ak900 questions

[hvac17011]

I am very happy with my ak900 and the mods I have done. Do you guys zero the pressures before everytime you use it. Anyone that has the clamps do you use them on 3/8" lines. thanks

[hvac wiz 79]

I make sure the the hoses are clear & zero it before connecting to system. I have used the clamps on 3/8. Looking through your site glass on the manifold do both sides look the same? Like as in the brass? .. Mine looks like it's cracked

[hvac17011]

I dont see anything that looks cracked. I am not sure abut the 3/8 line thing. It just didnt seem to make contact correctly. I had a water source unit that somebody overcharged to 52 degrees subcooling. It was sweet having subcooling real time while I was removing charge into recovery bottle.

[hvac wiz 79]

Mine make great contact on 3/8 .. It's 1/4 I'm uncertain about & haven't used my digitals on small stuff yet. here's a pic of my manifold with the brass that appears cracked or flaking off

[itsiceman]

Can't really see what your saying but looks like its anodized aluminum and not brass. Is it leaking gas?

[hvac wiz 79]

Oh dang .. Well brass in color :D ..... That picture doesn't show it well enough i guess .. It doesn't leak gas

[targetman]

I make sure the the hoses are clear & zero it before connecting to system. I have used the clamps on 3/8. Looking through your site glass on the manifold do both sides look the same? Like as in the brass? .. Mine looks like it's cracked

How do you zero the gauges?

[jpsmith1cm]

How do you zero the gauges?

By pressing the 'zero' button.

[uniservice]

Have used my AK900s on a couple of jobs since receiving them. Have had them hanging in the truck. Yesterday pulled them out to hook up to a pkg. Heat pump, and noticed the screen seemed to have an area that was "fogged." Found a piece of clear plastic was on the screen, like a peel off protector, removed the protector, but the foggy streak is still on the screen. Did I screw up by not removing that protector film when I first received the gauge? Guess I'll live with it for now, doesn't seem to have affected performance, as long as it doesn't cause the screen to be unreadable.:gah:

[hvac wiz 79]

Id contact whoever sold it to you. It might only get worse & that would suck if it's past warranty when it becomes an issue. I've had a few issues that i guess weren't a big deal but the screen, i.m.o is serious

[uniservice]

I bought it from Doug and Brenda, so expect no problems getting it repaired.

[Thomasg]

Mine did same thing with fog, it went away i left screen on also.

[uniservice]

Huh! Went out to the van today to take a pic, and the screen was clear,,,,no fog. Cool!

[kamersoutdoor]

You can take it apart and clean the glass. Just as if you're changing the battery.

Has anyone had issues with the low side consistently reading .5 inches off?

[Nytefog]

Does anyone else have concerns about using low loss hoses on your guages because of zeroing issues?

[AStudent]

My ak900 reads .6 HG on the low side when not hooked up to anything...is this normal or should I get it calibrated?

[jpsmith1cm]

My ak900 reads .6 HG on the low side when not hooked up to anything...is this normal or should I get it calibrated?

Press Zero.

[a\c don]

Does anyone else have concerns about using low loss hoses on your guages because of zeroing issues?

I use YJ ball valves on my hoses.
The low loss should not be a problem as long as you remember to release any pressure in your hoses before zeroing the DRSA.

[Nytefog]

I use YJ ball valves on my hoses.
The low loss should not be a problem as long as you remember to release any pressure in your hoses before zeroing the DRSA.

Don't want to violate EPA regualtion venting reffer into the atmosphere. Thats why i had those hoses, but according to the epa they are mandatory.

[jpsmith1cm]

Don't want to violate EPA regualtion venting reffer into the atmosphere. Thats why i had those hoses, but according to the epa they are mandatory.

A ball valve hose end qualifies as a low-loss fitting.

The whole low-loss thing is a joke, anyway. You're going to have to vent that residual refrigerant sometime.

[Nytefog]

i thought you were suppose to recover it technically speaking.

[jpsmith1cm]

De Minimus

The EPA recognizes that a certain amount of refrigerant is going to be lost during service procedures.

Venting or purging hoses is part of that.

