# Cheap Vacuum pump source



## youngfg (Oct 21, 2008)

I jyst got a Surplus Center catalog today. Inside the front page was 135 VDC vacuum pump for $14.95 


http://www.surpluscenter.com/item.asp?UID=2008111217250165&catname=&qty=1&item=4-1801


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## elevatorguy (Jul 26, 2007)

Whole lot cheaper than the 12 volt Thomas I bought, wonder if 144 volt pack would cook it


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## favguy (May 2, 2008)

I would expect it'll have enough tolerance to cope with a 144v pack, or you could put a ceramic power resistor in series with it to drop the voltage a little. I wonder how much noise or vibration it makes? does it come with a mounting kit?


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## tj4fa (May 25, 2008)

elevatorguy said:


> Whole lot cheaper than the 12 volt Thomas I bought, wonder if 144 volt pack would cook it


For $15- it's worth getting just to find out.


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## elevatorguy (Jul 26, 2007)

27 with shipping, could buy one and see if I can let the smoke out.
I figured about 120 ohm resistor at 10 watts would protect it from damage.
Thinking of running 2 pumps anyway, is is the brakes after all


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## tj4fa (May 25, 2008)

That's the same place I got one of those Permanent Magnet Treadmill Generators I thought I could use as a Ram Air Tubine.


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## TheSGC (Nov 15, 2007)

Surplus Center is where I got my Curtis contactors, Advanced DC K99-4007 motor, treadmill motor for my Power Steering/AC and taper locking hub to make my motor coupling. That pump does look good, but I am running a 96 volt system and I think that's too low for the pump to function.


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## thetod (Oct 27, 2008)

Keep us posted on how this works. It looks like it may be a good option!
Thanks for sharing.


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## elevatorguy (Jul 26, 2007)

Ordered one, will post how well it performs against the 12 volt Thomas I have.


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## david85 (Nov 12, 2007)

Wow that is cheap. The voltage seems to be pretty good, but does it include a built in regulator? I guess one could be adapted fairly easily if not. Please keep us posted on how well it works, because the vacuum pull is in theory enough for power breaks.


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## ZenDaddy (Jul 22, 2008)

The ultimate HG draw seems good, but the amperage (.22 compared with the 6.8 amps that my Gast pump draws) would make me worry that it would be too slow to keep my vacuum tank ready for safe stop and go driving. If left to its own devices my pump still takes 4-5 minuted to get to 23 HG. How long would this take? When I put my foot on the brake pedal, I want the truck to stop! Variances in pressure from brake to brake are not good. When it comes to brakes, dont skimp is my motto.

Cheap is not necessarily good!


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## elevatorguy (Jul 26, 2007)

Dusting off an old post here, I finally got around to testing the 135 volt cheap pump for surplus center.  https://www.surpluscenter.com/item.asp
I found that the 12 volt Thomas I bought has much better volume and doesn't get hot when run hard. I modified the inexpensive pump so the hose barbs were not over the motor. It took a box knife and a file to rotate it 180 deg, just need to remove a indexing tab.
I ran it with the thomas and it pulled 23 inches of vacuum pretty quickly. about 30 seconds. I am running my tests with a 3 inch 24 inch reservoir. I have decided to run both pumps in my application.


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## JimDanielson (Oct 19, 2008)

How loud is the surplus pump? I bought one hopeing it would work. Some people suggested using 2 pumps or more in parallel, but that seems ghetto and louder, but cheap I guess.

Anyone know a cheap place to buy a quality pump?


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## elevatorguy (Jul 26, 2007)

The cheaper pump is not as loud as the Thomas, but it doesn't have the volume either. I also noticed if I ran it a lot the cylinder got fairly warm, not sure if this would cause premature failure or not.
I agree with Zendaddy, not a area you want to go cheap, A lead sled needs some good brakes.
I was looking for a faster recovery time after braking, since I lose about 1/3 of my vacuum when I hit the brakes


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## kittydog42 (Sep 18, 2007)

If you want a quiet pump, buy the one that Metric Mind sells. It is only around $350 but it does have an integrated switch. It is about half as loud as any other pump I have used. If quiet is worth the extra $150, you won't regret it.


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## Rhizogen (Mar 26, 2009)

I purchased one of them and made it into a vaccuum unit.
I used a inverter to make 12v into 120 ac then rectified it, ran the power through a contactor, used a small 12 volt relay to energize the contactor(so the control wires would be low voltage), then used a stainlesssteel coffee container as a balast(lots of rigging but works). 
It pumps up to a little above 23 in.hg fairly quickly, and testing at park pressing the breaks seems to work well. Seems if you pulse the breaks it looses pressure and takes few seconds or so to build back up, but a full press it keeps up and holds. I still have to add a check valve, which might help hold pressure. And i might put it in the truck, in which the added tubing length would add to the balast.
It doesnt seem to get hot, even after run at 23 in.hg for 15 sec or so.

btw the pressure rating of the booster is 20 in.hg


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## Stunt Driver (May 14, 2009)

Did anyone look at this one?
deleted

turned out to be driven by air....


Well, I am looking for one myself. I can safely stop my FIero without booster, but already feel how my muscles are growing


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## JRP3 (Mar 7, 2008)

I would guess it will be really loud and not designed for the constant cycling it will see in an EV.


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## Stunt Driver (May 14, 2009)

Looks like recent years Ford diesel trucks still have electric vacuum pumps: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/05-0...ptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

I would assume it's used for brakes.
*Brand NEW fitting* *the following years and models:* 
1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 *Ford F250 Super Duty Truck V8 7.3L Turbo Diesel* 
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 *Ford F250 Super Duty Truck V8 6.0L Turbo Diesel *
1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 *Ford F350 Super Duty Truck V8 7.3L Turbo Diesel* 
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 *Ford F350 Super Duty Truck V8 6.0L Turbo Diesel *
1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 *Ford F450 Super Duty Truck V8 7.3L Turbo Diesel* 
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 *Ford F450 Super Duty Truck V8 6.0L Turbo Diesel *
1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 *Ford F550 Super Duty Truck V8 7.3L Turbo Diesel* 
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 *Ford F550 Super Duty Truck V8 6.0L Turbo Diesel *
2000 2001 2002 2003 *Ford Excursion V8 7.3L Turbo Diesel* 
2003 2004 2005 *Ford Excursion V8 6.0L Turbo Diesel*


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## azdeltawye (Dec 30, 2008)

Stunt Driver said:


> Looks like recent years Ford diesel trucks still have electric vacuum pumps: ...


VW TDI's and 1.8 turbo models with the AT have electric vacuum pumps also. I'm looking into getting one of these.


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