Robinair48510 R134a Aluminum Manifold Set with 72" Hoses

I originally bought a cheap manifold set (the kind from HF). It was such a piece of garbage that I returned it, then did some research and shopping around. I bought this Robinair set on Amazon for a little over twice as much money as those cheap sets. But wow!... this one is well worth double or triple the price of the cheap sets. The aluminum block part with site glass is very high quality. The gauges are extremely accurate, large, and easy to read down to a single tick on the pound scale. The hoses are really nice quality and extra long compared to the cheap sets. The quick connect fittings are not the top-of-the-line Robinair fittings, they are the economy version, but the Robinair economy version quick connects are still significantly better quality than the cheap sets. They click on easily and don't waste a drop of refrigerant. The fittings and couplings are very high quality and don't waste not even one slight drop of refrigerant (making them safer to use for both the person and the environment). The cheap sets spray a dose of refrigerant every time you quick connect off and on (which was kind of dangerous if you get it on your skin, and also will ruin the paintjob of the car). These Robinair don't do that at all, and provide a positive quick connect without getting sprayed with refrigerant. The blow mold case is also very nice. Don't waste your time with the cheap and inaccurate sets, get this set and you won't be disappointed. Also, another great thing about this Robinair set is that replacement parts are readily available. So when you get to the point that you need to replace fittings, knobs, o-rings, or gauges, you will have no problem obtaining them and fixing the manifold. With those cheap disposable sets, once something small breaks you have to throw it away and buy another one. I also bought the can-tap so this manifold could be used with the small cans of R134a you can buy from any autoparts store or Walmart.I would rate this set as excellent for the do-it-yourselfer auto person, and pretty close to a professional quality set.

Very nice manifold gauges. These things are very high quality and feel like they're worth way more than they cost. I uploaded a picture of them because the picture in the description doesn't do them justice since this set is way nicer than what is shown. The gauges are big and easy to read, the knobs are smooth as silk and don't leak at all - big improvement over my last set of lame HF gauges! The hoses, manual couplers, and case would cost more than the whole kit with the manifold if purchased separately. So yeah, they are a great deal. With all that being said I did have to send the first set I received back because one of the gauge background plates was bent forward rendering the low side gauge inoperable and the high side gauge was crooked. I could have easily fixed the crooked gauge but why should I? So the comments about poor quality control are correct, some of their employees obviously have a poor work ethic and hopefully they will be weeded out. The next set I got is perfect even though they were missing the protective caps that are supposed to keep debris from entering the manifold through the bottom fittings during shipping. I wouldn't let that sway you though. For the money no other manifold set can touch these.

Item arrived new, shrink wrapped in blow molded case. Case is slightly different than pictured, mine has metal clasps, nice touch over the typical plastic ones. Also, my set didn't come with the auto couplers, but rather the manual couplers. Not a big deal for me, its just not how it is advertised ( I guess at least with manual couplers, there is no Freon loss during installation). Couplers were preinstalled on the hoses, manifold and hose ends are all 1/2" ACME except for the ends that are pre-attached to the couplers. Gauges are adjustable if need be, large and easy to read. Although this is a R134a set, the gauges read both R134a and R12.The case was large enough inside to install the hoses and return to case leaving them installed.edit 7-1-14: ordered and received second set, which arrived with same features as original set, manual valves and metal clasps on the case. Can't say enough about the Robinair gauges. Was wanting a dedicated set for recovery, wasn't really wanting to spend this much since there are so many out there cheaper. Couldn't find a cheaper Robinair set so I picked up a interdynamics set from O'reilly's (also sold here). After trying to pull a simple vacuum with those interdynamic gauges, I promptly returned those and picked up another set of these. The valves and gauges are far better than the economy sets. Buy once, buy Robinair.

Very nice set of gauges and the storage case that comes with the gauges helps keeping everything together and great for storage on my service truck.

Very solid set for a first time a/c mechanic.My A/C compressor actually blew the front main seal and leaked all refrigerant.I replaced every component and flushed the lines too.I was able to vacuum down the system and watch the pressures with this set.However, it appears the low-side coupler on my set doesn't always connect with the 'plunger' on vehicles (3 different ones now, Audi, Nissan and Saab) to allow it to add refrigerant.I've used quick connect fill hoses (like at your local auto store) to fill from the low side and watch high side pressure.I am curious if I can buy a replacement low-side fill line?

I waffled over paying up for this Robinair set, decided to go ahead because the 6 foot hoses would make the reach to the underbody low-side fitting on my Jag and I liked the sound of the manual valves. I'm glad that I did, the set functioned perfectly for the one job I bought it for, the manual valves are great (no Freon spray while hooking up), and the quality feel of the tool was satisfying. Will hold vacuum without apparent leak-down for 24 hours. The cheaper sets would almost certainly get the job done for less, but I like to buy good tools if I'm going to buy them; I still use some that my dad bought 75 years ago, the per-year cost is pretty low...

The high & low side coupler fittings as shown in the photo do not match the actual couplers included with the manifold & gauge kits I purchased. Shown in the photo are Robinair's 18174/18175 Economy Series couplers, which I did not want to use as I believe they are "automatic: and have no knobs/valves. In anticipation of this, I ended up purchasing the 18192 coupler set (includes 18190A and 18191A high & low manual couplers) in advance to retro-fit; but in the end the couplers I wanted were already part of the kit. I am sure I will eventually use these extra couplers on other equipment, but as I noted the illustration is not correct in this regard. Otherwise the manifold & gauge set has been used satisfactorily, no other concerns.