Yeah, so we're gon na talk about tools today, I've got a whole bunch of tools to my side here that I'm just gon na pull up and show to you as as we as we need to. But I want to talk about a few of the things that have already been discussed in chat. One of them is the question that you know. First, one everybody asks and I've got to answer it right away, which is what is your favorite manifold? My current favorite name manifold is the sm3 a TV from field piece.

I will be frank with you. I did not like the first generation of the SMAN manifolds. We had some issues with them with them leaking and hooks breaking off of them, and I didn't like the fact that I you know I've never been a big fan of micron gauge inside of the manifold, not that there's anything wrong with having an additional micron gauge Inside the manifold, but it's just not the right place to measure it. So when that first came out initially I valued it because I didn't it was kind of on the edge of learning all this that we've learned about vacuum.

But then, once I found out that it didn't really work, then I kind of threw that manifold by the wayside and I've used the testo 500 for many years or some not 500 testo 550 for many years and that's a good manifold. It's it's a good, solid manifold. I don't like the software very much on it personally, but it is a good, solid manifold that I've used for a long time, and I still have one on my truck, but now that I've used the sm-3 ATV because it works with measure quick. I'm a big measure, quick loyalist, as many of you know.

I think it's the future of really being able to see deeply into the equipment. That is my favorite manifold right now, but then the question is: why do you need a manifold? So that's sort of the next question, but quickly Jeremy says I like the 380 over the 480. Yes because I don't have any use for 404 port manifolds because I'm not pulling a vacuum through the manifold. So I don't want to spend money for an additional port that I don't have any purpose.

For I mean I guess you could argue that you could use it for recovery, but even then with recovery, we're moving to using separate recovery hoses as well in recovery rigs. We're pulling through 3/8 flare dryers and all that, so we're really going to a separate refrigerant charging and testing rig. Where we're using probes, then we're using the digit readout on our recovery machines to recovery machines that I like best Arnav, a Canfield piece, and that is that they are both sponsors on the podcast. But I'm telling you honestly, those are my two favorite recovery machines.

Cmr 45 from field piece is great: we tested it when it first came out and then the nav AK recovery machine and all of a sudden my mind is going blank on the exact model number. But there's a couple different models of Navajo and we've got a caller, so how's it going or is that Caleb it might be Caleb anyway, fair enough, we'll move on. I think it was. I think it's one of my admins in there yeah we're really we're really good, really big fans of using probes, and the reason is is that you have less loss one little thing that I wanted to show you right off the bat.

My whole probe kit here. My whole field piece bag, which I like this as a bag. Anyway, it's just a really nice. It's a really nice and effective tool for that.

I'm gon na check and make sure my live stream is okay right now it's giving me airs, but I don't know we're just gon na forge on. I like the bag, because I can fit a lot of extra things in it and one of the things I think it's still in here. I don't know if I pulled it out or not, but one of the things I really like is the core depressors. I'm a couple different brands make them.

I like the Accu tools, quarter. Presser! Let me see if I'm going in here. Yeah do this little guy right here. This is great for the liquid side and you know if you're using probes, it's not that big of a deal, especially if you have the core depressors adjusted just right, but on the liquid side, it's really nice to put this on first and then you can basically Open and close the liquid as you want and then when you're done, you're taking this off with it fully undepressed, especially for newer Tech's, who just don't like the refrigerant spraying on their fingers.

But regardless you know it does reduce losses. So, on the suction side, I'm not worried about it because you have so little losses and another little trick is adjusting your core depressors. So that way, they're level with the seal. Pretty much I mean, if anything, maybe extended a little bit when you adjust those quarter.

Pressors so they're the right depth, you get less losses so that it's compressing the the seal in it at the same moment that it depresses the Schrader. And I, when I see a lot of guys, get a lot of blowback it's usually because they have either their seals, are messed up or they're quarter, pressors too far out, and so it's pushing in the core too early before the sealing. Gage is pretty obvious. But it's something I see a lot, but these core depressors are really cool.

C & D makes one this one is the a cue tools version, which is probably a little bit nicer than the ones you can most the ones you get from C & D. I think there's some other brands that make them as well, but I really like these and I find a lot a lot of use for these first, several things, the one being like I said on the liquid side, you can have full control over your liquid line. So that way you don't get as much of that blow by you, don't get as much of that loss. But then also we had a question in the group today about the core Mac scores and I think I might have one of those in here.

I'm not sure I was carrying one around for my classes. I don't think I do. I should have been prepared with that, but but anyway, core max cores are those bigger cores that you see in a lot of commercial units, and I've got my little adapter for the for the 5/16 ports as well for mini splits in here. But when you have a core max core, you can't pull them out easily.

I mean you can get a $ 400 tool from JB to pull them out. But it's just not practical. I mean I shouldn't say it's not practical. You can get it if you're working on a lot of them, but generally it's it's not gon na be practical.

