Which A/C vacuum would you buy?

[Michael_P]

I had an old A/C vacuum that used an air compressor, but that tool was loaned out and never returned. This individual has since moved out of state and the vacuum was pretty cheap. Now I'm looking to buy a new one. Below are my possible choices. I want good performance at a rock bottom price since it will be occasionally used. If you click on the Vacuum #, it will take you to the page.

Vacuum #1

Vacuum #2

Vacuum #3

 

[Donald]

I have one of the ones operated by air and it works fine. But I have given up for now my repair of auto A/Cs. Having manifold gauges is not enough. You need to be able to remove the freon, save it, dry and and weigh it putting it back in. R134A is not as forgiving as R12A was. And then their is getting the right amount of oil in the system.

 

[apwillard1986]

Agreed 100%. The air operated one I have has always worked well. I too have decided however that A/C work is not for me...

 

[SrDriver]

If you will not use it much my vote goes for #2 first then #3. Between a good vacuum and changing the drier you should be OK. Make sure that you use the right oil and in the right amount.

#3 would be the best choice if you are doing a lot of A/C work.

 

[Donald]

And you should test it to be freon before doing anything. Jiffy Lube will not work on a vehicle if their test says its not freon. (Not that I am a fan of Jiffy Lube). Some shady places (not to be confused with a shade tree mechanic) have put in butane or propane and it works fine until?? They pull the freon and keep it. And they might have been doing an oil change when they pulled the freon. As the price of freon climbs, this practice will be more common.

 

[Bluestream]

Originally Posted By: Donald
And you should test it to be freon before doing anything. Jiffy Lube will not work on a vehicle if their test says its not freon. (Not that I am a fan of Jiffy Lube). Some shady places (not to be confused with a shade tree mechanic) have put in butane or propane and it works fine until?? They pull the freon and keep it. And they might have been doing an oil change when they pulled the freon. As the price of freon climbs, this practice will be more common.


By Freon, I assume you mean R12. Very few vehicle are left on the road use R12. It may be expensive, but there's not much demand for it anymore.

As for stealing R12 and replacing it with another gas, that would be very illegal and I high risk activity for any shop to engage in.

 

[xxch4osxx]

Id go for a Robinair or Mastercool vacuum pump, but thats just me.

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: Bluestream
Originally Posted By: Donald
And you should test it to be freon before doing anything. Jiffy Lube will not work on a vehicle if their test says its not freon. (Not that I am a fan of Jiffy Lube). Some shady places (not to be confused with a shade tree mechanic) have put in butane or propane and it works fine until?? They pull the freon and keep it. And they might have been doing an oil change when they pulled the freon. As the price of freon climbs, this practice will be more common.


By Freon, I assume you mean R12. Very few vehicle are left on the road use R12. It may be expensive, but there's not much demand for it anymore.

As for stealing R12 and replacing it with another gas, that would be very illegal and I high risk activity for any shop to engage in.


"freon" as in R12 has come down quite a bit in cost.

In any car requiring it, I would stick with R12 after fixing whatever leak may exist.

None of those pumps are very good, but I wouldnt want to be burnining up my air compressor when vacuuming an AC system (since I like to pull vac for a LONG time).

Id find a US-made version of #2 and go with it.

If the work really is seldom, and given the complexities of evacuating and all, Id let a shop do it. It is highly illegal to release ay refrigerant into the atmosphere.

 

[hatcoleman]

I owned several HVAC supply stores and sold many thousands of vacuum pumps. Sold USA and China built pumps. Had to sell the china built pumps to be competitive. Had no more return of china built than USA. All the big name mfg. Robinair, Mastercool, Ritchie(yellow jacket), CPS have a china built pumps. They had to offer them to be competitive. If I had to replace my pump today I would buy the cheapest pump available. Have seen some for sale on Amazon for $90.00 You also will not be using it every day like and a/c tech does. And they get years out of the china built pumps. And they might change oil in theirs once a year or when it turns over in the truck. Would not use the model operated by air compressor.

 

[TooManyWheels]

Originally Posted By: hatcoleman
I owned several HVAC supply stores and sold many thousands of vacuum pumps. Sold USA and China built pumps. Had to sell the china built pumps to be competitive. Had no more return of china built than USA. All the big name mfg. Robinair, Mastercool, Ritchie(yellow jacket), CPS have a china built pumps. They had to offer them to be competitive. If I had to replace my pump today I would buy the cheapest pump available. Have seen some for sale on Amazon for $90.00 You also will not be using it every day like and a/c tech does. And they get years out of the china built pumps. And they might change oil in theirs once a year or when it turns over in the truck. Would not use the model operated by air compressor.


I would say that that is as definitive an answer as you could get.

 

[JC1]

I bought vacuum number 2 from Harbour Freight. Look for the 20% off coupon and buy it then. It works great. I used it when I had to replace my rear A/C line on my Toyota Sienna. I read about the vacuum #1 and it sounded iffy.

Regards, JC.

 

[yonyon]

Of those three, #3 is the best. CFM of a vacuum pump doesn't mean much for auto AC work, the depth of the vacuum is more important by far when you're doing AC and #3 says it's three times as good as #2. #1 is better than nothing but don't expect good results from it unless you're using it with a fresh dryer.

 

[copperlocks1]

Originally Posted By: yonyon
Of those three, #3 is the best. CFM of a vacuum pump doesn't mean much for auto AC work, the depth of the vacuum is more important by far when you're doing AC and #3 says it's three times as good as #2. #1 is better than nothing but don't expect good results from it unless you're using it with a fresh dryer.



Agreed!!...I bought mine at a local pawn shop...it is amazing what you can find with just a few calls...use only cash and haggle the price down

 

[SteveSRT8]

Then again you could always get an old freezer compressor and just solder some fittings on it to hook up your gauges.

Pulls mean vac, and does it noiselessly and quickly.

 

[artbuc]

Originally Posted By: hatcoleman
I owned several HVAC supply stores and sold many thousands of vacuum pumps. Sold USA and China built pumps. Had to sell the china built pumps to be competitive. Had no more return of china built than USA. All the big name mfg. Robinair, Mastercool, Ritchie(yellow jacket), CPS have a china built pumps. They had to offer them to be competitive. If I had to replace my pump today I would buy the cheapest pump available. Have seen some for sale on Amazon for $90.00 You also will not be using it every day like and a/c tech does. And they get years out of the china built pumps. And they might change oil in theirs once a year or when it turns over in the truck. Would not use the model operated by air compressor.


+1. I bought #2 from HF a few years ago when it was branded "General" and it is one well built, reliable unit.