is
Using Today
How
modern technology makes today’s HVAC technician more efficient
By Jack Sine
With so many new
technologies coming into our lives at a dizzying speed, it makes sense to
look at the impact the latest technological advances are having on today’s
residential and light commercial HVAC technician.
Since the modern technician needs so many tools to do his job, it is interesting
to note that many of the pieces of equipment available are essentially “me,
too” products with little or nothing to differentiate them from competing
products – with no technological edge, in other words. Many, but not
all.
There are several manufacturers who do offer unique tools or equipment that
contribute to a technician’s ability to do his job faster, better, and
with greater precision.
After interviewing service contractors, technicians, manufacturers, manufacturers
representatives, distributors, and teachers at training schools across the
country, several manufacturers of HVAC equipment and tools clearly stood out
as being ahead of the curve.
Measuring instruments lead the list of advanced equipment
The best example of cutting edge technology comes
from an instrument
manufacturer. It says something about Fieldpiece Instruments that they were
the only company
mentioned by all of the professionals interviewed. Fieldpiece manufactures
hand held instruments specifically designed for the HVAC/R technicians. These
instruments perform all the common measurements needed by a tech – electrical,
relative humidity, rpm, vacuum, air velocity, dual temperature, gas/static
pressure, wet bulb relative humidity, and carbon monoxide.
Peter Leith is the director of education at the Environmental Technical Institute
in Itasca, Illinois and has been using Fieldpiece instrument in his classes
for the last year.
“We insist that each of our HVAC students purchase a Fieldpiece SC66
clamp meter,” said Leith, “because it is a great basic tool for
the field service technician. It gives the tech the ability to make every
reading he needs, no more, no less. It offers manual ranging, thermocouple
plug in, microamp measurement for flame rectifier diode test, and capacitance
measurement for motor-run and motor-start capacitors, plus a bunch of other
features clearly designed for specifically for HVAC service techs. And it’s
affordable.”
“I first discovered them at my wholesaler’s,” said John
Shamahorn, director of operations at Chaz Roberts Air Conditioning in Tucson,
Arizona. “I told him I needed a new meter and he held out a Fieldpiece
and told me it was the most popular one he sold. I asked him if it was rugged
enough for HVAC work and he grinned at me, threw it across the room and bounced
it off the Coke machine. He went over, picked it up and it worked fine. That
was a year and a half ago and I have been using their instruments ever since
and recommending them to my technicians. We even offer a payroll deduction
plan to help them make the purchase.”
“The Fieldpiece instruments are extremely durable, highly accurate,
and easy to use,” said Drew Timm of Sun Services in Fountain Hills,
Arizona. “And they’re more compact than others on the market.
That makes the technician’s work even easier.”
But the most popular offerings from Fieldpiece have been their recently introduced
modular systems.
“It’s a modular design that makes the technician’s tool
kit significantly more compact,” said Richard Hicks, of United Products
Distributors in Rosedale, Maryland. “It consists of a stick meter, a
data logger, an electronic handle, and separate heads that fit into any one
of the three. The heads measure ac amps, vacuum, air velocity, dual temperature,
gas/static pressure, wet bulb relative humidity, and carbon monoxide. They
are at least as accurate as anybody else’s and often more so. And you
can fit them all into a small tool bag. They reduce the amount that a technician
has to carry by 30 to 40 per cent. No more trips back to the truck. Plus,
everything works the same way. Lose the operator’s manual? No problem.
“And the modular design is much more convenient. Everything’s
there where you need it. The new stick meter even has a magnetic strap so
you can hang it anywhere. And they include alligator clips on their thermocouples
so you can affix them right to the grill or intake. The people at Fieldpiece
really focused on the needs of the HVAC techs.”
Perhaps the modular system was summed up best by George Ezzell, Service Manager
at Gemaire in Deerfield Beach, Florida: “It’s so flexible, you
can measure anything with it.”
Fieldpiece was founded in 1990 by its president, Rey Harju, who says their
strength is that it manufacturers instruments exclusively targeted for HVACR
technicians.
“The problem with other instruments then and now,” said Harju,
“is that they’re designed for electricians and electronic technicians.
HVAC technicians face unique challenges. They need to test a wide variety
of parameters. For safety and convenience, they like our “hands free”
testing. We design our instruments specifically for HVAC service technicians.
