in place, you need to figure out how to route it out of the case. For this pump, there isn't much room to route the hose through the case without kinking the hose or stressing the hose barb, so I chose to just run the vacuum line straight out the top.

Step 7: Make a hole in the case for the vacuum hose


I made a hole in the top of the case to run the hose through. This was easy, since the hole I wanted was at the seam between the halves of the case. I just used nippers to make roughly semicircular holes at each of the mating edges, so that they'd make a roughly round hole when put together.

http://www.instructables.com/id/convert-a-tire-inflator-type-air-compressor-into-a/

Step 8: Put the case back together


Then I nestled the pump assembly fully in its place, mated the case halves with the hole around the hose, and screwed the halves back together. Then I pushed the end cap back on the end until the retention tabs clicked.

Step 9: Cut off tire inflator end of compressed air hose (for now), stow hose
I didn't want the tire inflator fitting on the compressed air hose restricting the air flow through the pump, so I cut the hose near that end. (If I ever want to use the pump for inflating tires, I can splice it back together, using the same kind of double-ended barb shown before.) Then I coiled up the hose and stowed it in the hose-and-cord storage compartment.

http://www.instructables.com/id/convert-a-tire-inflator-type-air-compressor-into-a/

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Vacuum Bagging Basics by shortshift

Build A Surfboard Episode 3: Laminating and Vacuum Bagging by TimAnderson

Make a good, cheap, upgradeable sheet plastic vacuum former by drcrash

Easy to obtain 1-way valves (Photos) by brightest_cyan

Vacuum Pump from Aquarium Homemade Air Pump by Vacuum Sealer Random_Canadian by Randy_che

Comments
50 comments Add Comment view all 86 comments

skaar says:

Mar 12, 2011. 9:01 AM REPLY how about... put the entire thing into a box, and seal the out tube... no noodling, and there would be a vac reserve, use a vac switch to switch it on and off...

troppoforte says:
Nice little project here! I love those small pumps with those tiny pistons, the likes of which are in small gas plane engines.

Sep 16, 2010. 2:32 PM REPLY

I've actually been pondering turning one of my vacuum pumps into a compressor for an air-powered engine project I have been planning. I bought three vacuum pumps from my local University surplus warehouse for $5-15 each. One of them is a dual-cylinder pump. It has a direct-drive to the crank as does another of my older ones. My oldest, a Fisher Scientific with a 1/2 HP GE motor, is powered through a belt. That's probably the stongest one I have.

bomihdar says:
thank you

Aug 27, 2010. 5:14 AM REPLY

noledude44 says:

Aug 23, 2010. 6:21 AM REPLY Would be strong enough to use with a vacuum bag? I'm going to be making a longboard and i'm just checking out different ways to do it.

geoslim13 says:
there is an instructable on making a vacuum seeler

Aug 26, 2010. 9:58 AM REPLY

corbin569 says:

Jul 21, 2010. 7:06 PM REPLY does anyone know if this would pull a big enough vaccum for a fusor reactor/fansworth reactor... i,m only wanting to make the plasma not introduce a new gas and make actual fusion Feb 7, 2010. 9:18 AM REPLY This is WAY after your postings - but I'll ask anyway. can this be used for a fresh-air system for painting and such? If it sucks air in one tube and exhausts it our the other, couldn't I attach a hose to a mask? Maybe using a nebulizer would make it even "cleaner" and able to run for hours at a time. Plus you don't need much air to fill amask for breathing. Thanks!

e-tek says:

votecoffee says:

Feb 7, 2010. 9:24 AM REPLY I would avoid using it for that. Such pumps are designed for higher pressures and running them at low pressures would wear it out quickly. Also, the air from these isn't as clean as other cheaper options for what you want. If you smell the air from a tire air compressor it will have a definite odor. Your best bet is to make a box to enclose a small fan for simple low pressure circulation. You can get hose fittings for any size hose you want from a hardware store. I would use a larger hose so air flows easier. You may not need much air to live, but high levels of CO2 from old air is bad for you as well.

e-tek says:

Feb 7, 2010. 11:16 AM REPLY Thanks a lot. Of courseI would put the intake outside, so the air would be fresh. Isn't the odor from the rubber hose? Here's a link to a perfect DIY set up, but the pump used are much more expensive in Canada than can be found in the states.

