Return of the cheap turbos: TPH-055 Pfeiffer pumps < $100

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Carl Willis
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Return of the cheap turbos: TPH-055 Pfeiffer pumps < $100

Post by Carl Willis »

One of the better deals on eBay has returned...the $99 TPH-055 turbopump for which controllers are easily homebrewed.

See Item #370457074438.

For the homebrew driver, see:

viewtopic.php?f=10&t=4036#p21444

I have two of these pumps already, and I bought two more last night. The seller was sold out this morning, but has just relisted another round of ten. He seems to not accept low offers on single purchases, but gave me $80 each for a set of two. Though I like the idea of Alexi's homebrew drive circuit, I confess to not using it yet...I found a TCP-035 control board for the pump on eBay awhile ago.

What to expect: both the pumps I have in hand arrived with somewhat mangled ISO-63 flanges (aluminum) and were covered with a cohesive black powder, inside and out, that appears to be graphite. I repaired one pump's flange by sanding out the scratches with 200-grit and 600-grit paper. This pump is confirmed-operational. The other I will probably opt to resurface on the mill due to the depth of the damage on the flange face, but the rotor spins freely so I expect it will run fine as well. The graphite powder doesn't dissolve easily, but per the pump instructions, I inverted the pumps in a coffee can and immersed the turbines up to the KF outlet in alcohol. Some vigorous up-down motion cleaned out visible traces of the gunk. One nice aspect of these pumps is that the lower bearing lube cartridge is easy to replace and only costs about $70. I will probably opt to do that on mine. A local dealer carries the cartridges.

This deal is a good one!

-Carl
Carl Willis
http://carlwillis.wordpress.com/
TEL: +1-505-412-3277
Chris Roberts
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Real name: Chris Roberts

Re: Return of the cheap turbos: TPH-055 Pfeiffer pumps &lt; $100

Post by Chris Roberts »

The original listing for those turbos sold out yesterday, however the seller re-listed ten more.

Item # 370457917984
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