Saving a Vacuum Adapter...

[mccutter]

Last time I used this vacuum adapter to clean the refrigerator coils the nub broke off. Probably got 10yrs out of it so not too shabby. Unfortunately, Home DeLowe's nor Ace Hardware carries them anymore. But my local favorite Ace has other hardware.

Picked up the lamp hardware shown and a couple 7/16" USS flat washers for about $6. The thread of the tube was NOT 1/2-20 as I was hoping so I could use a locknut, but some kind of bastardly 1/4IP size at 18tpi. So I had to buy the nut assortment which had two (and only two) of the nuts I needed. The OD of the threaded tube is 1/2" which fit in the hole of the adapter perfectly.

I noticed the washer was tight going into the inner hole so I chucked it up and ran it over the sander with the drill to remove a little bit off the edge but it still got tighter as it went in. At this point I noticed the inside of the tube got thicker as it went in for strength. Grabbed a 1/2" SAE flat and it fit all the way in nice and snug.

Loctited and tightened it all up, trimmed about an inch of plastic tube off then slid it over the threaded tube. Cut off the air mattress fill adapter since it no longer fits--I don't think I ever used it anyway.

Note the succession of smaller hoses: 5/8ODx1/2ID, 1/2ODx3/8ID, 3/8ODx1/4ID. As a tip to you, I would suggest the next time you are in a regular hardware store to buy at least a foot of the various sizes of hard and soft tubing they have. Might cost you $10 but the utility value of having it on hand is priceless.

In related tubing, I just replaced the tubes on my oil dipstick sucker. Used 3'x3pcs necking down to 1/4OD.

In related vac attachments, HD had this nozzle with a built-in light I though was pretty neat. But not neat enough to spend $11 on...