[tara zish]

Someone told me you can get a $5 aquarium pump on eBay and convert it to a breast enhancing pump. Is this feasible?

[James98]

Maybe. I would have to see the specific pump. If it is a diaphragm pump (not impeller) then yes it would likely work. However controlling it and releasing may require more effort.

[tara zish]

It would be a diaphragm pump, but why do you say that controlling it and releasing would require more effort? I want it to run like an aquarium pump usually does, continually without any action from me.

[James98]

Run continually? What if it produces too much suction? Needs to be regulated, so you will turn it on and off as required. There is no built in release, so will you pry the cup off when you are finished? Ideally you want to allow air to go back in to remove.

[tara zish]

OK I understand now what you mean about control and release, thank you for the explanation, although regarding the control matter I had thought that an aquarium pump would be operating at a low pressure anyway and therefore too much suction wouldn't be an issue for me.

[Honey Fox]

Well yes it's true that aquarium pumps operate at low pressure but it's not that low. I mean if you want to run a breast pump for extended periods you need very low pressure, so consequently the pressure of an aquarium pump would have to be modified. I'm not sure how you would go about doing that.

[blueheart]

Modifying the pressure would actually be simple. You just need an air control valve and that's very easy to fit. The problem is that if you're using the pump as a breast pump for extended use you would need to control the pressure very precisely and that's where the problem would lie. I mean the kind of kit that's used in aquariums isn't meant to measure pressure, it's just meant to vary the flow of air up or down according to what's best for your specific aquarium. You'd only have a vague idea of what pressure you were using, so I don't see how you could end up with something that's safe to use.

[tara zish]

If you were fitting an air control valve could you not fit a pressure gauge too?

[blueheart]

Yes you could, but a pressure gauge to measure low pressures accurately wouldn't be cheap. It would make a mockery of your project to get a breast enhancing pump for $5.

[tara zish]

We seem to have concluded that, in a nutshell, it's not feasible because an aquarium pump would produce too much suction.