Best pressure & vacuum gauges according to redditors

Without tools, the best you can really do is look for oiliness on the pipe. When you find a joint that feels oily (look for dark colours on the pipe, usually covered in very fine dust. Once you rub the dusty area with your fingers you'll feel the oiliness), spray/pour a small amount of washing up liquid over it and look for bubbles. If there's any refrigerant left in the system, you'll usually see bubbles appear (or over a longer period, foam). Of course if the gas has all escaped already - and we're only talking a couple of hundred grams here - then you won't see any bubbles.

Most domestic gear has no access fitting at all so even locating the leak can be difficult if there's no visual indication. You need to get pressure in there so you can leak test - this means adding a bullet piercing valve (like this).

Then you need to put something in via your bullet piercing valve to raise the system pressure. It's best to use dry nitrogen to leak test to save wasting refrigerant, but since you most likely don't have that on hand you could buy yourself some refrigerant (most likely R134a) and pressurise with that. That's a big no-no here (both disposable cylinders and dumping gas to atmosphere by charging a system with a known leak) but I'm guessing your in the US, and those sorts of laws seem remarkably lax so go for gold. It's not like you'll be ruining MY ozone layer too, right? ;)

You also need to regulate the pressure going in to the system. This is where you need gauges. Connect the yellow line to your bottle, connect the blue line loosely to your bullet piercing valve, purge from cylinder to piercing valve by opening the cylinder tap + gauges tap, and releasing some pressure via the loose fitting, then tighten the fitting and close your gauges tap. Open the bullet piercing valve. Open the gauges tap slowly and give it ~50psi of system pressure.

Then you can go for gold with your soap, or you can lash out and grab yourself some "proper" leak detection fluid (like this), or better yet an electronic leak detector (like this one).

Once you've found your leak, you want to release your nitrogen (or reclaim your refrigerant using a reclaim plant and a spare cylinder), then repair it using an oxy/acetalyne set, or since it's only tiny pipework you can get away with a MAPP gas set.

If it's a copper->copper joint, you're laughing - polish the pipework up with emery cloth, heat the pipe until it's just this side of glowing red, and feed the joint with brown tip silver solder.

If it's a copper->steel joint, then it's a bit more of a pain. You need blue tip silver solder and flux. Clean your joint with the emery cloth, give it a nice coating of flux on every surface you need solder to stick to, then heat it up until it's a fair way short of glowing red. Feed the blue tip solder in and STOP. Unlike brown tip (15% silver) you can't just keep feeding blue tip (45% silver) as it ruins the weld.

Now, since you put on a bullet piercing valve and they leak like a sieve in the long term, we need to replace that with a schrader access valve. Since it's most likely going to be in a straight through piece of pipe, you can save time and grab yourself a pre made access valve in 1/4" pipe. Cut away the hole left by the bullet piercing valve, polish the copper and cut the pipework with a ~10mm gap using a tube cutter. Then slip your access fitting assembly in there, and follow the copper->copper joint procedure.

Of course, now that we've done all that you need to change the liquid line filter drier too. I'd recommend a 1/4" solder in core drier in place of the original copper spun drier because... well, copper spun driers are terrible. Follow the pipe cutting procedure from the piercing valve instructions and the soldering instructions from the copper->copper joint instructions and that's done too. Remember - always try and mount the drier so it's outlet is LOWER than its inlet. This turns the drier into a small liquid receiver and helps ensure a good liquid seal over the capillary tube. Speaking of capillary tubes, if it was inserted straight into the original copper spun drier CUT the capillary, don't try and unsweat it. The chances of blocking it up are about 82.5634% (approximately) when you unsweat capillarys. You're much better off chopping it with a set of capillary tube cutters and ensuring a good clean capillary. The ~30mm of wasted capillary will affect performance, but almost certainly not to any sort of measurable degree.

Then give the system a good evacuation using a vacuum pump and ensure it reaches a good vacuum (sub-500 micron) with a digital vacuum gauge.

Then using a set of electronic scales, charge your freshly evacuated system (remembering to purge!) to the charge recommended by the manufacturer.

Voila! You have just fixed your chest freezer.

..... Alternatively, pay someone to do it for you and/or recycle the components and buy yourself a new one.

years ago a customer bought an inline booster fan for a similar situation you describe and asked us to install it for him. the fan plugs into a 120v outlet and an air pressure switch with a small tubing gets inserted in the duct senses when the main blower turns on. then starts the booster fan. works the same way as all those fantech dryer booster fans that im sure everyone loves to work on lol. its a cheap and easy "fix" for what u are describing. obviously wiring is better for long term. quick google search found this guy on amazon. maybe something similar would be what ur looking for.good luck.


http://www.amazon.com/Tjernlund-Switch-Duct-Pressure/dp/B002EC1O0C

I have been carrying FENIX flashlights for 6 or so years.

