The Truth About Owning a Combustion Analyzer

Why combustion analyzers are like cars.

Here’s a great way to understand the true cost of owning a combustion analyzer.

Remember when you got your first car or truck? Taking Drivers’ education class was a waste of time and money. 

Then there’s the car. First the initial cost for the vehicle, then the cost of insurance, then maintenance, fluid changes, tires, wipers, brake pads, rotors – yikes! 

If you bought it new it started to depreciate as soon as you drove it off the lot. Whether you used it or not it was going to cost you something every month that you owned it. 

Then you screwed up and damaged it…Ugh another cost! 

Do you get the picture? 

Owning a combustion analyzer is just like owning a vehicle. That said, you still own a car or truck. Why?

Because the value of ownership far exceeds to cost to own. 

Analyzers, no matter what make or model require service, calibration, cleaning, consumable parts and rather expensive CO and O2 cells to keep them operating and accurate. Owning an analyzer requires a little bit of personal responsibility and if that responsibility is taken lightly you will pay the consequences. 

It’s no different than driving on the wrong side of the road or ignoring the check engine light on the truck. If you don’t understand what you are doing or the feedback you are getting, there’s a price to be paid. 

Just like wrecking your truck you, too, can ruin your analyzer. So, let’s be clear, there is no doubt an analyzer will cost you money -at least on an annual basis -as annual service and calibration is the bare minimum.

So, there are many things to consider, there is the initial cost of the analyzer, training that you might require to use it properly, and the cost of continued of ownership/upkeep. 

Going back to that car/truck, not only is there an initial cost, but you have to make a commitment at some point to learn to drive it. You need to understand the laws, or in our case industry standards. 

You need to understand where to drive the vehicle, or in our case where you are supposed to measure. You need to understand what you are measuring, how to measure it and how to protect yourself and the analyzer from damage during testing. 

Do you really need it? 

Yes, sorry, but there really is not an option in this case. In short, if you are working on fossil fuel appliances, you need to be using a combustion analyzer. Not having an analyzer and not measuring combustion gasses simply does not absolve you of liability. 

Not using a combustion analyzer leaves you blind to some pretty serious potential problems, not maintaining a standard of care and missing billable service opportunities. 

The HVAC industry, specifically AHRI has published standards for testing heat exchangers and a combustion analyzer is required to complete the process.

So, what’s the deal? Why are analyzers such high maintenance? 

Let’s start here. Analyzers in general only measure 4 things, pressures, temperature, O2, and CO. What you may not have considered is that it is measuring them in some of the hottest, wettest, most caustic conditions that any test instrument is ever exposed to. Flue gasses are some nasty stuff, and your analyzer is constantly breathing that stuff in. 

Tough conditions are simply the start of the problem. Combustion analyzers have chemical cells to measure CO and O2. The minute after your combustion analyzer is made the cells start depleting. If you use your analyzer on every job or buy it and leave it in the truck, there will be little difference in life of the sensors. If you leave an analyzer on the shelf for a year, no matter what the brand, you have lost a year of life of the analyzer. Then on top of the lost year it is now in need of a calibration and depending on the cell life, maybe another set of cells. 

Just like owning a car is a huge responsibility so is owning an analyzer. However, there is also a huge benefit to ownership. Obviously, you are not carrying your tools and equipment in a wagon because there is a huge benefit to owning a truck. 

A truck affords you opportunity that a wagon simply will not and owning a combustion analyzer has a huge cost benefit also. Not only can it mitigate risk of exposing yourself or your customer to excessive levels of CO, but it can also help you identify problems with combustion, draft, input, or even mechanical faults like heat exchanger failures that might not be visible to the naked eye. 

Used properly, a combustion analyzer can pay for itself in the first weeks if not the first few hours of use.

Now, go to your favorite show room and pick out a great combustion analyzer to drive to work!


Core Tool Testing

How do I test my vacuum gauge?

