@ClaraListensprechen@universeodon.com @smellsofbikes @NilaJones Yeah, several setups I used had a diffusion pump followed by an ordinary mechanical vacuum pump.

Diff pumps work astonishingly well for such simple devices. To pump down a chamber we'd let the mechanical pump do the rough pumping for a few minutes until the pressure was low enough for a diff pump to work. As the diff pump warmed up, whoosh, down the pressure would go.