I currently carry the Fenix TX22 2014 edition.

Previously, I carried:

Fenix TK22

Fenix TK21

EDIT: Forgot, I had the Fenix TK15 as well.

Fenix TK12

All of them take 18650 batteries (one of the reasons I bought them). None have failed me due to water/rain (western Washington), dropsies, or anything like that. I am a goober and wear my flashlight on a NiteIze stretchy belt holster. I use my flashlight daily and usually charge the battery when the "High" and "Turbo" setting are hard to tell apart.

I did get the Fenix remote switch for my TK-12 when I had that on one of my ARs, and it worked fine, but I am not tacticool enough, so I took it off. I did not think it took a lot of force to activate, but I just didn't think it needed to be on my AR, so now it sits somewhere in my bedroom, quietly pondering its short span of usefulness.

That gave me a great idea! What if I bought all 5 of these items and rigged them up in order onto a 12 oz soda bottle:

• PET Bottle "Carbonator" Cap
  
  
• Disconnect with 1/4" flared male
  
  
• 1/4" flared female to 1/4" MPT
  
  
• 1/4" FPT coupling
  
  
• 1/4 MPT Digital Pressure Gauge

LOL :) That list is shorter ...

You'll need a pressure gauge, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0087UCI8C/ has a relatively low maximum for high sensitivity (easy to see if there's a drop)

You'll need a valve you can hook a hand pump on to (like what you'd use to pump up a bike tire -- I don't recommend an electric pump because of the low pressure you need). https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001PLI4BA/ is in the same threading as the gauge.

You'll need a tee to connect these things to -- https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000BQUTBS/

Finally, connecting the tee to your rig. I take a scrap of tubing, put a fitting on one end, and slip the other over: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000CFNKBO/ (check for your tube's inside diameter!).

I'm serious about the rear tire pressure. It's probably around 35-40lbs of pressure right now. Get a really good tire pressure gauge... because you need one anyway. I could build a nice house for what you have invested in that bike, so don't be cheap and get a good one. Hell, even if you don't change the tire pressure like I'm suggesting, you still need a good tire pressure gauge.

There's a ton of $10 gauges floating around, but I've never found two that read the same, so all of them can be counted on to be inaccurate. But there are good, relatively inexpensive gauges out there. Avoid the digital ones unless you into the >$200 product lines. Not necessary unless you work on a racing team and 1/10lb differences are going to be appropriate and necessary for track condition changes. But GOOD dial-gauges with flexible hoses can be had for about $40-50. Intercomp and Joe's Racing both make reliable, accurate gauges, and they're almost as good as the ones for professional racing teams. Make sure these are 60lb gauges, because you can use them on your car and truck, too. Buy a good one once and you'll never need to buy another. I know you understand this idea.

You probably don't have an inner tube in that rear tire so don't go below 20lbs ever, although I've limped my Road King home on a tire going flat that had about 15lbs in it (an 800lb bike is NOT the same as the 475lb bikes that Harley recommended 15lbs of pressure for). but 22-25lbs is more than enough for the tire to retain its bead on the rim under almost all conditions (except drag racing, unless you're rolling on the throttle instead of dumping the clutch) and hitting a hard curb straight on at 50+mph, and then you'e already got other problems. But running 22-25lbs may make the difference between enjoying every minute of your ride and having to buy a football mouth guard to keep from breaking teeth. OK, you probably don't need the mouth guard, but the difference between 35-40lbs and 22-25lbs will be night and day. Give it a try?

Not wireless, but doesn't require a wire back to the furnace. I have been using something like this for over a year now:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002EC1O0C/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It senses pressure in the duct from the furnace blower and kicks the switch on. It needs to be hardwired to interrupt the power to the outlet the fan is connected to.

I ran into one strange issue. My ducts are in unconditioned space in the attic. One day, I left a single window open on the main floor of the house and the wind was blowing directly at the window. The wind increased the pressure in the house enough to pressurize the ducts and kick the fan on a few times. Otherwise, it works really well.

Looking at a pic that gage might be replaceable. A back mount gage like this might work.

www.amazon.com/dp/B016MM67TM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_Gs7ZxbA4M1GJ3

You don't need to buy those pre-made ones. You can just make one yourself with cheapo non-watercooling components. Low-pressure air gauge, a schrader valve, a t-block with one male and two female ends, and a thread adapter. About $20 worth of stuff, assuming you already have something to pump it with.