So when you're pulling a vacuum, you're not gon na be able to pull the course and that's where you would just use a core depressor, because this core max cores they open really wide they're, not quite like a typical Schrader's. So they open with a lot more internal volume, so you'll still be able to pull through them. Pretty well or some people just end up replacing the core maxes with it's a traditional Schrader, but the whole reason for them is that you can get refrigerant in and out more quickly than typical Schrader's without the need to pull them or you can evacuate again. It's not still not as good as having the Schrader's pulled, but if you use a quarter presser, you can still push down on it pretty well and get it nice and wide open for an evacuation point being that, if you're using big vacuum hoses that don't have Quarter pressors, you really need to have some of these on your truck, because course you're not gon na be able to get out.

We've all run into that at times, and you need to mediate for that and cases where you've got quorum, acts and you can't get those out either. So those are a few things. I wanted to talk about right off the top, but we use these this kit. The the JobLink kit - and I always forget the exact model number of it, but it's easy to find it's the full job link it with the with the rapid rail clamps and the probes and then the in duct psychrometer'z as well from field piece.

It's a really great kit of. What's in this kit, I love the probes. I love the 45 on them, they're really smooth. I love the rapid rails, this index, I kilometers personally just so.

I don't sound too much like a fanboy. I actually prefer the uei index hydrometers for our market because they're a smaller probe and they work better in dock board. We have a lot of duct board, and so I prefer them for that there. These are actually great for sticking to event and because they have the flexible one, they're a little bit more, a little bit more flexible and easier to use, but they just have a bigger tip.

And so that's the reason why I prefer uei when it comes to the index hydrometers. Some people will, you know, swear by the test. Oath. I've tested those as well.

They have very good sensors. All of those are pretty good set kilometers compared to what's been out there previously in the marketplace, and they have a lot of utility, not just for measuring total system capacity. You know your enthalpy split a crusher of a protocol, but it also gives you the ability to you know, set a charge by superheat properly. It gives you a chance to measure indoor or relative humidity accurately.

You know things that you should have always been doing anyway or unless you place shouldn't, say you we all should been doing anyway. They give you an opportunity to do that. So that's one of my favorite kits there for a lot of a lot of different reasons. So, let's see we had at, we had a couple things come up.

One person said that they braised in a liquid port for max yeah. Let's see here, I had a question here that I that I saw testo 5:57 is a four port. Yes, and that's again, I just haven't had any use for four ports. Now I will say one thing I like about the 557 to give the test.

Oh 557. It's do is that it has a separate micron gauge that then it can attach at the system where the micron gauge is supposed to go. So that's actually one advantage is versus having an internal micron gauge, which again, I'm not saying, there's no use for an internal micro. Engage it just you're gon na have to have a separate one at the equipment in order to get a really good.

Look at what the vacuum is, because for those of you who maybe haven't heard me talk about this ad nauseam, your vacuum at the gauge or at the pump, is vastly different than what it is on the other side of the system. You know all the way where you actually care about where it is so just because you hit 500 at your pump or 500 at your manifold doesn't mean you have 500 microns at your system. Let's see here, one of the questions was about the battery-powered vacuum pump. I think I remember seeing that here I have used the battery-powered vacuum pump from Metin from NAV ACK.

I think it's a really nice tool. I would, I would probably always still have a secondary pump, but honestly, if I had especially the 4 CFM battery-powered, if that was the only one on the truck I'd, feel fine about it other than just making sure I had an extra battery. That's always worries me with battery power, but it's a great pump. I mean it's really well made things built like a tank.

It's really compact. It's well balanced. It's just a really nice tool, it's a well-built ool, so I do like it and I find it to be a really nice idea, especially if you're gon na be hauling vacuum pumps to tough spots just makes it it's just a nice light compact tool and it Works very nicely: the 2 CFM works fine too again, you're, just not going to use it on really large equipment, obviously with it being 2 CFM, but for systems that are under 5 tons and under 2 CFM pump with large hoses is going to work just fine. So, that's that's something that I would definitely encourage.

You look at, especially if your tool nerd and you want things that our battery power just cause right all right. So a couple other things again any questions. Anything you want to add into the conversation you can call. You can call in.

You can add your comments in chat, but I'm just gon na keep going through the things that I want to talk about. One of the and I've talked about this tool recently, and I want your opinion on this because I just always hated people who shouldn't say: I've always hated using cigarette lighters to light, and it seems like I can never find my striker half the time and when I do have it it's like, I always struggle with it, and I know I'm sounding like a baby here, but but I really like this, this is made by clip light, which I guess is part of diversitech now and it's just it's basically like a grill lighter. So it creates, I don't know if you can see that, but it creates up yeah. You can see that looks kind of cool, it creates a little arc and it's just very nice and easy to light very reliable, especially when it's windy or wet or that sort of thing.

So this is a tool that I picked up recently that I like, and a lot of the guys have been getting and it said they've enjoyed it. I think it's one of those things that, like for somebody who's really experienced with torches you're so used to doing it one way, but I think especially for the newer tech who's, maybe a little timid, with their striker struggles with it. This is a this. Is a nice little little cool? Another thing that I got recently I've been I've been wanting to find a good insulated screwdriver that isn't an entire insulated screwdriver set like I don't.

