Couple recent reports of dangerous incidents involving vacuum pumps. This is a very sad and easily avoidable accident. I have full confidence in my process that there is no opportunity where I would be vacuuming a vessel with solvent in it. That being said, one should always be fool proof. Order a venturi or a piab if you don’t have a C1D1 vacuum pump. It’s really that simple, make shit idiot proof and live to extract another day. Especially if you run room temp! (half tempted to do a separate thread about the safety benefits of running subzero)
Using a traditional vacuum pump on a room temp hydrocarbon extraction is a ticking time bomb.
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Yeah who the fuck would vacuum a tank (with butane in it) at room temp…
I’m guilty of doing it when my solvent tank is chilled (with small amount of gas in bottom, right before recovery starts, so it’s whatever is below the dipstick and well below its bp). Not saying what I do is kosher, but yeah, can’t imagine even thinking about trying it room temp…
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Like I always say: trap it or fap it. Gonna end up with a blister either way
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I keep a 40 gal air compressor tank around that’s had a deep vacuum pulled on it so my pump doesn’t have to directly huff the vapors.
It’s handy in certain situations like pulling the headspace out of a solvent tank that’s got residual nitrogen.
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If only there was some kind of pump that could both suck and blow hydrocarbons. We could call it something like a recovacpump…
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Shouldn’t such a PSA point directly at said “incidents” rather that just alluding to the potential dangers?
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Usually I agree with you @cyclopath but not this time. A PSA is enough. 
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I remember pulling vac on my Büchner funnel while I stood over it pouring a 12” pot of butane/extract with b80 in it to filter the b80 out. Man was I lucky. I must have poured 100s of #s of butane through that little funnel and rotary vane pump. This is before tri clamp sintered discs existed.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bs0ong_ngOP/?utm_medium=copy_link
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Looks like you were damn close to sucking liquid through that pump…
@Dukejohnson previous warnings on the subject have been dismissed.
I (think?) hear you on the “ghoulish sensationalism” aspect…I’m just concerned that without explicitly stating (beating folks over the head with a hammer) the actual real world consequences, it will be glossed over again.
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I can tell you dude is in the hospital with third degree burns over 85% of his body. Chance of survival almost none, just an agonizing slow painful death. If the thought of being in that person’s position doesn’t churn your stomach and make you light headed I don’t know what will.
I don’t get why the piab gets so overlooked. We don’t need insane vacuums for what we are doing.
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Yea at the time I didn’t know better and the proper gear wasn’t so easily available back then. Thankfully the forum has advanced the industry so much and made everything safer. The pumps can handle vapors I mean we do pull them out when we vac the oil in the ovens but like everyone said it’s much safer to just use a Venturi pump when the possibility of liquid solvent hitting the pump is there. What’s a good link to a Venturi pump?
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question about the venturi pump. i have one from time to time i have issues with it pushing air into my system rather than pulling. what would cause this issue. it’s gotten to the point where i stopped using the past few runs i have done and i would like to troubleshoot the problem and see where i went wrong. thanks guys
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I’ve only used a piab. Never had this issue, only issue I ever have is mine leaking due to me giving it higher pressure than it’s rated for. I just smack it back together at the joint and it’s fine.
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seriously thoigh what is a good venturi pump?
or any other pump used to vac down columns or anything with residual vapors in it?
i dont have access to a conpressor but i do have access to nitrogen.
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Get a compressor and a piab would be my tip. Compressed air is such a low hanging fruit to add to a lab. Stick the thing outside ffs and put and air hose through a wall. It is slow but I literally Buckner pentane solutions in my hood in a complete safe way via a piab.
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For clarification it wasn’t vacuuming a solvent tank. I think it was pulling vacuum on a column that had a bit of butane in the bottom a bunch of times over and over.
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