Pulling a Vacuum— Why is It Important?
As a technician, your days are filled with installing, maintaining, and repairing HVACR systems. To ensure that the system remains clean and can operate at the desired quality, removing air and moisture is crucial to the health of the system. An HVACR technician will achieve a clean system by pulling a vacuum—but why is that so important?
Air and moisture can have detrimental effects on an HVACR system’s performance and longevity. Air in the system can lead to decreased efficiency and increased energy consumption—bad for the air quality in your home and bad for your wallet. On top of that, moisture can cause corrosion, ice formation, and damage to system components.
During installation, maintenance, or repair, HVACR systems are vulnerable to contamination from debris, oils, and other substances that do not belong in those units. Pulling a vacuum is therefore an important step in your HVACR routine to help eliminate the contaminants, ensuring that the system operates with pure refrigerant and minimizing the risk of damage or system failure.
It takes a deep vacuum of 500 microns or lower—as a rule of thumb—to boil off and remove all moisture and non-condensable gases from a system. To make sure the system you’re working on is ready for refrigerant, the vacuum must be deep enough. To check the vacuum level of the system, it is your best idea to take a vacuum gauge and place it at the farthest spot on the system—as this will be the last place to reach 500 microns.
Pulling a vacuum before charging a system with refrigerant ensures that it is properly sealed. For the HVACR technician, it is important to ensure the proper refrigerant charge. This verification process helps prevent overcharging or undercharging, both of which can lead to reduced efficiency, increased energy consumption or possible unit damage.
In the world of HVACR, it is crucial to pull a deep vacuum to promote the longevity and performance of a system. With the right tools, pulling a vacuum becomes an easy and efficient task. Check with your nearest distributor to learn more about what Fieldpiece has to offer for all your vacuum needs!