# Vacuum pots- SS, Aluminum, glass, polycarb, acrylic, brands?



## Aurora North (Jun 24, 2015)

Hey everyone,

I am looking to buy my first vacuum pot and was browsing through eBay. Anyway, I checked out a number of different sellers that offer chambers made of different material combinations, but am not sure which is the best to go with. I am wondering if you experienced guys can weigh in on this that might help me navigate this decision. Money is tight and I need to get this right the first time. 

So there are a pots made of aluminum with 3/4 or 1" acrylic or 1/2" polycarbonate lids

stainless steel with 1/2" polycarbonate or 3/4- 1" acrylic lids

pyrex glass with acrylic or polycarbonate

full polycarbonate construction (cube shaped and extremely expensive $1600- $3,500- obviously out of the question for me)

I was wondering what companies you guys trust in terms of quality. Do the gaskets hold up or need frequent replacing? Did you have any problems out of the gate or have they worked flawlessly since day 1? What type of usage are you putting your chamber through? Do you know the micron rating for your particular chamber?

I am fairly lost on this. I didn't find a single seller that had flawless feedback on any of their products. I read cases through most of the sellers of having defective hoses, defective pots, gaskets, lids shattering, and full on implosions. This has me worried. Granted some of this is likely user error also, but some of these chambers failed right out of the box.

I am willing to spend a little more cabbage if I can be confident in the quality of the chamber. I'm looking for something that is going to be able to handle daily usage and hopefully it lasts at least a couple of years before it needs to be replaced entirely (not counting regular maintenance).

I am planning to use my veneer vacuum press I have for laminating 4'x10' sheets. 

I know this is a lot to ask. And yes, I am using the search button and researching as I write this. Sometimes it just helps to discuss things though. I greatly appreciate the information that has been offered on this site. This place is a wealth of knowledge.


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## JR Custom Calls (Jun 25, 2015)

I'd either go with glassvac or a turntex chamber. I have a glassvac, no complaints at all. I can run several batches at once in it, multiple colors, etc.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Schroedc (Jun 25, 2015)

I've got a couple turntex chambers and I recommend the round pvc ones he's building.


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## Aurora North (Jun 25, 2015)

Is the PVC able to resist degradation from solvents? The turntex pots look nice and I like that it is designed purely for stabilization, but the 6" diameter is a bit small. I am planning to run larger blocks in order to keep up with production. The wait time between batches would really slow me down. 

I was looking at a 15gal set up. I am also accounting for the price of cactus juice to fill up a 10 to 15 gal chamber.


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## Schroedc (Jun 25, 2015)

Aurora North said:


> Is the PVC able to resist degradation from solvents? The turntex pots look nice and I like that it is designed purely for stabilization, but the 6" diameter is a bit small. I am planning to run larger blocks in order to keep up with production. The wait time between batches would really slow me down.
> 
> I was looking at a 15gal set up. I am also accounting for the price of cactus juice to fill up a 10 to 15 gal chamber.



I guess it'd depend on the solvents being used, I'm using cactus juice in mine, no breakdown and they clean up with soap and water. on one as big as you're looking I wouldn't know what to say....


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## Jerry B (Jun 25, 2015)

I too would highly recommend the GlassVacs (I own & use) , or TurnTex
As for the ones you see on Ebay , the tops/lids would in time be affected by the resins, get cloudy and need replacing
whereas the GlassVac is a 1/2" thick glass, not affected by any chemicals
running a 4CFM 2 stage pump, 4-5 days/week, every week for last 2 years, with no issues what-so-ever


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## Final Strut (Jun 25, 2015)

It sounds as though these guys all have you steered in the right direction so I have just one little note I want to add. Having had a failure with a crystal chamber I would caution you to stay away from anything glass no matter how thick it is.


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## justallan (Jun 26, 2015)

I didn't check on prices, but for a 15 gallon pot I'm thinking your going to put out some serious money. I built mine out of a chunk of about 12" plastic pipe with a 1/2" wall, a piece of 1" flat nylon for the bottom and a piece of 1/2" clear acrylic for the top. Total investment was probably less than $50.
I think to do over again I'd use a stock pot and just have to make a lid.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Aurora North (Jun 26, 2015)

Thank you for the replies gentlemen. I'm a bit torn right now. The turntex look good as far as quality goes. I want something dependable. But I also need the volume for stabilizing larger pieces and large quantity in one batch. That's why I was originally looking at the 15 gallon. I just wasn't sure of the quality for the ones I saw on eBay. Those look like repurposed cooking pots with a poly carb lid and gasket.


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## Aurora North (Jun 26, 2015)

Hey Allan,

Yeah I actually was looking at your build thread to see if that was the route to go. Really, a square chamber would be ideal for me but poly carbonate sheet is super expensive. It comes down to either investing the money in the materials to build a large square pot and having none left to actually fill it with cactus juice or buy a large round stock pot for $300ish and have money to purchase 12gallons of juice.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Schroedc (Jun 26, 2015)

Another option would be to look for a used pressure pot like for paint sprayers, and then just buy a sheet of thick polycarbonate to make your own lid. You'd then have it for pressure casting applications as well....

Reactions: Informative 1


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## ironman123 (Jun 26, 2015)

I have 2 of Turntex 4 inch diameter tanks and one of the 6 inch diameter ones and have had no issue with the cactus juice staining or making the walls cloudy.


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## Aurora North (Jun 29, 2015)

As it just so happens I do have a brand new pressure pot that a coworker gave me after he closed his cabinetry business. I had thought about leaving that set up for casting though. It didn't even occur to me that I could simply turn it into a vac chamber also.


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