Why I Choose A ONE Hose VACUUM Setup | HVAC Installations 

Put a little 1/4” ball valve before the micron gauge. When your done evacuating, close the valve, remove the micron gauge and open the stop valves, then remove the ball valve. You’ll never worry about messing up that sensor that way.

This is one of the channels that helped me choose a career in residential hvac.. currently studying for epa cert. Thanks Zac...Miami FL.

One thing that's pretty neat about those fieldpiece manifolds, when you put the suction clamp on the refrigerant line during test tightness, it will factor in the change in ambient temperature. So that -.6 that you had might have just been ambient temperature decrease.

I've been teaching myself HVAC service by watching RU-vid videos for an hour everyday before I clock in at work. I have a couple other channels I watch regularly but I recently found your channel and have subscribed. Keep up the good work bud.

There are a few reasons why I agree with the ONE hose vacuum setup for HVAC installations. First, it is much more efficient because you have one less hose to move around. Second, it is more organized and neater looking. And finally, it is easier to use and less likely to cause problems.

Another great video Zac... hope to see you at the next HVAC symposium in Florida! I concur, fully opening the suction valve under vac will suck the oil out of the compressor. I've done it both ways and one makes for a much quieter operation. Personally, I pre- charge the lineset after evac to not have it under any negative pressure, when opening the valves.

Love watching your videos from South Texas. Your quality of work is awesome. I work for a school district full time and do my own jobs and service calls in between. One thing you could show is when you test your vacuum pump/ oil is having the hose hooked up to the pump with the micron gauge on the other end to make sure your hose is good too. Love your one hose set up. Your videos are the reason I went to that after numerous times of having manifolds or hoses not being vacuum rated and failing trying to pull a system or package unit down.

you should put a core removal tool on your liquid line with your micron gauge so that when you break the vacuum with freon that you dont get it in your micron gauge which can affect its accuracy over time will mess them up

Hi, I've never heard about the HVAC trade before but I watched all of your videos. I really enjoyed it and I've decided to start my career with HVAC. I appreciate your tons of content and hope the next video will come out soon!!!

Not even gonna lie I only start watching your videos a couple months ago not understanding shii til I got to school FW today I’m actually able yo follow along and understand and appreciate your vids because it’s entertaining and helps me at school

Thanks a lot for such a detailed explanation with this new fancy Vacuum Pump. Im still considering on purchasing one. Really love the Technology behind it. With that large hose and that high tech pump you shouldn’t have a problem pulling a good vacuum with just one hose and you demonstrated in such efficient manner. Once again Thank you.

I do both setups. Most of the time I like having two hoses then valve off the liquid line and let it continue to pull down. Force of habit on large commercial systems or contaminated systems to use two hoses. New installs one hose all day long.

I’ve been doing the one hose set up for a few years now it works great.. I just use something like a core tool for the micron so I can valve it off before letting refrigerant or oil get on the sensor.. just a tip good video!

I have a selection of vacuum pumps but one in particular is a lot of fun. It's a 17CFM 2 stage belt driven vacuum pump. This thing will pull a 4 or 5 plex down at the SAME time to less than 100 microns in barely 15 minutes. I use a very small air tank as a vacuum reservoir to connect multiple hoses (up to 6) simultaneously.

Incredible job. 👍 Everything is correct and your technique is great. Another tip for fast and deep vacuums is to get or make a Tee fitting that will allow you to attach both ends of your single vacuum hose together end to end in a closed loop with no valve cores on each end, and then you can attach a nitrogen hose to the 3rd fitting WITH a core in it so you can purge the vac hose full of dry nitrogen under just a tiny bit of pressure (like 1 or 2 PSI) to prevent wet air ingress while in storage. Attach the nitrogen hose, attach the ends together, tighten one and crack the other, and then flow nitrogen for a couple seconds to blow alllllll the air out before reducing the pressure a lot and tightening that fitting. Store the hose like that and it will not get full of water molecules while in storage. Those water molecules have to be evacuated too when you vacuum a system and it just adds more volume of gas that has to be removed which adds time. Manifold gauges should be stored like that too, or with some clean refrigerant left in them at a low pressure to avoid air ingress. Also check the integrity of your hose seals, core tool, and manifolds by bench testing them every 2 weeks. Pull a deep vacuum on them like testing the vacuum pump oil and then seal them off and let them sit for 5-6 hours or even overnight. Core tool seals are particularly important to test because it's a shaft seal that has to seal a moving rod rather than a fixed seal which is just clamped down firmly. If you have a really old core removal tool that you never cleaned and lubed or bench tested, it may very well surprise you to see that it's leaking a good amount of pressure and vacuum. We don't accept leaks! New seals and Nylog are cheap and it lets us sleep well at night. 😺

Stumble across your channel! Very clear and properly explained what and why you do what you do thanks! And just subscribed!.

