Shawn Pixley
12-31-2011, 8:11 PM
I have been following the thread on rust in the neanderthal section, so I had rust on my mind. Today I spent a bit of time maintaining a vacuum pump for the local gem and mineral society. They use it for investment casting. It wasn't puling as strong a vacuum as previously.
This machine looked like it was from the fifties. In the twenty to thirty years they have had it, they had never serviced it or even known that the oil should be changed. LOML brought a few photographs but we couldn't find and brand or model identification. So it took a field trip to determine which type it was and what needed to happen.
A quick look determined that it was a piston type. Removing the oil plug, we found it was very low on lubricant and what it did have was rust colored sludge. "First thing let's change the oil." What I thought was the drain plug was actually the crankshaft bearing cover. So all the oil had to drained and refilled through and 1/8" hole. We ended up cycling (running after filled to suspend the particulates) a quart of oil through the pump before the drained oil became transparent. Afterwards we ended up being able to pull 30" of Hg.
Afterwards I came home and determined which items in the shop I need to service. Between the pump, and the thread on rust in the Neanderthal section, I got a very cheap reminder. Rust is a particular problem on the ocean and I constantly worry about the iron and steel objects. Do you guys get these epiphanies?
This machine looked like it was from the fifties. In the twenty to thirty years they have had it, they had never serviced it or even known that the oil should be changed. LOML brought a few photographs but we couldn't find and brand or model identification. So it took a field trip to determine which type it was and what needed to happen.
A quick look determined that it was a piston type. Removing the oil plug, we found it was very low on lubricant and what it did have was rust colored sludge. "First thing let's change the oil." What I thought was the drain plug was actually the crankshaft bearing cover. So all the oil had to drained and refilled through and 1/8" hole. We ended up cycling (running after filled to suspend the particulates) a quart of oil through the pump before the drained oil became transparent. Afterwards we ended up being able to pull 30" of Hg.
Afterwards I came home and determined which items in the shop I need to service. Between the pump, and the thread on rust in the Neanderthal section, I got a very cheap reminder. Rust is a particular problem on the ocean and I constantly worry about the iron and steel objects. Do you guys get these epiphanies?