In yesterday’s update post about the new Dewalt cordless welder, Jay K asked: Has anyone else seen a cordless vacuum pump?
It took a couple of minutes of Google magic before something came up, and it turns out that Makita just came out with a new cordless vacuum pump, model VP180DRT (VP180DZ bare).
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There’s very little information about the new Makita 18V cordless vacuum pump, and since it is shown paired with a 5.0Ah battery pack, it is likely a very new release. It’s designed to be used in HVAC applications and maintenance of air conditioning systems.
What We Know
- Compact size
- 263 × 93 × 172mm (10.35″ x 3.66″ x 6.77″)
- Weighs 3.5 kg (7.7 lbs)
- 1-stage rotary pump motor
- 20 Pa max vacuum
- Built-in oil meter
- 50 minutes runtime with 5.0Ah battery pack
- Hose and pressure gauge (A-59732) are sold separately, tool ships with starter bottle of oil
There is a product video by a (presumed) Japanese retailer, but it’s hard to follow along without knowing the language.
Specs (PDF, Japanese)
Makita managed to make the vacuum pump small and tidy, and I find myself wishing that they developed a quiet and continuous-running air compressor of a similar size that could be used for craft and industrial applications.
As with other Makita products that are introduced overseas, there’s no telling if or when this product might be announced or released in the USA or Canada.
While I can’t say I have ever used a vacuum pump in an HVAC context, I have used similar pumps in a laboratory setting. I have also used compressed air and vacuum converters for when very little vacuum pressure is needed. The size of Makita’s new offering is very appealing for how I have used and would use it, and I can imagine that HVAC pros might share that sentiment.
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All manner of tools now have cordless equivalents with increasingly improved performance and features. I can’t say I could have foreseen that Makita’s next would be a vacuum pump, but it seems like a good idea to me.
fred
Amazon-Japan says that it will be in stock come May 4th.
Derek
20 Pa makes no sense for a max vacuum pressure. I can’t translate Japanese any better than you, but it appears to be a typo in the spec sheet. The gauge in the picture shows a max of -0.1 MPa which is roughly 1 atm and makes much more sense.
Stuart
I made a small correction – looks like the pressure gauge is sold separately, like the hose.
20 Pa makes sense to me, if the gauge shows pressure and not vacuum pressure. But the gauge markings suggest otherwise.
Corey
20 pa is roughly 150 microns, so it should be capable of pulling a <500 micron vacuum. However, the 50 minutes of runtime is what bothers me. Most of our residential applications are requiring vacuums running 1.5 to 2.5 hours to get down to under 500 microns.
It wouldn't be much of an issue if the shut off valve has a really good seal, but I'd want to lay my hands on it before really giving it a thumbs up or down.
David
Right on point Cory, I’d be hesitant of that run time as well, especially if it turns off or weakens when no one is around and sucks some of that vacuum oil into your system…. though having an option besides a generates when theres no power around is definitely worth looking into…. They should have made this 36v optional… I’d feel way more confident in the purchase…
Farid
Great find Stewart.
I just build a vacuum test system for work a couple of month ago. While I had to deal with very low vacuum pressure (around 40 kPa absolute), this has got me curious.
The gauge on this unit has increments of 5kPa which is roughly 37000 micron. For refrigeration system, you need to be <500 micron if I recall correctly. So, if the needle (on the gauge shown on the Makita unit) is just off from zero, you can miss the target vacuum by a big margin. Is this typical for the gauges on HVAC pumps?
Matt
The guage is not significant, all Hvac vacuum measuring is done outside of the vacuum pump. Ideally on the other end of the system as far from the pump as possible. 99% of vacuum pumps made for Hvac don’t have and guage at all.
Nathan
the rating like many other international standards is probably not gage pressure but differential pressure.
IE it can pull down 20Pa from where it starts, not pull down to -20 Pa Gage pressue.
also that gage in the picture looks to be marked as 0.00 mPa increments – which would be way too high IMO.
interesting find though – surprised there aren’t others of these –
Jay k.
Thanks for looking stuart!!!
Bruce
Probably inadequate for HVAC use. I like the idea but even a small system hooked up to a 5cfm pump isn’t going to pull down in 50 minutes.
Pete
Hum… What’s the purpose of this if most HVAC guys are basically saying it’s probably useless? A tiny HVAC system? Not makita bashing just curious.
