1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,000 Soften your senses. 2 00:00:05,000 --> 00:00:10,520 Ways to become a better speaker, listener, and follower. 3 00:00:10,520 --> 00:00:12,680 This episode brought to you by True Tech Tools. 4 00:00:12,680 --> 00:00:18,140 A sign of a true technician is the quality of their tools and their ability to use them. 5 00:00:18,140 --> 00:00:21,800 Learn more at TrueTechTools.com. 6 00:00:21,800 --> 00:00:22,800 Well hello everyone. 7 00:00:22,800 --> 00:00:24,600 Thanks for joining us once again. 8 00:00:24,600 --> 00:00:27,920 Today we're hanging out with our good friend Eric Kaiser from True Tech Tools. 9 00:00:27,920 --> 00:00:28,920 Eric, how are you sir? 10 00:00:28,920 --> 00:00:30,840 I'm doing real good Clifton. 11 00:00:30,840 --> 00:00:32,640 Thanks for having me on the show today. 12 00:00:32,640 --> 00:00:33,640 Absolutely. 13 00:00:33,640 --> 00:00:36,960 It's a lot of fun when we start talking about how the industry has changed. 14 00:00:36,960 --> 00:00:44,840 I'm not going to say we are aged tech- we are experienced technicians. 15 00:00:44,840 --> 00:00:46,840 We got some- yes. 16 00:00:46,840 --> 00:00:51,320 One or two or three experienced anyhow. 17 00:00:51,320 --> 00:00:55,840 We got a few years out in the field and the one thing that I can say both of us have been 18 00:00:55,840 --> 00:01:01,640 able to witness is the evolution of tools in our industry. 19 00:01:01,640 --> 00:01:03,840 It really is. 20 00:01:03,840 --> 00:01:09,040 In our time in the industry and I've been in almost 20 years now and you've probably 21 00:01:09,040 --> 00:01:11,840 been in a little longer even than that. 22 00:01:11,840 --> 00:01:15,560 We have seen such a change in tools. 23 00:01:15,560 --> 00:01:17,160 Yeah, oh man. 24 00:01:17,160 --> 00:01:23,800 When I got into the industry there was barely any digital tools with regard to like pressure 25 00:01:23,800 --> 00:01:27,240 gauges and things like that, mostly all analog. 26 00:01:27,240 --> 00:01:29,320 There was no Bluetooth. 27 00:01:29,320 --> 00:01:31,600 There was none of that. 28 00:01:31,600 --> 00:01:38,440 Eugene and I were just joking on the show yesterday that I actually learned how to read 29 00:01:38,440 --> 00:01:40,600 wet bulb with a sling psychrometer. 30 00:01:40,600 --> 00:01:42,160 Oh yeah. 31 00:01:42,160 --> 00:01:47,780 And carried a bottle of distilled- a little gallon of distilled water in my van for when 32 00:01:47,780 --> 00:01:49,560 I was measuring wet bulb. 33 00:01:49,560 --> 00:01:50,560 Yeah. 34 00:01:50,560 --> 00:01:55,640 My first recovery unit had four wheels and you had to change the oil on it every time 35 00:01:55,640 --> 00:01:58,640 you used it. 36 00:01:58,640 --> 00:02:00,080 Mine had a roll cage. 37 00:02:00,080 --> 00:02:06,200 It was a giant red thing called a reclaim I think, but it had all the filters and everything. 38 00:02:06,200 --> 00:02:09,160 Yes, that may have been the same kind of equipment. 39 00:02:09,160 --> 00:02:17,480 I mean the thing paid probably 50 or 60 pounds to try to drag that on a rooftop. 40 00:02:17,480 --> 00:02:21,240 I still have my charging cylinder that still has R12 in it. 41 00:02:21,240 --> 00:02:22,240 Wow. 42 00:02:22,240 --> 00:02:23,840 Like my original charging cylinder. 