Our article is devoted to vacuum pumps, their types, as well as applications. This information will be useful for anyone who is considering whether it is possible to make such a device on their own.
Introduction
Everyone knows what a pump is, and almost everyone has used it for personal purposes. But with a vacuum pump, the situation is slightly different. Many consider it a specific device, manufactured and used in industry. Therefore, for a simple layman, this information does not seem interesting. Despite this, the vacuum pump for pumping air serves very well for personal purposes, but such equipment is worth a lot. For home use, such prices are inappropriate, so the question often arises: how to make a vacuum pump for pumping air with your own hands?
What is a vacuum pump for?
When embarking on the manufacture of a vacuum pump, it is important to clearly understand what it is for, because the manufacture of such an assembly will require a lot of time, effort and money.
Many people know what vacuum packaging is. It has the appearance of a plastic bag that has a valve. With the help of it, food is well stored, the freshness of food is preserved, and also the products do not dry out and bacteria do not multiply on them. From the most primitive vacuum packaging, air is simply squeezed out, and for more complex packaging - a vacuum pump is applied to the kit. Thus, the manufacture of a home-made device will allow you to pump out air from any packages, but you will have to ensure the tightness of such a package.
Vacuum packaging is also great for storing clothes, since it significantly reduces its volume. This is especially pleasing when you need to put things in a suitcase or bag.
Those who make wood products know: to give it an attractive look, you need to soak it with oil. To speed up this process, as well as for its greater efficiency, you just need to put the oil in a vacuum chamber. Thus, the wood with its internal pressure will squeeze out air and absorb oil.
Also, a manual vacuum pump for pumping air can pump out liquid, but not directly, but with the additional use of a receiver and a special tank.
Types of homemade pumps
Pumps can be different, it all depends on their purpose.
The simplest pump is considered to be a medical syringe. True, it can be used to create a vacuum in very small volumes. But it is the most affordable, and if it is not at home, then you can buy it at any pharmacy without any problems, the main thing is to pay attention to size.
Also, a household vacuum pump for pumping air can be made from a conventional automobile pump.
For greater discharge, you can make a device from a refrigeration compressor. And for these purposes, a converted aquarium compressor is suitable.
Alteration of the automobile pump
A homemade vacuum pump for households is easiest to make from automobile or bicycle pumps, which are probably available on the farm.
These steps are extremely simple:
- first you need to deal with disassembling the pump, unscrew the cap with a thread that is at the top of the sleeve;
- remove the piston and remove the o-ring from the stem (to do this, unscrew the screw located in the middle);
- turning the sealing ring over, screw it back to the stem;
- assemble the pump.
Using these simple steps, a device is created that creates a weak vacuum in containers with a small volume. But a vacuum valve also needs a check valve.
Valve installation
Check valves for home-made vacuum pumps can be purchased at the store that sells equipment for aquariums. This low-cost plastic part is installed in an aquarium compressor. Perhaps friends or acquaintances have such an idle compressor. In this case, nothing happens (because there is nothing to break). Thus, it can be taken out and put into our home-made vacuum pump for pumping air.
The valve is fixed in a special hole in the device, and a tube is connected to it, which leads into the container. Of course, this element must be installed correctly - you need air to pass from the tank to the pump. To check the direction of operation of the valve before installing it, it is necessary to blow into it, while air should not pass, this will mean that this end of the valve is connected to the pump. If the part is of high quality, and all manual connections are carefully sealed, then using a manual vacuum pump it is possible to provide a residual vacuum pressure of up to 200 Mbar.
Making a vacuum pump using a compressor
A small vacuum pump for pumping air is not able to solve all problems. In order to create a higher vacuum or to pump out large volumes of air, the use of an electric pump is suitable. To make it, you need any household compressor.
At the same time, there is little work: the tube with which air is sucked is attached to the input of the device (before this you need to remove the filter). After the tube is connected, you can turn on the compressor.
