Freeze Dryer Vacuum Error Troubleshooting SOLVED! #freezedryingsupplies

I've had my medium freeze dryer little over a year and got the vacuum error after sitting idle for a month while on vacation. I have some knowledge of vacuum systems through my work on an industrial level. Long story short I replaced the vent valve with a brass on from Home depot. Switched out the pump oil run pump on test mode for about 15 min. Noticed the oil still cloudy changed out the oil again and ran the pump again for another 15 min. I repeated this till the oil was clear as water. Now I'm back in business....
I used the filter pitcher that came with the premier pump to cycle the same oil.
The oil not only lubricates the pump but also draws air out of the chamber as well.

My machine was MFG im July 2022... had the vacuum error. Goimg through your checklist I found my ball joint rusted😮 AND enough plumbers tape for a dozen machines. There was so much that it was actually down into the ball joint mechanism.
I ran less than 50 cycles. Very disappointed in the poor quality of that part.

I would have liked to see how long it took yours to bottom out and at what pressure.

Thank you so much! Went thru your video and about halfway thru figured out what was wrong w my machine.

You rock! With our ball valve closed, we sucked up water right into the machine. Problem identified is half the problem worth these things!

When you spray the carb cleaner to test various points do you have the vacuum pump running ?

I really hope this helps, I’m about to lite this thing on fire. I did the vacuum test HR recommend and still had inadequate vacuum. I’m so bummed, I didn’t know I needed to be a mechanic to own this machine. I’ve only had ~10 successful loads. Thank you for putting out this video

Our oil free pump has been a thorn on our side! Very unhappy with it. 😢 we just bought a new premiere pump to hopefully get back to freeze drying more food. We got ripped off with getting the 1600.00 oil-free nightmare.

This video should have a lot more views. It’s as thorough as a video can be.

Thank you! I just fixed mine. The ball valve was worn out.

Just set up my brand new med freeze dryer and had the vacuum error right out of the gate. Called HR about the lack of O-ring on one side of the vacuum line and they said only one is needed on the freeze dryer side. I found that to be very odd. What do you think? I saw you touched on that point briefly, but never really said whether it needed two O-rings or not.

From discussions with customer service, the standard vacuum should be ~380-500 mtorrs.

Is this correct? Or should we always be experiencing ~100-200 mtorrs?

What is really odd, nobody is stating or documenting the standard or nominal vacuum mtorr readings.

Great Video! Thanks for all your hard work!

For the record, 760 Torr is standard atmospheric pressure. 500 milliTorr (mTorr) is .5 Torr. This is based on too many years working in a metrology lab.

Thank you. When you have to spray with windex or carb cleaner is there a reason why you couldnt just use water instead?

Thank you. You helped us fix the problem.

You missed an issue with the door gasket. I was washing my regularly. It would still have water and when the chamber froze, it froze the water in the gasket. It changed the configuration as the water expanded. I still wash it regularly, but I make sure it and the chamber wall is bone dry. I went from 1200 to 300 mt.

What would happen if someone ran the vacuum pump with the door open or an other serious leak like a hose open? Would the pump overheat eventually or would it over rev or can the pump handle an open air leak if it has good oil levels?

Used this video to diagnose slow vacuum leak. I, like many others before me, found it to be the drain valve had failed. Purchased a $10 gas valve at Home Depot and everything working perfectly now. My medium freeze dryer is 16 months old and I join the crowd saying that using the cheap valve that Harvest Right uses is useless if it failed that soon.

What if you are slowly losing vacuum after your cycle is done with vac freeze?? I wake up to my food being -20 and 1050 mtorr

Thank you for this video…simple and clear, it has helped me maintain my pump.🎉

We were having vacuum errors, couldn't finish loads it got so bad. Super mechanical hubby went through everything, replaced 0-rings and all sorts of things and then we upgraded our old software and it's working like brand new! We were about to buy a new pump, but tried this first so glad we did!

Is the supposed to hold the Vacuum, after the test is turned off?

When you say "while under vacuum" when checking for leaks, is that while the pump is running? Or turn the pump off once it bottoms out and check before opening the drain valve?

When you turn your vacuum off is the chamber supposed to stay at the mtorr it was at while on or will it start to rise???

We had a vacuum problem and watched your video. I found a brocken crimp on the drain hose. I made the repair with two hose clamps. Thankyou for the video!

👍👍👍👍👍

Although not touched on in the video, oil the 0-rings, the sealing surfaces inside the female fittings and on the outside of the male fittings AND on the threads. The oil helps the O-Rings seal and helps seat the threads better.
Also, make sure that your hose is centered in the nuts (fittings) as you tighten them down. That little issue messed with me for a week, before I got it figured out.