Corey
It’s the difference between doing the job correctly and doing the job the way the guy before you showed you how to do it. Most people in this industry don’t do it right.
So a refrigerant system is supposed to have absolutely nothing in the refrigerant lines before you add the refrigerant into it. Any foreign particles (non-condensables) prevent the system from working properly. In order to remove these things, we use a vacuum pump to evacuate the refrigerant circuit to 500 microns or less. This translates to roughly a 29.90″ mercury vacuum (standard atmospheric pressure is 29.92″).
The entrenched problem is that the refrigerant gauge has a mercury vacuum gauge printed on it that goes from 0″ to 30″. So most techs throw their gauges on the system, turn their vacuum pump on, and when their gauges show a 30″ mercury vacuum, they think they’re done and go about the rest of their business. It takes me a long time to convince any of our new hires that a 30″ mercury vacuum has less pressure than outer space; and they were able to create a pressure at sea level that no physicist has been able to do in standard conditions!
In order to ensure a proper vacuum, a micron gauge has to be hooked up to the circuit to have a precise tool to measure by. This tool is another couple hundred bucks and requires a more precise set up of gauges which takes time to figure out and maintain. And a much longer time to actually establish the vacuum. A vacuum that satisfies your gauges takes 15 minutes or so. A vacuum to the proper micron level may take 2 hours or so. And if you use a pump with higher CFM to evacuate faster, you create ice in the line that won’t come out with a vacuum pump.
Basically, it boils down to the fact that we haven’t trained our industry to work to the level the manufacturer wants. Issues with improper vacuums take years to show up and present themselves as part failures. It’s much easier to blame the part rather than an improper installation.
Dan
Get off your high horse you twat how long have you been in the industry?? Us British Hvac enginers do a proper vac to 0.5 torr on every vac we do unlike your brothers a lot of them just purge there systems as we have all found out the hard way other here
Phil shimell
Well said…guess they have never heard of a triple evacuation.. ?
glenn
Great find! We have been wanting a cordless vac pump from a pro grade manufacturer for quite a while,
We specifically only do split system installs so we don’t need a large pump. The small mains one we use now generally only takes @5-10 minutes per install to stabilise on the gauges .
This is a bit lower in cfm than our current pump but I cant see it taking much more than a couple of minutes or so longer.
You wouldn’t bother with the optional gauge, it is so limited in function and accuracy. We use a digital manifold set, I don’t have it here to check the model but I am pretty sure its this one.
http://www.testequipmentdepot.com/fieldpiece/manifold/sman2.htm
This for us is a great thing. The extra time to vac down isn’t an issue as we are always finishing off other stuff while its running. The bonus will be in the time saved by not having to find a GPO, unreel an extension cord etc etc. Sometimes 3-4 times per day.
rx9
The range of cordless tools Makita offers in 18v is truly impressive.
Mr p
Get one of thease and run your regular vacume pump on the rooftop remote units for as long as needed
http://www.amazon.com/Zebra-ZD002-Lighted-Female-ZebraDapter/dp/B008HQ6NF0
jake
Or just make one…. Pigtail and some alligator clips, way cheaper than 36.00
fred
it can be had for $10 less:
http://www.airstarsupply.com/product.aspx?id=702
David Keet
Could this unit be used to pressure test plumbing pipe work, say up to 10 bar?
Wasn’t sure if a vacuum pump could be used in this way.
Stuart
I don’t think a vacuum pump can be used for pressure testing.
Phil shimell
A vac pump sucks the air out…(among other things). You would require an air compressor for what you require
Mark
Worked for a great HVAC contractor decades ago. He would pull a vacuum down to 500 micron and hold it for 10 minutes to leak test new copper piping.
Lars
Could this be used to pump water?
Stuart
I don’t think so, it’s not a water pump.
All of the vacuum pumps I’ve worked with in laboratory settings could only handle air.
Santini
I’m interested in a pump for vacuum bagging re fiberglass and woodworking . Would this be suitable for these applications?
glenn
Should do. In daily use vacuuming out split system aircons, we would see on average, 400-500 microns which is about 0.008-0.009 of a PSI.
Brian
2 cfm is ok for short run mini splits that have 1/4×1/2 or smaller line sets, I would be curious to see how long it lasts. We use a Navac 2cfm cordless and it does ok and has lasted for 2 years but the price is double that of the Makita. But for bigger and longer linesets I use a minimum 5 cfm corded.