When filling a container with liquid or products with a high moisture content, the air that is pumped out will contain large amounts of water vapor. Under such conditions, the compressor will not be able to work for a long time. In order not to breakdown of the compressor, the system must have an additional drying package, in which there is a receiver and a sump.
Vacuum pump for pumping air out of the refrigerator
A household compressor is not always at hand, so you can use a supercharger from broken refrigeration units or air conditioners.
Such a vacuum pump is made in the following way:
- a hacksaw needs to cut copper tubes, with which the compressor is connected to the condenser and evaporator;
- here you need to pay attention to how the compressor is connected to the mains and relays correctly, if the wires are connected incorrectly, then the compressor will not only not work, but may break down;
- after that, a durite hose should be put on the copper trim and connected to a vacuum tank;
- Now you can connect the compressor to the network.
Of course, the homemade product from a household compressor will turn out to be not very powerful, but as a vacuum pump for pumping air out of packages, it will completely fit, and it will perform basic household tasks.
How to remake an aquarium compressor
A vacuum pump for pumping air out of cans can be made from an aquarium compressor, which was already mentioned above. This is a fairly practical option. This design does not need serious revision, you just need to slightly change its appearance:
- carefully inspect the compressor and engage in fasteners;
- having removed them, start dismantling the check valves;
- after removing the valves, they need to be interchanged;
- assemble the product, attach the tube to the vacuum container and begin work.
To prevent moisture from entering the compressor, condensate can be removed through small openings in the housing.
Possible breakdowns of the vacuum pump
- Motor failure or incorrect connection.
- Violation of the agreement of the drive and the shaft of the discharge mechanism.
- Jamming of the working element in the discharge.
- Failure of bearings in the bearing units.
- The appearance of scale on the working elements.
- Overheating of the pump and subsequent wear of parts.
- Excessive or leaking fluid.
Troubleshooting
A vacuum pump for pumping air, like any other mechanism, may break or malfunction. We listed the most common failures above, and now you need to figure out how to fix them:
- Engine malfunction or incorrect connection. The most common error is a broken connection scheme. Initially, you need to check the power, that is, the integrity of the network wire. To do this, you need a probe indicator. If the probe lights up and the motor rotates after applying power, it means that this is not the reason for the breakdown. If not, then this means a malfunction of the engine, it will have to be returned for repair.
- Violation of the agreement of the drive and the shaft of the discharge mechanism. This problem is most often solved by installing gaskets under the engine or under the discharge mechanism. If even after this the pump does not resume, then you need to inspect the coupling for displacement or deformation. In this case, the part is replaced or changed.
- Jamming of the working element in the discharge mechanism. Typically, this problem occurs due to contamination of the pumped medium. To eliminate the malfunction, it is necessary to disassemble the product and clean it.
- Bearing failure in the bearing units. This problem is accompanied by loud noise and strong vibration. This means that the bearing is out of order and needs to be replaced.
- The appearance of scale on the working elements. Such a problem usually appears on liquid ring pumps in which the working medium is water. For resuscitation of the unit, you need to get rid of salt deposits using a special composition.
- Overheating of the pump and subsequent wear of parts. This problem is especially relevant for oil-free rotary vane units. Even the most advanced materials, such as Teflon, are unable to completely compensate for the missing grease. Therefore, it is so important to observe the temperature regime. If, however, overheating has occurred, then the damaged parts will have to be replaced.
- Excessive or leaking fluid. If the water ring pump has reduced its capacity, check the pressure of the service fluid. It could fall due to its leak. The solution is to replace the seal in the hole.
If the sealant is in satisfactory condition, then the matter is in flange connections - the gaskets must be replaced there.
Also, the rate of fluid flow can be due to severe wear of parts. Usually this happens when the pump has already served its purpose, and it needs to be replaced or the unit checked, perhaps it is still maintainable, and only the most worn parts must be replaced.
At high service pressure, due to its excess or overheating, the device can also break. If you set the optimal values, the pump will again work perfectly. If the temperature regime is observed, then you need to reduce the water supply or close the valve on the pressure pipe.