Safe
tools and instruments recommended to students
By Jack Sine
One thing all HVAC
instructors agree upon is that one of the most important things they teach
is safety.
“We’re constantly quizzing our students about safety,” said
Les Haddix, an instructor at the Sequoia Institute in Fremont, California.
“We show them videos on ladder safety, teach them to be conscious of
loose clothing, we even tell them to make sure their shoes are tied. And then,
of course, we test them on everything. Of course, we can’t control what
they do when they go into the real world and start working on the job. Hopefully
they’ll be teamed with some seasoned pros who know the value of safe
practices, but while we have them in class we do everything we can to teach
them to work safely.”
“It goes beyond wearing safety glasses and the right gloves,”
said Luis Vendrel, an instructor at Lincoln Technical Institute in Union,
New Jersey. “A technician must be aware of the danger not just from
electricity, but from other risks on the job including ventilation, caustic
chemicals, contact with refrigerant. There’s so much to be aware of.”
All the instructors interviewed agreed that technician safety is a combination
of education and equipment. They provide their students with lists of tools
and instruments they recommend and most specify the same equipment.
The right instruments make a difference
Because electricity is a major safety risk on the job, all of the instructors
agreed that instrument choice is critical. And they all recommended the same
instruments.
“Safety involving instruments goes way beyond whether they have a UL
or CE mark on them,” said Haddix. “These days, most instruments
have one or both marks and it’s easy to choose the correct rating. But
that’s not the end of it. HVAC techs get into circumstances that most
meters weren’t designed for.
“For instance, we teach students to use only one hand when testing in
a lockdown, tag out situation because if they are using two probes and make
a mistake, the current will travel from one hand to the other, passing through
the heart. Even a small jolt can kill in those circumstances. But most multimeters
make one handed testing very difficult. That’s one of the reasons I
recommend the Fieldpiece HS35 stick meter to my students.”
Fieldpiece is a manufacturer of measuring instruments designed specifically
for field service technicians.
“We found that most instruments such as digital multimeters were really
designed for the lab and were difficult to use in the field,” said Rey
Harju, founder and president of Fieldpiece. “So we decided to design
a series of instruments that make the HVAC technician’s job easier and
safer. Our meters are ergonomically designed to fit into an HVAC technician’s
environment. The HS30 series makes field testing safer than with most meters”
“The HS-35 meter is ideal for my students’ needs,” said
Haddix. “For one-handed testing it comes with alligator clips. The tech
attaches one alligator clip to the black COM lead on the meter and connects
to ground. He then inserts the red probe in the holder. Now he can hold the
meter in one hand, put the other hand in his pocket, and touch the test points
with the red lead from the meter. There’s a magnetic strip on the back
so he can attach the meter right to the box and use just the probe for testing.
If he wants to do two-handed testing, he uses the black probe tip instead
of the alligator clip. It’s a heck of a lot easier than using a typical
meter, and safer, too.”
“The problem is that most instrument types were originally designed
for laboratory use,” said Scott Owen, an HVAC instructor at Northeast
Community College in Norfolk, Nebraska. “As such, they can present some
serious difficulties for the field tech. For example, consider the third hand
problem. To use most digital meters, the field guy uses two hands for the
test leads and he needs a third hand to hold the meter. He often doesn’t
have a nice flat spot to put it down. And even if he did, there’s a
big chance he’d knock it over or pull it onto the floor with the test
leads. Fieldpiece solved that by putting a magnetic strip on the backs of
their stick meters. The HVAC/R tech is surrounded by metal surfaces. With
the magnet, he can place the meter easily at eye level near his work and not
have to worry about knocking it over.”
Greater safety designed in
But how does an instrument designed for a field technician offer greater safety
than one designed for lab use? Adolfo Wurts is the Senior Research Specialist
at Fieldpiece and is also a certified HVAC technician. He chose one of his
company’s own instruments and contrasted it with the typical digital
multi meter.
“Our HS30 series of stick-style DMMs is one hundred per cent the result
of input from HVAC field techs,” he said, “and was designed for
the specific problems they meet on the job.
“Field service guys work around a wide variety of voltages and they
like to know when there are potentially dangerous voltages their work area.