We don't need insulated screwdrivers that often and what we do, but on occasion, you're gon na be working on something. So, for example, you may be working on a breaker, that's off inside a panel now in certain segments of the industry. You never do this with us. We're licensed electricians as well, and we also work in a market where we're allowed to work on some things, and so it's I'm not advocating that you work on live equipment.

You know I know, none of us would ever do that, of course, but working near things that are live. I really like this insulated screwdriver from Klein. I just picked up a couple of these and it's it's nice. It's got a it's got a weird release to it, so normally you would expect it just to pull in and but you actually have to turn it and then it pops out and it's got a just kind of a standard, size, Phillips and flat blade on the Other side and - and I like it quite a bit - it's insulated all the way down to the tip, which is just nice from a safety standpoint.

So for those of you who are in the market for an insulated screwdriver, there's some really nice brands out there. You know we ha and we run and whatever they all are. But again I don't. I don't use them that I don't use it insulate screwdriver for that much and I don't really want an entire set um.

Somebody asked what the model number is. I think it's just a NS multi I'm if you can see that I ant insulated multi, that's that's all it says on it. So I don't know if you can get this on true tech or not. I think that.

Well, it says 13 for 21. Is the model number? This is very new to me. I've only had this for a few weeks, but I've handed it out to a few guys and they all like the idea. At least I mean so long as it lasts, but I mean again it's just one of those tools.

You don't use all the time. If we were electricians then maybe we would you know again it's Klein. So it's a good it's a good tool, but maybe you'd get a separate set, but but for us I think this is a nice tool. So, let's, let's get into a let's get into a debate quickly.

So you all are I'm sensing that you're, maybe a little bored by this, so we're gon na go straight into a debate, so how many of you use the guy? Well, I guess it's my right. I don't know - probably your left here - this guy here versus this guy here, so we've got our impact, which I'll give you my opinion on it in a second. So we've got our impact or we've got our driver and in this one I'm using the smaller battery. So impact or driver, what do you all prefer, because I'm gon na give you my opinion in a second Joe says, he uses the screwdriver and frankly, I'm a pretty big fan of doing a lot of it by hand anyway, now again impact vs.

driver. What are we mostly doing in our jobs, we're mostly removing 5/16 or quarter-inch screws and putting them back in panels right? That's that's mostly what we're doing this is not the right tool for that. This is an impact, and I love it. This isn't it! This is a fantastic tool, this little guy right here, this Milwaukee brushless.

I love this tool. I used it the other day to take a mower blade off or, to you know, tighten the the big old bolts on my well. What did i do? What did I just the other day? Oh, it was my basketball hoop as these big old bolts on it. So I put the impact on there and this thing's great for that, taking a tire off driving a screw into wood for building a deck.

That's what an impact is good for right, because it makes these little impacts. Oh, these little impacts all the time, but you take this and you use it on regular screws for panel service panels, you're, eventually going to strip them out now, if you're working in applications, where you don't change, you're not pulling the screws in and out all the Time so typical residential or maybe twice a year, you're there, okay, fine, but if you see it all the time on commercial roof put rooftop units where they're service. More often people use these things and the screws just don't last a driver has an adjustment. So that way, you don't overdrive.

You know just set this sucker on four. So that way you don't drive it in too far and it's still pretty darn fast. It's lighter! I don't really like I so this battery's not right, because it doesn't actually sit with that battery. I would get to get the wider one, so it actually can stand up, but but this is the way to go.

This is the way to go now. I hate to tell you that you're going to need probably three different drivers, but you guys don't mind buying extra tools anyway, let's be real, honest got your impact, which is great for some things. Right, like we talked about hey you're gon na pull the head off of a setting, hermetic compressor. This impact is beautiful for that taking screws in and out day in and day out, basic stuff that you do mostly.

This is what a draw a little driver like this is for and then you're gon na need a hammer drill. You know bigger heavier duty, type, hammer drill types for if you're drilling holes into masonry, which occasionally we have to do so some some people say. Well. You get a feel for it, you, whatever.

No, you don't get a feel for an impact, an impact it just immediately as soon as that thing starts going on you, it's it's stripping out the screws, that's what it's doing now before. You all tell me that, I'm being all high-and-mighty about it, look I've used an impact on regular little screws for a huge portion of my career. I've actually used a nut driver more often I'm kind of a fan of using a nut driver. But if you're gon na take, you know 20 screws at the top of a condenser, you know thank you train, then you're definitely gon na want to use a driver, but I'm just suggesting you use this one and not this one.

So some of you have agreed some of you have argued with me. There's a lot of a lot of love for Milwaukee. Some people like to wall better, look Milwaukee, Dewalt, Makita, rigid, they're, all good enough for what we do. If we were.

