Pump Cart

Quick Description: For small things that need to be pumped, our lab has a pump cart which includes a rough and turbo pump. Common applications include cleaning out a gas line, freeze/thaw cycles, pumping down a temporary chamber, and more.

The Point: A quick set of pumps to get the job done.

Notes: You may want to check that everything is plugged in and connected. If you are experienced, this should make intuitive sense to you. Otherwise, you can check with a more experienced labmate.

1. Open the turbo/chamber valve. Open the turbo/rough valve. This allows everything to stabilize to the same pressure.
2. Begin rough pump, wait a little bit so that again pressure can stabilize. It should be able to reach at least 10^-2 torr (and for a new, good pump 10^-4 torr), and ideally you can check this with a pirani gauge.
3. Turn on the turbo and wait for it to spin up to full speed and low power. If this does not happen, you may have a leak that needs to be addressed or a problem with your pumps (for example, if your turbo is back by an oil pump, this pump may have spewed a bit of oil).