Trying out the Hercules HVAC 2cfm vacuum pump that I picked up at HARBOR FREIGHT… is it worth the money and how did it compare to my NAVAC 2cfm #hvac #harborfreight #navac
For the price point it did pretty good. NAVAC makes vacuum pumps for a lot of manufacturers. I'm definitely a NAVAC fan....but $260.....hard to beat that performance for just about half the cost
I have no complaints about the NAVAC pump, the Hercules warranty is 5yr and HQ is right here in FL , at least that’s what the document says. 1yr warranty on NAVAC
Very cool little pump. Hard to beat that price! I picked up a barely used JB 5CFM cordless pump. And it’s done great for me. Helps im just used to JB my company provided a 7.5CFM JB I also keep on the truck but having that cordless option is nice. Another benefit of JB is you can also have a power adapter to plug it into power if needed
I’ve owned the small Makita vacuum pump which was twice the cost… a couple things I like about this Hercules pump is the variety of ports, as the Makita only had 5/16. Also Makita for whatever reason stopped making 18v batteries higher than 6ah while Hercules goes up twice that. So I’d definitely give the Hercules as the best value.
It seems to be performing well so far, Im purposely giving the NAVAC a break to put Hercules to the test… the 5ah seems to be sufficient but the battery options are affordable
When the Navac battery operated pumps first hit the market, I was intrigued by the idea but totally put off by the price. Back in 2016 or so, I bought Harbor Freight's Pittsburgh branded 3 CFM two stage vacuum pump. I only do HVAC/R as a sideline, but it's had plenty of use in residential, automotive and light commercial. It's never let me down. I would definitely buy it again. I definitely think I'll try their cordless offering. Thanks for the review.
The NAVAC has certainly been worth the investment … I purchased a Harbor Freight Chicago SDS MAX drill for one job using core bits in 2014…. It’s done hundreds of jobs since. I appreciate your comment 👍
Love my Hercules vacuum pump I use it on ice machine and walk in coolers and reach in coolers and on ac units . It’s not the fastest but it’s light and works like it should. Half the cost of other brands and just as good with a 5 year warranty on tool and three year warranty on battery and charger
I don’t see why it wouldn’t work, brushless motor and no spark switch. My NAVAC 2cfm is A2L compliant and the Hercules pump is very similar. Nothing in the manual states A2L
They're not the most powerful but the convenience of doing automatic ac jobs out in the field makes it priceless to me. No need for a generator, a converter or extension cord. I bought the 12ah battery so I'm curious how many cars i can do off it.
Probably manufactured at the same plant in China. When Sears took a dump HF became hard to beat regarding ratchets & wrenches with their return policy being very easy. I’ll definitely get that pump when my YJ Bullet fails. I’ll be damned to pay $900 for an A2L/A3 compliant pump.
What about gauge options? I have a 410 unit and need to do a health check on a 22 unit. Recommendation for a decent personal set to do the job for both?
A probe is a better option instead of a gauge. If mineral oil gets on your 410 system the condenser will get clogged. Best practice is to have a dedicated gauge and hose for each refrigerant and oil.
I haven’t seen A2L compliant in writing on the Hercules but it has the features to be, DC Brushless motor, spark proof switch. Would need to verify with mfg. Thanks for asking!
@subcoolHVAC same difference. They'll be the same internally. 20V is just the fully charged voltage, 18V is the nominal voltage. Measure the voltage on both batteries fully charged and I'll bet they'll both read about 20.5v-21v.
@@subcoolHVAC lithium cells are 4.2v each fully charged... so 18 or 20v batteries both use the same number of cells internally. The voltage they give you is just marketing BS.
The biggest risk with power tool adapters, or with hacking a tool to work with another battery is that, with almost no exceptions, you can drain the battery below empty. Milwaukee batteries basically tell the tool “I’m empty, stop it!” If you have an adapter, it ignores that message. It just keeps going. The only exceptions are Ryobi, and maybe Ridgid. Ryobi batteries have an actual cutoff built-in. They will disconnect power whether you like it or not :)
