@Ronald Criel The question is, can you test it against another manifold? If it is off since day one, or over time, you will never find out.

@Ronald Criel Makes sense. Just keep in mind down the road: if any results don't make sense all of the sudden and you can't figure out the cause, your pressure readings could be off. Please report back over time so we can collect some real world feedback.

Adding your question from your other 2 threads here. Please keep your project in one thread and don't start new ones for every question. 1.) How reliable are ACiQ heat pump systems? 2.) What are the pain points? 3.) Has anyone bough from HVACstore.com or HVACdirect.com? What was your experience with them?

Get an HVAC acid test. If your compressor's windings are failing or it seized up, or the new refrigerant uses different oil, I'd replace the lines. That being said, some tech's will flush with chemicals and triple purge. Some techs will purge once and reuse, and the new compressor may last 9 years instead of 15 (or so).

@Carmine Iantosca How old is the system? Some R22 last 35 years. If yours is 20, it may have another 10 in it. If its rather 30 years old I'd replace the whole thing.

@Carmine Iantosca In that case it makes sense to replace just the evap coil. Check eBay and FaceBook Marketplace - they often have sellers with old stock HVAC equipment. I can get a new old stock compressor for my system for 350 bucks on eBay. Make sure you flow nitro when brazing.

I see 2 options: 1.) A female spade connector on the wire to the cap is loose, causing resistance. Higher resistance causes heat and that will melt the wire insulation and may cause the cap to leak and die. A dead cap may kill a Soft Starter. Cap could also short out and cause the wire insulation to melt. Bottom line: wire or cap are the root cause here. 2.) The windings inside your compressor are on the way out, slowly decreasing effective impedance. In order to overcome, it will pull more current. Neither the wire nor the cap are designed to deal with out of spec higher current draw, hence they overheat and fail. Then a dead cap will also kill the Soft Starter. This is what _I_ would do. Obviously, there can be more or other issues at hand. Replace the cap, wire and connector. Make sure ALL connectors sit stiff and tight on the cap. if they wiggle, squeeze them tighter with pliers or replace. Then measure amp draw of the compressor and fan with an amp meter such as a Klein Tools CL320 Clamp Meter, and compare with the specs on datasheet on the condensing unit. If amp draw is within spec, install new soft starter if you want to. If fan motor draws more, replace it. If compressor draws more, do an HVAC acid test. They can be found on Amazon for 5 bucks. If acid test is positive, you should consider a new system. If acid test is negative, replace compressor very soon, before it contaminates the rest of the system and you can't pump the refrigerant down into the condensing unit anymore - then you would need a recover machine and tank on top of all other tools.

@Jon Wesner Does your compressor make any weird start-up noises? If not, you should be good to go. I replace my cap every 2 years so it won't ever drag my system down. Its a cheap insurance at 15 bucks. They don't last as long as they used to.