Thanks man. That one hose set up is callin my name. Appreciate the walk through of it.

I like a core removal tool on the the micron gauge to reduce oil getting in it when you release the charge.

Nice setup and install. Here in my area in Texas that would fail inspection for being too close to the gas meter and for disconnect behind the unit.

quick tip ive noticed my core depressor will leak slightly if threaded all the way in, so i always make sure the adjust it while the vacuum is being pulled and monitor if any changes in my micron gauge happen. i use the supco SF5050 i do not use integral core depressors in the hose.

I’m with you on this especially using the Navac 2cfm battery vacuum I just got from trutech tools and the electric flaring tool also don’t know how I lived with out this and why it did not come out years ago

Nice setup. I like to run the pump for a bit before I check the oil, that way if I do a an oil change, the brunt of the work has been done with the old stuff.

I have the same setup. I have had really good experiences with my fieldpiece stuff. I've had some other techs say they are junk but I'm sure it's the whole Ford vs Chevy argument, both good but you cannot tell people different from what they like because of their own experiences.

Fieldpiece definitely the way to go. I just personally bought the 4 port gauges. With that vacuum, and flushing the lineset. I achieve 500 microns in like 10 minutes. Two hose setup with 3/8 vacuum hose actually rated for vacuum and not just charge.

You always giving us the game much love bro HVAC TEAM!

Great job Zack on this one

Great videos brother. I share with my employees as much as I can

thanks for this video, just little suggestion, in the future can you make quick close screenshot or take a few second to shot for any host connections for your test and installation, thanks

The only issue I see is when removing your micron gauge the way you hooked it up like you said it might let in the air which it does. I use a low lost fitting or use a valve core remover on both liquid and suction. Depends on which style you have Low loss fittings you have to spin a knob to press the core down or away to shut it close (front seat/ back seat) so you reduce the amount of air going back into the system. I have the Appion AV760 micron gauge and I can’t let refrigerant hit the sensor.

this is basically exactly the setup i want. Have that pump or the newest version of that pump. Getting a micron gauge and hopefully one of those hoses Monday. Curious to test how i was taught to do it compared to the right way.

I like your camera setup Zack. Looks very professional and clear. I am looking to record my hvacr calls but looking for a cheap good camera to get started. Any suggestions will be helpful. Good work. Keep em coming

Thanks. I like this a lot. Kinda just thrown into this. Love the instructions and straight to the point video!!!!!

Love your channel bro, but seeing your evac setup in the thumb nail, the main question i had was "no bluVac Micron gauge?" 😋 That aside, you do raise some good points, and depending on the system I am working on, will often only pull one of my trublu hoses from my kit for the job... however I work primary on grocery systems, so mileage will vary there. I also carry two pumps on my truck, the VP87, and VPX7, and sometimes will use both on one circuit. i will however use one hose per pump, so I guess I'm still on the up there. lol Good vid all the same. Also kudos on the carry container for your evac kit. exactly the same packout one I use for mine. You know whats up. 😆

I do more refrigernation than AC and maybe that is why i do this but I find the smaller the system the more important it is to keep the vac gauge away from the pump, also on really small stuff I find my appion hoses pull too fast and I get mositure freezing in the system if I am not careful. On larger systems it is gonna take awhile to pull a good vacuum regardless, I was on a walk in cooler for a high school that was started up like 6 months ago (not by my company) that has a 3ft tall reciever (the system takes more than a full can of 448a), I had to flush and vacuum the whole system the other day. I didn't want to start shit so I kept my mouth shut to the customer but the install team screwed the pooch on that system. I was there because the evaporator was dripping on the floor, heavy frosting on the entry side of the evap, big shocker low charge, the valve core was so loose it was dripping liquid, I charged it to a clear sight glass the compressor cycled off and that when I saw it, sand cloth dust floating in the sight glass lots of it. I talked to the MFG because it was still under warrenty and suggested that we needed to flush the system or this compressor won't make it even to the end of the warrenty, they agreed and I spent the next few hours on a cold windy roof, lol good times, also thats the first time I have seen so much dust in a system that it was immidantly apparent in the sight glass. Great videos too man keep up the good work.

