How to Make a Vacuum Pump

This video will show how to make a vacuum pump, a device that can be used to suck the air out of sealed environments. This is the same pump I use to operate my vacuum cannon seen here: • How to Make a Vacuum C...
A clear vacuum chamber such as the one seen in the video can be obtained by purchasing a bell jar and vacuum plate, easily available online. I highly advise that only vessels made for handling vacuum pressure such as bell jars be used with this or any vacuum pump. If a vessel were to fail while under vacuum the implosion can be powerful enough to cause injury.
See this video for an improved piston design that can be used in this pump: • How To Make A Nerf Sty...
Vacuum Pump Parts:
16" of 2" PVC Pipe
20" of 1 1/4" PVC Pipe
2" End Cap
1/4"x1/8" Brass Hose Fitting
3' of 1/4" Vacuum Line
1 1/4" End Cap (x2)
1 1/4" Diameter O Ring
2" Coupling
2" x 1 1/2" Reducer
3" x 2" Adapter
3" x 4" Closet Flange
4" of 3" PVC Pipe
10" of 3/4" Dowel
Self Tapping Screws
Bearing Grease
1/8" Sheet Rubber And/Or 1/16" Sheet Rubber

[@G4mer_D4d]

ive seen several of these videos tonight, researching for a project and , this by far is the best done video ive seen. thanks a million.

[@eddievilla1584]

I just got done making this PVC vacuum pump. This seems to be a great design for a vacuum pump, I did make one modification to it that may save you time building it. I moved the exhaust check valve that comes out of the side of the 2” pipe, I moved that check valve to the bottom of the 1 ¼” piston cap and so then it vents out the top of the push/pull handle. This change seems to make it easier to build this pump. I hope this helps someone.

[@oldtymeliving4198]

I was worried about the placement of the vent. It would be impossible to replace if needed as the parts are glued and you can’t get to it. I’m looking to vacuum seal jars in a 2.5 gallon glass chamber is this pump capable.

[@joesitter20101]

In this design, max. vacuum achievable is determined by the pressure required to open the check valves. Small 1/3 psi check valves are available at low cost. That lets 97.7% atmosphere to be removed so, with 29.9"Hg barometric pressure, you could achieve the removal of 29.2"Hg (741.7mmHg) air pressure. Atm. press. @ sea level is 760 Torr (mmHg) so this pump, when fitted with 1/3 psi valves could pump down to slightly less than 18.4 Torr. The key part is the valve on the inlet side. Great Job!

[@tbsomerville5798]

A wonderful build that is terrifically explained… you earned my subscription.

[@Nighthawkinlight]

That's a good idea. That should work quite well also.

[@RimstarOrg]

Another one for future use. Thanks! And nice technique for making the groove for the o-ring. I've gotta remember that for making pulleys. I've been doing it without the drill but with the drill you'd get a better result, as well as being easier to do.

[@ganjalfthegreen5312]

RimstarOrg the man the myth the legend

[@Nighthawkinlight]

Going wider makes the pump exponentially harder to pull up on. A two inch diameter piston takes around 45lbs to pull up at full vacuum no matter how long the shaft is, but go to three inches and you're at 100lbs. Doable, but a lot of work. Finding a piston to fit three inch pipe is quite a bit harder as well.

[@Nighthawkinlight]

Yep that would help. You also have to account for a small amount of air still remaining in the chamber after the down stroke, which is where a longer chamber will allow more vacuum to be drawn since it will give more room to 'dilute' the little bit of air that is never forced completely out. Dilute isn't really the best word, but I think it paints the picture.

[@Nighthawkinlight]

I use a black backdrop and increase the contrast slightly in post.

[@flaplaya]

Love this channel. If (when) society collapses, the smart will survive. :)

[@Nighthawkinlight]

I believe I got it down around 28in/hg. The longer the pump body and piston stroke the deeper a vacuum it will be able to pull, but I found this size to be the most convenient to use.

[@oldtymeliving4198]

Do you think this is capable of removing enough air out of 2 1/2 gallon glass jug to seal mason jars

[@lawabidingcitizen5153]

@@oldtymeliving4198 Definitely, consider modifying a bike pump though, as that might work better

[@hskzn]

hi. diameter 50 mm strok 800 mm is i good for vacuum 0,9 bar about what do you think. can u help me ı have problem about vacuum

[@Nighthawkinlight]

Some hardware and auto parts stores have sheet rubber for making gaskets. Sometimes it's red, not black. If you can't find any you can just buy large rubber washers and cut pieces for your valves out of them.

