Pump for easel vacuum

**esearing** · 2-Sep-2019, 04:05

Originally Posted by Gary Beasley

Are you talking about an aquarium pump or something bigger? The little aquarium pumps are the peristaltic type Drew warned about. Ive seen bigger varieties that are vane pumps, excellent for this. If you want suction with no vibration a turbine pump like the vacuum cleaner is the smoothest and cheapest, though the vane pumps come close.

Pond Pump - used to force air down to 6 feet of water. like this one https://webbsonline.com/Item/61017 - air flow rate (loaded) of .71 CFM (20 liters/min) and a maximum air depth of 2.90 psi (0.20 kgf/cm2). You would have to make it run backwards. And they last forever. My air pump has been in service 24x7x365 for the past 10 years, outdoors.

**Gary Beasley** · 2-Sep-2019, 09:24

Originally Posted by esearing

Pond Pump - used to force air down to 6 feet of water. like this one https://webbsonline.com/Item/61017 - air flow rate (loaded) of .71 CFM (20 liters/min) and a maximum air depth of 2.90 psi (0.20 kgf/cm2). You would have to make it run backwards. And they last forever. My air pump has been in service 24x7x365 for the past 10 years, outdoors.

Just from looking at the case it doesn't look like a piston or a vane type pump. I doubt you could make it run backward, the direction of airflow is a function of the valve system. Probably would have to take the cover off to find the air intake. Without looking at it I couldnt say whether its useable or not. The size seems ideal for the job though.

**Michael Kadillak** · 2-Sep-2019, 13:32

Found an inexpensive but fully capable vacuum pump at Harbor Freight. Works like a champ and cheap.

**Gary Beasley** · 2-Sep-2019, 13:54

Originally Posted by Michael Kadillak

Found an inexpensive but fully capable vacuum pump at Harbor Freight. Works like a champ and cheap.

Happen to have a link so we can see what it looks like?

**Michael Kadillak** · 2-Sep-2019, 14:29

Originally Posted by Gary Beasley

Happen to have a link so we can see what it looks like?

I got mine several years ago Gary as a backup to my existing vacuum pump for about $50. It was their in house brand. Now it appears that they are selling a 2.5 CFM automotive vacuum pump for $89 on their website. If I remember correctly 2.5 cfm is about the right volume but if one finds the pump volume is pulling to hard you can always put a bleeder value in line. Standard protocol.

**Ethan** · 2-Sep-2019, 15:34

I’ve been thinking about making a vacuum easel, and I had an idea, but I’m not sure if it would work. Has anyone tried building a vacuum table with a grid of computer fans underneath, rather than holes leading to a single pump? In theory, this should be less noise due to the load being spread out among more fans/motors, and there wouldn’t be any pressure lost when printing smaller because all the holes would have their own fan. In my head, this seems like a good idea, but has anyone tried it to your knowledge?

**Michael Kadillak** · 2-Sep-2019, 17:26

Originally Posted by Ethan

I’ve been thinking about making a vacuum easel, and I had an idea, but I’m not sure if it would work. Has anyone tried building a vacuum table with a grid of computer fans underneath, rather than holes leading to a single pump? In theory, this should be less noise due to the load being spread out among more fans/motors, and there wouldn’t be any pressure lost when printing smaller because all the holes would have their own fan. In my head, this seems like a good idea, but has anyone tried it to your knowledge?

Enterprising people enterprise. Photographers make photographs. One needs to decide which is your calling. I do not see the incremental improvement in what has proven quite proficient decades ago in a vacuum easel/table. You put a negative pressure on a flat piece of material with a symmetrical pattern of small holes in it to "hold" the printing paper flat. Who cares quite honestly how the negative pressure gets there? But I am coming at this topic as a photographer.

**Tin Can** · 2-Sep-2019, 17:42

MK has a point.

However some of us do fiddle about. I like DIY. Everything.

Easy to test with little investment in time or money.

I worry more about vibration and harmonics with multiple fans.

Go for it!

Originally Posted by Ethan

I’ve been thinking about making a vacuum easel, and I had an idea, but I’m not sure if it would work. Has anyone tried building a vacuum table with a grid of computer fans underneath, rather than holes leading to a single pump? In theory, this should be less noise due to the load being spread out among more fans/motors, and there wouldn’t be any pressure lost when printing smaller because all the holes would have their own fan. In my head, this seems like a good idea, but has anyone tried it to your knowledge?

**Drew Wiley** · 3-Sep-2019, 10:48

I've made all my own vac easels, some truly precision, all the way from 8x10 to 30x40 inches. Get ahold of pictures of registration easels for the printing industry from companies like Olec Stoesser, and you can see that the holes are not only quite small, but that the hole pattern is very thoughtfully designed to both hold the perimeter of the film and paper well, as well as to draw the material flat in a thoughtful manner. I know the value of seeking out a bargain, but you don't get something for nothing. For instance, a pot metal pump from Harbor Freight or some other Cheapo Depot style outlet might suddenly blow up on a cold day because the worthless zinc alloy goes brittle, and I mean literally blow up; I've seen it happen. Lots of their stuff doesn't even last ten minutes. In any event, isolate your pump from your work area by running the hose through a hole in the wall, so if shrapnel goes flying, you or your darkroom won't get affected. I'm not joking. These junk items also pose certain fire hazards. You can get affordable vac pumps from reputable suppliers like Grainger, which has branches all over the USA. Vac cleaners can be used if isolated from the work area to prevent dust spread, and if equipped with a bleeder valve, which can be as simple as an extension wand with a pressure-release feature. Some of us have true industrial HEPA vacs equipped with variable power; but these typically start around $600. If not, they're not the real deal. A real HEPA vac is not an ordinary shop or household vac with a so-called HEPA filter put in them, but involves a completely sealed two-stage system to prevent very fine dust finding any alternate pathway out. They're nice if you want a real cleanroom environment in the darkroom, because you can clean up with them in there, and they're very quiet. Otherwise, isolate the vac in a different room and run a hose through the wall.