Vacuum pump - one size fit all?

Hardware
1

a) Does anybody know about the performance (liter per minute) of the vacuum pump listed at farmbot.io ? https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004GN3A2M?ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage&redirect=true&psc=1&pldnSite=1

b) Is it mandatory to have a dry/wet pump with reservoir?

c) does anybody have found a good supplier in Europe for this or an aedaquate pump?

d) does this pump fit to all seed sizes, or is it to strong for small seeds?

e) how can you switch the pump on/off in the web app? (maybe I´m just to stupid to find it)

f) has anybody thought to use a pump with self printed parts?

g) where is the best place to mount the pump? (at the gantry or outside incl. a 12V cable from Arduino to the pump)
when outside does it mean you need higher performance as the tube is longer as air is compressible?

P.S.: I tried a 2l/min pump which is definitely to weak. But I wonder if 5l/min are strong enough. e.g. http://www.ebay.com/bhp/mini-vacuum-pump

2

In the latest design (v1.2) which we’re shipping to everyone net month, we’re using a 10-15 L/min 12v DC pump like the ones you linked. Very similar to this one: https://www.sparkfun.com/products/10398. This pump, along with the updated seed injector design which uses luer lock needles, has been sufficient and it is much less expensive, quieter, and easy to work with. It is connected directly to the RAMPS shield’s 12v power outputs and controlled via the web app’s “Peripherals” widget on the “Controls” page or via the “Write Pin” step in a sequence.

1 Like