Testo 550 Reliability?

[hvaclover]

This may be a problem that hasn't been considered.
For every guy on here complaining how many are just tossing the thing in the shop or back of the garage?
:

Take heed Doug, he means the fifty percent who quietly give up that the manufacturer does no hear from ever again, those who have lost faith.

Like it or not you are just getting the tip of the ice berg taken care of.

[hvaclover]

Thanks for the offer Doug, but as the 550 was purchased on Ebay through Johnstons, sending the thing back from New Zealand is not practical.
I note when I had a problem with my Digicool, Brenda Lockhart just posted the required part to me, (out of warranty) no questions asked.
It's not rocket science to replace to replace the front half of the case.

If the failure rate is as low as you say, from what I read on these forums your company is taking a pretty hard nosed line on failures they consider are not warranty issues.

Pretty obvious to see why Digi-cool and Doug Lockhart have the following they do.

Cause you got em of Ebay how is that Doug's fault? I didn't know Johnstone was in New Zealand. Why can't you return them thru Johnstones?

And how would Johnston be involved?

[kiwireeferman]

Cause you got em of Ebay how is that Doug's fault? I didn't know Johnstone was in New Zealand. Why can't you return them thru Johnstones?

And how would Johnston be involved?

I thought this thread was about Testo reliability and quality, I must have missed something along the way.

If you read my post properly it should be obvious the instrument was purchased from Johnstone in the US and to return it from NZ is out of the question. Having to return the failed instrument to Testo for non electronic failures is just plain stupid, they should just supply what is needed when proof of purchase with serial number is provided.

[hvaclover]

I thought this thread was about Testo reliability and quality, I must have missed something along the way.

If you read my post properly it should be obvious the instrument was purchased from Johnstone in the US and to return it from NZ is out of the question. Having to return the failed instrument to Testo for non electronic failures is just plain stupid, they should just supply what is needed when proof of purchase with serial number is provided.

No, you said Johnston not Johnstone. Johnston's went out of business in the states and was taken over by Pameco who was then taken over by United Refrigeration.


Read for yourself:

Originally Posted by kiwireeferman View Post
Thanks for the offer Doug, but as the 550 was purchased on Ebay through Johnstons, sending the thing back from New Zealand is not practical.
I note when I had a problem with my Digicool, Brenda Lockhart just posted the required part to me, (out of warranty) no questions asked.
It's not rocket science to replace to replace the front half of the case.


Too much of that good NZ beer?

[Advanced Response]

I got a 550 paper weight that has been sitting in my garage for a little while now..
Let see the hook broke then one of the two pipe clamps quit reading temp, then the meter quit reading the temp probes,, I gave a friend of mine the last good reading pipe clamp but that failed on him a week later, also the glass screen has a corner cracked from the hook breaking and unit falling in the back of the van...

So I have a testo 550 that will not read even good pipe clamps and also two dead pipe clamps.. Also with a screen that is cracked in the corner from a poorly designed hook..

Why would I send it to testo, I have to pay postage to only be told that the failure was possibly water damage and not covered as others have been told..I am sure there may be moisture inside of the unit since the hook broke caused the screen to get a crack in the corner and I could not hook the meter on the condenser anylonger due to no hook..

The sad part is I know of others that also bought the 550 only to throw it in the trash after it broke and told to send it to testo..

Who wants a paper weight..

I have several digicools and not a failure yet..bulletproof..

Don't get me wrong I do have some testo products that I love.. I have a testo 510 manometer that rides in my tool bag daily and is great, also my 605h2 has been great except the battery door is taped closed.. But these products have been good..

The 550 is a failure..
I bought the 550 from trutech tools, great guys but wish I would have bought it from a local supplier with a over the counter warranty exchange.. But I will say that even with a over the counter warranty one of my friends went thru 2 550's last summer, he decided to just junk the last failed in the dumpster,, not worth his time.. He is now waiting on his 1250 digicool, I hope he gets it soon so he can give me back the 1200 loaner I lent him 3 months ago..

I believe iceman is right for everyone person that is complaining you will have 3-4 times that will just junk your product and buy a more reliable product.. Been there done that..

Maybe we should start a thread that asks how many 550's have failed from the Trutech group buy and how many are still operating?

Goodluck
J

[hvaclover]

I got a 550 paper weight that has been sitting in my garage for a little while now..
Let see the hook broke then one of the two pipe clamps quit reading temp, then the meter quit reading the temp probes,, I gave a friend of mine the last good reading pipe clamp but that failed on him a week later, also the glass screen has a corner cracked from the hook breaking and unit falling in the back of the van...

So I have a testo 550 that will not read even good pipe clamps and also two dead pipe clamps.. Also with a screen that is cracked in the corner from a poorly designed hook..

Why would I send it to testo, I have to pay postage to only be told that the failure was possibly water damage and not covered as others have been told..I am sure there may be moisture inside of the unit since the hook broke caused the screen to get a crack in the corner and I could not hook the meter on the condenser anylonger due to no hook..

The sad part is I know of others that also bought the 550 only to throw it in the trash after it broke and told to send it to testo..

Who wants a paper weight..

I have several digicools and not a failure yet..bulletproof..

Don't get me wrong I do have some testo products that I love.. I have a testo 510 manometer that rides in my tool bag daily and is great, also my 605h2 has been great except the battery door is taped closed.. But these products have been good..

The 550 is a failure..
I bought the 550 from trutech tools, great guys but wish I would have bought it from a local supplier with a over the counter warranty exchange.. But I will say that even with a over the counter warranty one of my friends went thru 2 550's last summer, he decided to just junk the last failed in the dumpster,, not worth his time.. He is now waiting on his 1250 digicool, I hope he gets it soon so he can give me back the 1200 loaner I lent him 3 months ago..

