The 7 Best Digital Manifolds
This wiki has been updated 22 times since it was first published in October of 2018. Manifolds are a vital tool for anybody working on heating and cooling systems. They play a part in a variety of procedures, including vacuuming, testing, and recovery. Analog models, while helpful, still require the operator to perform a number of calculations to figure out things like subcooling, superheat, and pressure differential. These digital models make life easy by doing it all for you. When users buy our independently chosen editorial recommendations, we may earn commissions to help fund the Wiki.
1. Fieldpiece SM480V
2. Mastercool 99872-A
3. iManifold iConnect
Editor's Notes
February 25, 2021:
I’ve updated a couple of models to their newer variants, including both Fieldpiece manifolds. The SM380V has integrated WiFi, so you don’t have to use the JL2 job link transmitter to connect, like you had to with the SMAN360. On the other hand, the SM480V improves upon its predecessor, the SMAN460 by adding features like a thermocouple for outdoor ambient temperatures, as well as the ability for psychrometer probes to connect to it via the job link system app, and a stronger hook.
I’ve also added the Testo 557 Kit, which is very similar to the Testo 550, but has a 4-way valve instead of a 2-way one. Both have integrated Bluetooth and work with the smartphone app, which enables refrigerant updates – since the time of the last update of this list, the model line has added another 30 stored refrigerants.
December 11, 2018:
Many HVAC techs tend to scoff at digital manifolds because they feel they aren't as accurate as the old analog models, which can be true when using low quality units. Luckily, there are also a number of reliable options available on the market. We have scoured tons of user reviews, expert websites, and HVAC forums to ensure that we are only including the best possible items that take dead on readings every time.
4. UEI Test Instruments AK940
5. Fieldpiece SM380V
6. Testo 550
7. Testo 557 Kit
Kaivaan grew up in a little town called York in the north of England, though he was whisked off to sunny Jamaica at the age of 14, where he attended high school. After graduating, he returned to the UK to study electronic engineering at the University of Warwick, where he became the chief editor for the engineering society’s flagship magazine. A couple of uninspiring internships in engineering later however, and after some time spent soul-searching and traveling across Asia and East Africa, he he now lives and works in in Dubai.