Service Manifolds

[kpapa]

Hello everybody,

i want to buy servise manifolds. i have found a two-way, a four-way and an electronic one.

What can you advice me? could i find operation instruction for the 4-way one?

thank you very much
K

[philfridge]

Buy the two way manifold if you are new to the game. The other manifolds are for when you furthur your skills ;).

[Magoo]

Gauges are one thing, understanding them and interpriting them is a skill.
Electronic gauges are a waste of money, if you cannot tap it don't believe it. Transducers are subject to all and sundry interferences that you cannot control.
magoo

[HVACGod]

Electronic gauges are a waste of money, if you cannot tap it don't believe it. Transducers are subject to all and sundry interferences that you cannot control.
magoo

How any technician can be so poorly misadvised with all of the available independent data available on the DMG is beyond me - perhaps you have current documentation to verify and support your suppositions and ill advise to this young technician? Or do you dispense it as arbitrarily as it sounds?

"if you cannot tap it, don't believe it" - is that even a serious statement? What type of transducers are you referencing? Are you even familiar with those incorporated into the design of the quality DMG's? Making a blanket statement like that - would lend me to question any advise you have to offer relevant to any subject.

Kpapa if you are interested in the digital manifold gauge stay away from the Refco Digimon - this guy's observation relevant to transducers are essentially accurate when applied to that set of gauges - Google Digi-Cool, Testo and Digital Zeus for independent accurate representations of the DMG and it's capabilities and limitations. Or look right here on these Boards I have written several responses on them here as well

[casstrig]

A manifold set is a tool and is only as good as the person interpreting them.Two way are good for most applications,I personaly prefer a seperate vacume guage with valve and pressure releif as I mainly work on larger systems and attaching them a distance from a vacume pump is an advantage.

[HVACGod]

Kpapa, I was reviewing this thread this morning and it occurred to me that your OP was really addressing two opposing components of the service manifold. The gauges mounted to the manifold are essentially irrelevant to what I interpret as the intent of your post. The gauge component, be it analog or digital holds no relevance to the configuration of the manifold component.

In other words you will often find identical gauges mounted to either a two, four or even five valve manifold. The manifold configuration itself simply defines the number of "peripherals" (vacuum pump, recovery equipment, micron gauge, and refrigerant cylinder), that can be included in the diagnostics and service loop of the refrigerant circuit without the necessity of compromising the circuit by breaking established connections to add the peripheral to the loop.

A solid gauge incidentally does not automatically equate to a solid manifold and vice versa. You can have a good set of gauges and a poor manifold and still have an inadequate diagnostics instrument just as you can have a manifold that performs without flaw coupled with poorly performing gauges and you still have a poor diagnostics instrument.

Even if you opt to invest in a 4 valve manifold - which I personally recommend to anyone that asks, you can still use it as though it were a 2 valve until you become comfortable with the expanded capabilities of the 4 valve.

There is also a recently developed 4 valve manifold - the only manifold that I am aware of that has true 3/8" port and flow bore throughout the manifold body. This should be a tremendously popular manifold in the recovery and evacuation processes. It also has a forward to reverse through body Ambient Light Optimization™ sight glass - also the only of it's kind that I am personally aware of. You can read more about that manifold here: http://digitalzeus.wordpress.com/2008/08/07/427/ the article also includes some images of the prototype manifold.

I apologize that I overlooked the essence of the OP in my original response and hope this one is not too late to assist you in your decision. And welcome to the trade.:D