Post a reply to the thread: AK900 Longevity?
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For what I understand, you can order the AK900 from Johnstone supply but they don't keep them in stock.
Originally Posted by itsiceman I thought the AK-900 was under 300 yep http://shop.rdholder.com/Digi-Cool-A...Cool-AK900.htm Just saw from the link that they sell these translucent replacement rubber boots for DC DRSA's now too. Cool http://shop.rdholder.com/Digi-Cool-B...-Cool-BTTO.htm
I haven't seen digicools in any of the supply houses. Go to http://www.trutechtools.com or I believe you can buy them straight from Doug at http://digi-cool.com/
Wow, a lot of good information. I'm pretty sold on the ak900. Do any vendors like R E Michael's sell them? If Im going to buy them now I will have to get a loan from my company. If not, Ill just start saving.
Originally Posted by itsiceman The FP clamp is much worse than you know if you are calling it alright. More times than not they are double digits off for me. The TC material is quality but in the clamp it stinks. Keep a couple of things in mind... #1. This was a good many years ago. While similar, my clamp was an older model than what is being sold today. #2. I did no serious accuracy testing with it. It was well before I started thinking about things like ambient temperature influence and accuracy and repeatability. #3. It was mostly used to measure superheat in refrigerated cases where the ambient temp around the sensor is only a few degrees warmer than the sensor itself. Perhaps those things influence my perception of it as "alright"
I like my ak900 so much I bought a 2nd one. The sensors it ships with are crap and immediately went in the trash. I have the clamps I did the mod on and a couple stretchy sensors I was given. I've used the sman3. Didn't hate it but wasn't used to it and felt like it was missing something. I talked an old timer into a drsa. He went with a dc, ak900. Few years back a friend bought a testo. This was before I've ever seen a drsa in person and he only had it a few days when the hook broke and the pins in the sensor plug broke. I believe it's sitting in a landfill now. Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2
Oh and yet another reason to be on a first name basis with your postman testo is now extending warranty out to 3 years with a mail in rebate
They sell the Cooper for the same price as the Fieldpeice So for the money they are not that great IMO
Originally Posted by itsiceman The FP clamp is much worse than you know if you are calling it alright. More times than not they are double digits off for me. The TC material is quality but in the clamp it stinks. Due to their design, the FP clamps need to be insulated if there is a significant temperature difference between the pipe and the ambient air, and/or the section of pipe it is clamped to is not perfectly straight and round. The TC wires are soldered to the back of the metal plate in the jaw, which is in solid contact with the plastic jaws, which also have slots in them that allow relatively free movement of ambient air in contact with the plate. For the money, they are not bad probes, people just need to be aware that under many of the conditions we face on nearly every call, they need to be insulated. The same is true, to one degree or another, for every brand of probes. The best all around "real world" performing pipe probes that I've used are the PT100 pipe wrap probe that came with the original 1st generation Testo 523, the Cooper 4011 pipe wrap, and the Fluke 80PK-8 and -10 pipe clamps. I haven't tried the pipe wrap probe for the newer Testo manifolds, or the Cooper NTC thermistor pipe clamp, so can't speak to the performance of them. Wraps tend to be more precise than clamps, but clamps are just so damn convenient.
The FP clamp is much worse than you know if you are calling it alright. More times than not they are double digits off for me. The TC material is quality but in the clamp it stinks.
Originally Posted by itsiceman If the tides are changing and they are finally listening let them know to s-can the clamp design too. They don't work as well as they claim in the field. The field piece scissor clamp was alright, but I think that the Fluke clamps were more accurate and of a higher quality overall. I liked having both as they give more options for clamping a sensor onto a line. Scissors clamps reach places where the bar clamps sometimes don't. Neither type work in all scenarios and on all line sizes, which is why we need multiple options, including bare probe sensors removed from clamps. Eventually, the sensor wires on the FP probe failed and it landed on the junk heap of failed sensors with other Fluke clamps, bead probes, insertion probes and meter leads.
Originally Posted by hvac5646 And my Testo and FPs are every bit as you claim yours to be. I own all 3 brands of DRSAs being discussed, multiple models of 2 of the brands, and I can tell you unequivocally that the Feildpeice and Testo instruments do not even come close to approaching the durability of Digi-Cool DRSAs. Originally Posted by jpsmith1cm How many warranty claims in Uncle Clover up to, now? I think it was 3 or 4 when I stopped counting. If I remember correctly, between 2 of the instruments, he had 2 or 3 warranty returns before he even actually used them...
Originally Posted by hvac5646 You have ins at FP as many forum members do...if you are out of the loop on this, I will discuss this with you via Email. If the tides are changing and they are finally listening let them know to s-can the clamp design too. They don't work as well as they claim in the field.
Originally Posted by chuckcrj Hmmmmm, I have first hand experience with those brands also, and they didn't prove that way for me. Have you used a DC yet? If not, then how can you accurately and objectively compare the other brands with them? He has no experience with the DC, refuses to gain any experience with the DC yet continues to bad mouth it. Everyone that has seen and used my DC either has bought one, plans to buy one or wishes that they had seen mine before they spent money on a competitor.
Originally Posted by hvac5646 And my Testo and FPs are every bit as you claim yours to be. Hmmmmm, I have first hand experience with those brands also, and they didn't prove that way for me. Have you used a DC yet? If not, then how can you accurately and objectively compare the other brands with them?
Originally Posted by hvac5646 And my Testo and FPs are every bit as you claim yours to be. Talk to us in 6 or 7 years about that. How many warranty claims in Uncle Clover up to, now? I think it was 3 or 4 when I stopped counting.
Originally Posted by chuckcrj As for the OP question of longevity, I agree with the consensus here. DC is a very solid meter, I pulled mine out of the truck at -20° a couple weeks ago and it turned on and worked perfectly. Took it into a warm humid environment and it started frosting! We don't work in a lab, we work in all sorts of rough environments and require a tough instrument that can get bounced around and rained on occasionally. It is nice to have a meter that is accurate enough for lab work and tough enough for field work. And my Testo and FPs are every bit as you claim yours to be.
Originally Posted by itsiceman They say they run K sensors because that is what guys want. Why would they stop giving their customers what they want? And as far as evacuation thru a service manifold since forever from reading some old publications on the subject it actually condemns practices like this. This is something that has been neglected over decades until recently. You have ins at FP as many forum members do...if you are out of the loop on this, I will discuss this with you via Email.
Originally Posted by jpsmith1cm You are the one who evacuates through a manifold... As I said, stop trolling threads about DCs until you have experience with them. I Evacuate thru a Manifold? On occasion I have, But you state I do it as a regular practice. I have Appion gear which you are well aware of so you are making knowing false statements. Uncle, the man you say you look up to, advised you of the outcome of such actions. Just more misinformation by you that goes to defamation.
Originally Posted by jpsmith1cm You are the one who evacuates through a manifold... I evac thru Appion hoses as and CRTs as I have said and as you well know. you are defaming and libelous in your choice of wording by using "TROLLING". As I said, stop trolling threads about DCs until you have experience with them. I am expressing my opinion. I am not the problem here..you are...you continue to throw gasoline on the fire by twisting and cherry picking my words. If I didn't reply to your intentionally misleading statements you would succeed in your treacherous,maligning little tactics. You used them on Uncle and now me. It's easy for you to beat up on an old, unhealthy man, isn't it?
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