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Question:
I would like to learn about using manifold vacuum in place of a vacuum pump. We recently got an antique pump truck that we were thinking about restoring, and it used this method rather than having a pump. I would appreciate any information you could give me on how this worked and what its downfalls were.
Answers:
When we first bought our business, it came with a 1976 Chevy restroom pumper that was hooked up to manifold vacuum. This was the only truck we had, and I relied upon it heavily. One day while finishing up at a racetrack, my waste tank was almost full and I had to get one more unit on. It overfilled the tank and the waste was sucked into the engine cylinders, and before I could shut off the engine, I had bent the rods. I changed over to a vacuum pump immediately and never even thought about manifold vacuum again!
However, if you want to restore an antique back to original with manifold vacuum, just tap into the intake manifold for this purpose. I would assume this is an updraft carburetor. There might not be a port in the manifold and you might have to tap one in. However, this would no longer be original. Also, remember to use one or two secondary shutoffs to protect the engine.
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My dad used old Fords, one was a 1975 with a 460 engine. He hooked up a hose either behind the carburetor or on the manifold to get the vacuum. Then he hooked the rubber hose onto 1/2-inch copper tubing running back to a shutoff, then into a five-gallon tank, before running it into the steel vacuum tank. The bigger engines seemed to work better, but would begin to use oil after two or three years. And the threat of filling up the engine was always a concern.
PRO Discussion update:
A poster follows up on a past question about what to do with toilet paper end rolls:
Consider donating end rolls to charity
I have never used standard toilet paper rolls; I use the commercial large rolls that, in a way, deter theft. They are the type that you see in convenience stores, etc. Since our company covers a large area, from Laredo to Corpus Christi to Brownsville, I cannot afford to run out of paper as people will use just about anything: T-shirts, rags, newspapers, that play havoc with the suction hose.
In the beginning, we would leave the smaller rolls in the unit, which were usually thrown in to the tank. My men are instructed to replace a roll at a given point, approximately a little more than halfway. I was stuck with having numerous small rolls left over.
Then, one day I was talking to a missionary who works with orphanages along the Mexican border and I asked if they could use the smaller rolls that were accumulating in my shop. He took everything that I had, hundreds. Every two weeks, the missionaries stopped and picked up whatever I had, plus I donated a couple of full, unopened boxes. I gave them dispensing units for their bathrooms; since I use such large quantities of paper I get my dispensers for free. Now, I no longer have to worry about accumulating small rolls. All my men take pride in helping the orphanages.
I am sure that if PROs looked around, they would find organizations that would love to have the leftover rolls: orphanages, homeless shelters, etc. Most of these organizations have limited budgets, and anything donated is appreciated.
As another option for end rolls, several years ago there was a company that had a machine that would take partial rolls and piece them together to make a standard size roll. I inquired about the product, but it was only designed for standard toilet paper rolls.
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