http://www.instructables.com/id/convert-a-tire-inflator-type-air-compressor-into-a/

votecoffee says:

Feb 7, 2010. 4:18 PM REPLY I didn't get to check the link out, but about the rubber hose: I'm sure a good portion of the smell is because of that, but some is also from the air pump and it's internal parts. Either way, it's not stuff you want to breath a lot of, and I assume this is something you would use often.

aggiez71 says:

Nov 13, 2009. 12:37 AM REPLY This is very cool and helpful and I believe I will start on mine tomorrow. I intend to use it in for pulling air out of resins in silicone molds for my Industrial Plastics Lab at school. maybe it will get me bonus points in the class. Did you ever put a gauge to it? if so how many mm Hg did it manage?

Belleye says:
Awesome, now I will be able to make my own heatpipes, well once I get a vacuum gauge.

May 31, 2007. 9:06 PM REPLY

drcrash says:

May 31, 2007. 9:38 PM REPLY You can get vacuum gauges cheap from NoShok, on eBay. About $3.50 each plus a few dollars shipping. (Not much more shipping for two; I got two and thought it was a really good deal.) They work. BTW, what's a heatpipe?

Belleye says:

May 31, 2007. 10:20 PM REPLY heatpipes are used in computers for cooling, basically its a copper tube with water in a vacuum so it boils off at low temps. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heatpipe

drcrash says:

Jun 1, 2007. 7:10 AM REPLY Oh, those heatpipes. (Thanks.) I'm wondering if you need a vacuum pump to make one of those at all. I'd think you could just fill it with hot steam and seal it, so that when the steam cooled down and mostly condensed to liquid water, you'd get vacuum. Using a vacuum pump might be less tricky, and safer, but just sealing in some steam would be a neat hack.

static says:

Jul 2, 2007. 4:12 PM REPLY The Wiki article we where directed to does say; "When making heat pipes, there is no need to create a vacuum in the pipe. One simply boils the working fluid in the heat pipe until the resulting vapour has purged the non condensing gases from the pipe and then seals the end." A far as the heat pipes go, it reads like they need to be engineered to a gnat's ass. That's just as well, where they cant cool below ambient temperature I wouldn't have an application for them. Jun 3, 2007. 6:16 AM REPLY It would be easier to control the pressure and in turn the boiling/condensation temps using a vacuum pump and gauge. You wouldn't want the water to boil at room temp or you won't get any condensation to replace the water which would result in the magic blue smoke escaping.

Belleye says:

texabyte says:
i wish my mac laptop had abetter cooling system and it gets well over 130* F {{{ and it burns }}}

Aug 31, 2007. 6:20 AM REPLY

PKM says:

Mar 19, 2008. 11:23 AM REPLY Wow.. I had no idea these compressors were so simple on the inside. If you weren't afraid of a little hacking and weren't bothered whether the original case went back together, could you not solder/braze your own fins (ideally thick sheet copper I guess) to the cylinder, add a CPU or case fan to cool the motor, and maybe even drill holes in the motor casing to help the cooling? Of course, if pulling a near-complete vacuum requires a lot more motor torque than the original usage then the thing's going to overheat eventually whatever you do, but it should at least help to increase the duty cycle.

TheMadScientist says:

May 29, 2008. 6:13 PM REPLY in theory, yes, but finding that one third inch thick copper is approximately 25 bucks for 6 inches square, its not practical on larger ones...

PKM says:

May 30, 2008. 4:55 AM REPLY A good point- sheet copper is probably way to expensive to use like this, perhaps puling heatsinks from scrap computers might be a better way to go? Copper prices are having some weird effects in this country: the lowest denomination "copper" coins are worth 1.5 times their face value as scrap metal despite only being copper-plated steel, and there have been one or two interruptions to railway services as people steal signalling cables...

