Run these checks in order
Find the recipe without guessing the unlock
If you do not have the part, search for Vacuum Pump in the Craftbot and check interactables near the tube items. The required Craftbot level and recipe cost are unverified, so trust the recipe shown in your current game.
Check the glowing chest connector first
Place the pump directly against the chest's glowing vacuum connector, port to port. Do this before replacing pipes, switches, or the whole machine. Current replies repeatedly identify this placement, but it remains a community-observed first check.
Use one limited water diagnostic
If the connection is recognized but a water test does nothing, rebuild the same small test a few metres away once. One player reported success. If the nearby rebuild fails, stop—there is no verified water-tile, height, or fluid-selection rule here.
Prepare a useful bug report
For an updated, repeatable failure, preserve a short description, the session log, and the save file. Those are the items Axolot requests in Patch Notes 1.0.5. Do not delete or replace saves as routine troubleshooting advice.
Look for the game's connection arrow or indicator. In one current Custom Game report it stayed absent even after direct alignment and replacement pumps, so correct placement is a diagnostic—not a promise.
Match the symptom to the next safe action
| What you see | Check | Next action |
|---|---|---|
| Recipe is hard to find | Search the Craftbot; inspect interactables near the tube items. | Use the recipe shown in-game; level and cost remain unverified. |
| No connection arrow or indicator | Verify direct placement on the glowing chest connector. | If correct placement still fails, document it instead of calling placement a guaranteed fix. |
| Connected, but water remains inactive | Rebuild the same small test a few metres away once. | If nothing changes, stop; do not invent a water-position rule. |
| You want a Chemical Pool setup | One current comment mentions a pump plus large chest. | Reported possible only; orientation, range, rate, and container rules remain unknown. |
| The updated setup fails repeatedly | Preserve the description, session log, and save file. | Use Axolot's official bug-report address. |
Chemical Pool: what the evidence actually supports
Reported possible—not a verified setup
One current-version community comment describes a Vacuum Pump paired with a large chest at a chemical pond. That is enough to record a possible use case, but not enough to publish a setup guide.
This guide does not claim a verified orientation, range, collection rate, container rule, or universal result.
When to stop rebuilding and report the bug
Stop after an updated, repeatable failure
Patch Notes 1.0.5 asks for:
- a description of the bug
- the log file from that session
- the save file
Keep those files intact and use the bug-report address on the official Scrap Mechanic all-news page. This guide deliberately excludes destructive save-reset advice.
Accuracy and source scope
The current version boundary and bug-report requirements come from Axolot's official Patch Notes 1.0.5. Recipe location, connector placement, the nearby water rebuild, the Chemical Pool mention, and the Custom Game failure limit are labelled community observations. This site has not hands-on tested these setups.
Source scope and verification
Official 1.0.5 patch information and current public player observations checked on August 11, 2026. Community observations are clearly labelled and were not hands-on tested by this site.
Source IDs: SM-OFFICIAL-001, SM-COMMUNITY-001, SM-COMMUNITY-002, SM-COMMUNITY-003, SM-COMMUNITY-004, SM-COMMUNITY-005