Analogue vs. digital refrigerant manifold: What is the future and why?

Good refrigeration, air conditioning or heating technicians leave little room for error. Refrigerant manifolds are valuable and important for these operations, so why wouldn’t you want your equipment to be the most innovative and efficient on the market? Testo’s digital refrigerant manifolds are all that and more. Getting a top-of-the-line digital refrigerant manifold system is an investment that will pay itself back in operational value.

The importance of monitoring temperature and pressure in refrigeration systems

Digital refrigerant manifolds are the way of the future and are essential in ensuring that your industrial, domestic and commercial refrigeration systems are working correctly. The crucial part of this process is monitoring temperature. For example, refrigerant equipment in food processing facilities and laboratories must maintain a strict temperature to control quality.

Product quality often hinges on refrigeration systems’ ability to keep temperatures constant and regulated. Analogue manifolds don’t have the ability to monitor temperature – technicians are required to carry separate instruments and then calculate superheat and subcooling temperatures manually using PT charts an example. Pressure measurement with an analogue manifold also relies on one’s ability to minimise “parallax” error. Additionally, the resolution of an analogue manifold cannot be compared to that of a digital manifold as such analogue manifolds are regarded to be less accurate than digital manifolds.

Monitoring pressure levels provides service technicians with insight into the health and efficiency of the entire system, including compressors, leaks, etc. thus minimising costly damage at an early stage.

A digital manifold is an all-in-one instrument – it measures temperature and pressure and capable of working on systems with varying refrigerants – whereas with analogue manifolds technicians are required to carry multiple units.

By keeping refrigeration systems at prescribed operating temperatures and pressures and thereby the system operating optimally, perishables will be kept in good condition.

As such, food and medical or vaccine preservation technology benefits from manifolds that are able to provide and measure temperature.

So what happens if food/product is not stored properly? The item can become spoiled and unable to go to market, essentially throwing away resources and money.

On the other hand, food/products, medicines, vaccines, etc. that are stored in systems working at optimal temperatures and temperatures throughout the pre-market process see many benefits. Some of those benefits include maintenance of freshness and the prevention of denaturing of proteins and rotting of products. In addition, the shelf life of properly stored products will increase.

The convenience of a digital refrigerant manifold

A digital refrigerant manifold makes all the difference when it comes to accuracy and usability. Because the temperature and pressure of the system are being automatically read, it will function at full capacity.

Unlike traditional analogue manifolds, a digital manifold performs ongoing updates of refrigerants. Instead of manually measuring and calculating system parameters, Testo’s manifolds conduct electronic calculations and apply an automatic calculation which makes it far more efficient (link to video).

Analogue gauges are claimed to be time consuming, complex, susceptible to error and inaccurate. The number of refrigerants it can measure is dependent on the gauge. Testo has digital manifolds that measure up to 60 different refrigerants. And as new refrigerants are released on the global market, the digital manifold can be easily updated to accommodate.

While there are several different choices for a new digital refrigerant manifold, Testo offers the far superior options as Testo R&D leads the innovation and technology of the marketplace and is later copied by competitors.

Testo has something to meet your specific requirements. With impeccable accuracy and precision, Testo’s digital refrigerant manifolds are reliable and efficient. This initial investment in a refrigerant system will save money on labour, maintenance, and ensure the sustainability of your equipment while increasing your efficiency and enabling data analysis and reporting in quick and easy steps. In addition, money will be saved on insurance. The likelihood of spending money on a call out fee will be reduced as well.

One only needs to experience the convenience of the large graphic display to understand why Testo manifolds are the preferred choice. Having a robust manifold, from the technology to the housing, is crucial. Operators are able to keep the same product for longer because of its robustness. Testo manifolds’ system software is also streamlined with unmatched interoperability and compatible with numerous other instruments as well. Operationally, the extensive options that come with Testo manifolds set them apart from the competition.

The testo digital manifold is an ideal product for those who are in the market for an entry-level manifold as a basic technician all the way to the more astute commissioning engineer. This basic model still offers everything you will need, from the calculation of condensation and evaporation temperatures in real-time to temperature-compensated leakage testing.

On the other hand, the testo 570 digital manifolds are perfect for large-scale professional requirements. This is a 4-way manifold that stores and documents pressure/temperature measurements, including a vacuum measurement and offers continuous recording of readings for up to 999 hours.

Check out all the options and you are sure to find one that is best for your operational or industrial needs.