I believe iceman is right for everyone person that is complaining you will have 3-4 times that will just junk your product and buy a more reliable product.. Been there done that..

Maybe we should start a thread that asks how many 550's have failed from the Trutech group buy and how many are still operating?

Goodluck
J

wow

Sorry to hear that. You sound like one of the Silent 50% who quietly give up on a product with out mfgr even knowing.

Did you post this after reading what I had written to Doug about the Silent 50%?

I don't own any digital meters so I have no axe to grind. I gave up on trying to use digital pressure gauges back in 1989 or there abouts when TIF sold the first set of digis with press and temp readings.

They never worked right and I ain't trusted them since.

[itsiceman]

1989
You could be holding on to the biggest axe here clover

[bwalley]

.

[bwalley]

wow

Sorry to hear that. You sound like one of the Silent 50% who quietly give up on a product with out mfgr even knowing.

Did you post this after reading what I had written to Doug about the Silent 50%?

I don't own any digital meters so I have no axe to grind. I gave up on trying to use digital pressure gauges back in 1989 or there abouts when TIF sold the first set of digis with press and temp readings.

They never worked right and I ain't trusted them since.

A lot has changed since 1989, back then hardly anyone even knew what a micron gauge was and even fewer people used them.

[jpsmith1cm]

A lot has changed since 1989, back then hardly anyone even knew what a micron gauge was and even fewer people used them.

Some people refuse to acknowledge change, too.

My dad taught me this trade, but he taught me a lot of wrong things like listening to the pump to measure vacuum, beer can cold, etc.

These were never right, but were accepted practice by a large majority of people and have been institutionalized by generations of techs to the point that we are still dealing with them today.

[hvaclover]

A lot has changed since 1989, back then hardly anyone even knew what a micron gauge was and even fewer people used them.

Guys knew what they were....it was just that the expense prohibitive.

I had a Robinaire analog costs over three weeks pay back in the seventies.

[WFL-TX]

I'm sure the 550s are a very nice toy.

I played with them in a supply house, but I know the conditions I work under.

The 550 would simply NOT survive doing the job that I do day to day.

It's nice that you do comfy AC work in sunny Florida.

Not everybody does AC work nor does everybody live in sunny Florida.

Here in western PA, we see temperature extremes of -20F to 100F in the summer. On summer days, my DRSA goes from inside a freezer to on a roof.

From what I've read about the 550, internal condensation is a BIG problem. Seems to me that temperature swings like that are a very likely cause.


Want to ask again what freezing and thawing will prove?

-20 in Western PA.???? Humm I think he ment CA for CANADA...

[jpsmith1cm]

-20 in Western PA.???? Humm I think he ment CA for CANADA...

I said what I meant and meant what I said.

While -20 isn't an every year event, it is common enough to be considered in design factors.

-10 is much more common. I expect that annually.

[Chuck]

I couldn't let this go without telling my experience with the 550.

I got one when they first came out last spring. So mine should have been one with all sorts of problems, right.

Well its been perfect, never had a problem of any kind. And yes I've had it in subzero freezers and back up on the hot roof. The thing has had a layer of frost on it which melted and then back in the freezer to check evap SH. No problems.

Never had a ground strap and have used it to charge a lot of systems, no issues with static.

I've had it out in the rain a few times and like I said no issues at all. It doesn't live in a case, just hangs in back of the truck.

I actually prefer it over my DC 1250 due to the way the screen is laid out, and the fact that SH and SC and pressures are all on the screen at once. Also its more compact than the 1250. Haven't dropped it off a roof yet, so maybe not a true test right? LOL

With all that being said, I too read of problems here that guys were having and due to that have been using my 1250 in the more extreme conditions. Just a little worried about water damage on the 550. The Digicools definitely have a better reputation for the guys that use and/or abuse their tools more, so thats what I would get for some of our other techs.

Will be interesting to see the ak900 model.

[jvillehvac]

Had my since spring, first batch from trutech. Only problems i have had is that one of the temp clamps stopped working and last week the low side valve leaks by. Other than that its been good.

[wildbunch]

digicool may not look as nice but hold up much better than testo 550 on the 550 I HAD plastic cracked around were my hoses hook up and its a shame to cause i liked how the screen was laid out easy to see everythig going on in the system

[bb]

Mine slipped out of tool bag and fell 4 feet on a tile floor and it cracked it's skull (display).

Anyone have a display for sale?

[ChaseAir]

First the temp display was losr (static discharge?) Then I got a drop of water in it and it is completely toast. Piece of junk. Never again will I buy any Testo product.

[will364]

i bought mine around may of last year. the only problem I had was one of the pipe clamp probes quit working. the testo rep replaced them with a new set in about 4 to 5 days. havent had a problem since. I retired my old gages after I got the 550's. I found alot of over charged systems with them last summer. with both probes you can see sh and sc, delta T, line temps., evap temp, condensing temp. you can do a timed pressure test, and can use the guages for I believe like 32 or 38 refrigerants. some very well spent money.

[bb]

After display cracking from a very short fall (see post above) bought a new set and within a few days while checking AC the temps on the display went to dashes. I pulled batteries out to reset and got temp displays back but then the temps would not switch to SH/SC or T1/T2 temp modes. Had to return to Johnstone for replacement. This is my 3rd set.

If anyone would like to part with a 550 display please contact me. Testo won't sell me the part, which is easily removable and I'm afraid that if I do what they want me to do and send it in for repair that the repair is going to cost more than the unit is worth.

What a waste.