$15 electric vacuum pump for anyone!

A small (or even “mini” or “micro”) pump is enough for our purposes. The aquarium pump is a good example and there are many other small diaphragm air pumps that have an inlet and an outlet - so both vacuum and pressure so no modifications are required. Peristaltic pumps are better for fluid than air. High air volumes and low vacuums are not needed so save your money and avoid the expensive high performance pumps.

I’ve been using the 30/60 pump for about a year.

When I first started it was drawing 5hg, and now it draws 4.5hg.

I use the 30/60 for ten minutes, and then put my brake bleeder pump on, and I go up to 7hg for five minutes (a total of 15 minutes). I do that in the morning 3 times a day 4 days a week. I am getting some nice results with this routine. I just added the third time on a couple of weeks ago, and that is when I started to keep the gains for a day or two.

I just converted a Tetra AP150 pump [1] and all signs are looking great so far. I haven’t had any PE sessions with yet but that will change when the sun goes down later on today. I’ve converted several aquarium pumps and this one is the strongest yet pulling 8in.HG. The tetra AP150 pump features what Tetra calls deep water technology. I am not sure what this means but I can tell you there are 2 diaphragms with what appears to be dual check valves. All of which work in concert one diaphram pulls while the other does nothing.

Do any of you have any experience with this pump?

[1]

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In Canada it’s Princess Auto.

Am using the whisper 40 pump, 5.0 pressure .. Been using bout a year with 1 1/2 in. Cylinder. Anyway to increase more vacuum?

No, not that I know of. I have experimented with these aquarium pumps and the pump design is limited to about 5” Hg. You can increase the volume (amount of air moved) by connecting both inlets together with a “tee” fitting but this does not seem to increase the maximum amount of vacuum.

As an alternative, consider a 12 VDC air pump and 12 VDC power supply. You can add a motor control circuit and slow down the pump. Maximum vacuum is usually about 15”Hg BUT I do not recommend more than 5” Hg in order to avoid injury.

Definitely interested in getting an electric pump going for myself. I have a STJ that has the conversion kit from pumptoys on it. I’m about to buy a tetra pump, just curious all and all what is needed for sure.

I need tubing, a T bracket, the male coupler to attach to my jar and tubes, and what other suggestions?

This thread has been a godsend for me. Instructions make sense and are easy to follow and I have a 5.5 Hg pump with the ability to go down to 2 or 3 with the irrigation valve. It’s perfect!

I don’t know if sparky is still around, but would anyone know what he meant by converting a mini vacuum like this ( https://www.wal mart.com/ip/Sta … 3&wl13=&veh=sem )? I apologize for the large link.

What additions need to be made to that in order for it to work like the converted Whisper pump?

The 2 ports labeled with arrows make it look ready to use just remove the dust caps.

https://www.ama … /dp/B076T5JF16/

I’ve been seeing these pumps on Amazon lately. This one here claims to be able to hit 65Pa (like 20Hg) if you were to add a regulator and a gauge this could be an interesting investment. I’d buy one and try it out but I just got a Mityvac, a new tube, and a bunch of the wrong connectors (non vacuum, a size too big. Really wish I could buy these locally in Toronto) so I’m saving up again.

I still use my converted aquarium air pump and it goes to about 5” mercury (about 5’ 5” of water). If fact it runs 24/7 because I do not bother to unplug it so… for years this pump has been running except for some small breaks when I move it to a new spot. There are not many cheap pumps that will last that long and 20” HG is a ton of pressure IMO! I have an injury from over 20 years ago from high pressure and I never did it again. The injury itself is along the dorsal ligament under the coronal ridge. Its just a “bump” but its there!

That said I have seen a similar sucker device like that one and they do pull a good strong vacuum *but* I doubt they have the endurance of an aquarium air pump.

I found this starter kit online for $40 that comes with a tube, hose, 2 different seals + some lips, as well as an electric pump. Most "electric cock pumps" have that pump that’s just sticks in the other end of the tube, making it impossible to use with other tubes. This one has standard hose barbs AND A DIGITAL READ OUT THAT’S IN METRIC! I absolutely hate using hg to pump because with the Mityvac it’s hard to tell what pressure you’re at unless it’s above 5. It goes up to 35kpa (10hg) and even has a decimal place for accuracy. Dhgate is horrible for shipping times and I kinda want this before the spring so I’m gonna go to my usual local spots before I buy one on amazon

https://m.dhgat e.com/product/l … /390308114.html

This looks pretty interesting. I’ve been using a dial type gauge. Let us know how it does.

That is a real crappy pump with a cheap thin wall flimsy cylinder with a flimsy rubber seal that will wear out fast and a cheap battery powered pump. It might last you 2 months and by trying to save a buck, you will end up just throwing your money away. The only thing it might do is give you an idea if you will like pumping enough to invest in a better system.

Hey, I’ve lurked this forum and got a lot of ideas from it so I thought I’d share my voice/phone activated electric pump. It’s hooked up to Alexa and I have been playing with cycling it.

I used the Tetra 400 for it so figured I’d put it in this thread. Here is a little G rated video:

https://vimeo.com/309673279

Let me know if you have any questions :)