Mattrox says:

Oct 21, 2008. 7:00 PM REPLY Does anybody know how to change the copressor plug from being car cigerrete lighter powered to mains or run it off a car battery Pleaz Coment

rada194 says:
a really easy way is to hook it up to a 12.0 volt drill battery thats what i did and its rechargeable and portable its great

Aug 9, 2009. 6:19 PM REPLY

http://www.instructables.com/id/convert-a-tire-inflator-type-air-compressor-into-a/

miiwii3 says:

Aug 2, 2009. 2:14 AM REPLY easy buy a 12 volt wall wart you know 120v to 12v and splice the wires together white or dashed wire to white or dashed wire black to black. i believe black is ground or negative ohh and your wall wart must be dc voltage

kikiclint says:

Sep 1, 2010. 7:28 AM REPLY air compressors use more power than a wall wort can usually supply, and will either burn up your wall wort, not supply enough power to run the compressor or both. A computer power supply does work ok though. In general, they probably run around 8-10 amps for the model shown in this instructable.

Mattrox says:
Thanks

Aug 2, 2009. 12:58 PM REPLY

miiwii3 says:
no problem

Aug 2, 2009. 2:31 PM REPLY

aizazahm says:
Hi, Can I use this vacuum pump for filling up my natural gas cylinder?

Jan 13, 2009. 9:27 AM REPLY

miiwii3 says:
sure if you don't mind exploding :) but really dont use anything flammable read my comment above

Aug 2, 2009. 2:10 AM REPLY

miiwii3 says:
oh i mean below i am stupid

Aug 2, 2009. 2:31 PM REPLY

coop01 says:

May 9, 2009. 10:58 AM REPLY I wouldn't recommend using this device for any application involving a potentially explosive or flammable material. Please don't even try it.

miiwii3 says:
hey i feel like succing the air out of gasoline to make it look like i bought more gas than i did. lalalalalalal !!!BOOM!!! honey what was that? noooothiiing ok did you bye that gas? its a long story uhhh i'll get my yarn thats my prediction that was in no way to make fun of anyone

Aug 2, 2009. 2:06 AM REPLY

miiwii3 says:
did i spell succing wrong? yes sucking am i stupid or what?! i know i'll blame it on my exhaustion

Aug 2, 2009. 2:08 AM REPLY

zivodrock says:

Jul 19, 2009. 3:52 AM REPLY Hi there! Is there any way for you to attach an internal 12V SLA battery to this and at the same time make it rechargeable? Am looking forward to your response on this. Thanks!

chairchild says:

Jul 28, 2009. 10:18 AM REPLY easy enough to add a battery - I'd suggest a sealed gel-acid 12v item. Just fit the two wires from the power cable, to the battery. To make it rechargeable, fit the external power source, with the same polarity (positive to positive, negative to negative) If you get a car jump-start pack, it's just a 12v battery, with leads attatched, and a built-in charging circuit But tbh, most jump-start packs have lighter sockets on them anyway, so not really worth the extra hassle

cambu26 says:

Mar 22, 2009. 8:05 PM REPLY hi drcrash i want to know i someting... wen i do vaccum the metter reads 26... thats enougth for deggasing silicone rubber for mold making ??? thanks

http://www.instructables.com/id/convert-a-tire-inflator-type-air-compressor-into-a/

cambu26 says:

Mar 22, 2009. 7:57 PM REPLY >>>MTTROX<<< radio shak sells the converter for the car plugg . they have for conect it to a car battery . an other for conecting it in the house wall plug ...hope u underestand my english is bad Feb 4, 2009. 4:18 PM REPLY Have any of you tried a aspirator vacuum pump. Basically, water sucks the air in as it flows out a pipe. Cheap ($20.00), and high volume and high suction (28.5" Hg). I've used these before and they work really well. A link for a Nalge pump is: http://www.opticsplanet.net/nalge-nunc-polypropylene-vacuum-pump-aspirator-nalgene-6140-0010.html

FloydV says:

rick.leasure says:
I looked up the link: Product Code NL-LP-6140-0010 List Price $35.95 Sale Price $31.95 Must have raised the price...

