It was a celebration for Yellow Jacket as the company kicked off its 70th anniversary. In a square booth with a large, lit banner, attendees were invited to explore what the company had produced from 1949 to 2019.

The Fieldpiece booth commanded a lot of attention on the show floor at this year’s AHR Expo in Atlanta. Those who didn’t have time to wait in line to find out why may be wondering, “What was all the rage about?”

When servicing a refrigeration system, it is important to accurately determine the true cause of the failure. Misdiagnosing the problem can often create additional system issues for you and the customer.

The TXV also simultaneously controls a set amount of evaporator superheat while, under these same conditions, assuming the range and capacity of the valve is not exceeded.

The device measures pressure, temperature, flow, and other parameters. Five different ranges are available from ±30 inches of water column to ±100 psi.

Advancements in technology have brought a lot of opportunity to the tool market, with items like reporting, mobile apps, and wireless data transmission.

The 8 CFM Vacuum Pump from Fieldpiece Instruments earned its place atop the Electronic and Hand Tools category.

Taking home the golden honors in the Testing and Monitoring category of this year’s Dealer Design Awards is the T6 Electrical Tester from Fluke Corp. The product, first introduced to the marketplace in September 2017, went through years of research before launching.

Smart tools continue to grow in the HVACR industry, spurring manufacturers to create connected, digital devices that will make work in the field less manual and more automatic.

While “smart” tools and tablets are becoming more and more common in an HVAC tech’s toolbox, there are still plenty of things an app just can’t do.