Thread: Can't keep suction! vacuum filtration help please

Sounds like you need a new vacuum pump.

I had good luck with Brake Bleeder & Brake Bleeder Vacuum Pump Kit

used it until I bought an electric pump.

Get a new pump brah. They have a little lever under where you connect the vaccum hose to that relieves the pressure make sure that's not pressed down.

thanks guys

ok so it's not the pump

I got a new pump and same thing. I just thought to pull the hose of the old and new pump and put my thumb over them...both make great suction. So I've been pulling everything apart and making sure it all keeps suction on piece at a time. The leak is coming from inside the stericup, between the nipple and whatever goes on in there. Ideas? two bad stericups in a row? If I tighten everything up I can get suction for a second...but not hold it. I'm using EO, does that eat up stericup insides or something?

What type of filter are you using? EO doesn't mess up filters.

Check for a rip in the filter medium.
Is there a leak between the filter and collection bottle?

PVDF .22 um...i know I should have gotten .45 um

leak wasn't between the bottle and base b/c I could open in up and cover the hole and still not get suction...who knows

I finally got suction with a new stericup and after heating up the medium. It was high conc EQ (and cold) so it was really thick...I think maybe something in the filter was breaking before pulling something that thick thru a .22 um.

On a side note I just had the opposite issue...put hot EO/tren/ba/bb mix (was trying to keep it thin b/c of this previous incident) in and it went thru like water almost...maybe too hot? Can heat kill a filter?

Why do I have to make every freaking mistake possible before getting shit right? I've done tons of homebrew, just my first time with vacuum....

Hot? What temp?
You want warm...around 160F/71C.
Been my experience it works pretty well even with .22um.
Just make sure the filter medium didn't melt or tear to allow everything to pour through like that.
You should have a temp rating on your filter/steri cup.

If its too hot you will burn through the filter and its useless.

You have a leak either in the receiving flask or the neck where the vacuum line hooks up.

oh def killed the tren filter...warm oil just went through it in a smooth steady flow...at least I got extras jeez, I'll filter it again I guess

and the first batch that I thought went fine just crashed in the vials....this is getting comical

Any reason you went with EO instead of GSO or CSO?
You have 2% BA and 18% BB, correct?
Any Guaiacol?

I use EO in everything along side of GSO.

What crashed in the vials?

I'm using 50% EO and 50% carrier oil (safflower). My first time using EO.

BA is usually a little higher, 3-4% (I tolerate 5% just fine), I react really bad everytime I've used BB that high...I try to keep it around 10-12%.

The first few times I used BB in higher conc was with more aggressive (mg/ml) short ester stuff, this is back in the day when bb wasn't so popular. So maybe it was just high conc stuff crashing inside me that hurt...but it happened a few times, so I shy away from high BB.

It's funny, I only do this every few years, and theres always a hassle. I always promise myself I'll just do normal stuff, at normal concentrations, nothing fancy. And I forget what a pain in the ass it is when everything goes wrong. It was 400mg/ml test e crashing in the vials. lol. I'll learn one day.

Add Guaiacol...?
Ask colochine what he thinks...

What are you making??? Test E @ 400mg needs atleast 75% EO. I'd do 100% EO though.

Shit you can dilute it down with GSO to 300 or 250 and it won't crash.

Man I would keep things VERY old school and simple. These new solvents/carriers etc....i dont know ....just complicates shit. A good old 2%ba 18% bb works so damn sweet. MCT oil as a nice thin carrier oil if you so desire. Simple, easy,effective ... Oh oil temp around 140f = win.
To each his own but I never encounter this crap. Take your time and keep it simple. Best advice I can give. So easy to get amped up when you are so close to done , the extra 10-15 minutes taking your time making sure all is gtg is totally worth it.

Yea safflower is shit. Never used MCT but I've heard good things.

MCT is coconut/palm kernel oil apparently.
May give it a try with standard 200-250mg/ml dosages.
Got enough raws to experiment a bit.

I dunno, I cook with coconut oil, it's solid at room temp...

Yeah I really should keep it simple, the test e was the only thing I was experimenting with really. Added a little ba and bb and reheated and it's fine. With loses and dilution it's probably around 300-350 mg/ml.

But, in the end, everything ended up ok! Thanks for your help guys.

MCT is 60/40 split...

If your having problems go back to the basics. You should be able to make 300mg test/eq at 2/20 with GSO. Never seen a problem with that. I agree that once you steer away from that things get fucked up fast but the key is to do smaller batches and get your recipe dialed in. Write it all down so you can see what you did and how it affected it. I like a little bit of EO in everything as well. I don't do much though.

Also, make sure the top is tight on the receiver. That has happened before where there was no suction. Also make sure the nipple going into the filter is in all the way. Turn it and push it in to make sure. Are you using the plastic bottles or glass?

The past couple of steric ups used have all been loose from the factory. Had to tighten all of them (where filter meets receiver). Only had one time the nipple didn't seal good. Put some putty around the nipple to seal it.

5% eo is the minimum in all my brews.

I was using the full stericups, plastic bottoms. The two that I had problems with, and eventually threw away, I tightened, made sure were sealed, added oil to all the connections to make sure they were airtight....nothing.

I did better with all the other just opening them up, very gently tightening the top to bottom seal...and nothing else. Maybe with all the hard tightening on the first two I warped the plastic a bit and thats why I could never get them to work?

I'm definitely thinking of going to a glass media bottle bottom next time. How much suction can they handle?

Also I realize lots of ya'll use like lab warmers/stirrers to heat and can very closely control the temps, but I still use just a deep pan filled with water on the the stove top on low...should I use a thermometer and if so what kind and where? put one in the oil?

Originally Posted by newguy35

I was using the full stericups, plastic bottoms. The two that I had problems with, and eventually threw away, I tightened, made sure were sealed, added oil to all the connections to make sure they were airtight....nothing.

I did better with all the other just opening them up, very gently tightening the top to bottom seal...and nothing else. Maybe with all the hard tightening on the first two I warped the plastic a bit and thats why I could never get them to work?

I'm definitely thinking of going to a glass media bottle bottom next time. How much suction can they handle?

Also I realize lots of ya'll use like lab warmers/stirrers to heat and can very closely control the temps, but I still use just a deep pan filled with water on the the stove top on low...should I use a thermometer and if so what kind and where? put one in the oil?

You can use a meat thermometer or something like these: Search results for: 'thermometer' | Med Lab Supply

I use the Hybex glass media bottles: Hybex Glass Media Bottles | Media Bottles | Lab Glassware | Med Lab Supply

I am thinking of switching to all glass filtration since I am about to start having access one or two days a month to a clean room with an autoclave (not set in stone yet).

If you open the stericups contaminants can get in to the collection chamber so don't leave them open long.

Thanks paranoid!

I'm jealous of the clean room...all glass should let you run more vacuum, will it be like a lab with vacuum hookups from the wall? that'd be nice

Naw, this is what we have to use:



Great vacuum though...maybe too much:

I am wondering what kind of filters do UGL use? They can't be using plastic stericups lol, or even the small glass ones. Whats one step above that but available to your average guy without a pharm company?