Pump hose end diameter

Hey, I was just wondering what the diameter of the opening of a regular pump hose is. Does the hose on say, a MityVac, fit over the opening of a gravel fish tank cylinder? I’m asking because I think tomorrow I’m going to go to a plastics shop and either look for a clear plastic cylinder with the right dimensions, or I’m going to ask them to make me a cylinder similar to the gravel tube (it says in their ad that they make custom plastic things). The only thing is I don’t have a pump yet, and I want to make sure the hose on the pump fits over the end piece of the cylinder. Have people here had success fitting their MityVac hose over the ends of the gravel cylinders? The end of the cylinder seems a little big to me, but I’m not sure. Thanks!

I’ve always used a "professional" penis pump cylinder and have not seen an aquarium gravel cleaning tube, but searching the Internet I see there are several models by many different companies. They seem to use a 1/2" inside diameter tube. The MityVac connection uses 1/4" inside diameter tubing (I think, I’m not home and don’t have mine with me).

You could try a step-down approach with a short piece of 1/2 I.D. tubing on the gravel cleaner tube and a stepped connector (like this one ) and then the 1/4 I.D. tubing to the hand pump. Or, you might be able to fit a quick disconnect coupler (like these *) into two sizes of tubing.

The professional cylinders have a hole drilled in the end and the quick disconnect fitting screws right in. The small diameter tubing accepts the insert. This makes it easy to store the components yet put them together without a hassle.

* EDIT - this link doesn’t take you to the correct page. Here is the catalog main page. Click on the "Tubing" link at the top of the page. Then click on the "Tube Fittings" image. Then click on the "Quick Disconnect Couplings" image to see the correct page.

Mick,
The MityVac II pump kit sold by AutoZone has various cone-shaped adapters that allow you to connect the hose with larger diameter fittings like found on the gravel vacuum cylinder. Others have adapted the pump to fit the larger diameter hose that comes with the gravel vacuum. I believe that ChuckR did this on his setup. See the members pictures section for a photo.

WestLA,
You never cease to amaze me. Links to barbed vinyl hose quick connectors from a non-pump/sex toy site! Some time ago, I asked if anyone knew of an alternative source for these. Nevertheless, you’d have to be really sure of sizes and that the depicted connectors would work. The prices don’t seem to be any cheaper than the connectors sold on the pump sites.

It was a “Google sponsored link” which means it was the first one listed, and it had a colored background. Nothing amazing, I just know the right search terms. :)

Product info:

Page Not Found : CPC

Distributor finder:

Page Not Found : CPC

If these things cost more than 5.00 USD a piece, I think NW Pumpworks has them at that price.

As I mentioned in my “Upgrading My Equipment” thread, the barbed end of the quick connect couplings seems to come in different sizes. The one I purchased from L.A. Pumps was smaller in diameter (on the barbed end) than the couplings on the buddy kits for sale in my local sex novelties shops. As I speculated before, it appears that the brass pump sold by L.A. Pumps uses a smaller diameter hose. It appears that VacuTech uses a larger diameter hose with the MityVac II pumps they sell with their kits. Anyone else notice this? The couplings are compatible on the connecting end so I was still able to use the male coupling from L.A. Pumps with both the cylinders I purchased. The connecting end seems to be universal.

Thunder,
The catalog links for Colder Products (CPC) seem to be down at the moment; however, there are distributors in my area. I would need a believable story regarding an alternative use for the couplings when the man behind the counter asks, “What are you going to use the couplings for?”

Try this.

“None of your fucking business” and see if it works.

Don’t really know what to say, fish tank fittings??

The links seem to be OK now.

Hey, thanks for the replies.

There are no Autozones where I live, so I could get one of those connector things at say a hardware store, or home depot, or a plastcis store?

No. I’ve looked at Home Depot (in the kitchen decorating place where they sell refrigerator ice maker connections) and in plumbing. A general hardware store probably won’t have them either. I don’t know what their standard use is, but they seem rather difficult to find. Perhaps I didn’t look in the right place. The only store I did find them in was the sex shop with the pumping cylinders.

I checked Home Depot too. No luck.

Mick:

I bought my Mityvac II (which is excellent) online for the price of $35. You get it in 3 days or so. The site is Pumptoys.com.

I live in NY but have no auto part stores near me, so I decided to try online. Guess what, I saved the trip and many phone calls (actually, I had made a few phone calls and some auto stores don’t even had it). The pump arrived within the same week. It comes with several types of rubber connectors and with the plastic hoses. You won’t need anything else to buy except for the cylinder.

Don’t waste your time looking for parts, it’s too much research and trips and work and at the end you might not get what you need. For $35 you get the pump plus all other accessories.

Let me know.

That site, Pumptoys.com has 2 pumps by Mityvac, one for $35, which is all plastic, lifetime warranty, and it’s the one I have (model MVAC#1). The other one is $69 all metal, heavy duty, but you don’t need this one.

I copied the picture of the plastic pump and hope to be able to attach it to this post.

Let me know,

Hey, thanks mafero :D !

That sounds perfect. My only problem is that I still live with my parents and I don’t want to be ordering stuff to my house and then having to explain it, but I might have to risk it this time. How heavy is the package that you received exactly? I’m gonna go to the site now and check it out and see how much it would cost to get the pump shipped to Canada. If it’s under $80 (cheapest one I found over here), the I will probably get it. Thanks again!

Mick:

The pack from the manufacturer weighs exactly 1 pound. I can tell you this because I ordered two pumps; the second one for a PE buddy who at the end did not want it, and I still have it the same way I got it.

Don’t be afraid of the pack even if your parents open it. It says: “Mityvac, Vacuum Pump, Automotive Tune-Up and Brake Bleeding Kit”. So it is pretty “safe” for anyone to see it. You don’t get the cylinder with it, unless you order it from Pumptoys.com along with the pump. If you only order the pump, as I did, they ship it to you in the same package, but the pump itself is exactly what I said above. Do you have a cylinder? I forget.

Pumptoys.com has a phone number (in the website), and the guy is very nice. Talk to him and find out about Canada. They charge here $35 for the pump alone plus shipping.

The manufacturer has a phone number that you can call, which is 1-800-648-9822, Prism Enterprises (San Antonio, TX), and it reads: “Mityvac is a registered trademark of Prism Enterprises, Inc.”

Hope this information is useful.

Hey mafero,

I’m 100% sure that my parents won’t open the package, but they might ask me what’s inside. And about the package, what exactly does pumptoys.com send the pump in? I don’t mean the actual box of the MityVac, I mean the very outside pakage, where they write the the address stuff. Does it say “MityVac”, or anything to do with pumptoys.com, or is it just a FedEx box or a plain brown box or something? I’m only asking ‘cause my parents would wonder what the hell I’m going to do with a brake bleeding kit.

I’ve sent them an e-mail asking about the delivery etc, so hopefully they’ll write back by Monday. I just bought a cylinder from a plastics company, so I’m all set there.

Thanks again for all the information and help :)