Rosales, Janna Marie M

10 - Aquarius

HVAC instruments are required to measure the pressure and temperature of

various sections of an air conditioning system. Typical pressure gauges are
Vacuum Gauges, High Pressure Gauges and Compound Gauges. Clamp-on
ammeter voltmeter is another useful device to troubleshoot the electrical circuit
of an air conditioner.

Thermometers with temperature range that are suitable for the location to be
measured such as suction line, liquid line or air discharge temperature are basic
tools that technicians should have.

The advancement of digital technology has enabled many digital gauges to be

produced with better precision. These measurements can be plotted on a graph,
stored or feed into the computers as data for analysis.

Pressure Gauges

Pressure gauges are one of the most important HVAC instruments. The typical
ones use Bourdon tube as the operating element. It is made from copper alloy
metal and link to the pointer through gears and a linkage mechanism.
When the pressure is applied, the Bourdon tube will straighten and pulling the
link that is connected to it. The gear will turn anti-clockwise and move the
pointer needle to indicate the reading of the pressure. 2 1/2" dial type is the
commonly used with a 1/8" male pipe thread to be connected to the HVAC
system.

If you are looking for a pressure gauge that can measure both high and low
pressure, consider using a gauge manifold. This type is usually used by the field
technicians when servicing the evaporator or condensing unit of the air
conditioner.

4-Valve Test and Charging Manifold

The colour code of the low-side hoses used is BLUE and the high side is RED.
The low-side reading can range from 0 to 99.9 psi and the high-side from 0 to
999 psi.

The three most popular gauges are High Pressure Gauges, Vacuum Gauges
and Compound Gauges.

High Pressure Gauges with scale range from 0 to 500 psi is used to
measure the high-pressure side of the refrigerating system. Hence it is
important that you know the typical pressure of the point that you are
measuring. If you have the budget, you may want to purchase digital
gauges with LCD displays. Digital readings are straight forward compared
to the analog type.

Vacuum Gauges measure pressures that are lower than the atmospheric
pressure. McLeod gauge is used to measure high vacuums in mm Hg with
typical range from 150 torr to 1 millitorr. A mercury barometer is usually
used in refrigeration works.

Compound Gauges are used to measure the pressure and vacuum with
typical pressure range from 0 to 240psi and vacuum range from 0 to 30"
Hg.
HVAC Instruments - Thermometers

Thermometers are used to measure the temperature of the liquid line,

suction line, discharge air temperature and other points of interest in the
refrigerating system. Glass-stem thermometers with mercury inside the
tube are the most commonly used thermometers. Celcius and Fahrenheit
scales are available with temperature range from -40F to 210F or -40C
to 100C.

These days, digital type thermometers with LCD (Liquid Crystal Display)
couple with thermocouple probes are commonly use. The measurements
can be change from C to F by the pressing of a button.

Higher end type can be connected to a computer that saves the data in a
hard disk for analysis. The temperature measured can be logged over a
period of time and is usually used in the test lab or on site trouble-
shooting.

The other type is infra-red thermometer similar to the ones that the
doctors use in the clinic except that the range is broader. It works by
measuring the thermal radiation emitted from the object under
measurement. It is useful in cases where direct contact with the liquid or
solid in not possible.

Clamp-On Ammeter Voltmeter

This is a useful instrument that can be used to measure the alternating

current of a conductor without having to disconnect the circuit and
connect an ammeter in series with it. By simply identifying a conductor
with its insulator and clamping it with this instrument, you can get a
reliable and quick reading of the current that is flowing in the circuit.

This device follows the principle of a transformer where the magnetic field
that is induced in the conductor is used to determine the current that is
flowing in the conductor.

This device can also be used to measure the terminal voltages of the
circuit. You will need to set the scales of the current and voltages to be
measured. Typical range of current is from 10A AC to 1,000A AC and
voltage range from 175V AC to 700V AC.
Ratchet tube cutter blade

The blade of the ratchet tube cutter is operated by squeezing the two handles together. It takes around 3 squeezes of the handles
to complete a cut.

Ratchet tube cutter safety lock

The safety lock on the ratchet tube cutter is a metal loop which clips over both handle ends to keep them pushed together,
therefore keeping the blade pressed into the anvil jaw.

Ratchet tube cutter anvil jaw

The piece of tubing is rested in the anvil jaw. It helps the tube keep its shape under the pressure of the blade and prevents some
warping.

Ratchet tube cutter system

The ratchet mechanism consists of a round gear with slanted grooves (teeth) around the edge and a spring loaded finger or pawl,
which prevents a backwards motion. The ratchet mechanism allows the handles to be squeezed together more easily.

Ratchet tube cutter handles

The handles of the ratchet tube cutter control the blade and ratchet mechanism. When squeezed together, the ratchet mechanism
is turned and the blade pressed down. The handles need to be squeezed together around three times to complete a cut.