43 00:02:23,840 --> 00:02:28,080 So I've been able to gather up some of my original tools from, you know, it was a family-owned 44 00:02:28,080 --> 00:02:31,520 business that I started in and now one of the sons is running it. 45 00:02:31,520 --> 00:02:35,720 And so some of the older stuff has just been setting around and Bob was gracious enough 46 00:02:35,720 --> 00:02:41,520 to give me some of our old items that we had been using in the past. 47 00:02:41,520 --> 00:02:45,520 And so they're still as relevant today as they were then. 48 00:02:45,520 --> 00:02:50,640 It's just much easier with tools of modern technology. 49 00:02:50,640 --> 00:02:56,120 It's much easier and it's also more accurate and it can also be faster too. 50 00:02:56,120 --> 00:02:57,640 Oh man, yes. 51 00:02:57,640 --> 00:03:03,740 Which accuracy and speed is something that is of a concern, especially as we move towards 52 00:03:03,740 --> 00:03:06,960 higher sear, more efficient equipment. 53 00:03:06,960 --> 00:03:11,800 We're really trying to dial the performance in, dealing with tighter houses. 54 00:03:11,800 --> 00:03:14,200 So now we're dealing with tighter shells. 55 00:03:14,200 --> 00:03:19,420 We're actually dealing a lot with lower capacity equipment today because as we tighten houses 56 00:03:19,420 --> 00:03:25,180 and buildings up, the capacity of the equipment that we need to condition those spaces actually 57 00:03:25,180 --> 00:03:27,340 goes down. 58 00:03:27,340 --> 00:03:29,120 Much less, which is wonderful. 59 00:03:29,120 --> 00:03:30,720 It's great for everybody. 60 00:03:30,720 --> 00:03:35,080 The units are getting bigger because they're higher efficiency, but the capacity we need 61 00:03:35,080 --> 00:03:37,380 for those spaces is going down. 62 00:03:37,380 --> 00:03:44,000 We need better tools to analyze those structures to be able to figure out what capacity units 63 00:03:44,000 --> 00:03:45,400 go into them. 64 00:03:45,400 --> 00:03:50,960 There's just a multitude of things that we couldn't even accomplish even 10 years ago, 65 00:03:50,960 --> 00:03:54,160 much less 20 or 30 years ago. 66 00:03:54,160 --> 00:03:57,160 And I think that's been the most interesting thing is you're exactly right. 67 00:03:57,160 --> 00:04:01,680 10 years ago is when we really started diving into higher performance. 68 00:04:01,680 --> 00:04:06,800 And I would consider these high performance tools much different than some of the things 69 00:04:06,800 --> 00:04:09,760 that we have utilized in the past. 70 00:04:09,760 --> 00:04:14,680 We were setting charges with systems and we were getting pretty close. 71 00:04:14,680 --> 00:04:19,540 Today we're talking about critical measurements down into the ounces of refrigerant going 72 00:04:19,540 --> 00:04:25,560 into a system and dialing these into optimal performance. 73 00:04:25,560 --> 00:04:31,340 So the need for the accuracy in the tools is what has escalated so much and the software 74 00:04:31,340 --> 00:04:37,280 that drives those things have evolved just as fast as every other form of digital technology. 75 00:04:37,280 --> 00:04:43,240 We really have and software in this is key because it is taking all of the readings simultaneously. 76 00:04:43,240 --> 00:04:51,080 It can take 20, 30 readings simultaneously on a system, combine it all in and give us 77 00:04:51,080 --> 00:04:58,560 as a technician or the human operating it all the information in the same place and 78 00:04:58,560 --> 00:05:03,520 or start making decisions or helping us make decisions about what to do, whether or not 79 00:05:03,520 --> 00:05:05,760 that system is operating properly. 80 00:05:05,760 --> 00:05:11,600 We take something really popular, still is for a lot of people. 81 00:05:11,600 --> 00:05:15,920 And I ran the calculations on this recently and just because I was curious. 