August 2023 - Fieldpiece Instruments

FIELDPIECE INSTRUMENTS HONORED WITH 2023 ACHR DEALER DESIGN AWARD AND INCLUSION IN “BEST PLACES TO WORK – SOCAL”

HVAC Combustion Analyzer Design takes Gold and Fieldpiece is Recognized by Workplace Culture Experts as an Employee Favorite

ORANGE, CALIF. (AUGUST 3, 2023) – Fieldpiece Instruments, the leading manufacturer of HVACR tools pros trust, announced two key achievements today: the Fieldpiece CAT85 K2 Combustion Analyzer HC was a Gold Winner in the 2023 Air Conditioning, Heating & Refrigeration (ACHR) Dealer Design Awards, and the privately-held company was honored as one of 83 companies named in the 2023 Best Places to Work SoCal list.

The Dealer Design Awards Program, sponsored by ACHR the News magazine, recognizes product design excellence annually. An independent panel of contractors acted as judges in the contest and awarded Fieldpiece’s CAT85 Combustion Analyzer HC the gold winner in the testing and monitoring products category.

The CAT85 Combustion Analyzer HC with wireless printer ensures combustion safety and efficiency of furnaces and simplifies the process for HVACR techs by measuring O₂, CO, CO₂, flue temperature, air temperature and draft/gas pressure. A standout design innovation includespatent pending SensorVault™ technology that seals oxygen and carbon monoxide sensors from air when the tool is off, resulting in prolonged sensor life. Sensors are warrantied for four years and are replaceable in the field – leading to maximum uptime on the job site for techs. Replacement sensors have built-in calibration data, so after a simple swap, the analyzer is ready to go.

An additional CAT85 innovation includes its HydroCycle™ Pump technology. The pump condenses water vapor pulled through the combustion analyzer probe and returns it to the flue, eliminating the need for a water trap that must be repeatedly emptied. The CAT85 also has a built-in manometer for one less tool to carry and connects wirelessly to the Fieldpiece Job Link® System App, allowing techs to view trends, draft pressure and customer details seamlessly and conveniently.

“Fieldpiece’s culture is one of innovation and commitment to the HVACR contractor community. It’s great to see our team’s hard work being recognized for the combustion analyzer design that increases techs’ uptime and effectiveness during furnace installation, maintenance and repairs,” said Cameron Rouns, chief executive officer at Fieldpiece Instruments. “Our culture drives everything we do and helps define who we are at Fieldpiece, so we are also very honored to be named on this year’s Best Places to Work SoCal list,” he added.

Best Companies Group (BCG) selected the Best Places to Work SoCal winners based on responses from detailed, anonymous employee surveys and ranked the winners across small, medium and large company categories. Companies in Southern California that rated highest on issues that matter most to employees were highlighted as best places to work. The ranking is based on an analysis of survey responses about corporate culture, training and development, salary, benefits and overall employee satisfaction.

Jaime Raul Zepeda, executive vice president, Best Companies Group, said, “Southern California is home to some of the world’s top brands, leading SMBs and innovative startups. The companies that made this year’s Best Places to Work SoCal list are standouts from the thousands of employee survey responses we analyzed and reviewed. These companies are a bright spot for their employees, and we congratulate them for creating a valuable and rewarding work environment.”

To learn more about the CAT85 Combustion Analyzer HC, see the Fieldpiece website: https://www.fieldpiece.com/product/cat85k2/ and visit your local Fieldpiece distributor for purchase: https://www.fieldpiece.com/where-to-buy.

Interested in joining Fieldpiece? See job listings on LinkedIn.

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If you’ve ever wished your HVAC refrigerant hoses lasted longer, wanted to build your own set, cart fewer spares in your truck, and ultimately spend less on hoses every year – then Fieldpiece hoses are for you! We spent weeks on the job with HVACR pros to understand the demands of this workhorse equipment and figure out how to improve charging and vacuum hoses to make techs’ jobs easier, faster and better. Partnering with our extensive team of beta-testers, we designed our new line of Fieldpiece hoses and accessories with the following performance and ease-of-use design improvements, all for you:

Premium Refrigerant Hose with Four-layer Construction

A refrigerant hose take a beating, so we built them tougher. Our hoses have a four-layer construction designed specifically for ruggedness and A2L refrigerant compatibility. Although tough, the external layer provides a soft feel and solid grip even with wet or oily hands. The outermost layer holds up to UV exposure, scorching heat on roof tops, biting cold in refrigeration units, abrasion from dragging and even storage abuse in your truck. The premium quality, black rubber stands up to the harshest conditions and chemical exposure commonly faced on HVACR jobs.