We get a lot of calls inquiring about how to test vacuum gauges. "How do I test my core tools and how do I test my hoses to see if things are leaking?"

It's actually a pretty tricky science because it's not about leakage. It's about a process called adsorption (Yes, with a "d").

Adsorption is a surface's ability to hold moisture at a molecular level. On a molecular level moisture is bonded to a surface. So it's not anything like liquid water that you could see. It's almost like a sponge where the metal will absorb moisture to bond at a molecular level and then those moisture bonds have to break through a process called desorption. Desorption takes time.

About the only reference we have in the field to see if things are working correctly, first of all, is with our vacuum pump. What we show in the video below is a NAVAC 12 cfm pump. Before we run our test, there are a couple things to be aware of.

Be aware of how your micron gauge is rated. For instance, the AccuTools micron gauge is rated at +/- 5 microns. So if your gauge is reading 25 microns, it could be as low as 20 or has high as 30.

The pump is rated at 5 microns, so if you see your gauge at 25 microns then you might think that your pump is defective, but it's not. The pump is rated for 5 microns, with fresh dry oil in it, with the right type of oil. Using a higher quality oil will give you better performance than a lower quality. So as a general rule, any pump that can pull below 30 microns is performing well.

As we test the core tools in the video there are things to consider. Once you hook up a core tool, you will lose some vacuum because you're including more components for the pump to pull down. We have increased the surface area for desorption to take place, which means those things are wet. For instance, if your core tool is rated to 20 microns, it may not achieve 20 microns right away because it's the leak rate that it has to overcome. So when they say 20 microns, I have to have something that can pull down below 20 microns. In other words, if my pump can pull down to zero, then the core tool would show 20. So if my pump can only pull down to 20 then I should expect my core tool to read around 40 microns.

So if you have your micron gauge hooked up to a vacuum pump with a core tool and you close off the ball valve, you will see your micron gauge climb. This is not a leak. This is trapped gases and moisture that's on the side of the ball valve, that's increasing in pressure. So when it's completely isolated, you will still see the gauge climb and you might think "I have a defective core tool." But you don't. There is a small bit of volume (between the closed off ball valve and gauge) and a lot of surface area, so it's just moisture desorption taking place and building up pressure against the gauge. Take a look at the video to see the difference in performance between the AccuTools core tool and the Appion core tool.

https://youtu.be/D_ZECGhVFyE


My BluVac is reading erratically

Ever wonder what those blue squiggle lines mean on your BluVac reports? Jim will explain what those readings mean and why you're getting them. We dive deep into the AccuTools core removal tools and explain the difference between ours and the competitors. It's a highly informative video that could save you time on the job site.

Why does the micron level increase after the valve is closed and the pump is turned off?

You will see leakage because the volume it's holding is so small. The gauge has such high sensitivity, you will see things you would not normally. The only way to alleviate this is to run the pump for a very long time, on the order of many hours or day, or adding heat. Check out the video at about 4 minutes in to hear more about it.

For a more in-depth understanding: All solid materials have an affinity of water vapor. This water vapor "adsorbs" onto the internal metal surfaces of the volume being evacuated. Just like liquid water, the adsorbed water has a vapor pressure. The vapor pressure is dependent upon the number of layers of water molecules adhered to the surface, and the temperature of the surface. The water "desorbs" when the pressure in the volume is dropped below the vapor pressure, but only very slowly - especially at room temperature. When the pump is blanked off, the water continues to desorb, very quickly raising the pressure of the small internal volume. Click here to learn more about water vapor and the properties of moisture.

For gauge confirmation, we recommend...

  1. Attach the gauge directly to the vacuum pump. A good two-stage pump with fresh, dry oil will pull the gauge to below 30 microns within about a minute or two. If this pressure can be achieved, it is indicative that both the gauge and pump are working properly. A leaking gauge would not allow the pressure to be pulled so deep.
  2. Attach the gauge to a backing volume (clean recovery tank) with a quality Valve Core Removal Tool. Pull the vacuum deep for at least one hour and blank off the Core Tool. After an initial rise, the pressure should level out over a short period of time - indicating a leak free gauge, Core Tool and connections. A pressure that continues to rise linearly (a straight line up) indicates a leak somewhere in the setup - but not likely the gauge itself.