82 00:05:15,920 --> 00:05:22,680 So depending on what kind you use, now this is an analog gauge, refrigerant gauge and 83 00:05:22,680 --> 00:05:25,280 a thermocouple probe. 84 00:05:25,280 --> 00:05:30,500 And I took the two specifications for those because like say we're calculating superheater 85 00:05:30,500 --> 00:05:40,040 subcooling and now we have two instruments and we're taking the reading from both of 86 00:05:40,040 --> 00:05:44,560 those instruments and we're making a calculation with them. 87 00:05:44,560 --> 00:05:50,600 But now when we talk about accuracy, we have to deal with the inaccuracies, the potential 88 00:05:50,600 --> 00:05:56,960 inaccuracies on two pieces of equipment, not just one. 89 00:05:56,960 --> 00:06:02,360 So now we have a compounding inaccuracy, potential. 90 00:06:02,360 --> 00:06:05,020 And this is brand new right out of the box. 91 00:06:05,020 --> 00:06:10,160 So I took two pieces of just off the shelf tools, calculated it out. 92 00:06:10,160 --> 00:06:17,760 And when I looked at the calculations that I ran, the was for a subcooling, I think for 93 00:06:17,760 --> 00:06:25,920 410A running around 110 degree condensing temperature, which would end up being a 100 94 00:06:25,920 --> 00:06:31,120 degree line temperature, which is not really unheard of, especially with some of the heat 95 00:06:31,120 --> 00:06:33,120 we've been experiencing. 96 00:06:33,120 --> 00:06:34,120 Yeah, absolutely. 97 00:06:34,120 --> 00:06:42,880 But the potential inaccuracy for a 10 degree subcooling was plus or minus 4.8 degrees Fahrenheit. 98 00:06:42,880 --> 00:06:44,800 Wow. 99 00:06:44,800 --> 00:06:49,960 That's pretty significant when we're setting a critical charge in the system. 100 00:06:49,960 --> 00:06:54,620 And the question I had to ask myself then was, I'm thinking about all these systems 101 00:06:54,620 --> 00:06:59,680 I've worked on over the years, looked at those manufacturers. 102 00:06:59,680 --> 00:07:03,840 So all the systems that I've worked on over the years, and I'm looking at the specifications 103 00:07:03,840 --> 00:07:06,680 and thinking about the specifications on that. 104 00:07:06,680 --> 00:07:13,120 I'm thinking back to what was the plus minus specification on a subcooling reading that 105 00:07:13,120 --> 00:07:14,600 that manufacturer wanted? 106 00:07:14,600 --> 00:07:20,020 I know the company that I installed and we're talking 20 plus years ago, it was plus or 107 00:07:20,020 --> 00:07:21,580 minus two degrees. 108 00:07:21,580 --> 00:07:29,320 So plus or minus two degrees, those instruments can't even achieve that accuracy. 109 00:07:29,320 --> 00:07:34,400 Man, I haven't really thought about it from that perspective, but absolutely. 110 00:07:34,400 --> 00:07:37,920 So we have to know accuracy. 111 00:07:37,920 --> 00:07:38,920 What is that? 112 00:07:38,920 --> 00:07:45,740 And realistically, that goes to customer expectations because if we come up to a customer's house 113 00:07:45,740 --> 00:07:50,920 and we're working on a customer's piece of equipment as a technician or as a company, 114 00:07:50,920 --> 00:07:55,200 they expect us to have accurate instrumentation. 115 00:07:55,200 --> 00:07:59,800 They're expecting us to make accurate tests and give them accurate information. 116 00:07:59,800 --> 00:08:00,800 Yeah. 117 00:08:00,800 --> 00:08:02,880 What do we do when we go to a doctor's office? 118 00:08:02,880 --> 00:08:07,040 We have expectations of a professional diagnosis. 119 00:08:07,040 --> 00:08:08,080 Right. 120 00:08:08,080 --> 00:08:18,160 We expect them to have accurate instrumentation to give us as a patient to make a decision. 