$15 electric vacuum pump for anyone!

Eric, this question is in the wrong place. I started a new thread for you with the Title: Looking For Vacuum Pump in the pumpers forum and also sent you a message to that effect that you apparently have not read yet.

Thank you so much, gprent!

Hey guys, I can’t make my own thread but whats a good pump to get that you don’t need to make yourself? Very interested in the gains from pumping even if they are temporary.

This is a great thread, thanks!

Picked up the Tetra 30-60 today. Converting it was so easy. I drilled a hole in a clear fleshlight cylinder and used that with this pump. I picked up some tees and with the leak valves it comes with… wow is all I can say. So cheap. $25 bucks for everything.

Thanks to all who contributed to this thread.

Has anyone tried the larger Tetra Whispers - either the 100 or the 150?

I’m wondering whether the conversion is the same as outlined in this thread and also whether they are capable of higher vacuum levels

Thanks

The hole prepose to the pump is for continuous vacuum is that rite

Jerry1973, please be a little more careful with correct word usage and spelling. (Whole not hole, right not rite etc) Also proper punctuation. Sentences end with a period or a question mark. Thanks.

Of course I bought the tetra whisper 40 and went to convert it and the larger o-ring is somehow stretched and won’t sit in the groove when you push it back into place so I need a replacement.

Has anyone else run into this issue and if you got a replacement o-ring, suggestions as to where?

Thanks!

Didn’t run into that problem, but ACE Hardware has a pretty good assortment of O-rings.

Thanks, that was going to be my go-to first but wanted to see if there was a better place maybe online if someone had the same problem and knew the exact size.

Thanks for the help.

What cylinder do you use with the Whisper 40 pump? The one that I tried to use.. The male end is too big for the hose tubing.

Just chiming in to note my success with the “Whisper10-30” pump purchased at Walmart. I had purchased a different small aquarium pump online (can’t remember the brand, but liked the fact that it was a more compact and “square” shape). Conversion attempt from “blow” to “suck” was unsuccessful, and I ended up throwing away the pump.

The “Whisper 10-30” pump was about $14. Conversion from “blow” to “suck” involved only a good Phillips screwdriver and reversing the direction of the rubber diaphragm inside.

I purchased 15’ feet of aquarium tubing for about $5 when I bought the pump and used this to connect the pump to my cylinder. Between the aquarium hose and the hose to the cylinder, I installed a “tee” fitting from a micro-irrigation system (“Orbit” is a common brand) with a valve to allow for vacuum release - this allow for adjustment of the amount of vacuum to the cylinder, and also releasing all of the vacuum, if desired. The Whisper 10-30 pump comes with a “valve” fitting the can be inserted in the aquarium tubing to reduce or released vacuum - I haven’t tried this, but suspect it would work fine. For connecting the aquarium tubing to the larger diameter tubing from my cylinder, I simply inserted the smaller diameter aquarium tubing inside the larger diameter tubing from the cylinder. This seems relatively leak-free, although longer-term, I would probably like to find an adapter to make this a more secure connection.

I pump with a 2 x 10 or 3 x 9 acrylic cylinder and everything works fine. The pump draws approximately 5 inches Hg which is more than enough for my purposes. The only problem is that it’s so convenient, it’s easy to extend pump sessions longer than I should (which creates some fluid issues).

Overall, very pleased with the whole set-up, and amazing that it’s so inexpensive, quiet, and convenient. Now if someone could figure how to provide electronic control of pressure for this pump to allow for “pulsing,” that would be wonderful!

Cleancut1: Thanks for posting your success story with the aquarium pump conversion.

For adapting different tubing sizes go to an auto parts store and look for vacuum line fittings. They usually have a package of assorted fittings that include reducers in different sizes.

As for automating - it can certainly be done. Ebay is a good source. Your pump is running on 120VAC (mains or house current) but most control circuits are low voltage DC (12VDC). There are controls (valves, timers, etc) that work on 120VAC but they are not only expensive but also dangerous and really unnecessary for this purpose. Low voltage DC (12VDC) is the way to go. Now once you start playing around with 12VDC timers, valves, etc. you will probably wonder why you don’t just use 12VDC for the pump too. Once again Ebay (and others) have lots of 12VDC pumps that work for this purpose. So, if you are headed toward automation then I suggest not staying too attached to your newly converted aquarium pump.

In the mean time you can “pulse” by putting another tee in the line and putting your finger over the end - it’s been described here before. One clever guy made a foot control out of a ball and a block of wood.

Good job recognizing the risks of over doing it.

Happy Pumping!

I went to ebay and got a lab pump for $50. Works great, but had to add a flow control to limit the vac. Found out the hard way that too much too fast can leave you with blisters the size of a 25 cent piece. No pumping for for me for 4 weeks.

Just went and grabbed a Tetra Whisper 30-60 along with some extra tubing at Walmart tonight. Total, $25.00. Took a whole 5 minutes to do the conversion and hook up the tubing and T’s. Mine pulls about 5-6HG with both pumps plumbed together. This is a good range for me to do 2x45minute-1hr sets. I think this is a real cool project and I like not having to mess with the hand pump every time I move around and lose a little suction. It’s pretty quiet, but I’m going to play with some ideas for damping the sound even further.

Overall, I’m really glad I found this on here and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys pumping, even if it’s not your new go to way to pump it’s definitely worth trying out for the cost. I have lot’s of idea’s for how I’m going to try to incorporate this outside of pumping (like with a tenga cup.)