Interested in purchasing a Core Removal Tool?


Our New Adapters

Not sure if you noticed, but we've improved our adapters!

If you've purchased a kit after March 1, 2020 you likely have the new adapters. Here's what to look for in the new editions.

New 1/2 Inch Adapter

Old 1/2 Inch Adapter

New 1/4 inch Adapter

Old 1/4 inch Adapter

New Right Angle Adapter

Old Right Angle Adapter

So let's talk facts. If you look closely at the images you will notice the port center is a bit bigger on the newer adapters. You may be thinking, "The wider ports will have faster flow than the older ones." The larger port size does NOT affect the speed of the evacuation. If you need more explanation on why port size doesn't matter, take a look at this video. The port size only matters until 20,000 microns is hit, which is milliseconds worth of time in a normal vacuum.

So you're probably asking yourself "Well why did they change their adapters then?" We made these changes for a few reasons; The newer adapters are a bit more compact, they look better and they have fewer brazing points.

Why we make removable ends.. because sometimes you need a right-angle.

If you're looking for replacement gaskets

Which gasket to purchase? 

AccuTools changed the brass adapters in late February 2020; it hit the shelves in early March.  The differences between the parts is the older gasket is raised above the lip of the adapter.  In the new adapters, the gaskets fit well within the fitting. 

Part Number for older adapters SA10868

Part Number for new adapters SA10868-1


Something's leaking

If you're having trouble pulling below 1000 microns, you're not alone. The solution to it might be easier than you think though.

First make sure that the pump is not the issue. Attach a micron gauge directly to the pump to make sure it can pull down to the desired microns.

Which core tool are you using? Some off-brand core tools' Schrader's will sit a bit low on the side port, and is sometimes not fully actuated by the core depressor in the coupler used to attach the BluVac.

The core depressor in the coupler is screw-in type. Turn the depressor 2 turns and try again. The partially open schrader does not allow proper gas pressure to be communicated to the sensor.


The BluVac app is powered by MeasureQUICK

BluVac app & S10/Note10

Update: As of 2022, the below is no longer an issue.  

Having trouble connecting to your Samsung?

Click HERE to find some simple troubleshooting techniques for your Android device. (Note: If these techniques do not work, please read below)

There is a bug currently with the Galaxy versions of Android 10 
affecting the BluVac micron gauges.  In the meantime, if you are having a problem connecting our gauge to you Galaxy model device, please call us.  
AccuTools developed a solution to workaround this bug. Please email us at sales@accutools.com or call us at 954.227.0781


Stop Screwing Around with Crappy Vacuum Gauges and Step-up to BluVac Technology!

There's Nothing Like BluVac!

There's nothing like BluVac, nothing that competes with BluVac, and nothing that beats BluVac for HVAC and Refrigeration Evacuation. Simply put, patented features you will only find with BluVac protect us from the competition.

  • Highest accuracy and resolution on all our micron gauges (5% +/- 5 micron accuracy, 0.1-micron resolution (BluVac+ Pro) and 1-micron resolution (BluVac+ LTE, Micro))
  • Built-in oil sensor -- BluVac+ informs the operator of contamination. Subsequently, can be cleaned easily with isopropyl alcohol.
  • Self Diagnostics -- BluVac+ can check its own calibration and inform the operator if calibration is required.
  • Self Calibrated -- Full factory accuracy can be achieved simply by placing the BluVac+ in the freezer. No vacuum pump or reference gauge required.
  • Analog Bargraph Display (BluVac+ Pro, LTE) -- provides a quick visual indication of evacuation progress.
  • Advanced Power Management -- provides up to 300 hours of operation on a single 9V battery (BluVac+ Pro, LTE) or 100 hours on 2 'AAA' batteries (Micro).
  • Instant warm-up and instant response.
  • Combined with high resolution, it shows precisely what is occurring inside the evacuated volume at any instant in time. Moisture, dissolved refrigerant, outgassing, and leaks are easily detected.
  • Wide Operating Temperature and Pressure Range -- BluVac+ is among the very few micron gauges that can operate within full specifications from 10°F/-12°C to 122°F/50°C and throughout the entire pressure range without derating based upon temperature/pressure.
  • 1000 PSI Maximum Overpressure -- BluVac+ will not be destroyed (or even harmed) by charging a system prior to valving off the gauge.

