Sciencemadness Discussion Board

Vacuum Pump

DFliyerz - 19-3-2015 at 08:51

I've seen a lot about making a vacuum pump from a fridge pump, but it it possible to make one from a submersible pump? I found an old submersible pump in my garage from when my basement flooded, and it's just been sitting there for years.

Zombie - 19-3-2015 at 09:01

There's a thread on the forum where someone made a venturi (aspirator) type vacuum pump from a 5 gallon bucket, and a pool pump.

I imagine you could do the same thing with a submersible pump.
You would have to rig the outlet to feed the aspirator, and keep it all in a closed loop.

try searching up that thread, and it might help you out.

Magpie - 19-3-2015 at 09:23

I think what he is asking is can his pump, which is designed to pump water, be used to suck air. I think that all depends on the clearances within the pump. This would vary from pump style to pump style. I would think that liquid pump clearances would be considerably larger than those for a vacuum pump. Also a liquid pump may rely on the flowing liquid for proper cooling and lubrication.

Also an oil lubricated vacuum pump utilizes the oil not only for lubrication but for sealing. This allows high vacuum, say down to 1 mmHg absolute even with just one stage (like my Harbor Freight unit). I'm guessing that, yes, you can pull a vacuum, but it won't be much. Try it if not too much trouble.



[Edited on 19-3-2015 by Magpie]

[Edited on 19-3-2015 by Magpie]

[Edited on 19-3-2015 by Magpie]

DFliyerz - 19-3-2015 at 09:31

Quote: Originally posted by Magpie  
I think what he is asking is can his pump, which is designed to pump water, be used to suck air. I think that all depends on the clearances within the pump. This would vary from pump style to pump style. I would think that liquid pump clearances would be considerably larger than those for a vacuum pump. Also a liquid pump may rely on the flowing liquid for proper cooling and lubrication.



[Edited on 19-3-2015 by Magpie]


Or, can it be modified to do that? I'd certainly need to open it up at some point, since it sounds like it's full of sand or something.

Magpie - 19-3-2015 at 09:35

My quick answer is "no, or it's not worth the trouble." If you really need to use it do as Zombie suggested and use it to drive an aspirator. FYI: I added some more opinion as an edit in my above post.

DFliyerz - 19-3-2015 at 11:43

It might work also because my intent isn't to create perfect vacuum or anything, just a bit of a vacuum for filtration and possibly experimenting with vacuum distillation.

Zombie - 19-3-2015 at 14:00

The first simple vacuum "pump" I made was from a 5 dollar Goodwill store vacuum cleaner.

I used a dremmel tool to cut the motor, and housing out of an upright vacuum, and epoxied a plastic funnel over the intake.

All the wiring was left as is, and a couple large hose clamps held it on a shelf under the table I was working on.

9 bucks was the total cost, and it worked fine for filtration. It was noisy as all get out tho.


[Edited on 3-19-2015 by Zombie]