Review Harbor Freight 3 CFM Two Stage Vacuum Pump Pittsburgh Item 60805

By | May 23, 2016

Review Harbor Freight 3 CFM Two Stage Vacuum Pump Item 60805
The Harbor Freight Pittsburgh is a 3 CFM Two Stage HVAC Vacuum Pump.

It is rated to pull a vacuum to 22.5 microns.

It will work with most any refrigerant, R134A and R12/R22.

Vacuum pumps are often are high priced units and can cost upwards of $500-$1000 dollars.

At less than $200 dollars this unit from Harbor Freight makes it more affordable for home DIY or part time HVAC technicians.

It could also be used on a vehicles cooling system but I only used it with a home air conditioning unit.

There is a sight window to see the oil level.
Harbor Freight 3 CFM Two Stage Vacuum Pump Review
This is a nice feature since you will be able to see when the oil has become too dirty and needs changes, and also as to not overfill it.

The drain plug for the oil is underneath.
Review Harbor Freight 3 CFM Two Stage Vacuum Pump Pittsburgh

The motor has a fan behind a shroud that helps keep it cool.
Review  Pittsburgh Harbor Freight 3 CFM Two Stage Vacuum Pump

Testing the unit it pulled a 3 ton split system down in roughly 45 minutes.
Review Harbor Freight 3 CFM Pittsburgh Two Stage Vacuum Pump
 
Summary
My final thoughts on this HVAC vacuum pump is it worked and it worked great.

I had no problem evacuating the system, it pulled it down the unit I tested it on relatively quickly.

I let this sit there and run for a good hour since it was a system broken open because they stole the copper from it.

I did pull it for an hour, I had no problems with it maintained its vacuum throughout the entire time.

It seems to start a little noisy and I think they mentioned it in the manual and after a couple minutes after it draws down it quiets up.

It is quiet now and running which is great.

I would recommend it for those working on there own systems and need a cheap unit to work with.

It could be used in a professional setting or as a backup although there are better units although more costly.

I am still testing the unit out and will update if anything changes.

As always be sure to read the reviews on forums or elsewhere to be sure a unit is a good fit for you.
 

Category: HVAC how to Vacuum Pump

About Aaron H. Benetti

Aaron H. Benetti has worked in the HVAC field since 1991. He began his career as an HVAC installer and later began doing troubleshooting and repairs. Around 2010, he began to write books on HVAC topics, mainly tutorials and how-to information. Currently, Aaron writes many articles and posts for websites as well as books and videos on HVAC topics.

2 thoughts on “Review Harbor Freight 3 CFM Two Stage Vacuum Pump Pittsburgh Item 60805

  1. Steven

    Good review, any ideas on whether this pump can be used for continuous duty projects. I’m specifically looking for something for vacuum clamping and vacuum gluing which would require continuous duty fir a couple days at a time>

    Thanks

    Reply

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