# Something is not right?



## Jack "Pappy" Lewis (Aug 28, 2015)

I bought a Bacharach QV5 vacuum pump last week brand new in box, set it up with 4" chamber 15" tall, just placed a spalted pecan blank 2"X2"X6" inside then turned it on, within minutes say 5 or 6, there was what i though to be moisture coming out of the blank with bubbles on top....but when I turned off the pump and after opening the valve I got the blank out and found that it was the pump oil coming through the wood? What in the world is the matter? Antone got any ideas?


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## DavidDobbs (Aug 28, 2015)

Pappy 
Can you get us a picture of your set up?

Is it possible that when you shut the pump off it sucked the oil in the chamber? Before you let the vacuum off.
Did you know the moisture content of the blank?


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## Jack "Pappy" Lewis (Aug 28, 2015)

the moisture content was at 11% the site below is where it came from. How could it suck oil into the chamber?

https://www.instrumart.com/products/40101/bacharach-qv2-qv5-vacuum-pumps


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## JR Custom Calls (Aug 28, 2015)

Moisture should be as close to 0% as possible. I always bake mine prior to stabilizing to get them as dry as possible. The only way oil could get in the chamber is if you pull vacuum, then shut the pump off before you release the vacuum... though most pumps have a check valve built in, some don't, and check valves don't always work.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Jack "Pappy" Lewis (Aug 28, 2015)

ok, this pump had a Gas Ballast Valve. You ever deal with one before? These are the instructions given by the company. Is this the way you run yours?

Remove the intake fitting cap and connect the pump to the system being
evacuated using a hose with appropriate fittings. Keep the connection as
short as possible and ensure that all connections are sealed and not
leaking. If desired, use a vacuum gauge manifold set to monitor the
vacuum level.
Remove the exhaust fitting cap. Plug the pump into an appropriate AC
outlet. Then turn ON the pump to begin the evacuation process.
After pumping is complete:
turn OFF pump
disconnect the power plug
remove the connecting hose
reinstall intake and exhaust caps.


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## JR Custom Calls (Aug 28, 2015)

Looks to be pretty much the same pump I have, with a few small differences. For what it's worth, I don't remove the hose from mine, nor do I put the cap on either the suction or exhaust side.

What you want to do is pull vacuum until the bubbles stop.. generally a couple hours, sometimes quite a bit more. Once bubbles stop, release vacuum on the chamber, then once it's released all the way, turn the pump off. If you have an inline ball valve, you can shut off the vacuum side, but from what i've seen Curtis post, make sure to release the vacuum from that before shutting the pump off. Then, once you've released vacuum, let the blanks soak about twice as long as you pulled vacuum. I generally just let them soak for about 24 hours, since that works out for my schedule.


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## Jack "Pappy" Lewis (Aug 28, 2015)

I'll post a pick of my setup in themorning


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