The BluVac+ Pro and LTE gauges also include:

  • Leak Rate Indicator -- shows the rate-of-change of pressure in units/second or units/minute.  This valuable information helps an operator to determine if the rise rate is due to leaks or moisture.
  • Temperature Indicator -- displays ambient temperature with 0.1C/F resolution and 0.1C/0.2F accuracy.

The top-of-the-line BluVac+ Pro also includes the following outstanding productivity features:

  • Programmable -- automates the evacuation process and rise-time analysis by both pressure and time.  Sounds an audible/visual alarm when evacuation/rise-time testing is complete.  A rise-time PASS indication can be achieved in as little as 15 seconds, depending upon the condition of the system under evacuation.
  • Additional display units:  inHg and PSI

BluVac technology was developed over a period of 8 years and launched in October 2010.  The main impetus behind the BluVac program was to produce a micron gauge technology that solves the basic problems affecting micron gauges utilized in HVAC service.

BluVac Solves:

  • Lack or loss of calibration
  • Temperature sensitivities
  • Oil/particulate contamination
  • Measurement speed
  • Power requirements

The patented BluVac technology addresses all of those issues through a combination of a novel thermistor based vacuum sensing technique and advanced digital signal processing via an on-board CPU.  Working together, the BluVac gauges provide a highly accurate, high-speed, low power, high confidence solution to measuring pressure during HVAC evacuation.  Powerful self-diagnostic capabilities, plus the ability to be recalibrated without any special equipment, ensure that the gauge is always operating to its highest accuracy and performance.


https://patents.google.com/patent/US8504313B2

https://patents.google.com/patent/US8768633B2

All Bluvac+ products connect via Bluetooth to any Android or iOS device using our BluVac app, or can run stand-alone.


Evacuation of a 2500 ton Centrifugal Chiller

Evacuation of a 2500 Ton Chiller

2500 Tons of fun with TruBlu Hoses and the NAVAC NRD16T Industrial Vacuum Pump - 12 CFM!

It's not every day you get to work on a machine this big, and what can I say, it was an awesome opportunity to try TruBlu Evacuation Hoses and a NAVAC16T 12 CFM Industrial Vacuum Pump in a big way on a machine bigger then I have ever seen before.

Eric Preston of TTT standing in front of the chiller for scale.

While I have worked on a lot of residential appliances, the majority of my trade background is large package and 70-700 ton built-up systems, gas furnaces, and boilers. I have participated in many teardowns of equipment of this type of equipment (up to about 800 tons) and I have seen equipment up to 1000 tons, but before this one, I had never even laid eyes on a 2500 ton chiller. To put it into perspective, it was like evacuating the inside of two school buses.

The equipment room we were in was a work of art with over 1,000,000 tons of cooling, we were there with Johnson Controls, Andrew Greaves, and Bradley a master mechanic for York evacuating the last chiller of a bank of three 2500 ton machines.

These machines are R-134a, and typically evacuated to 5000 microns, using a process that some might consider antiquated, but I will say after testing does have some considerable merit. (The old guy might not always know why, but they do often know what has worked in the past and what works). More on that later.