Feb 8, 2009. 12:34 AM REPLY

frisky_will says:

Jan 22, 2009. 2:30 PM REPLY @ Mattrox: I used the 12v line of a PC power supply, but a mains - cig lighter adapter should do it if the current's rated high enough I think?

frisky_will says:

Jan 22, 2009. 2:29 PM REPLY Ok, I picked up one of these things and straight off, it's too noisy! I'm thinking maybe make a muffler for the exhaust. Also someone's just suggested I just build an airtight box with the compressor inside, and the exhaust out - basically putting the pump inside the reservoir. This could reduce noise and simplify things, also reducing the pressure under the piston. Would it just overheat? Sep 20, 2008. 1:46 PM REPLY Not sure if you have problems with the nozzles working their way out of the 'liquid metal' eventually, with all the vibration etc. Here's an idea to make it more secure: Take a large pop rivet. Hammer the pin out of the middle. Set the flange on top of the air-inlet of the compresor. Apply chemical metal over the top. The only way it will come out is by pulling all of the chemical metal with it. My compressor only had one inlet hole. I used the pin from the rivet to line up the holes before the chemical metal had gone hard. Jun 14, 2008. 11:53 PM REPLY You're lucky the valve is in an easily accessible area. A few years ago I needed a vacuum pump and had 2 of these compressors sitting in the garage. Both of them use a valve that's right on the piston, where the inlet is actually through the bottom of the piston and the case opening. I went with a modified bicycle pump instead (an instructable in its own) for a little while until I broke down and just bought a used medical vacuum pump from the local classifieds. 26" of vacuum in a 2-foot long 6" ABS pipe with a flick of a switch. Jun 14, 2008. 8:11 PM REPLY Congratulations on this well made instructable. If you have problems with, power supply, do as I did: go to the woods where some people throw away refrigerators. I've got a 300 W Bosch refrigerator compressor that I used once as a vacuum pump and will be part of my beefed-up party cooler. May 29, 2008. 6:10 PM REPLY that's 1/4 atmosphere, correct alex? uhh, with this wimpy little thing, probably not... I use an air compressor cylinder unit with something like a five horsepower electrical motor, it stood about 2 feet tall, one wide, 1.5 long, and has fins radiating from the center...this seems like it'd be nice for liquid transfer... but its not gonna make water boil at room temperature or anything like that...

epogee.co.uk says:

008 says:

Esmagamus says:

TheMadScientist says:

alexhalford says:
Will this generate a vacuum of 27kPa??? Great instructible Alex Halford

May 23, 2008. 10:59 AM REPLY

budman1404 says:

Apr 27, 2008. 5:02 AM REPLY The answer is...an oxygen concentrator! I`m not sure however what the question is. I work for a home medical equipment co., if we have a concentrator with too many hours or just will not come up to snuff, we throw them away! Check with your local D.M.E. ( durable medical equipment) supplier and they may just make a wealth of high tech. parts available to you for naught. These things have "product tanks" ( think large Pringles cannisters) inside them, 4 way valves that are designed to last FOREVER and more specialty plumbing than you can shake a bag of hose clamps at. Look around, we have had folks dump these off at our back door. Try to talk to a lowly "tech.", they might just give it to you because to them it is just clutter. Apr 6, 2008. 4:34 PM REPLY First, I'd like to say great job on this and your other instructables. They are very nicely done. Second, I would like to add a comment about this project. Some models of little inflators like this one, will not work for this method. The Tool Shop version I bought has a different air intake setup. The intake is built into the piston of the pump, much like a bike pump would be constructed. But the way it is built, you can't flip it around to make it suck air in. Jan 26, 2008. 1:38 PM REPLY I use a window ac unit compressor for a vacuum pump/ air compressor!! It will get up to 150 psi pretty quick. It really can't be used for painting or anything that needs dry air(unless ypou get a seperator) It is cheap since you can find window units on the curb that are usually empty of freon. I connect the input and output every so often and let it circulate oil that I have in a can with connections on it, just to keep it well oiled. If you are going to use it for quite a bit of time a few drops of oil in the intake will help it last. OF course a automotive york ac comp will last forever since the oil supply is seperate all you need is a 110 volt motor with a pully and a belt mounted and either weld the clutch or make a 12v circuit and have it activate the clutch on demand or when the pressure drops in your tank!!

drhoff says:

blue beast says:

http://www.instructables.com/id/convert-a-tire-inflator-type-air-compressor-into-a/

lemonie says:

May 31, 2007. 2:48 PM REPLY Running pumps in series can give you you higer vaccum. At only $2 I'd have a go at backing this up with another pump and see what it will suck. L

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http://www.instructables.com/id/convert-a-tire-inflator-type-air-compressor-into-a/

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