Vacuum Pump Oil Vapor

[alesis8148]

I upgraded to the 2.5 pump from harbor freight but the thing puts off a lot of oil vapor. Is this normal? I am using the oil it came with, will upgrading the oil to something higher quality reduce the amount of vapor it puts out? I did see they make a filter, anyone using one? My whole workspace is cloudy like someone was smoking haha

 

[Meterman05]

Yes. I have the same pump and it smokes like a locomotive. Not sure why. Don't get me wrong it doesn't fill up a room but like a smoldering cigarette it does smoke. I have a shutoff valve on the tubing from the pump and tubing I attach to a Buchner funnel so I only have to run it for 30 seconds or so then shut it off with the valve closed because the vacuum holds.

 

[Eman]

I've never used a vacuum pump for brewing however, I've used them for my field of work.. they often put off some oil vapor when you first turn them on but it would be unusual for it to be like a smoldering cigarette. Common issue is the fill level. That said, I'm used to 6cfm or higher pumps so I may be speaking out of turn on the smaller ones.

 

[alesis8148]

I've never used a vacuum pump for brewing however, I've used them for my field of work.. they often put off some oil vapor when you first turn them on but it would be unusual for it to be like a smoldering cigarette. Common issue is the fill level. That said, I'm used to 6cfm or higher pumps so I may be speaking out of turn on the smaller ones.

I am gonna try changing the oil out.

 

[Iron Vett]

It’s because of the air that is bypassing through your bleeder valve. I finally got tired of the vapor so I tried one of my filters with the bypass valve closed to see if it would hold up under the full vacuum of the pump. It did and there was no fog. The pump reached 29 lbs vacuum, I ran about 1000ml ml through the filter and the membrane didn’t rupture.