Pump Seal Problems

I agree with you. There seems no logical explanation to have a channel and plus what looks like a spare peice of plastic, just looks as if it had been pulled out of the mould (mold) before properly set.

So as you say any members with these tubes would do us a great service in checking and reporting.

I said earlier the were no side channels on my tubes., But in fact there are two running down the screwed section where the valve is screwed in. But above that where the seal is, there is a complete rim, hence the error of not seeing it all.

Having gone through the pictures . You have No 2694 showing the screwed section with the black plastic ring . I assume it it this ring that makes contact with the rim of the tube. (Hopefully)

Now if this is the case when you tighten the flange and the black ring is pressed down it is distorted by the piece of plastic sticking up.

If I’m still on track then that is most likely where the vacuum is being broken as the ring cannot fit squarely on the tube.

So to test that. can you put some neat detergent (as it’s a bit tacky) on the ring and see if any detergent is drawn into the tube when pumping. If so you should see bubbles forming inside the tube

At the same time you might try some detergent on the connection of the flexible tubing to the main tube and see if that connection is faulty.

I got a tube from Boston in the last couple of months and there was a channel on the threads. Vacuum was getting thru there. I ended up supergluing the threads and screwing in the coupler and the leak went away.

Trouble with that solution Optimalss is that if your coupler ever stops working you will have to buy a new tube rather than just the coupler.

But perhaps you can confirm something Optimalss. Looking at the top of the tube and where the channel is. Is there a piece of plastic jutting upwards as in crazyd032’s picture?

Another thought occured to me whilst in the gym today. And I’m stll ranting on about the little piece of plastic that is not serving any pupose. That piece of plastic is stopping the male coupler from being screwed properly into the female thread. And because of that you cannoat get a good union, and there will be a leak.

Does that make sense? It may possibly also be causing the looseness you have .

But I’ll be interested in Optimalss reply .

Petitfaun,

I’m careful with the coupling/uncoupling and all has been well for 2 months. I figured if all else fails, forcefully unscrewing should break the glue and not the threads ( hopefully ).

Anyhow it works as current, and I make sure I do not put any torque on the valve.

I’m sure the best way would be to somehow recreate the threads, either putting and epoxy and tapping it out, or finding to make the
Valve a friction insertion.

This worked for me.

optimalss

I have no doubt it will work for you and give good service, It’s just not something I would recommend to anyone though - My life is full of cautions :)

But can you check the first photo that Crazyd posted please, and tell us if your tube had that little piece of plastic sticking out from the top of the channel. I can’t think it serves any purpose, and maybe is a manufacturing fault on his tube.

Thanks

The vaseline didn’t work, but I believe it helped. I’m going to try wax next.

Petitfaun, the piece of plastic you are referring to in the pictures is not sticking up, it is an indentation. The way the angle is setup it looks like there might be a piece of plastic sticking up but I assure you it’s indented. It’s just part of the channel in the threading, a crack.

optimalss, you had the same thing? You used superglue and the leak went away? I’m going to try wax.

gprent, I used the soapy water trick, like you would on a tire you think is leaking. No such luck, no bubbles. I poured it over the black ring on the coupler and where the pump meets the tube. Nothing.

The vaseline made it nearly impossible to tighten the coupler. However instead of a slow steady decline in pressure, the pump will keep pressure and then jump down towards zero at random intervals. So I think the vaseline helped but it wasn’t thick enough to completely seal off the chamber. Also I think wax will allow me to finally tighten the coupler.

I don’t want to resort to superglue, that’s too permanent/risky. Try for something that’s thick, something the threads will grip to.

Teflon Tape and Candle Wax, I sure hope this works!

Sorry aboaut that cd, It must be a trick of the light reflectied. Does that mean then that the rim at the top is distorted at all?- not sideways but like ——-__———- (the ———- being the top of the rim).

If it is as the above then try and even it off so that the plastic ring sits firmly all round.

I think you’re wise not to do a permanent job with glue. Too much pressure there could break the top away from the tube as you try to unscrew it should the valve go wrong.

Unfortunately the whole point of this exercise should be unnecessary as there obviously is something wrong with the tube.,

I have a Pro-Xzek Supreme Vacuum Pump Kit.
http://www.adam eve.com/Adult-S … p-kit-5029.aspx
I have been satisfied with it so far.

Now I have apparent problems with the pump seal.
I get no vacuum with the pump alone.
If I take the pump apart and grease it with vaseline, then on the first stroke the vacuum goes up to 20.
Then the pump is "dead" until I take it apart and repeats the greasing procedure.

Any suggestions of what to do?
I already tried to get hold of a new seal to the pump, but I could not find one.

crazyd032,

How about if you pump up, and then disconnect the pump from the cylinder? Does the cylinder alone hold the pressure? If not, you are either leaking from the quick disconnect end, or you are leaking from the base.

If the cylinder alone does hold the pressure, then you probably have a bad pump.

I think you would be best contacting the manufacturers. As they may have a better method than using vaseline. Or it may be a problem with the plunger - possibly split.

It may be both easier and less expensive to just buy a new pump with a gauge to use with your cylinder. An automotive vacuum tester should work for you.

You may be correct about the plunger. Contacting manufacturer is a bit complicated I guess..

No other suggestions similar to vaseline? It does the trick for one pump-stroke..

If I just could get hold of the rubber seal or plunger or what you would call it.
Anyone got an idea of where to get hold of one?
Maybe I should try to get in contact with the manufacturer anyway.

I have found out what was wrong!
It is amazing how good my pump works now.

The solution may be of interest for others since the construction seems similar to other pumps.

Inside the pump there is a spring to push the plunger back in start position. This spring is far over-dimensioned.
This results in the spring giving forces (radially) sideways on the plunger.

If I remove this spring my pump is totally amazingly good.
The drawback is that I manually have to push the plunger back in start position.

Next step would be to find a spring in the right dimension. But I think I skip that.

I now go up to 5 inHg in a few strokes.
Before I removed the spring I got a good hand workout to go up to 5.
I will have to find another way to exercise my hands.

Sorry folks about the suspense, I’ve been attending to more immediate matters.

It’s not the pump nor the tube nor the male coupling!

I’ve tried teflon tape, wax, vaseline, putty, PTFE Paste. The thing won’t tighten with any of these items nor will it hold pressure. I’d say with the wax, vaseline, putty, and PTFE paste it actually took away all resistance making the thing twirl instead of tightening. The Teflon Tape was the only thing that supplied resistance but not enough.

I’m going to try glue, I’m desperate. I’ll try elmer’s glue, a regular glue before I resort to superglue.

I’ve pumped over and over just with the pump/tube/male coupling and it 95% holds its vacuum. Once I use the tube, nada.
I can’t return the item because the company has a strict return policy and the customer service rep response to my ordeal was that the crack is part of the tube’s design and it is the female coupling that is stripped. They advise that I purchase another female coupling from their site and that I don’t mix other products with theirs.

This is basicaly that formula where they figure, how much does it cost to lose a customer versus how much it costs to replace the product.

I’ve popped in a dollar in the soda machine and it ate it, doesn’t mean it’s a bad product (chances are the next guy who uses it gets his soda) just means I was dealt a shitty hand.

-CD