[@Nighthawkinlight]

I'm not sure how much vacuum is required for them, but if 28 in/Hg is enough then yes. You can pull more vacuum as well with this design if you increase the pump and shaft length.

[@Nighthawkinlight]

It's two sheets of polycarbonate laminated together for the base with a schrader valve threaded in as the air release and a quarter inch hose adapter running to the pump. A big rubber gasket I cut out of a sheet to seal it. The bowl I am using is just the heaviest I could find locally, but I do not recommend using anything other than a real bell jar. If the bowl were to fail it would send glass everywhere at high speeds.

[@Nighthawkinlight]

Should be. The water would be contaminated with grease though, so you might want to use a different lubricant for that purpose.

[@old_guard2431]

Impressive engineering is involved to keep both materials and assembly simple. Well done.

[@Nighthawkinlight]

Yep, 28's about right. With a longer pump body you would be able to pull more but it starts getting a little tall.

[@Nighthawkinlight]

The valves do work better with grease, but there's no need to apply it to them specifically. If enough grease is used on the piston the valves will be covered in the excess.

[@TraceurArok]

You have an amazing narrating voice. Also, you are a clever man. 10/10

[@Nighthawkinlight]

As much time as it's been since my last video. Gotta think of it, figure out how to build it with common stuff, how to make it interesting, and then film it. I made two prototype pumps for this video before coming up with this particular design.

[@electronicsNmore]

Nice project. Use E-6000 glue. It is the best. Very strong, and flexible. I use it for all my projects. The valve design is very common. In engines they are "reed valves".

[@zoltan1953]

I'm really glad I went digging through your older videos. I'm definitely going to make one of these.

[@Nighthawkinlight]

I'm very proud of this project. My vacuum pumps all still work perfectly years later. It's a great design.

[@aidanblackwood6078]

this guy really loves his pvc.

[@Nighthawkinlight]

I thought about it but there wasn't enough time to go over them in the video. Besides...I blew one of them up accidentally when I was testing my vacuum cannon. The projectile blew through the backstop I was using and hit the pump which I had stored behind it.

[@Nighthawkinlight]

Bike pumps are cheap and common so I really don't have much reason to make one. If you could take the one way valve on the outside of the pipe and figure out how to connect a hose over the outlet it would be able to act as a bike pump from that line. This large of a diameter of pump body would make it very hard to reach high pressures though.

[@Nighthawkinlight]

I have. It's not quite sensitive enough for a good vacuum pump.

[@aerobyrdable]

If anyone is wondering, degassed marshmellows are pretty terrible to eat XD

[@Trebukeet]

Thanx. Yes, I was wondering.

[@earthchanger]

No

[@Nighthawkinlight]

Aren't scuba tanks typically run up to 3000psi or so? The most you could ever hope for from your typical air compressor, or even homemade is 500psi, and that's really pushing it. More likely is 150-200psi. You could refill the tanks at that lower pressure no problem, but I expect you wouldn't get more than a few dozen breaths out of them. Maybe there is a portable high pressure compressor out there that I don't know about that would be suitable, but It would be expensive and slow if it exists.

[@Nighthawkinlight]

True value hardware carries the caps i use in this video. The design seems to vary brand by brand so you might need to call a few smaller stores to see what kind they stock.. Worst case you could order flat caps online.

[@JonnRamaer]

Thank you. Your orderly instruction by itself is 100% merit to this video, far more for the usefulness of this device. Again, thank you and well done!

[@Kaija97]

You sir are the king of DIY projects

[@chickgen]

Great to see you're still making awesome stuff, keep it up.

[@JohnL9013]

This guy is a DIY God!

[@vaporainwaves]

Omg, its awesome, you should make more vids, like putting water in it, or leafs to dry out. Amazing project.

[@kurtownsj00]

I'm an auto technician, and most hand-help vacuum pumps you buy to use as a diagnostic tool are tiny and break often, even though the bodies are brass, the valves are pretty cheap. I plan to make one of these to use when at home, since I'm not spoiled with an HVAC machine to pull larger systems down when away from the shop!

[@randyosborn284]

Nope. This machine will not achieve the vacuum levels necessary to evacuate an HVAC system (500 microns or less). You will unknowingly leave too much atmosphere in the system.