121 00:08:18,160 --> 00:08:21,880 Sometimes we go with their advice, sometimes we don't. 122 00:08:21,880 --> 00:08:29,760 I've gone against the doctor's advice because I didn't think it was best for me in my situation. 123 00:08:29,760 --> 00:08:31,200 And homeowners can do that too. 124 00:08:31,200 --> 00:08:32,200 And that's fine. 125 00:08:32,200 --> 00:08:33,360 I don't have a problem with that. 126 00:08:33,360 --> 00:08:34,720 I give them information. 127 00:08:34,720 --> 00:08:36,360 It's their money. 128 00:08:36,360 --> 00:08:40,280 But we have to be able to give them accurate. 129 00:08:40,280 --> 00:08:46,400 And if we give inaccurate information and they make a decision based on that, we are 130 00:08:46,400 --> 00:08:51,120 taking responsibility for that decision because we gave them inaccurate information. 131 00:08:51,120 --> 00:08:52,120 Absolutely. 132 00:08:52,120 --> 00:08:56,200 And tools give us inaccurate information. 133 00:08:56,200 --> 00:08:58,920 You can see a cascade down there. 134 00:08:58,920 --> 00:09:00,080 Sure. 135 00:09:00,080 --> 00:09:02,280 We always talk about validation. 136 00:09:02,280 --> 00:09:05,240 And the only way that you can validate something is to actually measure it. 137 00:09:05,240 --> 00:09:09,560 And the only way that you can have changes is if you have corresponding information that 138 00:09:09,560 --> 00:09:11,960 validates the original readings. 139 00:09:11,960 --> 00:09:17,240 And so accuracy really becomes compounded because I need to accurately know where I'm 140 00:09:17,240 --> 00:09:22,680 beginning so that I can accurately read the results so that I can give a proper diagnosis 141 00:09:22,680 --> 00:09:27,240 or at least a proper result from what changes have been made to something. 142 00:09:27,240 --> 00:09:28,240 Yeah. 143 00:09:28,240 --> 00:09:29,240 Yeah. 144 00:09:29,240 --> 00:09:30,760 Especially if you're going doing before and after measurements. 145 00:09:30,760 --> 00:09:31,760 Yeah. 146 00:09:31,760 --> 00:09:36,560 Not only do we have to be accurate, but we need to be precise as well. 147 00:09:36,560 --> 00:09:40,000 And a lot of people confuse those two terms. 148 00:09:40,000 --> 00:09:46,040 So accuracy, I think of like a target and shooting bows and arrows at a target. 149 00:09:46,040 --> 00:09:47,040 Sure. 150 00:09:47,040 --> 00:09:50,240 And accuracy is hitting the center of that target. 151 00:09:50,240 --> 00:09:54,400 Whereas precision may be shooting all those arrows in a tight group, but it might not 152 00:09:54,400 --> 00:09:55,400 be in the middle of- 153 00:09:55,400 --> 00:09:56,400 It could be anywhere on it. 154 00:09:56,400 --> 00:09:57,400 It could be anywhere on the target. 155 00:09:57,400 --> 00:09:58,400 Yeah. 156 00:09:58,400 --> 00:09:59,400 Sure. 157 00:09:59,400 --> 00:10:03,760 So we need to be both precise and accurate, hit the middle of the target with all of our 158 00:10:03,760 --> 00:10:09,600 readings or all of our diagnosis and measurements, things like that. 159 00:10:09,600 --> 00:10:11,960 And that, it really becomes very important. 160 00:10:11,960 --> 00:10:16,880 And it was something that I didn't think about for a lot of years being in the field. 161 00:10:16,880 --> 00:10:23,880 And as I've grown, as I've learned, and now as I'm spending all my time around tools, 162 00:10:23,880 --> 00:10:28,160 I'm actually really starting to dig more into this and realizing that, hey, I could have 163 00:10:28,160 --> 00:10:30,240 done a lot better in the field. 