Hi Phil - Thanks for your tenacity - I followed up with HarvestRight about this and was told that it had been brought up to the owner and then was told that they probably wouldn't offer a kit because rebuild guys like you and me are about 1% of their business. I then asked if he would check with the owner to see if they would pass us a link to their supplier so that the 1% could get a kit - He said that he would ask the owner and get back to me - will keep you posted my friend.
@@Philat4800feet- Phil, if you were willing to do a “side hustle” job (and rebuild these for HR owners like me), then perhaps Harvest Right would sell you the rebuild kits (as an authorized rebuilder). Just a thought. But I’m sure you have better things to do! 😁
Rebuild parts are only a small percentage of their business because they don't offer any... I would be happy with a complete replacement pump head assembly, like you can get for the JB pump. The premier pump is limited on parts and they have to be, currently sourced from multiple vendors, when they could be sourced from the manufacturer directly as a kit, if HR requested it. Pumps fail, fact, they do not last indefinitely. They will need to be rebuilt. And frankly, I won't pay nearly $800 again for a pump or any other tool that I cannot get parts for. Even in commercial business to business we don't buy products that do not offer vendor support. Support is more than just selling us the product, but also being able to source parts when repairs are needed.
Phil Just in process of getting a refurbished harvest right premier pump under warranty. Did not now they sell refurbished premier pump for $395.00 all most as cheap as rebuild kit with a 90 day warranty. They do not advertise this at all. Or even mention this any where. The only way I found this out because I wanted to now if it came with a warranty. So I googled it. So either they are rebuilding them or have a company doing it for them. Just thought nice information to share. Bill
I have purchased a NAVAC NP7DP Vacuum pump to test the replaceability of the premier pump. For starters you have to purchase a 1/2" female JIC to 3/4" male JIC adapter to use this pump right away. I was successful and achieving less than 500 mTorr after running about 2 hours in test mode. A couple things to note: 1. This pump is noticeably louder than the Premier pump. 2. This pump oil temperature (measured with infared heat gun at the sight glass) runs about 50 degree F hotter than the premier pump. 3. When the ballast is open (which needs to be or the oil will instantly becoming cloudy) You will notice more mist in the air vs the premier pump. My next step is to get an adapter and a larger demister filter (the one you stated in a previous video using the navac 12cfm pump) to swap out the tiny demister with the 7 cfm with the larger one to see if it reduces the mist and noise. So far this pump appears to work as a more than half of the price replacement if you are willing to accept the negatives I've listed above.
@waynespringer501 I have the NAVAC NP7DP too, and made the same observations you did. The demister threads on the NP12DM / HR Premier Pump are a different size compared to the NP7DP, so it will not be a simple case of swapping it out. @Philat4800feet Would you know what thread the HR Premier Pump demister has? I am also looking to replace the stock demister with a better one with an adaptor and KF fitting. Where I am, everything is metric and I'm not sure what thread it is even though I've taken the measurements. The fill port diameter on the premier pump is 1-1/8", measured with digital calipers, and around 18 threads per inch by my estimation.
@@jamesfu These are the items I used to replace the demister on the NP7DP I have to post the amazon item description as youtube deleted my previous comment with the links. KF25 Interface Oil Mist Filter for Vacuum Pump Fume Separator- Exhaust Filter 95% Filter Effect (US Stock) 2 Sets KF-25 Aluminium Wing Nut Hinge Clamp + KF25 Aluminum Centering Ring with FKM viton O-ring LoCo Science KF-25 NPT Adapter for Vacuum Pipe Fittings, Stainless Steel - 1", Male That last item is my hold up on changing the premier demister over to it as the 1" is to big and 3/4" is to small. I've yet to locate a 7/8'' or and adapter from one to another.
@@waynespringer501 Thank you for taking the effort to share the parts list! I've had my 2 previous comment attempts deleted for including an URL. If you google "vacuum pump vapor mist filter bvv" you will find a very promising oil demister for the HR premier pump. Specifically, there is an option for "BVV VE Series / Harvest Right Pumps". I'm waiting to receive mine, but it's going to take a while as I'm outside the US and using a freight forwarder. Will report back with my findings. On a side note, I think the thread on the HR premier pump fill port is M30x1.5.
Purchased a medium in late June 2023. It has the same sight glass as the NAVAC in your video. Maybe there or more similarities today than when you bought the rebuild kit. Who knows?
Thanks for the viideo Phil, HR has been soaking the users with these pumps. However, now that there are competitors on the market, we'll find HR more amenable to new support ideas. A company could leverage the maintenance and long term costs to make their product more attractive to those users who are mechanically inclined.
