JB ball valve manifold

[Reeferman]

I thought I would try one of these out. Titans have been the only 4 valve that has worked for me so far.

[itsiceman]

So the 90˚ adapters are not needed like this one?

[jpdc]

I thought I would try one of these out. Titans have been the only 4 valve that has worked for me so far.

Where can I get that kind of manifold. I have a AK900. How much is it

[itsiceman]

Oh.. It that a DC1100?

[Reeferman]

Oh.. It that a DC1100?

It is a modified 1250. Will be trying the manifold out this weekend.

[itsiceman]

Thats hard core bro

[Reeferman]

Thats hard core bro

Just had to move the sensors with a little modification of the rear case.

[jpsmith1cm]

Just had to move the sensors with a little modification of the rear case.

Ok, what am I missing?

Looks like a fairly standard DRSA to me....

[jpsmith1cm]

Ok, what am I missing?

Looks like a fairly standard DRSA to me....

Wait.....


I figgered it out.....

[jpsmith1cm]

So, what is the verdict?

Good manifold or not?

[Reeferman]

So, what is the verdict?

Good manifold or not?

I won't know until I go back to work and hook it up to a reefer.

[Reeferman]

Couple of things with this manifold that are going to be an issue. The hose holders that seem to be a good idea I am not sure if they are going to be able to take the weight of the hoses I use. Also the 3/8" hose sticks out and the only way I will be able to change that is to use a 3/8" male to female flare which will add more weight.



U

Unlike the Titan which was easy to do.



The rear case was easy to modify. The sensors do not look square in this picture but are as that was the hardest to get right.



It was a bit too tight to put the battery back where it was so just wrapped it with some rubber material and sits just fine here.




Used nitro and I can see the valves are going to take a bit to get used to but was able to throttle it better than any other manifold I have had. But will have to see how well it does hooked up to a running unit.

[AirTechMech]

Referman,
Where is your goretex in the back of the shell?

[Reeferman]

Referman,
Where is your goretex in the back of the shell?

On the other case.

[Reeferman]

So far these are working much better than I thought they would. Had to adjust charge on a unit and the control for refrigerant is really good. Never thought I would say this about a JB manifold. Time will tell.

[jw-lu597]

A guy I work with has these JB gauges. He really likes them, and has talked with the engineers at JB (they're local, just over in Aurora), and said they're real cool guys. I got a chance to use these last week, evacuating/charging a 410a unit we installed. I LOVE the idea of a ball valve manifold, and the swivel hose hangers are handy to keep the hoses out of the way. Have heard of JB manifolds in the past having leak/wear issues, but the ball valves should fix that for sure. I still just use the cheapo YJ 3-valve, but I'm due for a better set and am thinking about getting these JBs. Only thing I don't like is the knobs JB uses. It's great that they're marked showing the valve position, but I like having the knob-shape for turning, but I guess that's no real big deal. I also might just get the blue Imperial 4-valve manifold, not sure which yet. Either set I buy, I'd eventually replace the gauges themselves with a nice set of Marsh's. I'm not into the whole digital gauge trend. Sorry for the long post -- I'll get to the point:

You folks out there with these manifolds. . . Still really like them???

[JTCHVAC]

I really love my J/B 4 valve, ball valve manifold, and I really love my Ak-900 ( I have had no issues with either ). Its a shame your not into the didital gauges, because there the way to go. I would not say that its a trend to stay up to date, its just smart, and shows you care. When you do make the switch you will say to yourself why didnt I make this switch sooner, and then educate the next person on them.

A guy I work with has these JB gauges. He really likes them, and has talked with the engineers at JB (they're local, just over in Aurora), and said they're real cool guys. I got a chance to use these last week, evacuating/charging a 410a unit we installed. I LOVE the idea of a ball valve manifold, and the swivel hose hangers are handy to keep the hoses out of the way. Have heard of JB manifolds in the past having leak/wear issues, but the ball valves should fix that for sure. I still just use the cheapo YJ 3-valve, but I'm due for a better set and am thinking about getting these JBs. Only thing I don't like is the knobs JB uses. It's great that they're marked showing the valve position, but I like having the knob-shape for turning, but I guess that's no real big deal. I also might just get the blue Imperial 4-valve manifold, not sure which yet. Either set I buy, I'd eventually replace the gauges themselves with a nice set of Marsh's. I'm not into the whole digital gauge trend. Sorry for the long post -- I'll get to the point:


You folks out there with these manifolds. . . Still really like them???

[ga-hvac-tech]

I really love my J/B 4 valve, ball valve manifold, and I really love my Ak-900 ( I have had no issues with either ). Its a shame your not into the didital gauges, because there the way to go. I would not say that its a trend to stay up to date, its just smart, and shows you care. When you do make the switch you will say to yourself why didnt I make this switch sooner, and then educate the next person on them.

Local HVAC Guy I talk to regularly; He kept saying "Digitals are too expensive, I do not need them." Guy finally bought a used set (at a pawn shop), and within a week was saying "I wish I had spent the $$$ years ago, I was being a cheap-skate." However he is still a penny pincher... <grin>

Digitals are worth every penny of the cost!

[jw-lu597]

Perhaps "trend" was poor language on my part, but personally the digis don't interest me yet. Maybe sometime in the future, but for now, the price is not on par with what I need out of my gauges. I actually have not seen anyone here in the entire Chicago area even using them. It wasn't until I started using Hvac-Talk that I realized how popular they've become.

[ga-hvac-tech]

Perhaps "trend" was poor language on my part, but personally the digis don't interest me yet. Maybe sometime in the future, but for now, the price is not on par with what I need out of my gauges. I actually have not seen anyone here in the entire Chicago area even using them. It wasn't until I started using Hvac-Talk that I realized how popular they've become.

Here is the reason I went digital back in 2007:

I read here on H-talk analog gauges could be as much as 35# off right out of the box (new). I thought... no way... However I wanted to know... SOOO:

I talked to the mgr at the local supply house; We took a jug of 410, and hooked up half a dozen new (right out of the box) gauge sets to it (varied brand and price). Guess what: The largest variance was, are you ready: over 40#... yes fourty pounds pressure difference between the highest and lowest.

So how does one know if their gauge are accurate? If they are analog, they do not. If they are digital, and comes from someone that is OCD about quality... well maybe a little better.

I got to thinking: I wonder how many degrees of SH or SC I would be off if my gauge set was 40# off... do the math... it is a significant amount.

The test I did back in 2007 convinced me to go digital, and I have never looked back. I can say not one single person I have spoken to, that bought a digital, has regretted it.