2 ton split/evacuating condenser/35’ of line set/evaporator coil. Had lots of moisture. Pressure tested. Dropped 5 psi within an 1 hr and 15 minutes. Not sure if that’s a leak? Thought possibly my hose had a bad gasket? System has been showing some serious moisture boiling off. Checked my gaskets. Changed to the one hose set up. Exactly like what is in this video. To eliminate any extra fittings and potential leaks.

Learned a TON! Great stuff like always. Thank you

Can’t wait to try this set up thank you !

Great tips man I love your vids .. keep it up 💪

I've experimented with the two hose set up and single hose, pulling through a manifold the "old school" methods. I decided the single hose method works best for me. Although I use a core tool/valve on the liquid line as well so I can isolate my micron gauge and keep it oil free.

Thanks again for another tip I learn alot from watching your channel.

Thanks for the clear and to the point video. I’m in school now and trying to learn everything.

New install 1 hose and two core tools to isolate the guage, when replacing a compressor I use 2 hoses as the oil takes much longer to get down.

Just fyi when using the test tightness feature if you ever have a neg pressure diff that means something is leaking. Either your hoses, manifold, or system. Technically you are supposed to use the temp clamp with the pressure test, as it monitors the temp of the pipe while being pressurized. This prevents false readings.

Good stuff, bosch and the concord lynx , specifies open suction first

Curious do you have videos on refrigerant recovery with field piece vacuum ThNks and great videos

Appreciate you sharing your expertise. God Bless

Love the setup brother

Soy un admirador de su trabajo. Yo también me dedico a lo mismo y algún día me gustaría ser tan bueno como usted y tener toda esa herramienta que te facilita mucho el trabajo. Para hacer trabajos perfectos. Quisiera saber si puede subir video con un equipo minisplit haciéndole la prueba con nitrógeno, me gustaría ver ese procedimiento y aprender. Muchas gracias por subir y compartir sus videos. De antemano muchas gracias y espero y le llegue el mensaje y me de una respuesta. Cuidese atentamente un servidor y admirador.

Great vid, thanks! I see you have the Appion reclaim, and so do I. I'm looking at purchasing a new vac pump and noticed you've got the Fieldpiece vac pump and not the Appion, any reason? Was the Fieldpiece better? Cheers from Australia.

Very good work like it . I m that kind of person that I said, I learn. Something every single day. And I learn something on your video. Thanks for sharing

Thanks bro Really enjoyed it

What a process.. hope to do that one too here with tools like that

All Trane/American standard units say to pressure test to 150psi. We had 6-12 units where the nitrogen wound up contaminating the refrigerant due to it pushing through the service valves during a pressure test. We thought there were leaks due to the pressure dropping, only to find out it was leaking into the outdoor. At the high cost of 410a that can be an expensive mistake.

Trane and American standard recommend pressure testing to 250 psi, anymore will push through the service valves so I’ve been told. I do the same thing with vacuum though tru blu on the suction line and my BluVac micron gauge on the liquid

my new navac pump has a built in micron gauge which is great 👍 one more less tool to lug around

The 'One Hose' set-up is the way to go for residential....if you're doing things the right way. Fewest leak points, most accurate reading of vacuum on the system, less hoses and core tools. On most systems, if I'm replacing a drier, evap coil, or a compressor I'll usually just pull through my 4-valve manifold....with the refrigerant tank already on the charging hose. Quickest way to get it back in service. Most every company around here pulls a 2 cig vacuum if they aren't purging -- even owning a manifold with a built-in micron gauge is next level around here.

does one hose set up work for heat pumps as well? or is it more effective to pull from both high and low ports?

I love your work Zach. But I got to say doing a two hose set up with the micron gauge on the suction side DOES NOT give you an inaccurate reading whatsoever. I pretty much only use a two hose set up and not only is it faster, (especially when pulling on a used coil) but the decay test proves just how low the micron count is. Either way, your set up is a beast but just thought I’d share my thoughts on your reasoning for only 1 hose

My experience with Fieldpiece has been they're the Chrysler of HVAC; well designed, creative good ideas, but poorly built. When I had barbed nipples snap off my manometer (everyone else has steel barbed nipples) I said, "no more." Remember their blue temp K clamps? We had to wrap them with electrical tape day one. I like the one hose setup. I've been doing for years. I'll bet my apprentice doesn't know you can pull a vacuum with manifold gauges.