I really appreciate the video and your insight. However, isn’t a vacuum pump a vacuum pump? Provided its seven CFM and pulls a similar amount of current, it should function properly. Correct? I’m seeing seven CFM vacuum pumps for $160 on Amazon. I would rather replace those every three months then to buy rebuild kits for the same amount. Thoughts?
I pointed this out to HR and another FD vendor, your pumps are too expensive for how long they will last. Anything like this that costs more than $200 should have parts available for rebuild. I can go to Harbor Freight, spend under $200 for a 2 stage vacuum pump, get the extended warranty for a few dollars more and get a replacement at no cost, direct swap, when it fails in 6mo. Pay for another extended warranty, and rinse and repeat... For that same $800+ price, I replace several times over... Inevitably, I will have more pump time for less money with that cheap local option. I know the pump will work, because I've done it... I really thought the HR Premier would be better and have parts...
Someone mentioned a pump that could be a replacement in the comments .. I thing it was a JC pump and they said all the parts were available. I did get a std pump as a replacement for my premier pump. It works ok but I have to watch it in the batch especially as the temp starts rising as it does not clear moisture as well and them the oil left heads for the top of the gauge and i need to stop and drain aind refill it. thanks !!
Hello and thank you for all your amazing vids. I live on your channel. Did you happen to find a replacement O ring for front bushing? I hurt mine while tearing pump down to troubleshoot and am concerned it will allow oil in now. Thanks so much in advance Phil. You rock.
@StewartRocco What did you have to provide to get the custom gaskets? I am interested in getting one made too, and would very much appreciate it if you could share some details.
Hey Stewart, if you had tried to share more info replying with an URL, I think RU-vid blocks it. Could you please re-share how you had custom gaskets made, perhaps obfuscating any URLs so RU-vid doesn't block it? Thanks!
I like to tinker and appreciate your video. The pump on my wife’s freeze dryer doesn’t seem to be pulling enough vacuum so I’m starting to investigate. I was wondering if the main vane could be turned over to provide a fresh face? Again, I’m just speculating from watching your video and at this point I’ve never looked inside of the pump.
Did you look into the Navak NP7DP? It physically looks more like the HR premier pump with a different demister, different connections, and a few other minor differences. I own both and can provide measurements but I really don't want to tear down 2 working pumps to compare the internals.
If you look at the exploded drawings, the gasket for the NP12DP is a perfect match. The NP7 doesn't use a gasket. The search continues. If you ever do tear it apart, I'd love some feedback.
Hi Phil, I enjoyed the video. I just got the medium Harvest Right FD but have not started it up yet. What problems did you have with your pump that caused you to rebuild? At what age of the pump did you start having problems with the premier pump? I want to be prepared. 😬 Thank you for doing this video.
The pump I rebuilt was a customer return, back to HR. I requested a defective pump from HR to make my video. There was "glue" on some of the internal parts that caused the pump not to turn. The pump I have, for my unit, hasn't had a problem for three years.
Appreciate your efforts and your hard work. How many hours would you say you had on the pump before you decided to rebuild it? Did you use a declining vacuum capability as your measure?
@@Philat4800feet so it was still working ok when you did the rebuild for the video that's good to know, hope mine last that long usually only do 3 loads a month or less, FD bought mainly so son would not have to buy M House in cans at a very high price and not get as good of food as done yourself. It's for his hiking/camping trips with friends. Smoked BBQ Chicken is his favorite. love all your videos keep up the good work.
Hi Phil. Thank you for the video. Were you able to find a housing gasket for the premier pump? I rebuilt my pump following your instructions, and now it seems as if the oil is seeping out the bottom of the housing and the only thing that itcould be is the gasket. I have taken it apart twice and wiped it down and made sure there was no foreign objects that were stopping it from sealing So I’m trying to find one.
Harvest right is working on getting a rebuild kit. Have you tried to reseat the gasket? Be careful taking it out reversing it 180 degrees and replacing it. Be careful not to stretch it.
Not sure how your rebuild went but that brass bushing you drilled and put in place of the seal race isn't going to work. Brass is extremely porous metal and oil can pass right through it. Not to mention the softness of that material will be grooved by the seal faster than the hardened steel. The washer you call a spacer is to be located on the O ring side of the beveled sealing race. The O ring seals the inner pump spindle shaft to the seal race and the washer presses the O ring into the tapered area. The rounded end of the sealing race makes it easier to slide into the seal so it doesn't hang a seal lip and damage the seal. That's the first stage pump area lubrication and tight sealing of that end is critical.
So far so good. You are correct, there are better materials out there. Finding them without additional modifications is the challenge. HR is working on a rebuild kit.
I was going make my own vains.... with High-Strength Slippery UHMW Polyethylene the temperature seems 👍. I was going make a zero clearance for my table saw and cut it out 😂...
