My Vacuum System Progress

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Isaac
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My Vacuum System Progress

Post by Isaac »

So, for the last two years or so, I have been slowly gathering components and putting together my vacuum system that I will use as a more multi-purpose system, however a fusor is the primary initial goal. So far, my setup consists of a Daia DPF4Zs 4 inch liquid cooled diff complete with a vapor trap, cutoff valve and broken pirani gauge, cooled by a water recurculator/chiller that is made from a retired plumb-in water cooler. I also have more recently acquired a Varian 841 Ion gauge controller, and have re purposed an old metal table/drawer to be the vacuum table. For simplicities sake, I am going to purchase a thick sheet of aluminum to mount all of the components to, and use a bell jar style setup that way I wont have to do as much machining. Eventually I would like to make a purpose built chamber, however for now, a bell jar style setup provides the most leeway, As it does not strictly need to be a glass bell jar, and I wont have to match couplings or machine flanges.

This diffusion pump is an absolute monster and a steal for a small/medium sized pump (thanks sunnking on eBay for accepting my low ball offer!) and was removed from a retired scanning electron microscope. It comes equipped with a matching Daia vapor trap, and a few other pieces and parts, including a vacuum valve and a broken pirani gauge. Unfortunately, the platinum wire inside the pirani gauge broke in shipping, but since I have an ion gauge controller, it would have just been replaced anyway. The inlet to the water jacket on the pump was also bent due to shipping trouble, but fortunately it did not break and was bent back into place without trouble.

Entire setup, you can see the table with the cooler sitting on top, and the gauge mounted on the side. You can also see the roughing pump, a cheapy harbor freight pump that is a surprisingly good performer.
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The diff, with cooling lines connected and various vacuum related components.
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The Ion gauge controller temporarily resting in its permanent position, side mounted on the table.
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My blog; http://www.spectrhz.wordpress.com for those who would like in depth write ups on my research and laboratory fun, including; equipment repair and teardowns, research, design and implementation of my ultra high vacuum system, to that of computer repair.
Jeremy Sims
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Re: My Vacuum System Progress

Post by Jeremy Sims »

Great idea on using the water cooler! May do that myself if I can find one. Nice work.
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Christof Riedel
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Re: My Vacuum System Progress

Post by Christof Riedel »

Great work! Keep it up.

Do you've tested the cooling system yet? I´ve got a vacuum system with a Leybodiff400, also a 4” (400l/sec. speed) water cooled diffusion pump. It works just fine with a simple heat exchanger, but the water temperature could be lower. So I´m currently looking for a better solution.
Last edited by Christof Riedel on Tue Mar 17, 2015 3:01 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Isaac
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Re: My Vacuum System Progress

Post by Isaac »

Thanks for the replies! To reply to you both about the water cooler, it mostly just worked out since I had the cooler already from a local goodwill. I decided to slap a ceramic fish tank pump on it that had the appropriate flow to pump all the water through the cooling jacket of the diff. The coolers cutoff was bypassed so it runs all the time, and after 45 minutes will be a nice cold 2 degrees centigrade. Slowly Ice will build up if an anti-freeze isn't used though. i haven't tested this cooling system while the diff was running, but the water is mighty cold and I imagine it will absorb any heat very quickly. It may be a bit too cold, but I can just lower the water flow rate, or reinstall the thermostat.

On a side note, I did have to cut the water cooler in half and bend the lines on the backside so it would sit on a tabletop. It used to stand significantly taller.
My blog; http://www.spectrhz.wordpress.com for those who would like in depth write ups on my research and laboratory fun, including; equipment repair and teardowns, research, design and implementation of my ultra high vacuum system, to that of computer repair.
Richard Hester
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Re: My Vacuum System Progress

Post by Richard Hester »

If you're using silicone pump oil, you don't want the cooling water to be too cold, at it impedes the flow of condensed oil on the walls getting back to the bottom of the pump - more crucial for DC-705, perhaps less so for 704. A radiator and fan might be a better option.
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Isaac
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Re: My Vacuum System Progress

Post by Isaac »

Richard Hester wrote:If you're using silicone pump oil, you don't want the cooling water to be too cold, at it impedes the flow of condensed oil on the walls getting back to the bottom of the pump - more crucial for DC-705, perhaps less so for 704. A radiator and fan might be a better option.
Thanks for the heads up, I will keep this in mind moving forward. If it does end up being too cold, I can reinstall the thermostat, or, if that's not enough, I can just turn off the refrigeration and just pump the water for short runs.
My blog; http://www.spectrhz.wordpress.com for those who would like in depth write ups on my research and laboratory fun, including; equipment repair and teardowns, research, design and implementation of my ultra high vacuum system, to that of computer repair.
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Isaac
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Re: My Vacuum System Progress

Post by Isaac »

Quick little video showing the pump up close and details about it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PrtjVDgLVo
My blog; http://www.spectrhz.wordpress.com for those who would like in depth write ups on my research and laboratory fun, including; equipment repair and teardowns, research, design and implementation of my ultra high vacuum system, to that of computer repair.
Jerry Biehler
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Re: My Vacuum System Progress

Post by Jerry Biehler »

Too cold of water and too high of flow are both problem with water cooled pumps. What you have there is probably not going to work well, there is not a lot of heat capacity in that chiller.

All you need is the walls to be reasonably cool. All this takes is either tap water running through it or a air/water radiator and fan.
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Isaac
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Re: My Vacuum System Progress

Post by Isaac »

Jerry Biehler wrote:Too cold of water and too high of flow are both problem with water cooled pumps. What you have there is probably not going to work well, there is not a lot of heat capacity in that chiller.

All you need is the walls to be reasonably cool. All this takes is either tap water running through it or a air/water radiator and fan.
It was mostly made since I'm on a budget and wanted to use what I had. I'm simply going to have the cooler turn on when the fluid reaches a set temp to cool it back down to room temperature levels. Most of the time the refrigeration will probably not ever be on. This cooling loop was also made with future projects in mind, it is not just for this diffusion pump, but any situation I need cooling water.
My blog; http://www.spectrhz.wordpress.com for those who would like in depth write ups on my research and laboratory fun, including; equipment repair and teardowns, research, design and implementation of my ultra high vacuum system, to that of computer repair.
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