For the second refrigerant hose layer, we selected a polyester material with high flexibility that allows a tight bend radius for those hard-to-reach service ports and will easily coil, carry and store. By choosing a specific thickness and density of a braided-fiber polyester, it also provides the strength and durability to meet 800 psi working pressure and 4000 psi burst pressure requirements.

To maximize flow rate, we ensured that the inner diameter of the third rubber layer is as large as possible in all hoses to create an open flow for gases, speeding up your charging, recovery, and evacuation times.

The fourth layer is how all Fieldpiece hoses are A2L compatible and ready for the transition to refrigerants with much lower global warming potential. An inner veneer on the third rubber layer reduces the permeation of gases and lubricants to meet SAE specifications. This fourth layer is applied in all charging and vacuum hoses to ensure compatibility with common CFC, HCFC, HFC and HFO refrigerants.

Unique Refrigerant Hose Color Tag System

Why go all black? We wanted to offer a premium refrigerant hose, while minimizing what you need to carry as spares. With our new color tag system, you can easily replace a single hose by removing the color tag and snapping it onto the black Fieldpiece replacement hose you need – open, ball valve or low loss. You are not bound to a particular color hose and fitting combination, or as limited by what stock your local supply house may carry. Furthermore, the premium black hose appearance won’t degrade over time from UV sunlight and oil exposure, unlike a traditional red, blue, and yellow refrigerant hose. Color tags are made of the same robust, glass-filled nylon proven for industrial HVACR use on other Fieldpiece tools.

The tag colors available today are red, yellow, and blue, but with the coming A2L refrigerants, we are working on more color combinations. You also have the flexibility to configure and customize hoses for their specific use, such as adding additional tags to easily differentiate between 1/4 inch and 5/16 inch fitting hoses or hoses dedicated to particular refrigerants and lubricants. You can also create your own mix with tag halves, such as red/blue or red/yellow, to personalize your hoses so you can always identify your own!

Durable Fittings Designed for HVAC Techs

Technician safety and comfort is always at the forefront of design considerations for Fieldpiece, and hose fittings are no exception. The knurling depth, shape, and density provide a solid grip with dry, wet, or oily hands – so say goodbye to chewed up fingertips. Fitting diameters are minimized to maximize hand-access while still providing good torque for a robust seal under pressure.

Fieldpiece intentionally designed our ball valve fittings with a center pivot to reduce the chance of accidentally bumping the valve and releasing refrigerant – a safety hazard techs are all too familiar with. The center pivot also minimizes the total width of the hose and fitting when closed to allow easier access in tight spaces. Anti-blowback features are also built into our angled fittings to protect your hands from refrigerant exposure. Staying safe on the job is something you should always expect from your equipment.

We also looked at long-term durability and reliability of our fittings and added triple-ring crimps to the brass fittings on each end of the hose. This process is typically only used on premium and high-pressure hoses and we added it to all our fittings. Should a single crimp fail, the additional rings come into play to secure the seal, giving longer-life to your hoses.

Fieldpiece core depressors are also threaded to allow you to make depth adjustments with a simple twist, because we understand that not all service port Schrader valves are created equal.

Only Buy the Refrigerant Hoses you Need

Fieldpiece’s charging hoses come in multiple 3-pack sets, with open, ball-valve, and low loss fittings, for both 1/4 inch and 5/16 inch mini-split port options. A 1/4 inch combo pack is also available with (1) ball valve and (2) low loss valves. But you asked, and we delivered – all hoses are also sold individually, so you can build the exact set you use the most and replace only what you need.

Fieldpiece is proud to offer hoses and fittings designed and tested in partnership with HVACR pros like you and manufactured to the highest standards. Fieldpiece hoses and accessories are the preferred refrigerant hoses to complement Fieldpiece manifolds, pumps, and recovery tools. Visit the hoses and fittings product page to see all options and accessories and ask your local HVAC distributor about them today!