In Search of an Acceptable Budget Vacuum Purge Set Up

Hello ICMag, this is my first post here. I am new to BHO making and am in search of a proper vacuum chamber and pump. I have found a model on eBay that looked like a decent deal.
http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=351443647274&alt=web

I was reading reviews on amazon and read of similar "bundles" like this one having bad/insufficient pumps.

I need my BHO to be cleaned well, just out of concern for my health (I am a regular healthy human.)

Any suggestions are welcomed. Thanks in advance.

I use a CPS VP6S, it's not too loud, it's made in america, and it's the same price or less than the Chinese pumps. It started spewing oil at the top after a little use, which is a problem for most pumps. There's filters to catch the mess if you want to do that. But it only makes a little mess on the pump itself and sometimes the ground right beneath it. I constantly move it around between my vacuum oven and my closed loop setup, and don't change the oil too often. One time I left it on running dry too long and it smoked a bunch and stunk up the garage where i do my purging, but went right back to working as it did before.

Vacuum chambers work just fine for the job, as long as you have a decent heat pad underneath it. The hardest part with a chamber, is you only have bottom heat, but as long as the temp stays consistent and you purge thin, you can get oil that is free or nearly free of residual solvent and avoid buddering. Also I suggest avoiding a chamber with riveted handles, unless they are welded, you can read review after review of leaky handles. And someone might chime in, but I dont believe acrylic lids to be safe for our application. It is not resistant to butane, and the way an acrylic lid can break or become damaged is scary. You will want a polycarbonate lid.

What is the largest batch you intend to purge at once?
Are you distilling your butane in a closed loop? Or open blasting? While mystery oil is not of huge health concern at the time, because it's presence is so minimal, you may be surprised if you visually saw the amount of mystery oil left behind after a distillation of canned butane.

Hi jswick93. I am only going to be doing batches of about 3-4 grams at a time. If you are referring to just blasting into an open tray, then yes that is what I am doing.

Where did you get your pump?

I ordered it off amazon. It was around $130.

I have a 1.5 gallon stainless steel shattervac with the appropriately sized 1.5 gallon heat pad and controller that I got from best value vacs. I've been meaning to list it online or something for a while now. It's available is all I'm saying. Pm me if that interests you at all. It does great for 3-4 gram batches. I got it initially when I had only planned on making bho for personal use.

I see Best Value Vacs IS STILL INCLUDING THE FOLLOWING VERY MISLEADING STATEMENT IN THEIR EBAY ADS:

"Vacuum Readings are Dependent on Elevation!! Please note that for every 1000ft of elevation your
max vacuum you can achieve is reduced by approximately 1inHg

(Example: 0ft elevation = 29.92inHg, Denver, CO 5000ft Elevation = 24.82)"

http://www.ebay.com/itm/3-Gallon-Va...101215?hash=item41922a039f:g:gmIAAOSwhcJWKSs5

I've repeatedly asked them via email, and face to face to correct the statement...

Truth, the max vacuum is the same regardless of elevation, it's only the dial gauge that becomes inaccurate at elevations other than sea level.

The truth is obvious with an electronic vacuum meter, there is no arguing it.

I have nothing otherwise agains BVV.....

I've stated this over and over previously, just thought it was about time to restate it.

SkyHighLer said:

I see Best Value Vacs IS STILL INCLUDING THE FOLLOWING VERY MISLEADING STATEMENT IN THEIR EBAY ADS:

"Vacuum Readings are Dependent on Elevation!! Please note that for every 1000ft of elevation your
max vacuum you can achieve is reduced by approximately 1inHg

(Example: 0ft elevation = 29.92inHg, Denver, CO 5000ft Elevation = 24.82)"

http://www.ebay.com/itm/3-Gallon-Va...101215?hash=item41922a039f:g:gmIAAOSwhcJWKSs5

I've repeatedly asked them via email, and face to face to correct the statement...

Truth, the max vacuum is the same regardless of elevation, it's only the dial gauge that becomes inaccurate at elevations other than sea level.

The truth is obvious with an electronic vacuum meter, there is no arguing it.

I have nothing otherwise agains BVV.....

I've stated this over and over previously, just thought it was about time to restate it.

Click to expand...

Elevation is the other thing that effects the gauge. Moisture/Weather and vapor pressure will also cause a reading other than 29.9" Hg.

They just need to state that it reduces the max vacuum level that the gauge will read. Not the max achievable vacuum level. I will say at the very beginning of my extracting career this threw me off momentarily myself. But I had done enough reading shortly after, and I quickly figured it out. Misinformation is never good.

Perhaps the easiest way to visualize the difference between zero gauge and zero absolute, is that atmospheric pressure is exactly that. The weight of the atmosphere above us.

Zero gauge equals 14.7 psi absolute pressure pressing on us.

Absolute zero, means 100% vacuum, or no atmospheric pressure.

The reason that it averages 14.7 pounds per square inch at sea level, is that a one square inch column of atmosphere, from sea level to outer space weighs 14.7 lbs at standard conditions. More or less with weather and non standard conditions.

The closer you get to outer space, the less air column there is above you.

When you pull a vacuum, you are removing that column, and when it is all gone, regardless of your elevation, you have full vacuum.