Find out how strong a vacuum your machine produces

Clamp type machine:
Use the tube and wine bottle stops that came with your vacuum machine, fill a bottle or vacuum container with hot water, measure the water temperature, and apply maximum vacuum to the bottle. Repeat at different temperatures to find out at what temperature your vacuum brings the water to a boil, look up the temperature in the following table, and read the corresponding mmHg or bar of vapor pressure of water. You might start with water of 60°C, as most machines claim to produce 80% vacuum (0.2 bar), a few claim to produce 0.15 bar or 0.1 bar.

Chamber machine:
If you have a chamber machine with a transparent lid, just place an open pot with water inside. Start with ice water at 0°C, as these machines may produce 99.9% vacuum (0.001 bar).

--PedroG 21:16, 29 July 2009 (UTC)