The Gold award in the Testing and Monitoring Products category goes to Amprobe’s AT-8030 advanced industrial wire tracer kit.
The product is designed to protect HVAC technicians from the most dangerous level of transient overvoltage spikes, which can occur in up to 8,000 V in industrial environments. The receiver is equipped with Smart Sensor technology, which finds and displays the location and orientation of energized wires in walls, floors, and ceilings on the large color TFT LCD screen. The Scan and Locate feature clearly identifies the single correct breaker or fuse, eliminating the confusion from multiple false positive readings common in older technology tracing tools. Embedded help screens make setup easy for novice users and experts alike.
“The AT-8030 advanced wire tracer is one of the frontline wire tracing tools that any technician can use to search out and troubleshoot wires, breakers and shorts,” said Allison Wyatt, global product marketing manager, Fluke. “For HVAC technicians, this includes HVAC control wiring that sends commands to HVAC systems. A wire tracer can easily, quickly, and safely assist in thermostat wiring repair, maintenance, or identification.”
Greg Jourdan is a professor at Wenatchee Valley College and a member of the environmental systems and refrigeration technology faculty. His class used the product’s transmitter at the outside unit on a heat pump to generate a signal, and then backtracked the wiring with the receiver to identify the failed breaker.
“We never would have solved this problem without pulling open all of the electrical panels and bringing in our campus electrician,” he said. “If this was a commercial job and not a training lab, it would have cost someone at least eight hours of billable time. However, because the tool worked so well, we located and solved the problem in less than 30 minutes.”
When designing the product, research methods focused on enhancing safety and ease of use.
The AT-8000-T automatically sets the signal based on detected voltage and prompts the user to set the power level based on the application, delivering consistently accurate results. The AT-8030 kit includes the CT-400 Signal Clamp for inducing signal into wires without access to bare conductors.
The large color display on the receiver guides technicians in the precise direction and orientation of an energized wire behind the wall. This makes finding wires fast and easy. The AT-8030 makes it easy to identify hidden wires and shorts. It quickly locates the proper breaker without having to flip them off or use guesswork.
“Our company is always looking to make a better, safer tool for our customers,” said Wyatt. “We plan on continuing to improve this product and adapt it to our customers’ needs when those needs arise.”
The Silver award in the Testing and Monitoring Products category goes to Fieldpiece’s job link system dual port manometer probe kit.
The product measures gas pressure, static pressure, and differential pressure while featuring long-range wireless technology. Two single ports with short-length hoses allow technicians to attach the probes into the ductwork directly, and 1,000 feet of wireless range allow users to view measurements while adjusting the unit (air conditioner or furnace). Plus, because of a switchable P1-P2 functionality,
a tech is able to get all of their readings, which are the filter pressure drop, coil pressure drop, and total external static pressure. This allows an accurate health assessment of an HVAC system.
“Our new JL3KM2 Job Link System Dual Port Manometer probe kit lets you work the way you want to,” said Charlotte Loomis, senior marketing manager, Fieldpiece. “You’re not restricted by hose length, so you’re able to get readings from optimal locations on every system you test, every time you test it.”
The Bronze award in the Testing and Monitoring Products category goes to Loyol’s Vision.
Vision is a device capable of capturing fault codes from a furnace in real time, combining advanced image processing with automated intelligence in a small physical form factor that allows it to be installed on any furnace to capture fault codes directly from the control board. The contractor has access to a real-time dashboard that provides any detected fault codes along with information including possible causes, manufacturer model-specific corrective actions, and a history of codes with time stamps.
“Vision has been designed with the convenience of the contractor in mind,” said Sobhan Etemadi, Loyol CEO. “It’s a quick in-and-out and can be installed in under 10 minutes with magnets that connect everything together.”
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