Our accessory heads measure the parameters a tech needs most. Our instruments
are easy to carry, easy to use , and save the HVAC technicians time on the
job.”
The fastest recovery system
Although there are several refrigerant charging systems on the market, the
one that was mentioned the most for R-22 and R-410a was the MicorVac from
RefTec.
“It’s simply faster than any of the others out there,” said
Richard Hicks. “And it’s also dependable. Those are the two key
things you’re looking for when you’re recovering refrigerant.”
“The secret is the compressor,” said Eric Maskrey, vice president
of sales and marketing at RefTec. “With other systems the technician
has to manually throttle the manifold to get direct liquid recovery, but with
our patented compressor and automatic metering, he just opens the manifold
and lets it rip. That’s why our recovery rates are the fastest in the
industry for R-22 and R-410a.”
A manifold for all applications
Another very popular choice from those interviewed was the new Series 700
Kwik-Charger® Manifold from Imperial, Division of Stride Tool Inc. According
to Miles Dubinsky, Product Engineering Manager for Imperial, the new manifold
was the direct result of market pressure for faster and easier charging method
for the newer blended refrigerants and still capable of use on existing freons.
“The blends like R-407 and R-410a have to come out in a liquid state,
instead of a vapor like conventional refrigerants or “Fractionation”
may occur which is a incorrect ratio of the mixture. The solution until now
has been to use a special charging device that could be added onto a conventional
manifold. Although this method worked, it was very time consuming. Therefore
we set about to develop a built-in quick charger for blends that could be
utilized easily. We introduced our patented Series 700-C Kwik-Charger®
just a few months ago. It discharges blended refrigerants at up to eight times
faster than conventional methods and has been a big success, especially at
the HVAC schools where they try to keep their students current with the latest
technology.”
Peter Leith from ETI agrees.
“I was a little skeptical when Imperial introduced us to this new manifold,
but I’ve become a big fan. It’s a real time saver, adding liquid
is much faster than the older systems we use. It works great on the low side
with absolutely no slugging. We’ve been using it about four months and
I’d say it’s at least 70 percent faster and it’s not restricted
to blends. You can change to traditional refrigerants by just twisting a knob.
It also has a shutoff valve at the end of each hose to eliminate refrigerant
being released when connecting or disconnecting.”
Refrigerant Leak Detectors – a debate on the best
Although there are numerous leak detectors on the market, the battle for the
best in this survey comes down to two: The INFICON D-TEK™ and the TIFZX1.
Richard Hicks maintains the INFICON is the leader.
“The D-TEK™ is extremely accurate,” he says. “It uses
heated diode sensor technology to detect chlorine and fluorine. It is a hand-held
instrument and provides greater accuracy than other technologies on the market.
It also eliminates almost all false readings and by eliminating false readings
it makes the technician significantly more efficient.”
“INFICON developed hand-held heated diode sensor technology for refrigerant
leak detection more than ten years ago,” said INFICON National Sales
Manager, Brian King, “and we’ve been refining it ever since. It
responds to the slightest trace of fluorine and chlorine and virtually nothing
else. It is noticeably more sensitive than any other technology. The only
thing the technician has to be careful about is the diode itself. Like a light
bulb, it wears out eventually. We recommend that technicians carry a spare
and check the instrument regularly. We also recommend regular maintenance.”
But George Ezzell maintains that the TIFZX1is better at sniffing out leaks.
“It just picks up leaks better than anything else I’ve used and
I’ve tried a lot of detectors,” he said. “I think it has
to do with their ‘pentode’ sensor.”
“Although we use heated sensor technology, too, ours takes a little
different course,” said Bill McDonough, national sales manager for TIF.
“We use microprocessors to monitor our sensor and check for heat, humidity,
and moisture. The temperature of the sensor automatically adjusts to conditions
and that leads to longer life. We also provide a push-button battery self
test and tricolor display that changes the closer it gets to the leak.”
So, while the choice of many HVAC maintenance equipment and instruments may
simply come down to brand preference, there are also cutting edge manufacturers
out there offering products that can significantly improve the service technician’s
efficiency.
Fieldpiece
Instruments, Inc.
580 W. Central, Suite A
Brea, CA 92821
(714) 257-9060 FAX (714) 257-9069
fpinfo@fieldpiece.com
