Invacare question

[Wayne1]

For those of you with an Invacare vacuum pump - I noticed my pump seemed to be sucking air without a vacuum and I discovered a hole on the underside of the vacuum control. This is a photo of the underside - the circle you can hopefully see behind the black control switch (and before the "t" intersection) is the hole. If I cover it with my finger, there is full vacuum. Without covering it, there is no vacuum. The dial doesn't seem to be doing anything any longer. Before I moved, the dial was working. So, I'm wondering if something came out? Do other machines have this same hole? Thanks for any insights!

 

[gaudet]

Wayne,

Your knob should move up and down the barrel when you turn it. Basically the bigger the hole, the less vacuum can be achieved. It is a screw based knob/valve. It should cover the hole you are speaking of as you tighten the valve down to increase the vacuum.

You might just have to gently push the knob down to make it work with
the threads (gently so as to not strip or damage the threads). Try this to see if that fixes your problem.

Then try turning it clockwise and take note if the knob moves closer to the T when you turn it clockwise, it should.

If not, you can take the knob off, check to see if the threads are stripped. Maybe some glue would fix that, the plastic knobs don't like being hit and maybe it came loose when you moved during shipping

 

[Wayne1]

Thanks Mike - I see now that it does travel down the barrel when I turn it however at the starting place there is a gap between the knob and the end of the barrel and when screwed all the way in, it is not at the hole yet. Pushing on it is not moving it. It does feel like something is not right with the inner workings of the knob. I am not seeing a way to remove the knob- do you know a trick to do this?



Thanks again,
Wayne

 

[Wade E]

The knob doesnt really come off without breaking a glue joint and you really dont want to do that. Other then that there is a nut that is actually pretty hard to get at right where the barrel meets the regulator. That hole should be there to let excess vacuum out as its actually the adjustment by closing that hole minutely along with a needle valve inside the regulator. Can you achieve a vacuum of about 20" - 22"on a vessel? If so then your unit is working properly and I would advise you t leave it alone.

 

[Wayne1]

Thanks Wade - the pump is sort of all-on or all-off now depending on whether I close that hole with my finger or take it away. When I cover the hole, it will draw a vacuum of up to -60, so I guess I will just use my finger and leave well enough alone!
Wayne

 

[grapeman]

Can you take the cover decal off? It is possible the nut that holds the knob on has come off, rendering the adjuster unworkable. Take the decal off and see if the nut that holds the knob on has come loose and let the knob come off the splines on the shaft.

 

[gaudet]

You don't want to put -60 on a glass vessel. It could implode.Try like Rich suggests to remove the decal on the knob. There may be a screw or a nut underneath that is loose or needs adjusting to make the valve close more to fix your problem. Hope this is your fix.

 

[Wayne1]

Well, I took the decal off and there is nothing underneath it.I'm not seeing anyway to get into this. It was inexpensive enough that I think I will just replace it - don't want to risk imploding a carboy!
Thanks for the suggestions and help -I guess I'll hang on to this and maybe I'll come across someone locally who can take a look at it in the future


Wayne

 

[gaudet]

You can try to pull off the knob gently and see if there is an adjustment nut underneath it and see if that would fix you

 

[Wade E]

At this point I guess you can pull the knob off but youll have to use some good glue to put it back on and youll have to clamp it for some time as there is also a spring that holds the knob out usually to keep the knob from free spinning while the pump is running. The problem has to be in the needle valve though and like I said that is right under the edge of the knob so if there is enough room to get at it without removing the knob give that a try, youll need to unscrew the knob all the way to have a chance at getting at that nut and its real thin. Maybe it needs to be taken out and lubed up as maybe its getting stuck on something like a particle thats preventing it from going all the way in.

 

[Wayne1]

Thanks Wade - I may give what you are suggesting a try as I have decided to replace the unit if needed so have nothing to lose! The motor works great so I'll see what I can do - -
Wayne