Re: A question about UV and homemade plasma globes

["Tesla list" <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>]

Original poster: "David Speck" <dave-at-davidspeckmd-dot-org> 

Adam,
Not much required to do the conversion -- just cut out the parts that you 
don't need ;o)

Open the case, but do not cut any of the wiring.  There are two sets of 
aluminum foil fins -- the hot and cold side, with a fan or fans in 
between.  You don't need the fans or the fins.  You can find the thermostat 
wires and jump them, or use it as a convenient on/off switch.  Tape up the 
removed motor leads to prevent unwanted fireworks.

The compressor has two copper tubes  -- an input and an output.
Usually, the vacuum input is the larger diameter tube, and the smaller is 
the output, but it is easy enough to tell for sure after you have cut the 
tubes free and removed the evaporator and condenser assemblies.

A small caveat -- the compressor runs submerged in oil, not unlike 
transformer oil.  I don't understand precisely how it's supposed to work, 
but some of the oil gets into the compressor path, and your unit will 
"spit" oil droplets and a fine mist of oil during operation, especially if 
you are moving large amounts of gas through the system, as when you just 
start to draw a vacuum.  I'd suggest tying a piece of gauze around the 
output end to control the mist, and bending the discharge tube downward 
into a can to collect the oil drippings to avoid a slippery mess in your shop.
Also, put some sort of shutoff valve in the vacuum side of the pump, in 
case you lose or shut off power while there is a vacuum in your test 
chamber.  Otherwise, the vacuum will fill your chamber with oil from the 
compressor.
I don't know or a way to get the oil back into the compressor, so 
eventually, the unit will fail due to loss of lubrication.   (In normal 
operation, it's a closed system, so the oil is never lost or 
contaminated.)  I believe that the cavity of the motor housing is open to 
the intake side of the system, so it might be possible just to pour the oil 
(after you filter the dirt out of it) back into the inlet side of the pump, 
but I've never tried this.  Might be worth it to take apart a dead unit 
just to find out, but I've never had time to try it.

HTH,
Dave

Tesla list wrote:

>Original poster: "mercurus2000" <mercurus2000-at-cox-dot-net>
>I was getting ready to push my AC out the window cause it's so molded, how
>would I convert the parts inside to create a vacuum?
>Thanks,
>Adam