AUTOOL Refrigeration Digital Gauges Compared

Refrigerant gauges (or digital manifold gauges) are essential tools for air conditioning maintenance and refrigerant filling. AUTOOL’s LM series offers a full range—from entry-level to high-end models. This article compares each model to help you find the best fit for your needs.

Why do I need a refrigerant pressure gauge?

In car air conditioning repair, the refrigerant pressure gauge is a key tool that shows the pressure of the refrigerant. Its main use is to help spot and fix common refrigerant problems in time.

1. Detecting high and low pressure systems: The refrigeration digital gauges can read the pressure value of high pressure (condensing end) and low pressure (evaporating end) in the refrigeration system in real time to determine whether the system is operating normally. If the pressure is too low, then it may be refrigerant leakage or compressor failure. If the pressure is too high, the condenser may be clogged or the refrigerant may be excessive.
2. Judge whether the refrigerant is sufficient or leaking: Through the comparison of pressure value and temperature (saturation temperature curve), we can judge whether there is insufficient or excessive refrigerant, which is the key inspection step before and after the refrigerant refilling of the air conditioning system.
3. Auxiliary Vacuuming and Refrigerant Filling: Vacuuming and refrigerant filling are the core steps when servicing an air conditioner. The refrigerant gauge connects the vacuum pump and refrigerant tank to help control and monitor whether the vacuum level is sufficient and whether the refrigerant filling reaches the standard pressure.
4. Detecting whether the system is leaking (pressure holding test): The refrigerant gauge can carry out a pressure leakage test to determine whether the pipelines and joints are well sealed.
5. Support compressor working test and system pressure curve tracking: the compressor is the core component of the refrigeration system, which is responsible for pushing the refrigerant to circulate in the system, and once it fails, the whole system will not be able to cool normally. The refrigerant meter helps to judge whether the compressor is working normally.

Classification of refrigerant pressure gauges