Vacuum Pump for potting pickups

[SpareRibs]

Hello,
I am still messing around with the Melody Maker pickups. With making a smaller neck and full size bridge, it has been very consuming of the time I can lay aside for the project. I have also routed out the cavities to accommodate the larger pickups. A new pick guard template was needed, at this point it is still being modified before final cut.
In addition I cobbled together a vacuum pump to pot the pickups. It is an olive jar with two holes to accept the vacuum hose, and a thermometer. You heat it in a pan of water just like a double boiler, keeping it off the bottom of the pan by using the part of a soup can you discard when you open it. When it reaches 140 degrees you remove it from the heat, insert the pickup, screw the lid back on and pull the plunger. The ones I potted feel like solid wax.
I hope this will be of help to some of you.

[rjb]

One little detail- where do you get that plunger?

[SpareRibs]

Hello,
It is one of the odd things I have bought at a second hand store. On the stem of the plunger it says (V.MUELLER & Co. MADE IN GERMANY 200 degrees C). It has a capacity of what I would guess is 4 ounces as it is marked in 4 increments. It is very solid and made from stainless steel.

[SpareRibs]

Hello,
Just did a Google search, V.MUELLER & COMPANY sells surgical instruments. So I am guessing, new the plunger would be way out of my price range. I would imagine a similar device could be bought that is used for making pastries, stuffing pasta or the like.

[big_teee]

There are all kinds of hand devices available.
Here's some pics of some.
https://www.google.com/search?q=hand...w=1138&bih=493

[kayakerca]

If I were planning on adding vacuum potting to my setup, I'd just invest the $40 for a low end single stage vacuum pump and go from there.

1 Stage 3 6CFM 1 4HP Rotary Vane Vacuum Pump HVAC Air Condition Refrigerant | eBay

[tedmich]

60ml Plastic Syringe Large Thumb Grip Syringe 60cc New | eBay

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[ReWind]

If I were planning on adding vacuum potting to my setup, I'd just invest the $40 for a low end single stage vacuum pump and go from there.

1 Stage 3 6CFM 1 4HP Rotary Vane Vacuum Pump HVAC Air Condition Refrigerant | eBay

I have one of those single stage pumps for my tank and I would not recommend it.

It pulls a nice strong vacuum but it's loud, it vibrates allot, and it spews a fog of hot pump oil and paraffin fumes into the air. Though it does pull a vacuum, it doesn't hold one very well using its internal valve. An external valve is an easy fix for that, though.

Despite all of the above, I'm pretty sure it's actually functioning as intended and is just a crappy bottom-dollar pump.

[tedmich]

+1 on the nastiness of single stage oil vac pumps. while Mcmaster Carr does sell mist filters pretty cheap that do help, for most low vacuum requirements a nice diaphragm pump is much better. Breathing tiny oil droplets is VERY bad, like huffing PAM (people do it sadly)
KNF Neuberger makes really good diaphragm pump that can sometimes be had on ebay cheap, especially if you get a 24VDC model removed from equipment and add a power supply.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/KNF-Neuberge...item2345a67788
Gast also makes some decent diaphragm vac pumps/compressors but the real bargain is often a Savant GP100/GP110 model,

which are easily rebuildable (for <$20) and while big and heavy can sometimes be purchased for <$50 on the ebay

[kayakerca]

I have one of those single stage pumps for my tank and I would not recommend it.

It pulls a nice strong vacuum but it's loud, it vibrates allot, and it spews a fog of hot pump oil and paraffin fumes into the air. Though it does pull a vacuum, it doesn't hold one very well using its internal valve. An external valve is an easy fix for that, though.

Despite all of the above, I'm pretty sure it's actually functioning as intended and is just a crappy bottom-dollar pump.

I may have gotten lucky, but the cheap pump I bought works perfectly. No louder or more vibration than the ones I used 40 years ago in another life when I did component work on window air conditions for 4 summer seasons. That said, my experience may well be very different if I were running it for extended periods of time every day. I also have a set of gauges between my pump and my potting crock pot.

Yes, I have modified the lid to increase the structural integrity so it won't implode on me.

[mr fab]

if you run a compressor in the workshop, you may also consider a single or dual stage venturi vacuum device. I have used them successfully in my other job for evacuating food containers for the insertion of nitrogen/co2

here is an example ....https://www.piab.com/Products/vacuum...lassic-si32-3/

piab specialise in this technology but many others do also

fab