Vacuum Chamber

[terrymiller]

I would like to make a bigger vacuum chamber than the quart jar I have now. I was thinking about a five gallon bucket. Does anyone know if this will withstand the pressure. I tried a metal 1 gallon paint pan with no sucess. I cant finde any gallon glass jars readily available without eating alot of pickles. Any comments welcome.

 

[woodbutcher]

How much money do you want to spend?

 

[terrymiller]

How much do I need to spend to get a decent setup going.

 

[dubdrvrkev]

What kind of vacuum source are you using now? I'm not going to do the preaching safety thing, just careful what to recommend. One thing that will work (safely) is a vacuum desiccator. They aren't real cheap but they are on ebay farily commonly. You could just put a container inside with fluid and blanks rather than filling the bottom with fluids.
Here is an example; http://www.2spi.com/catalog/supp/desi3.shtml
Hope that helps.

 

[rtparso]

Wow Kevin that is a good price.
As to what can be used; 5 gal buckets don't work they just collapse. You can use just about anything that holds air. As far as safety the maximum pressure differential between the inside and outside is ~14 psi so there isn't much pressure. If you are using glass you can use tape to secure the pieces if it breaks. Use a couple layers of clear vinyl tape if you want to see inside.

 

[Ron in Drums PA]

Kevin, they look good, thanks for the link.

Also, a pressure cooker will work as a vaccum chamber

 

[dubdrvrkev]

If you want to do it on the cheap. I have seen where people use PVC pipe to make tanks for vacuum veneering, so I suppose you could use a threaded cap on one end and plumb a fitting into that. I would be a little concerned about using any fluids that were high solvent that may damage the glue joints on the PVC though. Buts it another avenue to explore.