If you were a, you know a carpenter and you were driving a bunch of screws every day or you were using the saws all the time. That's where the grade matters, but frankly Milwaukee. I'm sorry Ryobi, I was gon na say: I've used Ryobi. Most of my most of my career Ryobi is just fine for doing service work.

So for those of you, our service technicians, out there talking about how the Walt's better than Milwaukee I mean, come on they're both way better than what you ever need. They're there they're great tools, although I have been impressed with some things that that Makita has been putting out lately. I've heard a lot of good things about Makita. I read consumer reports and all that sort of thing so Chuck says that the makita xst, oh one, is a sweet gentle driver and hey, maybe like I said I've heard good things about Makita lately, so I wanted to get that up there quickly.

Another thing that I wanted to mention, while I was in the topic before I get too far away from it - is that I talked a little bit about these lying temperature clamps. These use thermocouples and they use a technology called rapid rail where it actually conducts through the copper in order to measure the temperature, but but something to mention about that. This is interfering with my green screen, so it sort of looks weird, but one thing to mention about that is: is it does rely on the copper being fairly clean? So if the, if the copper gets oxidized significantly or has anything on it, then this will start to rain incorrectly and a couple of people have shown that one measured, you know same line but sanded a portion and then didn't left a portion unsanded and measured with Two clamps: if you measured separately, you would see that they would measure differently. You measure them together, they would measure the same.

So that's something to watch for with these, especially because of the way that the technology works now. Another nice thing is: it does measure air temperature when it's closed because the loop is made. The connection is made in the tip, so it will read. You know just sort of your regular ambient temperature, not necessarily super accurately, but it will measure that.

But I wanted to show you an old favorite that I have. I don't know if any of you have seen this guy before, but this is the Cooper Adkins line temperature clamp. I don't even remember what the model is of it, but it's got the probe thermometer that when you open it it measures off the probe and that when you keep it closed, then it measures on a thermistor, and so it's a nice accurate thermistor. It's an expensive tool.

It's it's about a hundred bucks for this guy and the batteries go dead all the time. In fact, the batteries are dead on this one because it just has one of these little tiny watch batteries, which is one of the gripes. I've always had, but I love this tool because sometimes you just want a line: temperature measurement. You don't want to open up an app.

You don't want to you just like, for example, if you're walking through you know a rack house in a grocery store, and you just want to measure the discharge lines. You can quickly go through and just measure using this now again that you can only open it. That wide, so, if they're any bigger than that, then it's not gon na work anyway. But this is a really nice measuring tool.

Kevin says that he said nothing but issues with the field piece: temp clamps, he said temp camps, I assumed he meant clamps I'd, be interested in finding out more that we've we've had a lot of we've had no issues with them in residential use other than the Fact that in certain cases, if it's, if the copper is oxidized, but I would be interested in finding out more about what what what's causing that or what's going on there, because we've had a lot of really good luck. But I have heard some people have had issues with it. Kevin's in the grocery store cited. The industry Oscar says that my clamps keep breaking, which one which Oscar on these your clamps keep breaking and where is it breaking, because I always want feedback on that.

I'm I talked to those folks a lot. It feel peace, and so I would want to know exactly what issues they're having rich says. They need to add a outdoor temperature sensor, outdoor air temperature sensor on the sm-3 ATV. It does have an outdoor air temperature sensor.

I wouldn't be a bad idea to add something in addition to maybe the line temperature clamps that just measure outdoor air. That probably would be a neat little feature if you could put it in a place that it's not interfered with, but outdoor air is always tricky anyway, because you have to measure in a place that you're not getting interference from somewhere else. Bojan says the test: doe clamps are good yeah. I've done a lot of work of the test.

Au clamps, they are good. The only challenge of the test o clamps is is that they use a round barrel thermistor and I, like the thermistor, it's a good quality sensor, but it doesn't connect that well to smaller lines. So it tends to be much more accurate on a section line than it does a liquid line just because of the way it's positioned in the clamp. If I had one here, I could show you, but it doesn't have a lot of surface contact to the line and just the way it sits, isn't isn't quite right, joe says the Cooper add can strap.

Thermistor, like I manifold uses, is the most accurate and yeah. I've actually got an entire. I manifold kit behind me here and those are more accurate, they're, just not quite as convenient and a lot of cases, there's there's a balance between convenience and and accuracy and longevity. I mean you kind of have to balance all those things somebody was talking about bags.

So let's talk about bags quickly. I didn't bring my my video bag in here. I've got two different bags and I'm really bad at the veto bag name. So forgive me, but I've got the full-size laptop bag backpack, and I like that.

I think, if you're working in cases where you're gon na be going up and down ladders a lot and you want to bring it with you and you need to use a laptop. I think that's probably the best bag for that, and then I have a small like electrical bag. It's the it's, the XL, the extra large electrical bag - and I keep my my redfish meter in that, as well as some basic electrical tools. That's sort of my kind of go-to bag and that's generally because that's generally because most of the stuff that we're doing in residential requires you know your meter, a nut driver, maybe a set of needle nose, maybe a set of wire strippers.

