How to Make Cheap DIY Vacuum Bell [2023]: Materials & More

This may surprise you, but plenty of people with pectus excavatum decide to create their homemade vacuum bells. The high prices for young patients are what motivates them.

Some of them say these suction bells are working very nicely. They claim they saw a noticeable improvement in his chest wall appearance. This seemed very interesting, and I decided to see how it could be manufactured.

I will share the process and everything about DIY vacuum bells I found on the internet with you in this blog post.

What Impresses me the Most

You can see how this person with pectus excavatum created his vacuum bell here. Truth be told, I was amazed to see how motivated this guy was.

He didn't have any excuses. Correcting his deformity without surgery was his only purpose. Nothing could stop him.

We must learn to innovate our way out.

How to Build Homemade Vacuum Bell

Materials

First and foremost, you need to get the following items:

• Plastic bowel
• Foam window
• Sealant strips
• Electrical tape
• Vacuum pump

Building Process

This process is shared on Reddit by kassa1989.

You can also use the special cups for cupping therapy that is trendy nowadays and a vacuum pump. This is durable, provides a good vacuum, and is more resilient than other homemade vacuum bells. 

This is very cheap, and if you buy the items on eBay, you can build one for $30. 

Place the cup on the top of the bowl and attach it with double-sided tape, sealed with electrical tape. When you pump, the cup will pull the air through the hole in the bowl underneath the cup, and the valve in the cup will keep the vacuum airtight. 

Cover the bowl rim with foam strips, and cover them in electrical tape. The tape shouldn't run in circles around the edge because the negative vacuum pressure will loosen them. 

The Reddit user kassa1989 used a perfect analogy for this. He said they need to be in vertical strips outside the bowl over the foam and inside the bowl. 

You can cut the bowl's rim off to make it more flexible and less dep. There would not be much air to remove. Please be careful while cutting, so the plastic bowl will fit your chest comfortably.

Instead of a fuel line pump like most popular homemade vacuum bells, I recommend using a Chinese cupping pump. A few users on the Pectus Excavatum Subreddit on Reddit said this pump is cheaper and more durable than the fuel line pump. 

It would be an excellent idea to reshape the foam to fit your chest to get a good seal. This can involve adding additional foam at the top or bottom. 

However, there is no set way to do this vacuum bell. It takes a lot of experimentation and trial and error. 

Why Building DIY Vacuum Bells Can Go Wrong

However, I don't recommend you build your vacuum bell. The process can be complex, and you will likely mess it up.

As he said, you must be very careful with the Vacu Vin Wine Saver, the man with pectus excavatum used for his DIY device. It can generate a mighty vacuum that can damage your skin.

Also, you will fail a couple of times before you make it work. There won't be any significant difference between a homemade vacuum bell and one built by established manufacturers from a financial aspect. You will likely mess it up on your first try, so you must purchase additional materials.

Likewise, please don't put your health at risk. Investing in a vacuum bell should be your priority. Please don't consider the money spent on it to be a waste.

Purchase One From An Established Manufacturer

Huge disclaimer that it is best to purchase a vacuum bell from established manufacturers like:

• Eckart Blobe
• Pectus Healing
• Pectus Lab. 

However, if you want to be frugal, you can build one yourself. Don't expect the quality to be the same as the companies I mentioned building. 

What Makes A Homemade Vacuum Bell Good?

Some say a vacuum bell is good if it pulls up the sunken breastbone. I can't entirely agree with this. Comfort plays a huge role in the success of vacuum bell therapy.

It needs to be comfortable to wear daily for plenty of hours while maintaining the negative pressure without pumping. At the same time, it needs to provide a strong enough vacuum is a good vacuum bell in my experience. 

3D Printed Vacuum Bell

Below is a video of how a guy with pectus excavatum created his 3D-printed custom vacuum bell. This is probably one of the most customized devices that I've seen. His use of 3D printing technology is awe-inspiring.

He made his vacuum bell small and as customized as possible so he could wear it underneath his clothing while going out. 

List of Helpful Posts I've Found About DIY Vacuum Bells

• Here's a post by a Reddit user showing how he built a homemade vacuum bell. Still, unfortunately, it didn't work very well. Impressively, he made a second attempt at creating one. This had a perspex window, a hydraulic elbow joint, and a vacuum pump. He used acetic silicone. 
• Here's a post on Reddit about how a guy created his DIY vacuum bell following some Reddit tutorials. 
• Here's another exciting vacuum bell DIY that the creator claims are better than the original one.
• Another one.
• Mitja Martel's homemade vacuum step-by-step bell process.
• A detailed explanation of DIY vacuum bell creation.
• Innovative but not very practical DIY vacuum bell, in my personal opinion.
• Reddit user torchy64 made a helpful comment about building a DIY vacuum bell.

The Bottom Line

To conclude, homemade vacuum bells might work. But then again, there is a high health risk associated with them that saving a couple of dollars isn't worth it.

Building a homemade vacuum bell doesn't cost-efficient as many think.

On top of that, there is a high chance that you may miss something while making it. That can be hazardous to your health.