AccuTools BluVac Micron Gauge

[itsiceman]

just got my bluvac yesterday in the mail. busted it out and was playin with it just pulling a vaccum on a 5foot hose with the gauge on the end. i can't get it too hold a vaccum. no matter what i do. i've tried just a hose and using the pump to blank off then i tried my manifold thinking my pump might have a small leak. but it still just keeps climbing.

I know ain't it cool!! Did you expect something different?

i can pull the hose off completley and sometimes it just climbs in microns doesn't go to hi-p?

Could be dirty or most likely residual gas or something beside air is in the sensor cavity still. If you blow at the tip it will clear very quickly.

[mjm88]

i guess i thought it should be able to hold a vaccum on a 5 foot hose? it pulls down to 200 microns and jumps up to over 2000 no matter what. maybe i'm doin somethin wrong

[darctangent]

just got my bluvac yesterday in the mail. busted it out and was playin with it just pulling a vaccum on a 5foot hose with the gauge on the end. i can't get it too hold a vaccum. no matter what i do. i've tried just a hose and using the pump to blank off then i tried my manifold thinking my pump might have a small leak. but it still just keeps climbing. i can pull the hose off completley and sometimes it just climbs in microns doesn't go to hi-p?

If your hose is old (say more that a year or two) it is likely to leak. When I test my micron gauge I have an isolation valve connected directly to the micron gauge. No hose, nothing but the micron gauge and the ball valve. the more stuff you have the more opportunities for a leak. You shouldn't expect a hose to not leak.

Is this your first micron gauge?

PS- lots of brand new hoses leak quite a bit. It seems it takes some use before the o-rings start to seal up properly.

[mjm88]

first one that works. my boss gave me one and it was an old thermal and i had to keep sending it in to get fixed. i guess i didn't think about the hose leaking and the gauge being so accurate.

[darctangent]

first one that works. my boss gave me one and it was an old thermal and i had to keep sending it in to get fixed. i guess i didn't think about the hose leaking and the gauge being so accurate.

I'm not sure what to make of this unit everybody is crazy about, but I can tell you that using any reliable micron gauge will significantly change the way you do things.

I get really annoyed at the prospect of buying new hoses every year or so when they work perfectly well for pressurized systems but suck wind when you are pulling a vacuum so I do things like this:

Instead of using hoses and a manifold I use the vacuum pump, the micron gauges, 1/4 ball valves, and 1/4 copper and flare nuts. The copper tubing is the key to the whole thing. I take as many connections, fittings, and all the hoses out of the equation. My systems pull down quicker, lower, and with fewer mistakes.

You also need to learn about Nitrogen brazing and triple evac procedures.

If you do a search you can read up here.

[joeyd]

just got my bluvac yesterday in the mail. busted it out and was playin with it just pulling a vaccum on a 5foot hose with the gauge on the end. i can't get it too hold a vaccum. no matter what i do. i've tried just a hose and using the pump to blank off then i tried my manifold thinking my pump might have a small leak. but it still just keeps climbing. i can pull the hose off completley and sometimes it just climbs in microns doesn't go to hi-p?

You've got multiple issues going on here. First, the volume of your hose is *very* small, it doesn't take a large leak or much outgassing to make the pressure rise rapidly.

Secondly, don't rely on your pump's blank-off valve...in my experience, they are unreliable and generally very leaky, especially when turning the valve. Turning the valve usually results in a rapid jump in pressure.

Third, your long hose is both susceptible to permeation of gas through the hose and seals, and it also sounds like you have refrigerant absorbed into the inside surface of the hose.

There is lots of good advice, both here and on other forums, as to how to pull a deep and stable vacuum. Use good quality vacuum rated vacuum hoses, possibly a vacuum rated core removal tool, and, pull against a larger volume and for a longer time.

The BluVac is *very* sensitive and responds very fast to small changes in pressure. It really lets you see what is going on inside your evacuated volume. It will take some getting use to.

Good luck!

[dawgtchrr]

Very well said Joe.

[tech45]

I'm ordering one of these tomorrow. Too many good reviews and it looks solid.
Also , the analog " graph " feature has me sold.

My favorite gauges are the Thermal ( 14071 ? ) and the Robinair 14010A analogs. I hope this gauge puts the others back in the garage

[gravity]

so.......has anyone used the bluvacs yet? trying to get some feedback. or do not alot of people own them? or maybe everyone that owns one is to busy vacuuming systems and cant post on here how well they work?

[hvac wiz 79]

it works good . . to the point I wonder how BAD my supco was with accuracy. I've only used it once on a job but played around with my pump & some hoses. I am looking for ways to better beef up my vacuum set up. can u guys post pics of your ways & set ups ? . . . matter of fact I should start a thread here in this forum

[gravity]

i think u guys should make the end piece be able to hook to a 1/4" shraider port. or sell and adapter with the gauge. im not liking how you have to hook a hose upto it

[joeyd]

i think u guys should make the end piece be able to hook to a 1/4" shraider port. or sell and adapter with the gauge. im not liking how you have to hook a hose upto it

I assume "u guys" means AccuTools. When designing the BluVac, we labored over what we thought would be the best fitting. Should it be M or F Flare? Perhaps a 1/8th or 1/4th male NPT (to allow multiple adapters). A 'T' possibly?

What we learned is that every tech has his own individual preference. We chose the 1/4 Male Flare because it is overall the most reliable and least susceptible to damage.

As far as adapters go, they are available everywhere. Some cheap, some expensive, some good, some bad. Our business is making the best electronic tools available. We don't do hardware...others do that much better than we can! I know a lot of techs that make their own fittings...they don't trust much of what they could buy.

There are many threads here and on other forums that highly recommend using a core removal tool as the gauge adapter...specifically, it seems that there is a high regard for the Appion core tool. I am not associated with Appion, but if their core tool makes my gauge work better, I have no problem passing on the info!

[gravity]

i use 2 core removal tools during vacuum. i think im going to get a 1/4 swivel connector. i just got the bluvac today and hooked it up to my vac pump using a vacuum hose to see how it worked. seems pretty cool now ill have to check it out in the field.