Orion Motor Tech AC Gauges, AC Manifold Gauge Set for R134a R12 R502 Refrigerant, 3 Way Car with 5FT Hoses Couplers & Adapter, Puncturing & Self Sealing Can Tap Freon Charge Kit

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Seller had Super Fast Shipping and the item was nicely packaged. Nice item in Very Good Condition and as described with a High Quality Appearance Very Good Value for the Price ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I am impressed by the quality of this set, especially for the price. As a retired mechanic/technician of 45 years of experience I've worked with many manifold sets, from cheap to very expensive as well as automatic recovery/recharging stations. This set is as good as any for the DIYer. It has everything needed for the weekend warrior to properly charge a R134a system or even an old R12 system (except for a clamp-on can tap). I highly recommend anyone servicing their own unit to use a full set instead of those low-side only quick charge systems because if you cannot monitor both sides of the system, you can set yourself up for big problems. This set will allow you to properly charge and diagnose problems you may have in the system. I highly recommend it for both quality and price.

Good set of gauges for the price

First and foremost I, just like everyone else buying this tool, am a weekend warrior shade tree mechanic. My to go place is the local HF, however they didn't have a manifold gauge in stock neither in Tampa nor in Miami due to hurricane Michael. This particular gauge is exact same model as the cheaper version sold by Orion but comes with a can tap (I already had one so didn't care) and most importantly with couplers that can be shut close. 1/2 ACME adapter might become useful if I need to recharge my home A/C. As opposed to the HF gauge this one is missing a bleed valve for the yellow line which I overcame by unscrewing loose the gauge side of the yellow hose letting the air out. Would be nice of the manufacturer to add one. As far as the dreaded "stuck high pressure coupler" problem. I tend to believe this is simply to not understanding the basic concept of needing to shut the engine off and let some pressure out of the high pressure line hose (red) before attempting to remove the coupler. I did have a problem with the LP coupler which turned out to be a user error. In order to put it on I had to shut the valve close and then it went all the way in no problem. I purchased my CLS in June 2017. Been extremely happy with it, got rid of the airmatic suspension which made me even happier. Then in July 2018 the A/C started blowing hot air on the right. Read multiple forums which lead me to believe the problem lied in the heat core exchange valve (even though in that case the left vents would be blowing hot air). My launch icarscan scanner showed no problems. Before going through the painful heat core valve replacement process I decided to give it a try and add 3 OZ of freon. Which solved the problem immediately. Fast forward three months and the A/C stopped working again. Bought an FJC 4910 A/C UV dye, added it with a 5cc syringe inside the yellow hose, put 5 OZ of R134a with NO stop leak until the low line pressure reached 35psi and the A/C is working again. That's how I did it (I am no mechanic so might be wrong): 1. turn off the engine, close the couplers', HP and LP valves. 2. Connect HP and LP couplers. Should go in very easily. 3. Start the engine, turn on the a/c. 4.open the couplers' valves and the blue (LP) valve. Leave the red one closed. 5.close the can valve so it punctures its seal. open the valve. Let some air out from the yellow hose by loosening it up on the gauge side until you see gas bubbles in the window. 6. when the LP line pressure reaches 25-35psi (might vary a bit) close the couplers then the blue valve and can valve. 7.shut off the engine and remove the couplers. might need to open the red valve to let some pressure out. P.S. I will update the review when the A/C UV dye shows where exactly the freon is leaking. Hopefully, it is just a seal and not the compressor. I have high hopes that the gauge will be able to hold -30psi vacuum. If not then it will be shipped back.

AS others have noted, the fittings are a bit on the chintzy side, but after years of borrowing a friends manifold gauge set from Harbor Freight, I decided I had to finally get my own updated set that would do R134a as my ancient R12 set was literally falling apart. All in all it worked exactly as expected, the case keeps it from being knicked around and degraded in the shop, and overall it is easy to use. As someone that started out as a pro mechanic, I can say without a doubt this is NOT tool truck quality stuff, but it is better than what you get at the cheap tool stores, or even at the auto parts houses. Only issue is PAY ATTENTION to the adustable quick connects, run them all the way out so that then center is not pushing the valve in when you connect. You MIGHT get away with it on the low side, but forget it on the high side... So far I have used this to service my '04 F150, '06 Chev, '01 Saturn and my brother in laws '00 Lexus, all with no issues from the gauge set... Works well with the HF pnuematic vacuum pump for pumping down previously opened systems, but you might want a better pump...

Where can I buy the replacement knobs. They stripped and broke after years of use. Please advise.

The gauge set works pretty well. However, it does leak more than other sets I had. The gaskets aren't great. I also had the low side connector fail closed (verified it was the connector by using a spare one I had from another set).

Procured this manifold gauge set to work on a late model Explorer AC system. The system on the car had a leak. The leak was found by dye test. Leak corrected. Attempted to both charge and also vacuum the system down using the Orion gauge set. High pressure adaptor performed flawlessly. Low pressure side leaked like a sieve. I replaced the schrader valve on the filter drier, inspected the adaptor o-ring, replaced the entire filter drier (just in case there was a dimensional issue at the low pressure port), nothing helped. As long as the low pressure adaptor is open at any position, the adaptor leaks to atmosphere. Procured a loaner from auto parts store- worked flawlessly. So after figuring out Orion sent me garbage, I orders another Orion adaptor set. Figured the adaptors sold with a schrader valve tool and a charging adaptor would remedy the situation. Nope- the set arrived destroyed, obviously USED and package torn open and tossed about. Returned the Orion adaptor set, purchased another Chinese junk adaptor set similar to the Orion. This low pressure adaptor sealed perfectly. That cost me another $24 including sales tax, here on Amazon. So the Orion gauge set, as seemingly quality as it was, had at least one junk device that took two additional replacement measures to correct. My purchase date was July 2022, my initial use was November 2022. Return window had passed so I had no recourse for the junk parts. After thoroughly inspecting the seals on Orion and seeing what another $50 in price gets you when you buy Chinese quality (actual O rings, not plastic crush seals that are garbage)….. in hindsight I would have gladly spent $100.00 on a set and gotten good valves right from the start. I’m interested to know if Orion (who has no actual return policy, only after sale support) will read this commentary and respond. I don’t advise buying this system. It after all adaptor replacements, seal tweaking, etc—— worked well. But I prefer not to have to fix new things, otherwise why am I buying new??? I’ll be leaving another feedback on the replacement Orion adaptor set (red and blue valves) and it will be equally poor. Common denominator- Orion.