$10 vacuum chamber

So I was in menards the other day and spotted a little Pyrex dish for $6. Instantly knew what I needed it for. Found a piece of lexan for $4. It's thin but works. They wanted $60 for a piece of 1/4" and wasn't paying that. I think I have a chunk at work I'll aquire. I already have a pump and gauges since I do HVAC for a living. Just used some rubber window seal on the lexan.

Just go spend the money and buy a used vac oven....

The whole point was it didn't cost me shit. For what I need it for it will work.

Ever see the videos of the homemade vac chambers imploding..yeah..look at that lexan deform..gonna be worth losing a run if it happens mid process?

That pic of it deforming is at 300 microns. If it didn't implode then it won't. I had the pump on it for an hour.

Good Luck. Seems a bit sketchy....

Do you open blast as well?

Ran it for over 4 hrs today. No issues. I'll make a new top when I come across some thicker lexan. For nothing more than a little more confidence.

I only use 99% ISO. Not a butane fan.

Did 2 runs on an ounce of pennywise.

nice DIY always like when members are creative

selfmedicator462 said:

That pic of it deforming is at 300 microns. If it didn't implode then it won't. I had the pump on it for an hour.

Click to expand...

Usually you will start to see high cyclic fatigue cracks before it implodes, but you typically will with time.

The formula for calculating deflection is at http://skunkpharmresearch.com/diy-vacuum-purging-chamber/

I do plan on making a new top when I find a thick piece of Lexan. I just didnt want to drop $60 on a 36" x 36" chunk when I only needed 8"