First try at stabilizing

[Wayne at Winzer Game Calls]

Wane,
At work we sometimes have to look for conderser air inleakage (Power plant size). We have used shaving cream to locate leakage. Just put a small amount in the suspect area and see if it sucks in. I see no reason why the same thing wouldn't work in this case. Hope it helps because it does sound like you may have a small amount of inleakage.
Wayne

[Zumbrocalls]

wane, you need to fill the chamber almost to the top it will only take about 1 minute to find if you have any leaks . If you find some leaks  mark them and then dump out the water and dry the chamber . next put the lid on and pull a vacuum and take thin ca and put it where the leak is and it will suck in and fix the leak. If is a big leak you may need to use some med ca .But you need the water level within a 1/2 " of the top to be able to check all the joints.   Hope this helps. Troy

[TurnTex]

There should not be any leaks on a new chamber unless it was damaged during shipping.  Every single chamber I make is tested in my shop before it leaves.  If it does not pull at least 28.5" in my shop, it gets set aside for further analysis.  Also, the hose and hose barb fitting will not leak.  I just took a look at your order and noticed you only got the gauge from me.  I assume you built some sort of vacuum control system yourself.  If so, double check all of that for leaks.  I know the stuff I put together will not leak.  Also, what are you using to make the connection to your vacuum pump?  If you are not using a 1/4" SAE female flare to 1/4" NPT adapter, then that is a possible leak.  The other possibility is a faulty gauge.

The very first thing I would do is remove the gauge from the lid and install it directly to your vacuum pump and see what you are getting.  If it is showing the same reading as before, then tap on the gauge and see if it moves any.  I have had gauges that stick at 26" or so and with a little tap, they will jump past.  If it does not move, then that either means the gauge is bad or your pump is not pulling as deep as it should.  If that is the case, then you need to check the oil level in your pump.  The oil level is critical to get the best vacuum.

If you are getting a good, deep vacuum with the gauge directly on the pump, then that indicates a problem with the chamber.  Again, that chamber was tested in my shop and it reached at least 28.5" before it left. 

Really, the best thing would be to call me and let me talk you though some things to check while we are on the phone.  Then we can make a plan of action to get your chamber pulling a proper vacuum.  Worst case scenario, I will send you a return shipment label and have you send that one back and send you a new one.

[TurnTex]

wane, you need to fill the chamber almost to the top it will only take about 1 minute to find if you have any leaks . If you find some leaks  mark them and then dump out the water and dry the chamber . next put the lid on and pull a vacuum and take thin ca and put it where the leak is and it will suck in and fix the leak. If is a big leak you may need to use some med ca .But you need the water level within a 1/2 " of the top to be able to check all the joints.   Hope this helps. Troy

Actually, I would prefer that you not do the CA trick until we have a chance to talk further.  Again, I have never seen a new chamber leak unless it has been damaged in shipping.  If that is the case, then I will want to submit a claim with UPS insurance and doing any modification to it could jeopardize that process.

[TurnTex]

Jeremy  25 might be a good vacuum in the book , but not good enough to stabilize wood. Troy

Troy, I have to respectfully disagree with you on this my friend!  25" at sea level is certainly not going to do as good of a job as a deeper vacuum but it will still certainly stabilize the wood and will even get 100% penetration in most woods.  I stabilized a LOT of wood in the past before I started making chambers and selling Cactus Juice just using a diaphragm pump pulling 25".  Yes, the results will certainly be better at deeper vacuum but 25" will still stabilize wood.

[Wane]

Troy the gage sticks at 25.5" If I tap it it will jump to 26.5 and hang again. Then I fond that I had a line leaking on one of my barb fittings. I am not sure what vacuum I am pulling but I am sure it is plenty. I just spoke with Curtis and we both agreed that it should be fine, it almost  make cold well water simmer  that would mean it should boil I used 80 deg. water or close.I did get 27.5 on the gage once then it went back to 27.

[Zumbrocalls]

Wane , get yourself a new gauge and then your in business. Have fun stabilizing . Troy

[TurnTex]

Wane , get yourself a new gauge and then your in business. Have fun stabilizing . Troy

Personally, I would not spend any money to replace a sticking gauge.  Two of my own chambers have sticky gauges and I just tap and it keep going.  The gauge, after all, is just there for the first time use to check your performance and to have an idea of any issues in the future.  I seldom even check any of my gauges when I am stabilizing since it is what it is!  As a matter of fact, I have over 5o gauges in stock and a while back, I had another customer with a sticky gauge so I sent him a replacement.  I told him to just toss the old gauge but he sent it back anyway.  Rather than throw it away, I used it on a new chamber I made for myself!

That said, Wayne got his gauge from me with the purchase of his chamber so I plan to send him a replacement on his next upcoming order of more Juice. 

[Zumbrocalls]

Curtis, I use my gauge every time i run my chamber. That way I know if any thing goes south. Hard to tell if your having a problem with no point of reference. Troy

[TurnTex]

Curtis, I use my gauge every time i run my chamber. That way I know if any thing goes south. Hard to tell if your having a problem with no point of reference. Troy

I just go by the sound of my pump.  I can tell from across the room when it reaches maximum vacuum and if it is not getting there for some reason.  At least with my pump, there is a distinct sound change when the second stage kicks in and that only happens at deep vacuum.

[Wane]

I am not to concerned about the gage at this time I know the pump can do what it needs to do as long as I can tap the gage, I think it reads close enough to tell me if there is something wrong. And I almost did not get the gage with the chamber. I am glad I did because I did have a leak in the line not a bad one but it was leaking, so now I just have to get more wood dry enough to stabilize.

[Jon Kennedy Custom Calls]

Wane, Not having a vacuum gage is like having a wheel borrow with one handle, ya it works but not very good! I use my gauges 99% of the time when I stabilize. 
Jon

[Wane]

I like to have the gage. I will get new gage on the next order but in the mean time I will play with it with this gage, I know it hangs up at 25.5 and stop at 26.5. It goes down more but always goes back to 26.5 uless I but it direct to the pump then it seems it goes up so fast it can't stick. I am going to order more juice and some die and Curtis said he will send a new gage so I will use up the little juice I got for test run and make the order.
  Thank everyone for your help.
      Wane

[Ozark Wood]

Just wondering, will the number of blanks change the time? I can see the size of the blank changing the time, but not he number of blanks. Just musing.

Blanks? I don't/won't stable call blanks. I stable for calls after boring and turning. Saves time, assures penetration, doesn't waste solution that would just be drilled or turned off and discarded. In my experience, the amount of wood in the solution doesn't affect time. Each piece absorbs at it's own rate. The size and type of wood dictates time involved. For pen and call blanks 30 min. is usually enough but I often let it go for up to an hour. I am speaking for my solution, not others.

[Wane]

You don't have any warp or go out of round? I don't feel that on call blanks there is a lot of waist, but on a bowl blank it would be a lot of waist.