Our meter includes a high voltage indicator that activates both the meter’s
LED and beeper when a probe makes contact with a voltage over 30V. The laboratory
guys hate this feature in our meters because they typically leave an instrument
connected for a long time and the noise is distracting. But field techs, who
only make momentary contact, love it.”
Non Contact Voltage feature
“Another safety feature we put in because of technician input is our
NCV (non contact voltage) button,” said Wurts. “The meter will
tell a tech from a distance if a wire has voltage on it or not. All you have
to do is bring the meter near the wire and press the NCV button. If the wire
is hot, the meter will beep and an LED will blink. The higher the voltage,
the further away the meter activates.
“If there are several conductors in a confined area so that non contact
would not be viable, the tech can perform one-lead testing. He puts one probe
tip from a lead into the stick meter, presses the NCV button, and then with
only one hand touches a test point. The beeper and the LED will tell the technician
if the wire is hot, even if it is surrounded by other wires.”
Designed for close quarters
“Cramped quarters also create problems for field technicians that lab
techs don’t experience,” said Bob Wilson, a paraprofessional at
Oakland Community College in Hazel Park, Minnesota. “In an awkward or
dark spot, the technician runs into another kind of three-handed problem –
he can’t operate the leads and see the readout on his meter at the same
time. Fieldpiece solved that problem by putting a MIN/MAX/HOLD feature on
their HS30 series. By pressing the MIN/MAX button before testing, the technician
can concentrate his entire focus on the test leads. The meter will record
the maximum voltage for later viewing or, by pressing the hold button, it
will freeze the LED display.”
Safer hand tools
“The hand tools these kids use are also important to their safety,”
said Leith. “We put together a list for students on what the complete
HVAC technician’s tool box should hold. The list is generic, but we
offer specific recommendations. For instance, any hand tools from Klein are
recommended. Not only is the quality the best, they take user safety seriously.
We tell them not to try to cut corners on their hand tools.”
Bob Wilson agrees. “Their tools are designed for people who work daily
with electricity,” he said. “Every electrician has a bag full
of Klein tools.”
“The reason for our popularity among HVAC technicians and other electrical
professionals is a combination of safety and quality,” said Alan Sipe,
senior vice president at Klein Tools. “Take our nine-inch side cutter
pliers, for instance. We take extra steps in their manufacture. We smooth
the outside edges to make sure they won’t scratch or snag. And we use
three different heat treatments in their manufacture: one for the head, one
to make the cutting knives extra hard, and a softer one for the handles to
make them more flexible and easier on the hands. It’s not exactly ergonomics
because ergonomics isn’t really practical in situations where a tool
is used repetitively over a long period, but it does make our side cutters
more user friendly.
“As far as safety is concerned, we take special pains to make our tools
the safest in the industry. Our screw drivers have two layers of insulation
and they are different colors so you can tell when the top layer is getting
thin. But we see our built-in safety precautions as secondary. There’s
no substitute for good insulated gloves and proper technician precautions
when working around electricity.”
Refrigerant Safety
Electricity is not the only safety problem around HVAC equipment. Refrigerant
can do significant frostbite damage to a tech if any escapes while connecting
a gage.
“I recommend Imperial low loss fittings,” said Haddix. “By
using these with any hose connection, you eliminate the hazard of frost bite
from escaping refrigerant. Of course, using the right gloves is also a must.”
Leith agrees. “I like the quick connect fittings from Imperial Tools.
I haven’t had any escape problems with them. I also recommend that my
students use the Imperiral KWIK-Charger Manifold from Imperial. Not only does
it provide technician safety when charging a system, it is also fast and works
with blends R-407 and R-410a,” he said. “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 refrigerant 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 offers
additional safety for the technician by including a shutoff valve at the end
of each hose to eliminate refrigerant being released when connecting or disconnecting.”
So from precautions ranging from something as mundane as reminding technicians
to tie their shoes all the way to hand tools, refrigerant fittings, and specialized
instruments – safety remains a major focus of HVAC instructors throughout
the country.
Jack Sine is a freelance writer specializing in the HVAC/R marketplace.
He can be reached at jack.sine@verizon.net or at 845-838-1466.
Fieldpiece
Instruments, Inc.
580 W. Central, Suite A
Brea, CA 92821
(714) 257-9060 FAX (714) 257-9069
fporders@fieldpiece.com
