Does anybody have an idea on how to make a tiny little vacuum pump on the order
of an aquarium pump or so that will draw just a few inches of water? Preferably
110, but I can rig up a 12 volt supply if necessary.

The reason I say this is that I'm getting ready to pack a fairly large number of
bags with used but serviceable engine parts (valves, pistons, etc.) and I'd like
to put each part in a "baggie" (sandwich bag or equivalent) along with a little
preservative oil, and then suck the baggie down with a football needle stuck
into the top closing mechanism just before sealing.

Thoughts?

Jim Weir


-Ben Jackson wrote:
-You just need a surplus dental spit sucker. Perfect for removing air
-from the corner of a plastic bag.


PERFECT. Where do I find one? Are there boneyards for dental equipment?

Jim


Jim,

What you want is a Gomco. They make most all the dental/medical suction
equipment. Any of them will consist of the vacuum pump and a glass bell
jar to pull the fluid into. We used these in our portable dental clinics
in the Army.

I did a quick search on Google for "gomco suction used" and the first
hit was for a used machine for $109:
http://websites.medmatrix.com/detail.CFM?LineItemID=630.
The whole list is at:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&l...o+suction+used

There is another solution to your problem. You said it yourself,
baggies, but not the old kind. They make new ones with a plastic zipper
and they seal absolutely air and water tight, and you can get them in
any size up to 3 ft in size, what are called "game bags" for deer meat,
etc. for your larger engine parts.

With whatever size you put in your part, as much preservative oil as you
want, seal it up, shake the bag to coat the part, then vent the zipper a
bit and flatten the bag out as much as possible and zip the last bit
shut. What little oxygen is in there shouldn't harm your oil-coated
parts. If you really want to got all the O2 out, rent a tank of CO2 or
Nitrogen and crack the valve just enough to blow low-pressure gas into
the bag as you seal it to drive out any room air. Then whatever air is
left inside is inert.

Regards,


David Pincus, DDS
Major, USAR (RET)