[@notyourking381]

The principle that this works on reminds me very much of the functioning of the hearts pumping mechanism

[@Nighthawkinlight]

Because it's not a perfect vacuum, there's still some air in there and always will be. It's impossible to create a perfect vacuum, so the bulb will always burn out eventually. It just lasts longer than in open air.

[@SoccerToBePro]

You're super cool and make some pretty awesome stuff!

[@fckinnonstick9919]

Genius Project!

[@GoRepairs]

Great build, what a useful bit of kit.

[@joesitter20101]

If you can smell any odor when you sniff the insides of the pump or tubing, these are gases emitted by the materials used in the pump's construction. Try to use materials that have no smell. Clear vinyl tubing such as Tygon brand usually does not outgas.

[@Dragonsayian]

Him and kipkay are purely just inventive

[@Nighthawkinlight]

If they're big enough to cut into pieces about the same size.

[@fossil98]

Thats a really neat way of making a one way valve!

[@as3fawf]

So simple yet so beautiful - i really like it. Thx for sharing :)

[@Elijah668]

I love your videos... they are amazing because the way you make some of the hardest things, amazingly simple...

[@LeonardGreenpaw]

You are so full of win. I wish to one day be as full of win as you.

[@Nighthawkinlight]

30 Hg is the theoretical maximum. With this pump I can get to 28. With a longer pump you could do better, but it would start to get awkward to pull it up all the way if the shaft was much longer. Besides that there's no reason you couldn't increase the length of the shaft and pump body to pull a deeper vacuum.

[@MrkBO8]

Thanks for this video, another excellent DIY

[@TheGeekPub]

Awesome Idea.

[@mooncake5899]

can i just say this one thing this man right here is awesome

[@Nighthawkinlight]

There already is

[@cajcaleb14]

You got big fast, NightHawk... I was your 6th subscriber I believe... now you have thousands... darn you! Keep up the amazing work! I loved your videos from the start!

[@MongrelShark]

This is a fantasic pump. You should always use vasaleine to lube and seal air pump O rings though. The grease you used will likly destroy the o ring. I wonder how long it will last. I'd expect about 2-3 years, then the O-ring will be getting fairly had and likely have shrunk a bit. At least you will be able to get in there and fix it :)

[@AntonBabiy]

Vasiline is petroleum based so it's also going to eat o-rings.

[@MongrelShark]

Yet it doesn’t. My dad has been using Vas on pumps for 50 years. Lasts longer than anything else...Plus its got the right amount of lube vs seal.

[@AntonBabiy]

Mongrel Shark OK, my bad 😉

[@andrewjacoby4475]

@@MongrelShark O-rings for faucets and such are lubed with food safe silicone grease aka plumbers grease not a petroleum based grease Vaseline may work but silicone grease is the thing.

[@nickjbland2000]

Another genius idea and I'm only 14 and have made most of his ideas and use them frequently

[@vicpetrishak7705]

Lubricate the piston seal with silicone paste . Garbage Freight has hole cutters to cut rubber very efficiently with a drill motor , use dish soap to lubricate the bit .

[@Nighthawkinlight]

Yeah, pretty much.

[@Oinikis]

i wish there was such PVC parts here. we got really poor selectability. brilliant video anyway both pump and filming.

[@danielstrobel3832]

Realy cool! I was thinking of a realy simple design for a valve and there it is!

[@ColeHomestead]

Great job, keep 'em coming

[@normellow]

This man’s a genius !

[@SynS7ven]

Nice... and I think I have all that already. I think I would shield the jar too, maybe an acrylic box or something. At the very least to minimize the damage. I'll wear my shields, of course. ;) thanx for the response.

[@Ganjau]

This man has a very nice voice.

[@vladkalina69]

Excellent job at explaining and video supporting the explaination. Good Job!

[@TechVentions]

Simple but awesome !

[@DJspinmaster88]

WOW! Well good job I really liked this build.

[@Nighthawkinlight]

The one way valves that control air flow are backwards from a normal air pump.

[@TreethanRexus]

This is brilliant.

[@trevorheinemann4204]

I made mine w/ a pvc elbow at the bottom because i'm low on materials. thanks for the great vid

[@faridmak6738]

Realy good. thank you for hint to my project

[@vericuel1915]

Thank you a lot! I used this + calcium chloride for my freeze drying science fair project.

[@charleskaminski221]

Thanks for the reply!

[@nfVidz]

This is brilliant!

