JOS - 3-12-2013 at 13:28
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/18-Hg-12V-DC-VACUUM-PUMP-Hobby-Lab...
Will this pump be useful at all? I'd mainly be using it for vacuum filtration and distillation... I guess I'm just doing some wishful thinking, it's
£10 and all the others seem to be in the hundreds 
[Edited on 3-12-2013 by JOS]
vulture - 3-12-2013 at 13:35
Filtration, yes.
Distillation, if you are satisfied with 400 mbar vacuum, maybe.
It looks like a very basic diaphragm pump. For that price it probably won't resist corrosive gases. The flow rate is pretty low, which means you'll
see performance loss with high volume setups (dessicator, flasks >500 mL).
If you're feeling lucky you can try putting two in series to achieve a higher vacuum.
Erbium_Iodine_Carbon - 3-12-2013 at 19:34
The other thing to consider is powering it. It looks like the motor accepts DC only, so you'll need a power supply or transformer if you want to plug
it into an outlet.
Edit: in the description it says it comes with a power supply. Lucky! I ordered a similar one a while back and it didn't.
[Edited on 4-12-2013 by Erbium_Iodine_Carbon]