You know a lot of what we're doing is: checking capacitors checking amperage. That sort of thing. One thing that I would like to see because I used to be a fan of the small field piece temperature clamp, which was not a super, not a super Hardy clamp, but I just liked it because of its size. I picked this up and I want to see what your thoughts are on this I've tested it just on some basic stuff and I've liked it.

But this is just a little off-brand. Let's see who makes it it's called unity, it's a little off brown company and the only reason I bought it is because I really like the form factor of it to go into a basic diagnostic, go bag, and so I've been trying it out just to see You know, and I do like it now - it is only a category two. It's 600 volts. It's it's not a you know, it's not something.

I would probably trust my life on, especially if I was working in commercial industrial applications, but I do I do like this and I'd be interested. If any of you have experience, I've experimented with smaller form factor meters, because that's one complaint that I have with the redfish meter. Even though it's it's, you know one of my favorite meters, as well as the new field. Peace meter is also a great meter because they do the power side, power, quality, measurements, wattage and power factor and base rotation, and all that sort of thing which I like a lot.

But I don't like how big they are, and that is always kind of a complaint when you're trying to fit something in the other tools. But again you know I setting up a go-bag, I think varies a lot depending on depending on what part of the industry you're in you know, what tools do you use most regularly, so for me it would be a meter again. I've got my refrigeration side bag, which any time I'm going to be hooking up and checking the refrigerant circuit. I'm going to be using this, which I already showed you, and I want to show you this, because this is actually probably my favorite nut driver.

Now you always need a nut driver, a go-to nut driver and my beef with most nut drivers is that they're they're thick all the way down to the end, and I don't like that. Sometimes it's hard to get into tight spots, and so I, like this extended kline nut driver as sort of my regular go to six and one nut driver. I don't know if you can see that, but it's just got extended, extended tip length. I actually know this.

Isn't the one I pulled this one out cuz this one was actually a disappointment. There's one of these that has yeah that's. This is the one I don't like, because it's got the square drive on it. I'm not sure why it has that I had one of the extended ones that just had regular tips on it, but this one has the square drive on it, but anyway I do like having that that extended reach on the on the tips.

Somebody also mentioned the grinder for the win on the malko bits, because that is what some people are doing now is grinding down, and I don't know why they made them so thick, because these are great bits, and I especially like this extended one. They also have the version that does three eighths and five sixteenths. I think I think it's three eighths in 5/16, but it's a really nice design and it's got a nice strong magnet on it. But the complaint is again that you just have too much thickness here, and so it doesn't get into some tight spots, and so some people have been grinding it down in order to make it more narrow and then it fits a lot better.

But again that's a lot of extra work, so you have to have Joe shear levels of obsession in order to make that that adjustment. I end up just getting frustrated with it, but I definitely like the design. I mean that that flipped design that the strong magnet is a really nice really nice tool. When I do like this longer version of it, I've talked about some of this stuff.

Previously, I couldn't answer this Brian Meyer says: do your guys use the wireless for charging more for just quick checks? We use it for charging more and more of our technicians are using the field piece kit for everything our installers all. Have it because they're using it for commissioning but service techs they're, still some who used manifolds? My son is one who uses the 380 V because he just is dead, set that manifolds are better, but whatever Reagan says move over to the left. Brian. The chat blocks.

Your face when I watch YouTube on my TV. I don't know what to tell you about that, but being watched on TV, just kind of creeps me out a little bit honestly Reagan but fair enough, but yeah we charged with that. We charged with the wireless and again that's just because in this kit you have enough room that you can keep the t's. I keep a couple extra little lengths of hose in here.

So that way you can get into some tight spots. It's really quite easy, and then we just leave the charging hose on the tank with a ball valve end on it. So that way we can meet her at the ball valve. This is another thing I really like, because I have always been a little irritated by the reach on some needle nose pliers, and I know that sounds really petty.

But I really like these. These are made by Crescent, but there's a couple, different brands that make them and they've it's just really nice, because you can reach in and grab you know a terminal or whatever you're wanting to grab at a distance without having the jaws get so wide. You know you can still work, because I just there's just something about working at this. You know this sort of separation is so much easier to work with, and - and I really like these four - that this is called the x2 from Crescent and of the ones that I've tested, which I've tested a couple.

I, like I, like this one so anyway, Corey says: he's been using the a pion charging t2 charge using the probes along with the ball valve, and it's been working well yeah. The a pion charging t is a nice T, because it's just very easy to spin on and off it doesn't bind as some do. I've used a bunch of different types and the a pion is a good one and in fact, that I'm a big fan of blue vac they're, not a sponsor or anything. I just I'm a big fan of them, but I really do like the a P encore.

Remover tool - still, I still think they're. Probably these and the blue VAX are the two best corn river tools in the market. As far as I'm concerned. Right now, I will be honest.

I haven't tried the nav acts in as many settings as I have these, and I do like with the nav act, that they have the 5/16 in the quarter. Inch all-in-one, but as far as just utility, using them day in and day out and not having them leak, especially under vacuum. I do like the I do like the a peons and the a peon tees are also very nice. Oh another little thing I forgot to show you in this bag.

