Digital Data Recording and Reporting

A relatively new class of communicating digital tools makes it possible to share your readings electronically. They not only take accurate pressure and temperature readings, they can share those in an email with your supervisor, company, customer or energy utility. And many of these can take more than just refrigerant pressure and temperature readings. The Stride I-Manifold, Testo Smart Probes, Fieldpiece System Analyzer, Sporlan Smart Tools, Yellow Jacket Mantooth, and Appion ION gauges can all send data to your electronic devices, which then use free applications to create and send the reports. Some can collect information from a variety of instruments and report on them as well. For example, you can also get ambient temperature, indoor wet bulb, and indoor airflow. I am sure I probably missed a few.  The point is, tools are available now that can do more than collect data; they can help you organize it and report your results.

The reporting capability allows you to document what you have done. For example, you can produce before and after reports showing the system performance when you arrived and the system performance after you have made adjustments. You can also send reports to your supervisors if you need help. Some utilities have rebate programs which require that the contractor use a particular reporting setup. The idea is that the utility can verify that the system really is performing as designed by the manufacturer.

This is both exciting and a little bit intimidating. Until now, if you went on a call and checked the system performance, you were generally the only person that would see all the measurements and make the judgement. If you have checked more than a handful of systems, you know that checking system performance really is a judgement based on a lot of variables. And, you only have control of a few of those variables. It is not as simple as matching a couple of pressures and temperatures.

There is the outdoor temperature, the indoor temperature, the indoor wet bulb, the airflow across each coil; any one of which can make your system perform in a way you don’t expect. That is before issues such as plugged expansion valves, restricted filter driers, underperforming compressors, or installation errors. All of these things must be verified before adjusting the charge. It would be nice if we could just state a couple of pressures and/or temperatures and leave it at that, but that is not reality. Even manufacturer performance charts and tables assume a lot of this information. If just one value is off from the assumption, the manufacturer’s chart will not work.

So, if you ever needed any incentive to up your game when checking systems, having to send reports to supervisors, utilities, and customers should do the trick. Beer-can cold is just not good enough in an environment that expects documentation and verification. That is unless you plan to strap a can of Coors to the suction line and send in a photo of the color change. Here are a few links to check out these new-age tools.

Appion - http://www.appioninc.com/products/ptgauges.html
Fieldpiece - http://www.fieldpiece.com/products/detail/sman460-wireless-4-port-digital-manifold-with-micron-gauge/system-analyzers/
I-Manifold - http://imanifold.com/
Sporlan - https://sporlanonline.com/smart/
Testo - http://www.testo.us/smartprobes/index.jsp
Yellow Jacket - http://yellowjacket.com/product/mantooth-dual-pressure-wireless-digital-pt-gauge/

Affordable Wireless Probes

I just got my first opportunity to play with my new Testo smart probes. The 549i measures pressure and the 515i measures temperature. They are wireless Bluetooth devices which rely on an app that you load on your smart phone or tablet. They are part of a complete lineup of wireless Bluetooth devices that Testo is introducing. I was interested in them because of the low price point. The 549i and 515i are each around $50.  To read both system pressures, the suction line temperature, and the liquid line temperature simultaneously costs around $200.

The App

The Testo Smart Probes app interfaces with all of the smart probes. My first impression is generally positive. Like Testo’s Digital Manifold Gauges, the software does have a small learning curve. However, once you get past the initial setup and learning where all the settings are, you can easily check system pressures, superheat, and subcooling simultaneously. You can choose from a menu of applications which range from a basic list of each probe’s output to a software application designed to make a particular job easier. The software will also do data logging. Each application allows viewing the information as a list, trending (a graph), or a table. With the graph or table view, every time the probe updates its reading, that new reading is plotted on the graph or added to the table. You can export these to pdf, excel or jpg.

