How many manifold Gauge sets?

[genoivan]

one of my instructors mentioned that he has different sets of gauges for the different refrigerants due to the different oils and not wanting to cross contaminate , which I understand the concept and theory behind that, but I was wondering of there was a different way, such as cleaning my hoses out or just using different hoses for each type of oil, because I just bought a digi-cool and I want to make sure I do things properly in the field , but not have 5 sets of digi-cools

[2sac]

If you're worried about cross contamination, why not use 1 manifold and multiple sets of hoses. Personally I have 4 sets. One with 3ft valved hoses for self contained equiptment, two with 5 or 6ft hoses for rtu's and one for units I know have dye in them. Will be purchasing another set since 410a is becoming more prevalent in commercial equiptment.

[dandyme]

it's hype, if you are getting enough oil in the hoses to be concerned, you've got bigger problems to worry about


4 digital sets & at least that many analog sets; i waste a lot of money on tools

[keeplearnin]

two does it for me, but I try to stick with ac stuff, unless it's a big refer or something I'm not crazy about working on little stuff that requires all different coolants.

[Tech Rob]

Two standard plain jane Yellow Jacket gauge manifold sets with 6' heavy duty hoses on both of them. One for R-22, the other one for R-410a. I have 3 sets of Yellow Jacket quickie gauges for R-22, R-410a, and R-134a. I use the quickie gauges for practically everything. I can't even remember the last time I took one of the manifold sets out of the van, even. I am not building spaceships, and I carry a PT chart with me everywhere, so the old-school analog stuff works great for me.

[genoivan]

thanks for the input, since i'm just starting out, when i heard that i was like what the heck, I just paid a bit for the digi cools and now i have to get other ones.

[/QUOTE]
4 digital sets & at least that many analog sets; i waste a lot of money on tools[/QUOTE]

I love to buy tools, so im sure as i get more experience i will have many sets but for now.......

[Chris_Worthington]

Two standard plain jane Yellow Jacket gauge manifold sets with 6' heavy duty hoses on both of them. One for R-22, the other one for R-410a. I have 3 sets of Yellow Jacket quickie gauges for R-22, R-410a, and R-134a. I use the quickie gauges for practically everything. I can't even remember the last time I took one of the manifold sets out of the van, even. I am not building spaceships, and I carry a PT chart with me everywhere, so the old-school analog stuff works great for me.

:ditto:

[joemach]

Two standard plain jane Yellow Jacket gauge manifold sets with 6' heavy duty hoses on both of them. One for R-22, the other one for R-410a. I have 3 sets of Yellow Jacket quickie gauges for R-22, R-410a, and R-134a. I use the quickie gauges for practically everything. I can't even remember the last time I took one of the manifold sets out of the van, even. I am not building spaceships, and I carry a PT chart with me everywhere, so the old-school analog stuff works great for me.

Glad to see I am not the only one that likes the basic YJ manifold. I have the heavy duty hoses and change the gaskets often.

[Kevin O'Neill]

I have the Digi-Cools. One set. And one old Yellow Jacket analog for backup.

I got digital gauges when I started seeing how bad the accuracy was on analog sets. We had one tech that hooked up to a 410a system while purging lines. The liquid line was soldered to the suction line in the attic. The hi & lo side gauges read 50 psi different. With charging so critical, I decided to get gauges I could trust.

[genoivan]

I just got my digi-cools in the mail and i have to say they are awesome, now i just have to upgrade my hoses, have some cheap ones off e-bay and are they ever cheap,

Thank you every one for the replies, I'm grateful for all the input from everyone in the field

[hvacvegas]

I keep 3 sets.
One for checking refrigerant levels for your average deal. standard YJ
One for pumping down systems. Titan II, with the 3/8 hose.
One for recovery, or for a system that I know is contaminated.

[catmanacman]

I have 3 1 for 410 1 for r22 and 1 I use to recover and pressure test with.i am going to get me a set of fieldpiece digitals when things pick up in the spring

[kdean1]

I have 3 sets - Digicool 9000, Fieldpiece SMAN3 (I haven't decided which one I like best) & analog (just as a backup).
As for oil cross contamination, I agree with 2sac - if there's that much oil in the hoses you've got bigger problems. If I have a contaminated system I try to use no manifold at all. I just run a hose dedicated to that purpose to the recovery machine.
I also like 2sac's idea about a separate manifold for systems with dye.

[akelesis]

i have 3 sets of gauges. i strickly for R410 one set i have 6 ft hoses and the last has 4 foot hoses i mostly use the 4 foot ones for everything but i always make sure i purge them out before connecting to any system. (-: they are all yellow jackets im happy with them. i do a routine check every so often to check the gaskets and hoses hold and stuff. ball valves are sooo imoprtant too.. i have them on 2 of my gauges which helps a lot.. gauges are what u do taking care of them is a big thing. (-: i see people abuse their gauges all the time. dont be those guys.