Here I should. I should have gone more through my bag. I've got my I've got mine, I log in in my plastic bag in my bag too, because of course I play that on everything. Much to Ralph's wolfs chagrin by definitely, if you're gon na put my log in any bag, make sure to keep it in a plastic baggie, because if this stuff gets in to your bag, you're going to wish that it hadn't has two other things in this.

In this little bag that I really like one is my yellow jacket, seal hook, remover thingy, which is just nice, because now you have those extra seals with you, the seals store inside here. I don't know if you can see that, but they store in there and then it's got the hook but to lose my seals here. So it's got the hook. That makes it really easy to replace the seals on your hoses and I've seen guys try to use this and they botch it up, because you've got to remove the core depressor first.

So if you're gon na change the seal on something like say, you were gon na change. The seal on this field piece - and I haven't tried to do this before, but you would pull the core depressor out and in some cases they thread out and in some cases you just have to grab them with needlenose. I think on these I think they thread out. So you take the back of this tool here and you would put that on on the core depressor and then just twist it out and and sometimes you can kind of twist them a little bit just to get them free.

And then you just pull them out with needlenose. This one seems like it's just in with with needlenose and then you just yank it out, and then you take the seal out by twisting it out with a little hook - and I know I know I'm being a little goofy here, but it's amazing how many guys? Don't do this and they end up leaving seals in the way too long, but I really like this and then my favorite Klein tool of all is the AC. I forget what they call it's. 2.

326. 13. 326. 13.

It's got the it's got the nice twisting cap and it fits in the pocket. You can. Actually you know it twists here too. So it gives you something to brace up against, but then it's it's got the core remover on one side and then it's got the precision screwdriver on the other and you can swap them around depending on whether or not you want to be working close like that Or if you want to have a little bit longer reach like that, so you, the interchange, either direction either bit.

So it just is kind of a nice kind of a nice design and it kind of covers the main things that we would. We would need that for and our trade, which I like, I think, that's everything in this bag. I think I finally have covered everything. Significant in this bag got some caps and tees, and all that sort of thing, but that's it all right where we got here.

Let's, let's check the let's check the the questions again feel free to call in. If you have anything, you want to add that I'm missing or if I'm saying anything stupid, I can just Yammer on about tools all day long. So it's no problem. Let's see here, yeah dental pick works fine too.

Some people have said they just used a dental pick and, and that does work fine. This is just purpose design for it and - and I always forget to buy dental picks, but a dental pick would also also do the job, but the seals the seals fit nicely within this, which is just nice to have some few extra seals anyway. So that is that, let's see what else we got here, oh, I know what I wanted to mention. We've got these, which I shared these a while back on Instagram, so you can find, because I don't remember the exact model that these are but got these on.

The Amazon and I learned recently that even for brazing, that OSHA recommends a number three tint, and so you know as a technician. You probably don't care that much, but as a business owner, it's important to me that if there's something that could potentially be hurting my employees eyes, I wanted to make sure to provide these. So I bought a bunch of these and I really like them, because they've got these side guards on them. That kind of protect the sides of your eyes, but then they also they actually look pretty decent.

I mean not on me because I have a stupid-looking face, but they look pretty decent and they're, not very dark and they're kind of a yellowish color, and so when you're braising, it actually kind of makes everything pop a little bit. And so a lot of our technicians have been really enjoying using these and have found them to be have found them to be really good. So that's just a quick thing that I learned recently is that you are supposed to be using a 3 10 to even while doing typical braising one question that we get a lot Matthew asks to order. Our thoughts on ultrasonic leak, detectors, ultrasonic leak detectors are interesting because some people swear by them, but I've never had any use for them like I've tried them a bunch of times and I've never found a case where an ultrasonic does the job better than an electronic And people have said well what about really noisy environment really noisy environments.

Obviously, if you can't hear your electronic than your ultrasonic is also going to be a problem bill says he has an ultrasonic and for the most part he likes it. Maybe I just haven't been patient enough, a lot of people who, like him, really like them, but I've tried him on two or three different occasions and I've just never. I've never had any luck with them, so we use largely still the the Bacharach h10 Pro and now the new we're trying out the new Stratos, the infocon Stratos, because it has a good reputation in certain parts of the industry. Some people swear by the.

What is the one that the Jeremy Smith always talks about that he likes it's escaping me. There's a couple out there that people that people definitely like a dizzy Dallas is asking for the sunglass link. I don't have it on me right now. If you look back on Instagram, you know two weeks ago, it'll be on there and - and I do give a link at some point on Instagram or Facebook, but they're they are kind of distinctive you'll, find them pretty easily.

If you search three tint number three, ten brazing glasses again, you can tell I don't have any relationship with these people, but it's also an American company too. So it seemed like they're well made Joe asked if he can have Tony's pair of glasses. Tony would probably give them to you if you asked him for Tony McKay. He is one of the nicest people out there.

