Review on 🔧 Kozyvacu TA350 HVAC/Auto AC Rotary Vane Vacuum Pump, Ideal for Refrigerant Recharging, Wine Degassing, Milking, Medical, and Food Processing Applications by David Bott

I bought this vacuum pump for stabilizing wood turning blanks and degassing wine. The pump arrived in front of my vacuum tank, so I decided to set it up to degas the wine. The only criticism of the device are the two screw connections for connecting the vacuum line. These are 1/4" Flare and 1/2" Acme. If you're a refrigeration professional they're perfect, but if you're a woodworking professional they can be problematic. I wanted to end up with a 3/8" nipple for the hose. After a few trips to the hardware store and buying the wrong fittings I got frustrated and removed the fitting from the pump, took it to the shop and turned it around It went to the seller and told him what I wanted.After a long search the seller found many fittings that combined could achieve my goal.One thing I noticed when I removed the fitting from the pump was the thread seal.Instead of the typical semi-soft pipe putty the sealant was hard as glue. When I reinstalled the matching pump I used teflon tape. I assembled my degasser and fired it. The vacuum gauge showed a maximum vacuum of about 25 Hg for wine but not ideal for stabilizing wood the next day my vacuum tank arrived it came with all fittings and a vacuum gauge installed all i had to do was connect the vacuum line directly to the pump fitting no adapter needed to connect i turned on the vacuum tank (change pump oil afterwards) and watched it reach a maximum vacuum of about 27 Hg. Acceptable but not great. Out of curiosity, I put a few drops of oil on the pump fitting where it screws into the pump body. After a few minutes the oil was gone. Before making the next batch of wood, I removed the fitting, cleaned the threads with a pickaxe and wire brush, and reinstalled the fitting using 5-minute epoxy as a thread sealant. The next time I turned the pump on it was pulling out 29+Hg which eventually went above 29.5Hg. At my elevation of 825 feet above sea level, this is the best vacuum you can get. I'm working on the fifth batch of wood and I haven't changed the oil in the pump. An almost perfect vacuum is still created. Speaking of oil, when the pump is running, oil mist comes out of the outlet. I would avoid breathing it. Instead of wearing a filter mask, I just take the pump outside with me. The good news is that when the pump reaches maximum vacuum (and there are no significant vacuum leaks), the mist is almost completely reduced. I still run the pump outside. In cold weather I leave the vacuum tank inside and route the power cord and vacuum line under the garage door to the pump outside. The cold air helps cool the pump during operation. At temperatures above 50 degrees, the pump gets quite hot after a few hours or more of operation. Not scalding, but uncomfortably warm (which is normal). Overall I am very happy with this pump, especially at this price point.