The evaporator and condenser for these machines were about 54 inches in diameter and 28 feet long. This means just in the evaporator and condenser we are talking about 890 cubic feet of volume and the machine had been test-run at York prior to delivery (a very important detail). 

These machines typically are scheduled for 4-6 days of evacuation to reach the 5000-micron level. They are evacuated from a single connection at the evaporator barrel. As the internal volume is so large, the system conductance becomes somewhat negligible, and what you connect to the system to perform the evacuation is most important. We have not decided if pulling from more then one point would even be of any value, as the hose and the fitting conductance speed already surpass the capability of most pumps.

Now the machine was delivered with a holding charge of nitrogen, and it was leak tested with the "trace" of refrigerant left in the oil after testing. We obviously were not dealing with any moisture or ruptured tubes, so freezing water (as there was none present) was of no concern.

Starting the Evacuation

The Hose:

Industrial Evacuation Kit by TruTech Tools

We used a standard 1-meter TruBlue hose with (1) 1/2" connection, by KF at the pump end. The hose is rated at 16 CFM at 10' of length, so at 3 feet the hose can handle over 50 CFM at 1000 microns. TruBlu is super flexible, has low gas permeation, and a higher conductance speed than any hose on the market today. With the flexibility of fitting ends, we were able to connect directly to the chiller without stepping down the connection.

The Pump:

The pump, provided by NAVAC was a 12 CFM industrial pump with a two-stage ballast, a large oil reservoir with an oil capacity of about 1.75 quarts. The pump equipped with a KF16 fitting at the pump end sized specifically for the TruBlu Hoses. The pump was tested prior to installation and could easily achieve 2-3 microns in a few seconds. I have worked with a lot of vacuum pumps over the years, both commercial and industrial, and the NRD16t is an impressive beast of a piece of equipment. Mounted on a cart, and weighing about 80 lbs, this pump is of exceptional build quality.  It is designed for continuous operation and is ideal for long pulldowns like that of this job.  With the addition of the TruBlu hose, we could still easily achieve 3-4 microns at the hose end. We had a micron gauge at the pump for pump testing, and on the condenser barrel on the far opposite side to measure system vacuum. We were curious how much difference we would see from one side of the system to the other.

Micron Gauge on the Condenser.

The NAVAC 12 CFM pump is not a standard vacuum pump. It is designed specifically for industrial and medical applications, so between the pump and the oil (designed specifically for the pump), I have seen nothing on the market like it. The pump did a tremendous job handling the refrigerant without dilution of the oil and had a continuous capacity that I had never seen in a pump before. It is designed for continuous duty, and the entire evacuation was done without a change of oil. At the end of the evacuation, the pump was still pulling 3-4 microns indicating the oil was still in very good condition.

The NAVAC NRD16t is also equipped with an inlet strainer, and an oil vapor arrestor to handle any oil vapor the pump might produce. The entire time, the pump did not cloud the equipment room with oil, but we did notice about a 1/4 quart reduction after 17-hour continuous pumping.

Holy Evacuation Batman!

With everything hooked up, we started the pump, and boy did this thing hog some air! Now before I go too far, I had run some initial calculations and considering the volume and I expected to wait no less than an hour to see any indication of vacuum. Here we were, less than 45 minutes in and we were approaching 3,000 microns of vacuum. Impossible you say? You would be correct!

BluVac Professional Exposed to a Refrigerant.

Now for the rest of the story. Remember, I said "test run at the factory" and you might start to have an idea of what we were witnessing. When a chiller of this size is recovered, even if the required levels are met, the oil which is missable with the refrigerant is still holding a lot of R134a refrigerant maybe even upwards of 100 lbs. Although the oil was drained for shipment, the factory trained tech on the job estimated at least 5 gallons was still in the system.

If you have every exposed a vacuum sensor to a refrigerant, then you would know what we were seeing. As there was a very quick drop, then a gradual rise as the refrigerant was exhausted and the environment went from "refrigerant laden" an environment of essentially nothing. Yes, at first even I thought we had a leak, especially after barely touching the valve stem on the condenser barrel where the micron gauge was installed resulted in a sharp spike in the vacuum level.