What boots are you wearing by chance? Or are there particular brands you would recommend for someone getting into the field?

Experience doesn't matter if you've been doing it wrong! 🤣 Nice shirt 👍

Great Job, and procedure!

Best way to pull a vacuum with 3 port field piece gauge and anti blow back hoses? I have the same setup as you I just don’t have the hand held micron gauge.

could u vaccc it from the liquid line too and put the micron cage on the vapor port ?

Nice! ... and where can I get a hose like that, but, with 1/4" fittings on either end?

I heard you mention that releasing the freon to the micron gauge won't affect the sensor. I've always been taught to take the micron gauge out of the circuit before releasing the freon. Does fieldpiece operating instructions that come with that micron gauge say that it's okay for freon to be introduced to the micron gauge. I have the same micron gauge. I don't want to mess it up lol. Nonetheless Love your videos appreciate the knowledge. 🤠👍🏽 Edit: I looked at the instruction manual for the micron gauge and it's rated for 870 PSIG.

Great Job 😉👍🏽Is That The Same GMC With Out The Cap And Tool Rool Out

excellent job greetings from Mexico

Still wondering what end you have on your Klein ratchet wrench as your service wrench

I does all the work, I'm HVAC maintenance supervisor and 24 years experience in Kuwait. If I got chance to work in USA i pray God to bless the person who takes me

Well done bro 👏

That's a great vacuum procedures could this be done with a normal vacuum pump i mean not as fancy as the one u used on this video

can you make a sort video on how the core puller works?

Would you use the one hose set up for something bigger like a commercial/industrial setting. I know it would work. But I’m curious if the one hose set up is your go to all the time?

About time you address a decayed vacuum test.

Awesome video, thank you

Can you do a video of must have tools when starting

You can use the wireless temp clamps with the SM480V digital manifold?

I love this setup, techniques and equipment. But man the cost of that blue hose is probably more than that pump last time I checked. Gotta mortgage the house for some of this stuff. I agree quality wins in the end tho.

Your idea makes sense in theory, but I’ve found this to be irrelevant in actual practice. I recently pulled a vac on a 10 ton split with about 70ft of piping. I had two tru blue hoses with a tee and micron gauge at the condenser and another micron gauge at a service port in the air handler. I was mainly doing this to check the difference of my two micron gauges. They were both reading within 10 microns of each other while pulling. It seems like after a few minutes of vacuum time the difference becomes irrelevant. I prefer a two hose set up because it will ultimately pull a vacuum faster, although on smaller residential units that time difference also becomes pretty insignificant. Kind of a wash at that point.

Thanks for the video....good stuff

You use the micron gauge on the liquid side while your vacuum hose is on the liquid side. Where would you set up your micron gauge say, on a mini split system with only a hose hookup on the suction side?

When you found out how that it only drop 0.06 psi and you start releasing what were you releasing was it the nitrogen are something else? And how many minutes are second of nitrogen do you put in the system to pressure check?

I’m just getting into HVAC as a career and begin classes next month. My question is does the company you work for supply these tools (vacuum, guages, etc.) or is it up to you to buy your own?

Fantastic tip thanks

In that set up there. Do you add nitrogen ? For triple evac? What if lines freeze, wouldn't you need to add nitrogen? Is this setup bad for triple evac ?

I'm ask something sir how many microns we need to insure may system is fully vacuum and ready for charging the gas

Won't you lose your vacuum on the micron gauge side since you don't have a ball valve separating it and won't you introduce moisture?

What do you do to keep refrigerant from going back into the micron gauge or is this not a problem?

That big ass hose cracks me up!

Where did you get the Compressed nitrogen in that aluminum cylinder. I cannot find a supply house that carries the aluminum cylinders.

I'm subscribed already sir thanks and more bless and more tuitorial to your vlog

Great video. Just to let you know most manufacturers if not all recommend opening your suction valve first very slowly. This is to prevent compressor oil loss into the discharge line.

What kind of hoses do you use for Vacuum pump ? and where do you buy them from? thank you

Great job 👍😎😎

I would like to know where you got the blue hose at I looked all over Nashville cannot find it would love to know where to get them in what What size are both ends

You crack the valves then put thr Schrader back in? Still trying to learn the sequence

Can this method work on any type of vacuum pump? I’m new to this trade and haven’t had the opportunity to be in the field. I can’t wait

Most units are only 250 psi pressure test on the manual on the nomenclature on the units.

Can this setup be useful in commercial systems as well?