trouble locating a suitable vacuum chamber

Every fusor and fusion system seems to need a vacuum. This area is for detailed discussion of vacuum systems, materials, gauging, etc. related to fusor or fusion research.
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Ian_B
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trouble locating a suitable vacuum chamber

Post by Ian_B »

Hello everyone,

I wanted to take a moment and ask for suggestions on where I might be able to find a suitable vacuum chamber for my fusor. I have been watching e-bay & craigs list and have been unable to locate any vacuum chambers that are not extremely expensive. (well I did find one on e-bay but someone outbid me at the last second). I am currently in New York and I am preparing to return to Florida (in case anyone knows of any chamber for sale that require pickup). Any help in locating a reasonably priced chamber would be greatly appreciated; I am a college student so I don't have a ton of money.

If I am unable to locate a suitable vacuum chamber I am prepared to fabricate one but this will undoubtedly be more expensive and low cost is key for this project.

Thanks so much for the help!

~Ian
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Carl Willis
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Re: trouble locating a suitable vacuum chamber

Post by Carl Willis »

Ian,

Most people build their chambers. Those well-connected with their local scrapyards and university surplus centers occasionally find serviceable vacuum chambers at good prices, but you must have those scrounging connections in place and be prepared to be patient. Scrounging takes time and good luck.

I'd be surprised to see anything technical on Craigslist!

-Carl
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Ian_B
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Re: trouble locating a suitable vacuum chamber

Post by Ian_B »

I'd be surprised to see anything technical on Craigslist too but I've been told by one or two people that occasionally good stuff gets posted so I figured I'd cover all my bases.

~Ian
DaveC
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Re: trouble locating a suitable vacuum chamber

Post by DaveC »

Ian -

I would suggest finding a local (in FLorida) business that services vacuum pumps and related equipement.

Any University will either have its own facilities or have a place nearby. That type of shop is about the best place to find something out of the right materials (good grade of stainless steel, quite possibly with flanges and fittings.) They also can do the welding and testing, if you can't. Most of these places take a kindly attitude to students doing creative things, so they should be quite friendly and helpful. If you have to buy, most of these places have used things for sale at anywhere from 10 to 25 cents on the dollar. Not dirt cheap, but probably affordable.. and probably usable.

In Florida, you also have a couple possible "resources". There's quite a lot of NASA related industry around. A little bit of emailing and phoning could link you to some gear or to interested parties, that could help.

As Carl said, most folks here build their own chambers. For general tinkering and experimenting, a bell jar type system is easiest to reconfigure, but unless the chamber is metal, you have to be very careful about beams hitting glass walls and causing an implosion. Here a simple metal can inside can take care of most of the usual hazards

Bell jars tend to be a bit larger size and take longer to pump down and can be pricey. But (speaking from firsthand experience, here) it is very nice to be able to vent the chamber, lift the lid, make readjustments, lower the lid, pump down and resume the experiment, all within about 15 minutes..

The alternative, a smalll size (4 - 8 inches is pretty commone) chamber, either a pair of hemispheres with flanges or a vacuum Tee is straightforward, and nearly indestructible. The cost of this will be governed by the flanges and weldup cost
But getting something, these days for much less than about $500 finished cost, will require some very strategic purchases.

Take your time try to form a clear idea of what you want, need or could live with and haunt the sources of surplus gear.

Best regards,

Dave Cooper
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Mike Beauford
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Re: trouble locating a suitable vacuum chamber

Post by Mike Beauford »

I got my chamber from this outfit. Some of the chambers he has are nice and already have several conflat's already welded onto the main unit.

http://www.surplusvacuumchamber.com/Chambers.htm

I bought my chamber from him and am very pleased with the quality.

Mike
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MarkS
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Re: trouble locating a suitable vacuum chamber

Post by MarkS »

Cheap is all relative, I've seen TIG welder starter kits go for $175 at a sale, and to me a tool and skill like welding tends to be worth its weight in gold. If you're patient with with ebay you may have something come up. Remember to search words like "conflat", "kf", "qf", etc... Also look at vacuum supplier's listings occasionally they misspell words and something will fly under the radar. You can also use unconventional means to achieve a vacuum chamber, Frank Sanns (I think) is using an 8" conflat tee for his chamber. Others have used Ikea salad bowls.

If you want to get premium cheap, Sharon Vacuum in MA. is nice towards students.

Your biggest resource in Florida is LDS vacuum, they have special discounts for university students and they have sales constantly. If you ask really nicely they may have some stuff in disrepair for pennies. Try emailing Cindy Lee, she was instrumental in my fusion effort.

Sharon Vacuum: http://www.sharonvacuum.com/

LDS: http://ldsvacuum.com/

http://cgi.ebay.com/Conflat-UHV-Tee-Vac ... dZViewItem

cheap chamber, even has a few electrical feed thru's
Ian_B
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Re: trouble locating a suitable vacuum chamber

Post by Ian_B »

I looked at this chamber:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 2759.l1259

it looks like an acceptable first chamber; what does everyone else think?