For me, I have taken apart and rebuild more than one vacuum pump for use on my personal harvest right freeze dryer. Not having replacement pump heads or parts available on an $800 machine in unconscionable. Any machine that cost more than $200 ceases to be throw away, parts need to be available. I suspect the problem is that they don't want to know where the pump is actually sourced out of fear that others will white label them and they will lose sales. The thing is that there are direct replacement pumps out there for significantly less. Sure they may not last as long. But my Premier pump has lasted two years. Which means I can use a Harbor Freight pump for 1yrs and replace it and still be less than half the cost in the same period - and that pump is throw away, but the dealer is 10min away...
Had a 12CFM Vevor pump, cost $250... Lasted about 1yr using dairyland oil..(I probably wouldn't buy that oil again for freeze drying). That pump did great, also considered a disposable pump... and still about half the cost over the same time period of use. Who knows, might have lasted longer if I had used the Black Gold oil in it...
Currently testing a new Vevor 12cfm pump, but not really seeing what I saw on the previous one. I am not sure this one is going to cut the mustard so to speak, Would still like to see a replacement head or parts kit for the premier pump.
It's too bad, HarvestRight doesn't simply offer the pump assembly. I have several pumps with perfectly good motors and bad pumps. I would like to not have to purchase a new pump after a few years. Is the Navac pump an acceptable replacement for the Premier pump? They appear to be equivalent but I'm not sure if the HarvestRight pump is special. It looks to me like the Navac NP7DP is an exact replacement for the Premier pump. It's a 7 cfm pump, where the NP12DM is a 12 cfm pump, and the price is $360 instead of $795.
Just as I found differences between Navac's NP12DM and the Premier pump, I found differences with the NP7DP. Hang in there. Changes are coming soon. Any vacuum pump can be used for freeze drying. The Premier pump has all the requirements at a cheaper price. Curious, what caused your pumps to fail?
@@Philat4800feet I purchased two Freeze Driers and pumps from a commercial kitchen that was processing meats. They sold them because they were getting the mid cycle vacuum message. I verified that after replacing the drain valve. So I opened up one of the pumps and the internals of the pumps were loaded with water and meat fats. I took the pump apart and cleaned it after watching your overhaul video. The pump looks good and runs great BUT it can't get the vacuum below 800 mtorr. The pump vanes look fine but I suspect the water caused some wear on the housing that is preventing it from reaching the
@@StevenCollar I purchased one and have been using it for the last 8 months. I have had no issues so far. I was a little upset when I found out I could have purchased a used Premier Pump from HarvestRight for the same price. But it was too late at that point. IF and when this NP7DP fails, I'll contact HarvestRight and see if I'm able to replace it with a used Premier Pump
Hi, Phil, first, thank you SO much for sharing your expertise! My question: I can't get my oil cap/demister off. I've had it off before, obviously, to put the oil in. But now it seems to be stuck--will reverse/loosen for a bit, but then tightens/stops again. I'm wondering if it's cross-threaded, but it went on smoothly last time I had it off today. Have you ever had this happen? I'm afraid I'm going to break something if I really torque on it, but I'd like to add more oil since mine dropped slightly below half with my first batch. Thank you for any suggestions that you might have!
@@Philat4800feet I'm sorry for the delay in responding; my husband told me to let it cool completely--that maybe it was just a combination of heat and metal expansion. But it is stone cold now, and it still won't turn more that a quarter turn (and that with great effort). It does NOT look crooked; I wouldn't look at it and think, "That's cross-threaded." But it is so stiff, and neither of us can get it off. We don't want to break something in the process, you know?
I have an idea that the o-ring slipped somewhere it shouldn't have. It was loose on the top of the pump when I first opened the cap--sitting on the pump top, not sitting in a groove in the cap. The only thing I can think of is that it fell out again when I was putting the cap back on and is somehow part of my problem. Would that make any sense?
Sorry to bother you again, but. . . I got it off!!! Man, I was praying and twisting and twisting and praying, and ever-so-slightly getting it to budge! It finally came off. I hope that never happens again. 🙂
I just bought a harvest right premier pump and the sight glass looks the same as the one on the NAVAC pump you showed in the video. Looks like they made a few changes. I'm looking for a rebuild kit because unfortunately I didn't have the door completely latched on its 2nd run and now it will only get down to around 3000 mTorr and then starts fluctuating slowly between 3000 and 4000 mTorr. I just blew $800 if I cant rebuild it.
Is the problem with the pump or the freeze drier? Do you know anyone who's in the HVAC business that could put a micron gauge on the pump? My guess the pump is not your problem. Have you looked for leaks around your freeze drier?
