Vacuum pum cleaning & POE!

[Xeon th MG Pony]

We often joke at how much more like a detergent POE is than an oil, well the thought just occurred to me, if the stuff is so good at removing grime & MO residue from a working system then why not use some to give the vac pump the occasional cleaning?

It seems to make sense and I can not for the life of me see why not? Any one ells see any reasons why some POE wouldn't be good for cleaning the vac pump? Mines a cute little 1.2cfm unit so not much would be even needed.

[the_new_guy]

bcoz poe is expensive

[wdrzal]

Are you having a problem with your pump????, how low will it pump????

[Xeon th MG Pony]

I have a machanicle vacuum guage and it goes right down to the 29 point or a bit below. I do not trust it 100% I am trying to get a digital micron guage to help verify it, but in the mean time when I recieved it, the unit was heavily contaminated. Thus I want to try and clean the thing non invasivly, I know for a fact when you want to clean a system use POE lol that stuff pull EVERY thing off the copper walls, so if it works there I see no reason it wouldn't in a vac pump. Some engineers in another forum say thats what they had been using as a standerd! Pricy, so I think I'll give it a shot.

Besides I have a small amount of POE no longer good enough for a refrigeration system, but will work like a charm for this.

http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=200092135770&ssPageName=STRK:MEWN:IT&ih=010 < [Mr.Burns impression] Exxxxxcccceeeellllllleeent! [/Mr.Burns impression] lol

[Exahertz]

it could attack the seals in the vacuum pump (if they are viton or teflon). plus it will leave a residue (not that there isnt already one from other junk) but. these vac pumps have extremly close tolorances and the detergant might ware on the steel rotor or cylinder making for a less then perfect clearance. could also (if left in the pump too long) cause oxidation or other chemical reactions with the steel causing the pump to make contact or other really bad things. best way to clean a vac pump is to power flush it:

>run pump till warm
>remove drain plug and drain oil
>start the pump (while empty) and pour fresh oil down into the intake side of pump letting it suck it in
>do this for .5 - 1 quart
>let it drain
>reinstall the drain plug and fill with oil

any residue that is left over isnt going anyware and will not affect performance of the pumping.

if you want, buy some cheap vac oil and do this a few times. filling the pump and letting it get hot for a while then drain and power flush and repeate.

[Xeon th MG Pony]

Ah the pump is a Robin Air 1.2cfm unit Any case I finally scored a micron gauge and I'll be able to verify that it is doing at least a half descent job or not, other techs on RE say they use a poe oil for their pumps with no prob. I was thinking of mixing the POE in with the current hydroshocked MO so it was diluted during a pump down of a small system.

The pump I have has no drain plug bty. I have an idea on how to fabricate a simple but effective draincok for it. machine bolt with washer and a rubber gasket, then drill three smaller holes around the machine screw/bolt thread. Not much cleaner for draining but at least easier and more thorough.