Accuracy

The accuracy is reasonable. For improved accuracy, the 115i temperature probe uses an NTC sensor rather than a thermocouple. The specification is plus or minus 1.3° C ( 2.3° F). Its resolution is 0.1, meaning it can display tenths of a degree.  Its range is -40°C to 150°C ( -40°F to 302°F). The 549i pressure probe has an accuracy of plus or minus 0.3 bar (4 psi). The resolution is 0.1, meaning it can display tenths of a pound.  The range is -1 to 60 bar (-14 to 870 psi).

In the Shop

The software and Bluetooth worked well with both my i-phone and my Android tablet. The range seemed fine, I connected to the system and walked around the shop. The app did drop some of the probes occasionally, but they always reappeared in a few seconds. This happened even if I was right next to the probes – so I don’t think it had to do with the Bluetooth range. There is also a latency in the readings of a few seconds. When I disconnected the pressure probes the pressure still showed on the screen for a few seconds.

Batteries

What remains to be seen is how long the batteries last. Each probe uses 3 AAA batteries. It could get a little expensive if I have to replace batteries a bunch. Also, I know neither my phone nor tablet will go all day, so to use these in the field a lot I would need to figure out a convenient way to recharge them.

Wrap up

The exciting part is that these probes bring the wireless world to you at a very affordable price. Just a good quality thermocouple pipe clamp that plugs into your multimeter costs $50. The 115i gives you more functionality and convenience for about the same price. The 549i lets you check system pressures without filling a manifold or hoses up with refrigerant. And both allow you to export the data, so you can provide your company and customers with verification of the system’s performance. Here is  link to a web page about the Testo Smart Probes. https://www.testo.com/en/home/products/smart_probes/smart_probes_heating_1.jsp

Bluetooth Tools for HVAC

At the recent HVAC Excellence Instructor’s Conference there were many digital tools featuring Bluetooth connectivity on display. These tools allow you to use phone and tablet apps which take readings from the device as input. This can be as simple as just displaying a reading, or more helpful such as using the reading to perform a calculation. Most also allow the user to use their phone or tablet to send the information to someone else. Technicians can send real time readings to a service manager for consultations or document results to verify system operation. Most of the devices were measuring pressure and temperature. Of course, the Stride i-manifold was there. It was actually introduced last year. This year they have company. Fieldpiece has had wireless gauges longer than anyone else, but they used a proprietary signal. This year Fieldpiece was showing a set of digital gauges with Bluetooth and a Bluetooth wireless bridge to allow their older Fieldpiece wireless gauges to connect to Bluetooth.

 Yellow Jacket, Appion, and Sporlan all had pressure and temperature measurement tools which featured Bluetooth connectivity and apps designed to work with the tools. To be sure these are not manifolds, but pressure and temperature measurement tools. Appion had a trio of pressure gauges and a Vacuum gauge. Their gauges each have a digital display as well as sending Bluetooth information to your phone. They are “short” gauges with a short stem, allowing connection without filling a set of hoses with refrigerant. The Yellow Jacket Mantooth device is also a “short” gauge, but it has no display. Like the i-manifold, it relies on your phone or tablet for a display. The Mantooth consists of a digital pressure gauge with a tethered temperature clamp. Sporlan was showing off a set of digital pressure and temperature devices with Bluetooth connectivity. They also rely on the connected device for a display. 

All Bluetooth devices were not gauges - Fluke and UEI were showing Bluetooth enabled digital multi-meters and clamp amp meters. 

All these devices were showing apps designed to work with the device and extend its usefulness. Most can be freely downloaded. The i-manifold app is a killer app that is useful even if you don’t have an i-manifold. The Stride folks are hoping you will get tired of typing in the pressures and temperatures and pick up an i-manifold. One final consideration – If your gauges, multi-meter, thermometers, and vacuum gauge are all connecting to your phone while you work, you are going to need some extra juice to keep operating. You will need an extra battery pack or two for your phone, most phones won’t operate all day long without a recharge.