We decided at that point to break the vacuum with nitrogen and see if we could carry out some of the refrigerant gas and restarted the vacuum about 3:00 PM.

Second pulldown

The second go-around was much more like I expected. A considerably longer delay before we even started to indicate vacuum. Again though, after an initial deep draw, we started to again see the effects of the refrigerant, although this time at a much higher level. Just to confirm, I called Dennis Cardinale of Accutools to confirm what in fact what I was seeing was the effect of refrigerant. At that point, I did not really care how much experience I had. I simply wanted confirmation that what I thought I was seeing was the likely culprit.

Nothing To Do But Wait.....

Asking how long an evacuation will take is like asking how many licks to get to the center of a tootsie pop. The world may never know. But what we did know was whether the environment was air or refrigerant, eventually, it would converge as the atmosphere was removed and the vacuum gauge would start providing accurate information. This is characteristic of all thermal vacuum sensors no matter what the brand. The advantage with BluVac was however was we were able to document it. At that, we headed back to the hotel for the night and decided to meet up at 8:00 am to see our progress.

Old School but Cool!

Sidebar

Wet bulb Gauge from York Chiller Installation Manual

If you read the York Chiller installation manual, you will see reference to a wet-bulb gauge that was used to perform the evacuation. Essentially a test tube filled with Methanol equipped with a thermometer to indicate vacuum based upon the boiling point of the Methanol. They are still made today under a brand called Vac-U-Ator, an almost unheard of older technology (maybe only outside of York) but it still has merit.

What the old guys knew or noticed was the same characteristics of vacuum with thermal gauges that we experienced, and I am guessing that they also noticed that the old method simply did not indicate vacuum under the same set of conditions.

Now that said, you will notice that a vacuum gauge can also be used for this process, and that is what I would recommend, but I am guessing that the old school technology would not indicate vacuum due to refrigerant pressure unless a deeper vacuum was truly present. So for roughing levels of vacuum, maybe to 1000 microns, you can see that this might be a very good indicator. I am still not sure why York allows a vacuum of 5000 microns on this machine as it does contain POE oil, but I am guessing that it is acceptable as that is what was in the IOM. The contractor wanted to go down to at least 500 microns with a decay no more than 1000 microns over an 8 hour period. A deeper vacuum simply provides better dehydration.  So how can you easily differentiate between refrigerant outgassing and a deep vacuum with a thermistor vacuum gauge? Simple, in a deep vacuum, there is little to no exhaust from the outlet of the pump, and yes, I realized that in hindsight. Hindsight is always 20/20.

Things we learned!

  1. Consider the environment, the refrigerant environment. Refrigerant will mess with your vacuum sensor until it is gone. If you feel gasses coming from the pump outlet, and you are indicating vacuum, you are still outgassing refrigerant. This is not as noticeable in smaller equipment simply because the atmosphere is removed so fast.
  2. Vacuum decay times take much longer on larger systems. Do not try to determine if the system is dry and tight in any less then 4-6 hours. My advice, heed the manufacturer's instructions. Vacuum pressures stabilize very very slowly. The pressures are extremely small. Don't rush this step.
  3. Use a good 20 amp outlet when you are using a big pump! We found out the hard way. The pump would start then immediately stall due to voltage drop. Moving to an outlet closer to the panel and using a 10 gauge cord resolved the problem.
  4. You can get the job done way faster then you are used to! We cut the time between 82 and 88% to achieve a vacuum 16 times deeper than required. (We are going back to do it again so we can see how long to get to the manufacturer's required vacuum levels)

The Final Vacuum

Less then 24 hours after we had started the second pull-down, the results were nothing less than impressive! How impressive? I will link to the video as soon as Andrew posts it here.

Interested in tools we used? Find the TruBlu Professional Kit and NAVAC NRD16T Here.