You should get paid from Harvest Right! They do not help when I have called for help starting up for the first time. I had an over heat code, lots of ice buildup. They send me to the tech support in the Philippines. Trust me, these people do not own a freeze dryer

I wish you did a group video chat of some kind. I would pay for that.

En thinking the problem was the oil filter because it’s so cheap and strips the threads if you look at it wrong. Have you ever had that be a problem and can you get the fittings to not have to deal with Harvest right?

With all the new issues popping up, I'd love a version two of this video! Cover not finishing the freeze dry all the way, etc

Running into issues with low vacuum pressure. Tried 3 times getting it to start left it running over night to see what would happen. Made sure oil level was right, made sure drain valve was closed.

Didn’t even know there was a power switch for the pump!

Thanks for making a video. Wish they would have mentioned the power switch on the pump in the instructions 😂

Thank you Bryan! Very helpful.

When mine was brand new, I had a vac problem. As I looked at the hose, one end had a missing O ring. I called and they sent a new hose, all good then.

Hope you can answer....mine wont pull a vacuum below 508mT...therefore the heaters wont turn on as it needs to get below 500mT...how do I change when the heater kicks in...say at 550mt instead of 500? Thanks

Just got ours and our pump won’t even turn on ?!!!

I've been also getting can't process vacuum message. I also been getting condensation on the window and rubber, when its on freezing mode. I also noticed the temp keeps going up then down 1 or 2 degrees, then go back up. Are these issues normal?

"Just hang in there. We're gonna do this together!" haha. Love it! Thanks for making great videos.

Thank you! I've done a few of those things, but I'm saving this video for the next time!

I have a leak in my vacuum chamber. I have replaced the valve with a brass one. Tested it and it shows no leak. I also coated all connections with liquid tape. Replaced the door seal. Replaced the pump and pump hose. Added rubber seal sealant to that hose. The vacuum will go down to 360 in 30 min IF the tray holder is removed. I can put it back in and not even plug it in and the vacuum will not fall below 860. The tray holder is a full inch away from the rubber seal on the door. I have adjusted the door, removed the door and turned it over to no effect. Can't figure it out.

What happens when you unplug it from the inside and that orange piece comes out of the plug how do you get it back in right help help

Help

I am so thankful for finding this video of yours!! The best one I've seen! (LOVE your freeze drying room, too!) I have had this issue for 2 days now; thankfully I was only drying liver for the dogs, but still... I will follow all of your instructions today and try to get to the bottom of this issue! Thanks again for the informative, well-made video!
Wish you were closer to me in Alabama, lol; I'd be calling you in hopes of hiring you to look at my freeze-drier. At age 74 (almost) my 'mechanical abilities' are slowing a bit, haha!😂

I am so happy we found this video! Putting the drain hose in a glass of water showed us exactly where our leak was. We will replace the drain valve and hopefully be back off to the races.

I have a chinese made freezer dryer
There is oil flashing out at the exhaust port of the vacum pump reducing the level
Thus it is worrying

FINALLY FIXED! I took off all the sides, turned on the vacuum, and started spraying MAF cleaner on all the places. Vacuum showed 1200mTorr when I sprayed the vacuum sensors wires it shot up to 1324mTorr. Removed the old foam tape thing. Then I Got some black auto silicon and smeared it about 1/4inch thick between the 4 wires and all around the top and down to the threads. Immediately as I applied the silicon it went down to 200mtorr and it is now fixed 😊 Thank you for the video!

Important note: if you get deep in this and have to use silicone to seal the vacuum sensor, make sure you purchase neutral cure. The acetoxy cure (most common) silicone produces acetic acid and that’ll corrode brass fittings. It’ll turn the cured epoxy a little blue and compromises the seal. Get neutral cure and it’ll work better.

Thanks for the video and info. A couple questions…(1) when spraying fitting with window cleaner, how much of an increase in mTorr is considered a “jump” equating to a leak? (2) when running a normal cycle with pre frozen food on trays, how long before mTorr should drop below 500? I performed vacuum test and it dropped below 500 in about 6 minutes. Now I’m running a cycle with tray of prefrozen veggies for almost 8 hours and holding steady at about 780 mTorr for last couple hours. Is this “normal” and should I expect it to start dropping further over night? Thank you.

Nice video, very helpful. Aux relay is used when another relay dies, you can reprogram the unit to use the spare relay and abandon the broken part.