Vacuum Chamber and Pump

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Matthew Nikolaenko
Posts: 9
Joined: Wed Mar 09, 2022 3:26 am
Real name: Matthew Nikolaenko

Vacuum Chamber and Pump

Post by Matthew Nikolaenko »

I'm thinking of finally getting the vacuum chamber soon but I don't know where I can buy a vacuum pump (or any other components). Here are the 2 things I'm considering to start my chamber:
https://shop.wagnercompanies.com/hemisphere-b4174
https://www.idealvac.com/Bored-Conflat- ... pp/P104647
The flanges look a bit expensive so I might have to look somewhere else for them assuming it isn't a normal price. I could ask my school for funding but one of my science teachers said something about putting their money into 'cupcake day' and 'pizza day' so I don't think they're going to have enough money to fund my project. The university may not want to fund me either because they will be liable for any damage or loss in the product and I don't have any friends or family that go there. My only option is 2nd hand equipment for the more expensive things so if there are any sites that you know that might have 2nd hand parts for me send them to me.
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Liam David
Posts: 509
Joined: Sat Jan 25, 2014 5:30 pm
Real name: Liam David
Location: Arizona

Re: Vacuum Chamber and Pump

Post by Liam David »

I think that the best way forward for you is to use a 2.75 conflat, 4.5 conflat, or KF 50, 4- or 6-way cross as a chamber. The 6" sphere chamber is relatively expensive, unnecessary, and more of a romanticized, "classic" design than one with actual merit.

Ebay, BMI Surplus, and LDS vacuum are generally the best sources for fusor-related hardware. University auctions can sometimes be fruitful.

Although it's certainly worth a shot, I doubt you'll receive any funding or other assistance from your school/university. The liability concerns far outweigh the benefits in their minds.
Matthew Nikolaenko
Posts: 9
Joined: Wed Mar 09, 2022 3:26 am
Real name: Matthew Nikolaenko

Re: Vacuum Chamber and Pump

Post by Matthew Nikolaenko »

For the vacuum chamber, something like:
https://www.ldsvacuumshopper.com/6crfl.html
looks good (even though I might do a bit more searching to see if I can find anything cheaper). I might go with a 4.5" or 3.38" one. With the flanges, I might go for something such as:
https://www.ldsvacuumshopper.com/412odblank.html
This seems like a good size since it will go with the vacuum chamber I want quite well if I understand the dimensions well enough.

As for the vacuum chamber, I heard that:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/372861417573?h ... R6KNuu3ZYA
was pretty good for science-related topics and it looks like I could return it if I wanted to. It says that it's supposed to go below 20 microns on the Amazon site as well. I'll definitely go look in some retail stores in my city as well so I can make sure they work.
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