I would do some of these:

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00C97J5EE

And cobble something together with a raspberry pi or arduino. I don't think I would care to have it just passively telling me the temp, I'd want a logic alert like "Temp in tank X below 60C" or something. Some of the probes out there aren't food grade so buyer beware. I'd design more around what I have... Are there threaded bungs at the top/bottom of the tanks? Can you have some welded in and passivated (assuming stainless)? Epoxy if plastic? etc...

That should probably be fine. I might suggest a somewhat weak test of putting a slight kink in the hose pointing upwards... if the vacuum is struggling against it, it'll suck the hose back to straight.

Sadly, my testing methodology isn't particularly portable. I was given an 11 (?) inch absolute pressure gauge (Heise; this style) from the '60's, which I have up on display on the wall, but for fun is plumbed to a pneumatic quick connect. So I basically just patched it over to the vacuum using some pneumatic hose. A gauge like this could do the job, but TBH I don't think it's worth it unless you have another use for a vacuum gauge.

The connection part was stupid simple though: cut off a few inches of random 1/4" hard plastic tubing, drill 1/4" hole in the F-F coupling connector, jam the tubing in the hole, apply hot glue to prevent leaks. From there, it was just whatever connectors were handy. (I have a set of vacuum hold-down clamps, which helps explain why this array of stuff was readily available)

----

As a significantly less scientific approach, you could connect a host straight to the vacuum, use a blast gate or even just a hand to block the flow varying amounts, and note how the sound changes. Then you can put the same hose setup as you normally use, just without the separator, and see how it sounds. Finally, with the whole setup, again. That should at least give a rough estimate for how much work and flow restriction it's all causing, and establish if it's due to the hoses, or due to the separator.

E: Addendum: that assumes that you have no leaks, and all airflow loss is due to pressure drop. If it doesn't sound like the vacuum is working any harder, but you get noticeably less airflow, then you likely are in the "leaking somewhere" regime. I don't think that's likely though, because you need a pretty enormous leak in order to appreciably affect the vacuuming performance of the Fein.

Good enough. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07K7HT3XJ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_9rjyDb546KG6G Unfortunately if you're looking for a accurate reading with a fair-weather tool you need to static tubes or what they call pitot tubes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSSG2J9CQ7c

https://www.amazon.com/MarshallTown-90997-Permagauge-Pressure-30-100PSI/dp/B00SLB5HLC

To make it clear, this pressure switch is on Neutral for all inline blowers for the three zones. Purpose is - if the HVAC is not blowing air, don't run in-ines.
Hot wires for each zone are managed by Z-wave switches, that only turn on, if the zone needs to meet certain heating or cooling temp.

Problem I have is that in heating mode stage 1, whole system does not have enough pressure in ducts to set off the pressure switch.

From everything I read here, looks my options might be limited to adjustable switch like https://smile.amazon.com/Dwyer-Adjustable-Differential-Pressure-Connection/dp/B00ATGAPD2

What I realized is that if I use one of the RIB relays, in-line blower will start pushing air the moment furnace or compressor turn on but the HVAC blower has not turned on yet. That would lead to unconditioned air to start blowing.

So I got the spout to come off, now for the next part.

Do you think

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008VO5RHI/ref=twister_B00GGDY6CS?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
and
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001PNIL48/ref=twister_B007D995UC?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

would work also?

I use this one paired with this gauge and this connector, and love it.

I made a fixture that screwed the cap lid down. It makes zero difference in the leaks.

I've purchased a nice vacuum gauge, https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002JP5PAE which allowed me to eliminate the arduino with BMP183 inside the chamber. I still see the same level of leak, so I feel comfortable that outgassing by the arduino or its battery isn't the cause of the slow increase in pressure.

I noticed that the hose fittings (1/4" flare) are prone to leaking. At this point, it seems like my (pipe-thread and flare) fittings connected to the vacuum chamber are the remaining source of leaks- either they aren't tightened enough, or they have leftover oxygen in the threads.

I haven't completely eliminated outgassing of acrylic as the othe rremaining cause of pressure increase. I guess the only thing I can do is continuously pump the chamber for a couple days without exposing it to atmosphere.

I have the cased Apollo from HD. It had multiple jaws and the kit was well layed out. It also had a crimp go/no-go tool. It worked fine for me.

I also got a gauge like this:
http://www.amazon.com/Jones-Stephens-G64-015-0-15-Pound-Gauge/dp/B000HEC3YK

Filled the system up (with test plugs in place where needed) and checked for pressure drop (My gauge went to 60 psi though.. I got it at ACE and I can't find it online). Then I went around with soapy water spritzer looking for leaks. I let it sit for a while too just to ensure no pressure drop overnight.