Clarifying via Vacuum Pump

[Cola-Bear]

Hey guys, if there is any other thread for this already I apologize but I searched the forums and couldn't find one but still, apologizing in advance.

Long story short, I recently got to book 2 of MC, and started reading more about modern techniques for achieving classic results. The section on modern clarifying techniques (Vol.2, p.350-375) especially the vacuum filtering really caught my attention as to how it could save me some time. The faucet aspirators although inexpensive may overall end up costing more due to the amount of water needed to run them as I'm charged by the litre (I live in Canada, no idea what a gallon even is) of water used. So I've been looking around and there are kit's being sold with the Buchner funnel, flask and all of the vacuum hoses and other accoutrements but they attach to a hand-held pump. Something like this: http://www.amazon.com/500ml-Vacuum-Filter-Hand-Pump/dp/B004QXWWI0/ref=pd_sbs_indust_31 )

Unfortunately it doesn't give an idea of the PSI it's able to achieve or anything and I was just wondering if anyone has had any experience clarifying/filtering using vacuum pumps or anything similar who would be willing to share their experiences. Thanks very much for your time and anything you can think of to help guys.

[dcarch]

An automobile reciprocating type of inexpensvie tire inflator pump can probably give you a good enough vacuum.

A cordless vacuum pump for sealing FoodSaver bags is another option.

dcarch

Edited August 2, 2011 by dcarch (log)

[Cola-Bear]

I have no real idea what a reciprocating tire pump is, after googling it seems to be something that pumps air forward as opposed to vacuuming, unfortunately I have no idea as to how I could reverse that pressure into suction. Another concern with that is it seems all the PSI ratings I found are like 3-5x higher than the max recommended and could actually either start pulling solids through the filter or tear them at the extreme.

And as for the foodsaver vacuum sealer you mentioned, I've ever only seen the larger like 1-2 foot long full on vacuum sealers, never just a stand alone pump, and if you could elaborate on that it would be very helpful.

Again I realize this is alot to ask, but if you have any more info I would be very appreciative, thanks very much for any time you're willing to give me, thank you.

[dcarch]

I have no real idea what a reciprocating tire pump is, after googling it seems to be something that pumps air forward as opposed to vacuuming, unfortunately I have no idea as to how I could reverse that pressure into suction. Another concern with that is it seems all the PSI ratings I found are like 3-5x higher than the max recommended and could actually either start pulling solids through the filter or tear them at the extreme.

And as for the foodsaver vacuum sealer you mentioned, I've ever only seen the larger like 1-2 foot long full on vacuum sealers, never just a stand alone pump, and if you could elaborate on that it would be very helpful.

Again I realize this is alot to ask, but if you have any more info I would be very appreciative, thanks very much for any time you're willing to give me, thank you.

A reciprocating tire inflator (not very expensive, possibly $20.00)is a piston type of pump, it compresses air. If you remove the casing of the pump, you can find there is a little air filter, behind the filter there is a 1/4" little hole, that's where it can draw a vacuum. If you glue a thick-walled tubing to this little hole, you will have a vacuum pump.

A cordless Foodsaver vacuum looks like this:

http://d.deals2buycdn.com/i/o/d2b-88810075/main-orig.jpg

dcarch

[Robert Jueneman]

Hey guys, if there is any other thread for this already I apologize but I searched the forums and couldn't find one but still, apologizing in advance.

Long story short, I recently got to book 2 of MC, and started reading more about modern techniques for achieving classic results. The section on modern clarifying techniques (Vol.2, p.350-375) especially the vacuum filtering really caught my attention as to how it could save me some time. The faucet aspirators although inexpensive may overall end up costing more due to the amount of water needed to run them as I'm charged by the litre (I live in Canada, no idea what a gallon even is) of water used. So I've been looking around and there are kit's being sold with the Buchner funnel, flask and all of the vacuum hoses and other accoutrements but they attach to a hand-held pump. Something like this: http://www.amazon.com/500ml-Vacuum-Filter-Hand-Pump/dp/B004QXWWI0/ref=pd_sbs_indust_31 )

Unfortunately it doesn't give an idea of the PSI it's able to achieve or anything and I was just wondering if anyone has had any experience clarifying/filtering using vacuum pumps or anything similar who would be willing to share their experiences. Thanks very much for your time and anything you can think of to help guys.

Been there, done that, got the T-shirt.

I started with a simple faucet aspirator, an Erlenmeyer flask with a vacuum port, and Buchner funnel. But it was using may too much water for the purpose, and my attempt to divert some of it to water the back yard reduced the pressure too much.

So I bought a cheap ($40) pump of the type used to recirculate water in the "swamp cooler" air conditioners popular here in the dry Southwest, and put it in a big plastic tub along with some reducing bushings. So the water goes round and around, instead of going down the drain. If you can't find a pump like that up in the frozen northland, you could probably use a sump pump.

It works, but not very quickly. I was trying to extract the pure essence of watermelon after getting nearly a liter of juice from my juicer, but the filter kept getting clogged, and I finally gave up. Maybe the vacuum just isn't strong enough -- I don't know. I need to try it again sometime, perhaps for something more serious.

[Cola-Bear]

Thanks for the responses guys, dcarch I'm interested to see if I can find a way to incorporate either of those ideas, but Im gonna need to try and get this set up first to see if I can proper attachments, etc.

Robert, I really appreciate your input, and it has helped me answer a couple of the questions I was worried about, like you mentioned about the lack of PSI. Also do you remember how fine the filters you were using were?

[Robert Jueneman]

Thanks for the responses guys, dcarch I'm interested to see if I can find a way to incorporate either of those ideas, but Im gonna need to try and get this set up first to see if I can proper attachments, etc.

Robert, I really appreciate your input, and it has helped me answer a couple of the questions I was worried about, like you mentioned about the lack of PSI. Also do you remember how fine the filters you were using were?

Unfortunately, that was several months ago, and I don't really recall.

I remember when I ordered the Buchner funnel that I ordered each of four different fineness filters. But when I looked around today, all I could find was the 101, the coarsest filter. I don't know what happened to the others -- probably buried somewhere on my desk.

I would start with the 101, and if that isn't fine enough, move up to something finer.

Bob