 


The Hole Truth about Evacuation Hoses

Now we don't often try to poke holes into the competition, but when they do it themselves... it is worth noting.

Much, if not all, the industry uses a refrigerant transport hose for evacuation. While some of the larger diameter hoses offer scant advantages such as higher conductance speeds - they were never intended or designed for deep vacuum or evacuation.

A refrigerant transport hose is multi-layered, intended and rated for pressure. The materials used are in many cases gas permeable which requires venting of the outer hose-layers to prevent bubbling and bursting under pressure. If you closely inspect these "vacuum rated" hoses you will see holes pricked about an inch apart throughout the entire length. This is called Hose Pin Pricking.

"Pin-pricking a hose cover permits trapped gases or vapours to escape from the hose carcass. Steam, air, and other gaseous products can permeate (pass slowly) through the tube and will build up in the reinforcement area - so the manufacturer must “pin-prick” the cover on certain hoses" New Line, What Does Pin-Pricked Hose Cover Mean?, https://www.new-line.com/information/what-does-pin-pricked-hose-cover-mean, last accessed August 2nd, 2018.

Like holes, permeability is a two-way thing. This is because a hole is not a check valve. Now it is important to realize that these holes are not through holes, that is they only pierce the outer layer.  However, the sheer necessity reveals a lot about the materials from which these hoses are made and gives us some insight as to why they do not perform very well in a deep vacuum.

In vacuum speak, conductance speed is where it's at.  Large diameter hoses provide higher conductance speeds which remove atmosphere many times faster than skinny hoses. Larger diameter hoses result in lower friction. But while bigger is better, that is only part of the equation.

Vacuum is a two-part process, degassing and dehydration. While a large gas permeable hose might get the bulk of the atmosphere out quickly, it will not perform as well in a deep vacuum. Not being able to achieve a deep vacuum means limited or slower moisture removal. As the liquid line dryer has a limited capacity, getting as much moisture out of the system as possible is critical.

Copper Plating From Improper Evacuation

Because moisture removal is the most important step in the evacuation, it is not a step that should be taken lightly or overlooked. Air or non-condensables will simply cause issues with performance. If you were to introduce nitrogen into a system, for example, it would drive up the head pressure and lower the efficiency, but it likely would not cause any damage to the system or its components. 

Moisture, on the other hand, is a different story. Moisture combines with refrigerant causing hydrofluoric and hydrochloric acids as well as other compounds like sludge that will irreversibly damage the equipment.

That brings us to an engineered solution. When designing TruBlu it became apparent that no other vacuum related industry used transport hose for evacuation, and one could only wonder why. The reason is simple; it just does not work very well for deep vacuum. If you own a "vacuum rated" hose test it against the TruBlu and experience the difference.

Sorry in advance to those left wondering how that nice black 20-micron rated hose cannot seem to achieve 20 microns.

Is there a "hole" in that theory? It's up to you to test for yourself. Simply attach the vacuum gauge to the end of each hose one at a time and see how deep they pull. The difference will be obvious.

TruBlu uses technology from the scientific and industrial vacuum communities where deep vacuum matters, and evacuation time is often one of the most critical requirements. Process evacuation is all about moving product down the line, and not having it come back due to improper or insufficient evacuation.

With TruBlu you get it all. Not only is TruBlu bigger and faster with initial pulldown, but it is also significantly faster at removing moisture, achieving deeper vacuums, and ultimately, dryer systems.

If you are using "transport hose" for evacuation, it is time for an upgrade! If you are using transport hose in parallel with TruBlu hoses, expect a drop in overall performance. A vacuum rig is only as good as its weakest link. While you will see a significant increase in speed due to conductance gains with the TruBlu hose, a refrigerant transport hose will permeate enough to significantly impact ultimate vacuum, likely to the tune of 100 microns or more!  Not only will it save you a ton of time, systems will last longer and run better. Not to be a "prick" that, my friend, is a fact.