Pump Seal Problems

Ok Sparky, I have jammed my finger into the nozzle of the pump by itself nothing attached. The needle jumps way up to 20hg then skips down to 10 hg. Afterwards it slowly decreases in pressure until it reaches zero, I’d say the whole process takes 30 seconds.

I don’t know if the nozzle on the pump is designed to keep a seal when directly applied to an object (such as my skin).

If I jam my finger into the male coupler, which is attached to the pump, I can keep a strong seal but occasionaly it will jump down a few hg probably because it wasn’t quite placed on right? However it will usually keep it’s seal.

If I use the tube to create a vacuum it always begins to decrease, sometimes it jumps down but usually it slowly decreases.

However, the peculiar part, even though the gauge says zero Hg there is still resistance when I am taking off the tube. One time out of frustration I pumped up to around 6 Hg and it was uncomfortable so I hit the emergency release valve on top and pulled out the male coupler, the vacuum was still tight/ in place. It was a little scary because I previously thought in case of emergencies if you pressed that little button and removed the male coupler there would be no vacuum. I knew it would only be a matter of time until the pressure leaked out but what if the tube was functional and didn’t have a leak and I for whatever reason pumped to 10 Hg by accident and I needed out of that tube fast. What do I do? Break the tube? or tilt the tube to the side?

I’ve sent BostonPump an email explaining the situation and the pictures. They have yet to reply (it’s only been a day). They have what appear to be strict policies on defects but I couldn’t even see the damn thing until I took off the female coupler! I hope they don’t give me a hard time, but we’ll see how this goes down.

Sparky the female coupler doesn’t tighten, it keeps going round and round. Yes I do have the black rubber O on both the female coupler and male coupler.

Gprent, I may be taking you up on your suggestions if I end up not getting that new tube.

Tennsteven I have tried your suggestion and I am afraid that the problem won’t be fixed so easily, what a bummer!

Yes cd try Gprents tip and it might be worth filling the slot with melted candle wax, . If you want to unscrew it at any time the teflon ‘lining’ will allow you to open it

But we hope it won’t come to that.

And they will get an awful lot of bad publicity on Thunders!

Same here.

True. This thread will get bookmarked and referred to, every time someone asks what kind of tube they should buy. And if they take care of you, that will get passed along as well.

Ok guys, did I “OVERTIGHTEN” the “connector”?

The defect that I pointed out was not a defect at all “FYI”.
:head:

The female coupler gets pretty damn tight but still has room to move, everytime I give it one last twist to make sure there is no room left it loosens and I have to twist it again back to an “almost” airtight not moving anywhere seal.

I’m going to use vaseline and try to go for the quick fix. As for the crack in the pictures, it’s intentional. The harbor freights pump is brand new. The male coupler fits, the tubing is high quality. I’ll just have to fix them all whether they work or not.

This is asinine! This can’t be that hard. You attach tube to pump, then to male, attach male to female, use water based thick lubricant, apply to rim of tube, apply to penis, go in tube erect, make sure pubes cut short or non existent, watch the testes, do quarter twist, start pumping! Stay around 2.5Hg for novices work your way to 5Hg, or stay around 2.5Hg for multiple sessions and longer sessions. Am I missing some critical step that would make this mess go away?!

Thanks in advance,
-CD

Sparky brought up that the pump should maintain vacuum on my finger by itself, I have stated that it does not. It does however usually maintain vacuum when I have my finger placed on the male coupler by itself (without the BostonPump tube).

Is the pump the problem?

I haven’t really tinkered with the pump so much as trying to take it apart, so to save time Sparky, what do I need to do if the pump is the perpetrator. You mentioned lubricating areas with vaseline or grease. Will these areas be very apparent? More importantly, how do I take it apart and what am I looking for?

Guys, thank you so much for your patience. You guys are making my life just a little easier, I appreciate that :)

Hopefully others can learn from my stupidity :p

This is how to spot where the leak is for sure. Make up a soapy water solution by adding some dish washing liquid to a glass of water. Pump up and apply some of your soapy water to the connections, especially where the female coupler screws into the cylinder. I am sure you will see soap bubbles leaking through where that crack or defect is in the threads of the cylinder. No matter where the leak is, the soapy water will find it for you.

Are you saying that you caused that crack?

It will be worth making sure the plastic tubing is fully airtight, and as I mentioned you should cut the plastic tube so that it marries up to the connector all round it’s circumference. As it can cause a leak if it is not absolutely secure.

I have three different sized tubes and there is nothing like that notch on them.

One lives. One learns

You look for the areas that already have some grease on it, and clean it off completely (just wipe it off) and then relube a little more generously with white lithum grease (auto parts store) or vaseline.

Unless you are fairly mechanically adept, I don’t recommend it. My was (is) a plastic MityVac…and it was difficult. I also have the Harbor Freight one (it was on sale for like $7 bucks or something). Actually, if you bought it locally, you should try and bring it back, many times they will just replace it. If you can do that, then open the new one before you leave the store and test it.

Like I had said, just put your finger on the nozzle, as you give a little pump, the needle will climb quickly and just stay there until you release your finger.

I just re-read your post and you say the vacuum will hold with the tube and male connection in place? If that is the case, its NOT your pump, you just don’t seal it properly with your finger.

Its probably just the female connection into the cylinder. If vaseline works,you could probably make it permanent with some pure, clear silicon gel. The only thing is you must completely clean off all the vaseline before you use it, or it won’t stick. Once you use this, it cures firm and rubbery and you shouldn’t have any leakage after that, but also you probably won’t be able to unscrew it out again either, at least not without significant force.

“The notch on the top of the cylinder is made
intentionally in order to be able to break the seal
fast. IT IS NOT A DEFECT
FYI” -BP

That’s straight from the horses mouth. The “crack” is not a defect and No I did not cause it.

Sparky, I was wondering how you managed to open up that bad boy, I see now you had a different pump. I did not get it locally, would Home Depot or Lowes carry them? I purchased it online.

I will check the tubing again. I will add the vaseline and we’ll see what happens. It can’t be that hard to sustain a vacuum when my finger is directly applied to the pump…my suspicions are now leaning towards the pump but we’ll see how this goes.

Thanks again guys,
-CD

“Your problem has nothing to do with the cylinder. The
issue is because you have OVERTIGHTEN the connector on
the cylinder thus the connenctor is damaged”-BP

They’re saying I stripped the thread on the female coupler. That is Highley unlikely.

I think that is total bullshit. That is where your leak is. Please give the soapy water leak check a try and I bet you will see bubbles forming inside the cylinder right at that notch.

If you connect the tube to the pump, and the open end is the male fitting, and you put your finger over the male opening…and it holds vacuum, its NOT your pump, case closed.

Do not open that pump if its working, you will almost for sure make things worse. If it is leaking, go ahead and give it a try.

Same here. I have had to spin the female connector down a bit more finger tight on all of them, and that has been all I have needed to do to get a good seal. I’ve spun the female connector off as well, just to look at the threads. No notch. The ‘explanation’ that the notch is a feature, not a defect makes no sense. It also makes no sense that the female connector should tighten to a point, then spin freely again after that. That’s not right.

Anyone else with a Boston Pumpworks cylinder want to look at theirs to see if they have that ‘feature’?