Oh and he says that he doesn't have a pair yet they're actually sitting in the we took a whole stack of them and set them in the residential training room. So a lot of the commercial guys which Tony is a commercial guy, probably didn't see them, but they are. They are very nice all right. What was next next thing was nip X and if you haven't, if you haven't seen Luis and I lost my wants, my focus there in a second, let's see if I can get it back there we go.

If you haven't seen nip X, then you've been hiding under a rock because all of the all the cool kids on Instagram I've been using these nip X players. They have the Cobra and ones as well. I like these and I've got a I've, got three different sets of them. I got the kind of big medium.

Small and honestly I mean. Are they really that much different than then a crescent wrench? Not really, but it gives you the ability to kind of do that, motion where you you grip, and then you open up and you grip, you're kind of doing this sort of a sort of emotion which does make it a little more efficient. So I found that I do I do like them and the other thing that I like about them. I mean it's, it's not like it's.

This huge rage like I couldn't, live without them, but the other thing that I like is that, if you're gripping the edge of sheet metal, you can use these to kind of grip, the edge and and and down or up or whatever, without damaging it. So I do kind of like that as well again, well-made obviously they're expensive. So I think it's one of those things that there are maybe he's a little too much hype on them, but but anyway I do like them. So try those up.

Let's see here, I'm not pronouncing nip X correctly. What did I say? I said it kidnap X? How do you say it? I don't know? How do you say it Neelix nigh pecs? Is it night x, KU, knee pecs, Cooney, pecs, ok, Cooney, pecs, there's always there's always some way that you pronounced. This is a German company and my friend does high-end cars. He has a channel called obsessed garage and there's this there's all these funny names for things like, for example, it's not Porsche its Porsche and, if you say Porsche, it's like you're out you're, just not one of the cool kids.

So I think Germans like to say things weird just to just to keep us guessing would be, but you know it seems, like that's the case. It's sort of a hybrid thing, so I'm still just gon na call it nip X because that's what it looks like to me and I'm uncultured clearly, I'm interested in because a lot of technicians don't know what it is and I've found it to be exceptionally helpful Through the years for a lot of different applications, I don't know why my cameras haven't are down there. This is a tone generator or some people call it a toner or a something, some other term that people use for it, but but there's a bunch of different brands that make these. In fact, I've seen this.

This is now says fluke, but I saw it under several different brands previously in the past, and it's a really simple device you just have to clamps. You would clamp it on to different wires. They say to clamp one to ground and one to a conductor within a cable bundle, but I've always just taken one on each wire. So, for example, if I'm trying to trace a low voltage wire, I just take two of the conductors within that bundle, disconnect them and just connect to those spare wires.

And then you turn on the tone generator and I'm just gon na show you how this works. Cuz, it's really simple and it'll start flashing, and now, when I hold the button, I don't know if you can hear that when you get close to the conductors that is connected to it'll, make that noise and so for chasing out a conductor and a bundle for Tracing out a particular unit attached to a particular controller, even if you're, if you're, really struggling with that, you can always use this, and it makes it really easy, even even tracing out a particular circuit. Within a panel at the energized circuit within a panel, you can do it easily with this, so I've found a lot of utilities for this over the years. The first thing that I used it for actually was in new construction when the drywallers would bury the thermostat wires and you had to locate them within a wall.

It says short. The leads in the tone will change yeah, that's another! That's another factor. Actually, let's see, let's see if it does on this one, I haven't tried it on this one. Yet, let's see I'll, do it just for fun? Hey! There goes it's hard making here now.

Yes, sir, every time you every time, you short them than the tone changes coming for anyway, not that it really matters anyway. I've spent too much time on that, but tone generator. Actually, the reason why I thought about this recently was because somebody had talked to me about an invention that they had made. That was basically a convoluted way of doing what this does and I said well, have you used a tone generator and they didn't know what it was and so they've come up with this whole separate invention, and I won't go into what it was because I probably Shouldn't do that anyway, but but it was basically just to do it.

A tone generator does and I think, a lot of AC technicians don't know that this exists, because it's more in the telecom industries, mostly where you use these and it's just a nice tool to have on the truck they're, not that expensive. I think this one is 60 bucks, something like that - maybe a little more in that range, but you can get them for as inexpensively as like 30 bucks, and it's it's handy. So next one is the the fluke. Sorry, Cline non-contact voltage sensor detector that has the built-in infrared thermometer I'm gon na try to put the laser right in your eyes.

So that way you I don't know, I don't know how that works. There we go oh yeah and the main reason I like this is because I don't have a lot of use for infrared thermometers anyway, just because they generally aren't accurate for most of the measurements we need to take. But sometimes they are handy to see. If you have a hot spot on a break or something like that and again, the ideal way to do that would be with a thermal-imaging camera, but an infrared actually is kind of kind of handy to have and using it along with non-contact voltage.