[@zippy3711]

Nice design

[@davetherocketguy]

I would recommend giving any areas that are to be bonded to the PVC via CA (super glue) to be given a light sanding with a 180 or so thus giving more surface area for the glue to bond to. Anyways, interesting video! Thanks for sharing.

[@n.barnett7499]

Could this bring the pressure down to boil water at room temp?

[@johnanders8861]

N. Barnett yes

[@mykiill]

If you place the external valve on the inside of your piston cap it will save you some fabrication steps. And the air can exit through the handle

[@SidsArt]

You are awesome!!! Thanks Alot man.!!

[@Fred160008]

If I may, they'll also burn out in vaccum because of the big decrease in the melting point of the tungstein inside the bulb because of the low pressure, being that temperature low enough to accually be lower than the heat produced by the fillament itself while on. This is why they use inert gases to pressurize the inside of the bulb.

[@fireshotvids9188]

Thanks for the awesome video!!!!!

[@tomino3093]

This is awesome!

[@tattoosteveneo]

Maybe you could scale this down to a small handheld type pump? I know you wouldn’t get as much vacuum but it would be useful for other smaller things. Great video though. 😊

[@Nighthawkinlight]

You could, but the bigger the pump volume the better the vacuum

[@tattoosteveneo]

@@Nighthawkinlight yeah I get that. What I was thinking is something like a mityvac bleeder system. They are ever increasing in price so any money saved is great, hence why I was asking 👍

[@build_itnow]

Hi I’m looking to make a Vacuum Cannon without a birst disk should I try or should I just use a birst disk@@Nighthawkinlight

[@gdxd7956]

Pretty nice and easy, especially the valves. I'll ceartinly be doing one.

[@Nighthawkinlight]

I disagree. I find pulling much easier. It's like a rowing machine. It would also be quite a bit harder to design a pump that would draw vacuum while pushing because you would need an air tight seal around a moving shaft, which is a lot harder to make.

[@Kirby444]

Brilliant. Well-explained, visually perfectly organized, clear... Nice. Rare. Thank you.

[@Nighthawkinlight]

Thanks! I hope you can put the information to good use.

[@Kirby444]

NightHawkInLight Okay, well, I have now attempted to build it. I followed your specifications carefully (I used lithium grease as my lubricant, and it seems to be working pretty well) but am having trouble with the valves. I ended up creating a kind of spring-loaded ball valve inside of the brass fitting at the tip of the PVC tube to block air from flowing back into my vacuum chamber, but the rubber flap on the side of the tube isn't holding much of a seal unless I hold it closed with a finger or two. Have just gotten some thinner rubber to try out. Looks like you had success with these rubber flaps in the past-- any pointers/ warnings?

[@mackd7141]

I love science , well done

[@zueistpriest]

To increase the seal of the rubber one way valves you could also use low pressure spring to force them closed.

[@2awsomedogs]

I think you are the most AWSOME person EVER!!!!!! I love all the stuff you do you are REALY Inspiring. I find is so great, useful and fantastic that you put the as videos up. I also have a question would you be able to tell me about how much it will cost to get all the parts for this?

[@leonelferia4341]

Can you make a video on how you made that sealed environment?

[@Delta7Smith]

I need to build several of these. I need one for irrigation on the farm which in theory should only need one modification

[@elizabethreyes2186]

Wow! So amazing

[@LeonardGreenpaw]

well design a better one please :) Also could you please put water under the vacuum please? I want to see if the vacuum is powerful enough to boil and then freeze the water

[@basyoni95]

Dude you are amazing i love all your videos :))

[@johnybravo2317]

much better pvc pump that grant thompson made. :)

[@ehelix]

I made one once from a old ac compressor. I never measured the strength, but I was able to boil water at around 55C.

[@jimmysheds8914]

This is brilliant. Please let me know what pressure you can achieve (deepest vacuum).

[@cgdl60]

Excellent project. Which has been the maximum vacuum pressure you have reached?

[@gaferton]

Hey, what kind of negative psi are you looking at from this pump? I like the design but need to make sure it will go high enough for my needs.

[@elgracioso3218]

Great video. One suggestion: screen with complete list of parts spelled out. One question: how to create pressure (vacuum) release after vacuum has been drawn from container. The sound of air re-entering the container is audible, but the mechanism to achieve it without explosive results isn't obvious.

[@robert5]

Use small ball valves and open them slowly for slow inrush of air. Search for "vacuum chamber" and look how the valves are placed.

[@illusionistpro]

Hmm could prob go wider if more vacuum is needed. 28 is pretty good though. great tutorial!