02/10/2026
A Vacuum-Fresh vegetable vacuum cooler lowers a vacuum chamber below 660 Pa, the saturation vapour pressure of water, so produce cools by low-temperature boiling.
Vacuum cooling starts with a rotary vane pump or water-ring pump pulling the vacuum chamber down below 660 Pa. If the pump is undersized, pre-pumping time exceeds the usable cycle and cooling is nearly zero. In one verified case, a 5.5 kW rotary vane pump at about 100 m3/h on an 8 m3 vegetable vacuum cooler had an ideal pre-pumping time of 24.6 min, but line losses raised actual pre-pumping to 32 min.
For vacuum precooling, the baseline for an 8 m3 chamber is at least a 7.5 kW rotary vane pump at 180 m3/h, giving about 18 min pre-pumping. A 2 m3 chamber with a 2.4 kW pump at 25 m3/h needs about 25 min pre-pumping, which leaves no cooling inside a 20-30 min cycle. The practical sizing formula is actual pre-pumping time = (V / S) × ln(101325/660) × 1.3, where V is chamber volume in m3 and S is total pump speed in m3/h.
Vacuum-Fresh model codes follow chamber volume: a CVF-1000 with an 8 m3 chamber needs at least a 7.5 kW pump at 180 m3/h for about 18 min pre-pumping; a CVF-2000 with a 16 m3 chamber needs two 11 kW pumps at 280 m3/h each for about 11 min. A CVF-6000 with a 30 m3 chamber needs two 15 kW pumps at 600 m3/h each for about 13 min, and a CVF-12000 with a 66 m3 chamber needs two 15 kW pumps at 630 m3/h each for about 13 min. For vacuum cooling of high-moisture or high-temperature loads, a water-ring pump can serve as a pre-stage steam extraction pump; for a vacuum freeze dryer or food vacuum cooler, a Roots pump can raise limit vacuum.
In a food vacuum cooler, refrigerant and compressor selection matter, but a vapour condenser also protects the pump oil from water vapour. If it does not work, oil can emulsify and turn milky like soy milk; stop the pump under no load for 5-10 min before shutdown and change oil when this happens. If pump speed drops, check the intake filter, exhaust valve carbon, oil level and pump chamber wear; a measured limit vacuum that differs from the nominal value by more than 30% calls for service.
Chamber volume: 8 m3
Minimum rotary vane pump: 7.5 kW at 180 m3/h
Pre-pumping time: about 18 min
Chamber pressure: below 660 Pa
How long does vacuum precooling take for an 8 m3 chamber?
With a 7.5 kW rotary vane pump at 180 m3/h, pre-pumping takes about 18 min.
If you need to check pump sizing for a vegetable vacuum cooler, send the chamber volume, pump speed and target cycle time.
Full technical detail: https://vacuum-fresh.com/products/vacuum-precooler/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=precool