[kamersoutdoor]

Does anyone know how to calibrate the low side?
Mine consistently reads 0.5 lower than high side even at standing pressure.
Also my high side ball valve will leak by periodically (on manifold).
Is there a rebuild kit that anyone is aware of?
And while I'm at it....Is it normal for the low side to blink and quit reading at pressures above 130-150 psi? (even 410a)
Thanks

[hvac wiz 79]

My ball valve leaked also. I was told to tighten the Allen screw on the side. I also noticed a machining issue on the interior under site glass .. Hope it doesn't break free into system although it appears ok but you never know

[Nytefog]

De Minimus

The EPA recognizes that a certain amount of refrigerant is going to be lost during service procedures.

Venting or purging hoses is part of that.

I was aware that purging hoses was ok, bu thought that the point of low loss fitting was to not vent to the atmosphere why else would they require the use? I don't understand?

[kamersoutdoor]

I was aware that purging hoses was ok, bu thought that the point of low loss fitting was to not vent to the atmosphere why else would they require the use? I don't understand?

So you don't blister your hands while working on a remote RT chiller condenser in 40 & under deg weather! Works for me!!
Get real sick of the layers of skin removed that way :gah:

[Nytefog]

i do agree i love not having frozen oily hands but didn't think that was the reason the epa requires the fittings to be used. I also love the fact that you can cross contaminate system from having beat refrigeratnt in your hoses and you may for get before hooking them up to another system. I know the amount is very minor but its the thought that counts.

Definition:
Low-Loss Fitting - any device that is intended to establish a connection between hoses, appliances, or recovery/recycling machines, and that is designed to close automatically or to be closed manually when disconnected to minimize the release of refrigerant from hoses, appliances, and recovery or recycling machines.


I emailed the EPA and we'll see what the people in charge of these laws have to say. Its say they will get back with-in 24hrs but we will see about that. I
am interested to see if they even have a specific answer!

[jpsmith1cm]

Does anyone know how to calibrate the low side?
Mine consistently reads 0.5 lower than high side even at standing pressure.
Also my high side ball valve will leak by periodically (on manifold).
Is there a rebuild kit that anyone is aware of?
And while I'm at it....Is it normal for the low side to blink and quit reading at pressures above 130-150 psi? (even 410a)
Thanks

Purge to atmospheric and press ZERO.


The low side transducer is rated to 200 PSIA or about 185, so yes, it blinks above that pressure

[JAYLUPARK]

Hooked up AK900 today on new install. 4 ton 410a piston metering devise. High side 208 low 106 and blinking????? Boss goes nuts something wrong, come to find out blockage or oil in low side manifold.

Purged with nitrogen all seems fine.
Is blinking low or high side pressure readings on gauge a signal that something is wrong? is so that one smart gauge.

On a side note the new stretchy Velcro sensors are awesome!:cheers:

Thanks Jay

[jpsmith1cm]

If the low side was blinking, the pressure was above 200 PSIA.

[JAYLUPARK]

Ah thanks JP. You guys purge your hoses and manifold with nitrogen after every hookup?

thanks jay

[AStudent]

Ah thanks JP. You guys purge your hoses and manifold with nitrogen after every hookup?

thanks jay

I don't but probably should.

I'm going Friday to buy the supplies to fabricate a few clamps for my ak900, hope I don't regret toying with this thing.

[Nytefog]

i was thinking about using the clamps from broken testo 550 sensor and just retro fit the new Digicool to them. I think the Testo sensor worked well and were easy to use.

[jpsmith1cm]

Ah thanks JP. You guys purge your hoses and manifold with nitrogen after every hookup?

thanks jay

If I did that, I'd burn a cylinder of nitrogen a week.

cross contamination is an overblown issue. Forget about it.

[Nytefog]

These look like the testo clamps and may work well as digi-cool custom clamps


http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-202688749/h_d2/ProductDisplay?catalogId=2&langId=-1&keyword=spring+clamps&storeId=10051

[hvac wiz 79]

Hope u have better luck than i did using an old testo clamp. I felt certain it would work after making it as it looked good but temp was off . I'm wondering if i didn't let it sit down deep enough in the groove

[Nytefog]

Hope u have better luck than i did using an old testo clamp. I felt certain it would work after making it as it looked good but temp was off . I'm wondering if i didn't let it sit down deep enough in the groove

I'm planning on mounting insulation on the jaws so it presses the sensor into the foam insulation when clamped on the pipe to get a more accurate reading