Easy homemade pump

Alright guys, I have been in the PE game for about a month now. I know I am way to inexperienced for pumping, and I made this two months ago before I knew about newbie routines or Thundersplace, so try not to come down on me to hard for posting this. I’m just proud that I was able to make this at a fraction of the cost it would to buy a pump of equal quality and comfort.

Sadly I don’t have any pictures but I will post some soon. Maybe as soon as tomorrow.
Basically what you need is this.
-2” flat pvc cap
-2” rubber pvc quick cap
-2” clear pvc 10 inches long, or however long you wish it to be (make sure it is pvc not just clear tubing)
- 1 brake line bleeder pump with gauge
- 1 barbed check valve 1/4”
- 2 couplers, 1 with 1/4” barbed the other side threaded. The other coupler just needs to have female threads that match the threaded end of the first coupler
- 2 O rings that stretch snugly around both of the threaded couplers
- 4 small band clamps
- 2 one foot sections of clear tubing with 1/4” inside diameter
- And finally a propane spitter valve ( a small one like one a forklift tank if you have ever seen one.)

The first step is cutting your point of entry in the rubber quick cap. The hole can as small as you want (need) it, or as big as long as it is not bigger than the inside diameter of the pvc. The rubber is easy to cut and smooth the edges of the hole and the outer cap with whatever sharp you have laying around.

Next, you need to drill two holes in the hard pvc cap. One for the barbed coupler and one for the propane spitter valve. You must make sure the holes are spaced far enough apart to be able to screw couplers together from the inside of the cap without hitting the spitter valve or wall of the cap, since the bottom coupler will be female thread, hence it will be wider and take up more room.
The hole for the coupler should be big enough that you can push the male threaded end of the barbed coupler through but it still be tight. Once the hole is the right size stretch an O ring over the threaded end and push it through the hole. Then slip another O ring on from the bottom side of the cap, screw on the second coupler from the bottom until tight so that the O rings create an air tight seal.
The hole for the spitter valve needs to be just a hair smaller than the width of it’s threads. You should be able to start force threading through the hole and finish with a wrench. Take it back out, put some sealant in the hole that was just threaded by the valve, and reinstall the spitter valve. Be care full not to get and sealer in the spitter valves air hole. It wouldn’t be of much use then.

Alright hard part is over.

Take the two pieces of clear tubing and connect one to both ends of the barbed check valve. I am not sure if the check valve is a must, but will eliminate the chance of suction being lost from air bleeding in through the hand pump. Secure both ends of check valve with a band clamp.

Now attach the length of tubing to both the hand pump and the pvc cap (should slip right over the barbed fitting on cap). Make sure the arrow on the check valve is pointed toward the hand pump and away from the cap.

From this point it is pretty self explanatory. Put the rubber quick cap on one end of the clear pvc and put the cap with all the gizmos on the other end.

Air tight, comfortable, cheap, high quality, easy to make.

I probably explained the steps horribly and really need pictures, but really if you had the supplies, it might take 30 minutes to build. You can use the gauge on the pump to easily monitor vacuum level. If you want to back it off a little just twist the propane spitter valve and you can release as much or as little as you want.

I know this thread doesn’t belong in the newbie forum, but I can’t start threads anywhere else.

BTW I haven’t used this pump since I found TP and should not be using it yet. I just hope it still fits when my three months are up :) .

Thanks. If you could post some pics to enlighten instructions, that would be great.

Will post some pictures as soon as possible.

Here are a couple of pictures. I will try to take more detailed pictures in the near future. I think these photos depict the top and bottom part of the cylinder fairly well.

Very interested in this.. Maybe better instructions, please. Or pm them with materials you used

Materials needed

-2” rubber quick cap (bottom)
-2” white PVC cap (top)
-2 rubber O rings, these are used like washers to seal the plastic fitting.
-1plastic fitting that is 1/4” barbed on one side and 1/4” male threads on the other, you can see this fitting sticking out of the cap in the picture above.
-1 plastic fitting that is 1/4” female threads on one side and the other side doesn’t matter, this fitting is just used to tighten down the visible fitting from the inside of the cap. Same concept as a nut on a bolt.
-2 feet of 1/4” inch inside diameter clear tubing.
-4 of the smallest band clamps.
All of this can be purchased at your local hardware store. However there are 4 things that you will probably have to order online.
-1 RV propane bleeder/spitter valve, this you can see coming out of the cap in the picture above.
-1 white plastic check valve. 1/4”barbed both sides.
-1 vacuum pump, harbor freight brake bleeder I think was the name.
-1 peace of 2” PVC. Must be clear. Length of tube needed depends on the size of your unit obviously. This will be the body of your cylinder.

It really is a good pump. I am going to gradually incorporate it into my routine over the next couple of month. Any questions are welcome.

I was reading over this and I may try and making your design, but I haven’t been able to find clear PVC. What I did and went to a hobby store and purchased poured, polyester resin. I made a mold up using white PVC piping, a smaller one for the inside diameter and a larger one that gave me a 1/4 inch gap for the outside wall of the tube. I mixed and poured the resin, waited for it to cure and I now have a custom tube for my pump. You will need to have a tap and die set to put threads on the inside of the hole you will need to drill. After I made the inside threads I used a connector from one of my other pumps. Works great.

If you google clear pvc they arent hard to find.

Also, I think making a custom tube with homemade molds is an interesting idea.

Or use a sun tea jar.