I just installed a new vacuum hose and did a vacuum test. It got down to 510mTorr, much better but not quite where it should be yet. Must still be a small leak somewhere. I'll keep looking. Thanks again for the advise. @@Philat4800feet
I had this same issue after not closing my drain valve during a batch run. Turns out the drain valve that shipped from harvest right isn't stainless steel and corrodes very badly even just after a years usage. That corrosion actually was bad enough not to seal, i found this out by putting the drain hose in a cup of water with the valve closed. It slowly started sucking up water through the hose. Replaced with a stainless steel valve, now I'm back down to just under 200 mTorr
Interesting. At first glance I was wondering how sturdy the structure was? Could it easily snap off? I can't tell if it screws on or pressed in with a rubber grommet. I would also guess there should be a way for the oil vapors to condense and flow back into the pump. I'll need to think about spending $75.00. Thanks for the info.
@@Philat4800feet it seems pretty sturdy and interestingly their official site does not have any detailed info However on Power Lab Supply, there is some information about it. “The BVV™ Mist Filter is our solution to capturing the oil mist exhausting out of vacuum pumps. This filter is filled with a replaceable media and will save you $ over alternative solutions like the Koby filter. The filter media is a granular food grade adsorbent and is designed to adsorb oil specifically. The granular media doesn't restrict flow on your pump, and when it becomes saturated with oil it continues to work. We recommend you change out the media when the filter is 50% soaked with oil. During certain vacuum pressures light vapor mist may momentarily exit the filter. The filters within the housing, do not have an indefinite life. Should they become dirty and clogged over the years, it can be cleaned with degreaser like CitraKlean then left to dry before re-loading. Media Capacity: 185 grams. Media Refill: Media Housing Replacement: CLEAR-210”
Nice! Thanks for trying that out. I just got my Large FD and the demister is the reason that we can not put it in a living space. Luckily everything seems to work well at the moment, just taking a very long time to make a batch. Just finished some fruits and it was a almost 70-hour run! @@jamesfu
If you take off the brass fitting, you should be able to look down the port and see the check ball. The ball or seat could be damaged or worn. Remove the ball. Find an aftermarket check valve with the same thread size (either 1/2 or 3/8 MPT)
@@Philat4800feet Thanks Phil. I removed inlet port to check the ball valve. When you do this, pipe dope from the fitting falls into the pump. Not cool really. Next the manual say its a 1-1/16" JIC flare fitting. However, the OTHER end that threads into the pump body is a straight thread with no gasket. That is not right. Either its NTP to NTP or straight to straight. My understanding is that straight thread MUST have a gasket to seal properly. This is a flaky method of connection in my opinion. They just used dope where there should be a gasket? So now I'm stuck with trying to jerry rig a check valve onto this thing. I can't find a check valve with straight threads, they are all 1/2" NTP (tapered threads). So I have to try to fit an NTP (all tapered) into the straight female of the housing. That's a recipe for disaster right there with risks of vacuum leaks or forcing it tight and cracking the pump body. What a mess. The check valve ball is not high quality at all. Its not smooth, has a rough looking "texture" to it. The inlet port seat looks good, no damage and is smooth. There was a piece of garbage (paper towel?) stuck on the black plastic check ball "holder", but it was not impeding the ball. Again, I get an oil sheen on top of every batch effluent water. There is oil getting from pump into my chamber. (my food) Unless I'm nuts, most all my FD foods get a weird smell after a month or so. Like putrid oil smell. I have carrots and sweet potato chips that I cant eat as they get this weird smell to them. Question for you, Is it normal for FD veges to get a weird smell after a time? I keep them in vac sealed jars that i vac sealed with the Freeze dryer. I'm afraid to eat any of the foods I dried because of oil contamination. Harvest right abandoned me. Thanks, MP
@@Philat4800feet the threads are some weird foreign NSPP or metric or something. Just using some tape will not work without messing up the threads in the pump.
Phil, thank you very much for your reply on my comment. Long story short: we purchased HR large FD with low profile oil free pump a year ago. First, machine lost a freon after about 6 months of using. They sent replacement new one(it’s large pro). After two three batches pump broke down…. Then we learned a lot of info from yours videos. So, bottom line,we purchased premier oil pump from Home Depot. We paid 950$. According to your research NAVAC Np12 dm pump is 1050$. Free shipping. But I’m concerned about hose connections. I think it’s different. Thank you for your patience to read my text. PS: we also purchased FD of different brand. It’s Stay Fresh with 7 shelfs and industrial oil pump.🤞🤔…. We still waiting for delivery!
Over time dirty oil can build up on the filter and plug it up. Remember, these pumps, are used by HVAC guys for an hour or two a day, five days a week. We freeze dryers use these pump for 2-3 days, 24 hours.
@@Philat4800feet Oh Navac pumps exist, I have one. Navac pumps and HR pumps are made by the same Chinese company. I don’t think Navac has any pump with the exact same internals. Not sure why that is. Seems like HR would have sourced a pump with available replacement parts. Maybe it’s deliberate.