I think makes the most sense for us, so I found that I've used this infrared thermometer more often than I have other types of infrared thermometers and the non-contact voltage on this is nice. It's just simple, so you just hit the button. Light goes blue when you get close to energized circuit, then the light goes red and pretty pretty simple, so not not a not definitely not the highest quality of either non-contact voltage or infrared, but relatively inexpensive and and nice to keep in kind of your go-bag. It's going off now shut off.

Okay, I'd see what questions we have here. I did. I sign an NDA. Yes, I did sign an NDA, which is why I didn't go into it at all.

Let's see what other questions we have here. Oh somebody said a brazing shade edge. I wear SW 11 IR 3. Somebody said that is the model number for that.

So can look that up and, and hopefully that will be what you're. Looking for there Rocky Mountain HVAC our said, the thermometer kind of sucks yeah. I mean you know, infrared thermometers, all kind of suck for most of what, where you do they just you, have this image, civet e factor and everybody's? Basically, just picking a number and the emissivities of different surfaces vary quite a bit and then you also have the the spread, and I figured what they call that. But it's the area that it's measuring and so the further you get away.

Just because you see that little dot, you think it's measuring at that dot. It's actually measuring a much wider, a much wider range. If you wanted to really do it accurately, then that's where a thermal imaging camera is great, and if you start, you know get a FLIR one, that that is a much better tool for that, and it gives you a lot more functions and features. I wouldn't spend a lot of money on an expensive infrared thermometer.

I just don't think generally, there's gon na be a lot of utility for it getting a good quality thermal imaging camera. Maybe something that's worth it, especially if you're you know trying to locate. You know line sets behind walls and, if you're, trying to again look at a electrical panel and spot which breakers are getting hot or hot spots or you're wanting to compare one motor to another motor to see if it's running hot or seeing. If you have, you know, barring where those sorts of things um, some people have asked whether you can use these regular infrared thermometers like we have and use them for for measuring your temperature.

With this whole kovat thing and know, you generally cannot because they don't have the accuracy within a tight range, so the ones that are used for people they're really only looking for this very small bandwidth, and so they are very accurate within that bandwidth. The ones that we use are measuring a much wider range, and so they just don't have that fine accuracy. And you can tell because if you try to measure your skin temperature with a regular infrared thermometer, it's not going to be anywhere close to to correct. In most cases, because again, there's that whole emissivity factor, if you have one that it has adjustable emissivity and you can set it to the emissivity of your skin, now you're gon na get a lot closer, but just not not practical there all right.

Let's see what else, we've got all right, so we're gon na go. I'm gon na go to my next tool that I've already talked about a few times online, but I do like it and in fact, bill. Spohn has requested that I do a review of this tool, and so I'm just gon na do it now on video and then I can share this with him. So this is the Tim top-down, the mode so that I can show you it has this mode called all information, and so it measures PM 2.5 and PM 2.5 is small particles.

It measures PM 10, which you can see is the second one down. That's the larger particles and then it also measures co2, but the co2 it has to preheat. So it takes a while for it to preheat the sensor and then it starts giving you a co2 readout, and then it gives you temperature and humidity, and what I found is is that I've tested it against at least three different kind of consumer grade particle counters. I've used the laser egg, which is kind of now, my winnards, my favorite, the consumer grade particle counter out there.

I've used it against the Eric err, IQ or IQ err. What is it err IQ, which is a great reputation? I've used tested it against the foo BOTS, and I've also tested it against. They have another version of this called the m10 and I've test against all of those and the PM 2.5 and the co 2, and this measure very closely with those other consumer. Great, I mean you know within ten percent ten fifteen percent within that range pretty accurately across all the range that I've observed at my house.

Now, that's always a question because my house doesn't have these wild ranges of PM 2.5 PM 10 and co2. So I can't say that it reads accurately on the edges and I can't say that it measures accurately on a wide range of different humidities because generally I'm measuring between 45 percent and 60 percent relative humidity when I'm testing it. So, the point being that I'd been happy with it. If you want to look at particle counts in a house, and you want to look at co2 levels in a home, then I feel really good about this tool.

I think it's a tool you take and you set on the counter. You can come back and see. Do they have an abnormal amount of particles in their house? Is their co2 level exceptionally high? That's all I would use it for and then once you make a change, you can go back and you can see you know where you stand on on co2. Joe is laughing because he says wearing masks and measuring co2, because when you wear a masks, you're exhaling into your mask and then your rebreathing in a certain amount of co2 - and that is true, can ask what is the name of this device? This is the Tim top M mm seat M top M mm.

See you may be able to get it at true tech tool tools here shortly: they're vetting it right now. I've had it and given out to the technicians now, because I feel good about using it. It's not perfect, but generally pretty good tool for measuring particles and co2. Some people are gon na.

Ask how accurate is it on the humidity and temperature, and my answer to that would be not accurate at all. I've measured it against. You know my test, O'toole's. My field piece tools and it's kind of all over the place, so sometimes it seems to get lucky and be close, but like right now it's showing 62 percent relative humidity in my office.

It is not 62 % relative humidity in my office.