Various innovative HVACR manufacturers are touting new tools geared toward making equipment installation and maintenance easier for contractors, thus vastly improving the quality and quantity of their work.

For HVAC technician and chief engineer Bob Axelson and the maintenance team at Starz Entertainment LLC, the show must go on. Axelson and his team live that mantra every day as they watch over Denver-area data storage and production facilities vital to ensure that 17 Starz Entertainment premium channels are available.

So, you’ve been thinking about starting your own HVACR contracting business. Or, perhaps you vowed HVACR success as a New Year’s resolution. But where do you begin? The NEWS recently connected with a handful of HVACR professionals and asked them: “If you were just breaking into the industry, which tools would be most important to success, and why?”

Designed to take accurate measurements of humidity and temperature from the most difficult to reach places is the DP-110 in-duct digital psychrometer. The 6-inch flex neck allows technicians to position the sensor in ducts or plenums. The psychrometer can measure temperature, percent rh, and wet bulb/dry bulb.

A new probe capable of measuring relative humidity, dewpoint, absolute humidity, specific humidity, wet bulb temperature, and dry bulb temperature is available for the AdvancedSense HVAC/OH/FM/IAQ meters. The small-diameter probe may be directly connected to the AdvancedSense meters via the lower left 7 pin socket.

Now available with Bluetooth wireless communication, the portable BTU4400-NOx flue gas analyzer is designed for emissions monitoring, maintenance, and tuning of combustion processes. Its rugged design and “true NOx” capability makes the 4400 an ideal industrial analyzer for boiler, engine, furnace, and other combustion applications.

Two combustion analyzers, models 310 and 320, can be used by HVAC techs for residential tuning and commercial applications. The 310 is a residential analyzer designed to measure flue gas, draft, ambient CO, and pressure, while the 320 is for residential and commercial boiler/burner tune-ups, service, and maintenance.

The AB-100CS Acid-Buster™ Injection Kit is designed to bond with acids without forming chemical byproducts and prevents acid build-up in air conditioning and refrigeration systems. Use of the injector requires only one connection to add acid scavenging solution into the system.

A DVD titled “Minneapolis Blower Door™ Quick Guide” is available. A copy of the DVD is included free with the purchase of any Minneapolis Blower Door. Professionals use the blower door to measure the airtightness level of building envelopes, diagnose and demonstrate air leakage problems in buildings, and more.

Compact and lightweight, the Optimax™ 400 is a cordless, true UV LED leak detection flashlight that emits less visible light so refrigerant leaks are clearer and easier to spot, saving valuable inspection time, said the company. It features a high-output UV LED that causes dyes to fluoresce more brilliantly.