Much thanks,
~Ian

PS please don't snipe it from me on e-bay
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Richard Hull
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Re: trouble locating a suitable vacuum chamber

Post by Richard Hull »

This would be a nice chamber, but you would need the closure hardware which would probably exceed the price of the piece and shipping.

Stuff like this is really great until you look at the costs of closing it off or adapting it in some fashion to your specific application down the road.

You asked not to snipe it. It is a cruel world out there. I am sure sights are set on this from any number of last minute sniper "vacuum heads" and not from the fusor list either.

Good luck

Richard Hull
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Fusion is the energy of the future....and it always will be
The more complex the idea put forward by the poor amateur, the more likely it will never see embodiment
Larry Upjohn
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Re: trouble locating a suitable vacuum chamber

Post by Larry Upjohn »

Hi all;
No intents to snipe at all but this is right down the street from me. Shipping would be $0.00 but again I am not bidding as I find this stuff gets out of control very fast in the last seconds. Best wishes to the winner and hopefully this ends up in Fusor land. Larry Upjohn
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Ian_B
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Re: trouble locating a suitable vacuum chamber

Post by Ian_B »

Mark,

your response was very helpful to me, thanks!

~Ian
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Re: trouble locating a suitable vacuum chamber

Post by Ian_B »

Richard,

Your comment about how this might cost a considerable amount caught my attention, do you have any alternative suggestions on good places to obtain a decent vacuum chamber?

I was considering fabricating one using the specifications shown in the following link:
http://www.rtftechnologies.org/physics/ ... sphere.htm

but the cost to purchase the materials and then machine them would be significant; approximately $651 plus the cost to machine and weld them. It would be an awesome vacuum chamber though

I'd love to keep writing but i have to run now

~Ian
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Re: trouble locating a suitable vacuum chamber

Post by Nanos »

I wonder how suitable a beer keg might be, depending on which country your in you may need to get permission from the final owner to use it for that purpose.

As I heard they come in both aluminum and stainless steel varieties.

I don't know how suitable one would be vacuum wise, but they do look fairly strong..

Myself, I picked up a $10 glass bell jar thanks to a local university having a clearout, and whilst not ideal is something to get me started with.

I had pondered that a milk churn or perhaps even a beer keg could work well as an implosion shield over my glass bell jar, and then wondered if the beer keg might actually do for a fusor chamber itself..


Thoughts and opinions as always welcomed on my comments!
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Mike Veldman
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Re: trouble locating a suitable vacuum chamber

Post by Mike Veldman »

Have you considered when you get back to school doing a little scrounging? Talk to a professor/researcher using vacuum fixtures or someone in the fabrication shop about what might be sitting in a closet somewhere. Talk to them about your ideas and projects, many of them/us are big curious kids that love to make things. I have students from several departments other than my own sit in my office and talk about their off the wall to some of the other staff pipe dreams. I seem to be kind of a magnet for this sort of thing, word gets around. I frequently allow students to use stuff, give them stuff, borrow from another departments junk pile for them on semipermanent loan, even give them stuff from my home scrounge pile. Semipermanent loan means if they "ever" ask for it back I have to comply because some things belong to the state and have to be sold or kept forever as in the case of government surplus. What I'm saying is for the most part a university is populated by many (not all) people that love to help other people learn, and have rooms full of good usable stuff just participating in the flow of gravity. Let the word out that you're scrounging to build something to learn with and you may be overloaded with offers of good junque. At least it won't hurt to talk a little or ask.

mike
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Larry Upjohn
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Re: trouble locating a suitable vacuum chamber

Post by Larry Upjohn »

Well this 8" tee was won by an ebay seller who deals in vacuum systems for 137.00USD. Looked like it needed one 8" inch conflat blank to seal it off and it had some sort of ceramic feedthrough on one of the smaller conflats. I can see why it might have worked. Larry Upjohn.
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Ian_B
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Re: trouble locating a suitable vacuum chamber

Post by Ian_B »

thats a good idea and I will definitely do some scrounging on campus, our science department is a little weak so I'm not sure how much good stuff will get turned up but I do know some of the professors conduct research/work other places and might be able to give me some good contacts outside of school as well.

Thanks for the advice,
~Ian
Verp
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Re: trouble locating a suitable vacuum chamber

Post by Verp »

I was in the thrift store the other day looking at a stock pot, thinking it looked a lot like a stainless steel bell jar.

Rod
Nanos
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Re: trouble locating a suitable vacuum chamber

Post by Nanos »

I was looking at BBQ sets the other day and noticed one of these, I wonder what its made out of;

http://www.uberreview.com/wp-content/up ... %20bbq.jpg
johnp
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Re: trouble locating a suitable vacuum chamber

Post by johnp »

I think the one we have is some kind of enameled steel. There's rust around a few spots.

My dad had a spiffy aluminum one way back when.

Nanos wrote:
> I was looking at BBQ sets the other day and noticed one of these, I wonder what its made out of;
>
> http://www.uberreview.com/wp-content/up ... %20bbq.jpg
eosraptor
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Re: trouble locating a suitable vacuum chamber

Post by eosraptor »

Hi, I just discovered this home-brew fusion group and joined. I have a vacuum chamber you can walk in but it is not for sale. Do you have a fusion project started ??? Andrew
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