164 00:10:30,240 --> 00:10:33,640 But now I've got this knowledge and I need to come out here and share it with everybody 165 00:10:33,640 --> 00:10:40,760 else so that everybody else can learn faster and learn from others because one of my favorite 166 00:10:40,760 --> 00:10:43,280 ways to learn is from others' mistakes. 167 00:10:43,280 --> 00:10:52,200 It's a lot cheaper and easier. 168 00:10:52,200 --> 00:10:58,400 So let's talk about, as this evolution of tools is happening right in front of us, in 169 00:10:58,400 --> 00:11:03,360 the past, at least, my experience from the residential and light commercial side is if 170 00:11:03,360 --> 00:11:07,120 we're in a service van, if we're in a company provided van, typically the company is going 171 00:11:07,120 --> 00:11:10,320 to provide some of the larger equipment, recovery, vacuum pump. 172 00:11:10,320 --> 00:11:14,600 But when it comes down to what we consider hand tools, a lot of us as technicians have 173 00:11:14,600 --> 00:11:16,680 to provide our own hand tools and gauges. 174 00:11:16,680 --> 00:11:23,900 And I know it can be very expensive, but let's talk about the repercussions of not investing 175 00:11:23,900 --> 00:11:26,600 into proper tools. 176 00:11:26,600 --> 00:11:34,160 So not investing in tools, I mean, it's kind of like not investing in yourself. 177 00:11:34,160 --> 00:11:35,160 Yes. 178 00:11:35,160 --> 00:11:40,280 It's kind of like not investing in your house. 179 00:11:40,280 --> 00:11:45,600 If you don't keep up and put quality products on the outside of your house or into the structure 180 00:11:45,600 --> 00:11:49,040 of your house, you might get a roof leak on your head. 181 00:11:49,040 --> 00:11:52,360 I mean, you might get a roof collapse in the middle of the night. 182 00:11:52,360 --> 00:11:54,000 That's right. 183 00:11:54,000 --> 00:11:58,880 I remember a story from a friend of mine who was a coal miner when I was a kid. 184 00:11:58,880 --> 00:12:04,320 And he was literally laying in bed one night with his wife and his ceiling fan fell out 185 00:12:04,320 --> 00:12:05,320 of the ceiling. 186 00:12:05,320 --> 00:12:09,720 Oh, now he rolled over mumbled something about, oh, the roof's falling in. 187 00:12:09,720 --> 00:12:12,640 We got to bolt that back up because that's what they do in coal mines. 188 00:12:12,640 --> 00:12:15,540 They run these long bolts up in to hold the roof up. 189 00:12:15,540 --> 00:12:18,260 His wife didn't think that was very funny though. 190 00:12:18,260 --> 00:12:23,640 But whatever it was that didn't get done right on that ceiling fan, I don't know the whole 191 00:12:23,640 --> 00:12:26,080 backstory to that. 192 00:12:26,080 --> 00:12:29,080 Ceiling fan fell out of the ceiling in the middle of the night. 193 00:12:29,080 --> 00:12:33,160 And that to me was always like, hey, somebody didn't do something really right. 194 00:12:33,160 --> 00:12:37,860 It started falling down on top. 195 00:12:37,860 --> 00:12:43,520 Some procedure is not followed properly here. 196 00:12:43,520 --> 00:12:49,920 But that's what I consider investing in good tools, investing in good knowledge, because 197 00:12:49,920 --> 00:12:52,460 those are both sides of it. 198 00:12:52,460 --> 00:12:57,280 The tools allow us to do things that we can't do maybe with our bare hands. 199 00:12:57,280 --> 00:13:02,160 They're an extension of our bare hand if we're trying to physically manipulate something, 200 00:13:02,160 --> 00:13:03,160 do something. 201 00:13:03,160 --> 00:13:08,680 We can't take screws out with our fingernails most of the time, 99.9% of the time. 202 00:13:08,680 --> 00:13:09,680 That's right. 203 00:13:09,680 --> 00:13:18,240 Those are really stripped out on that rooftop from somebody hitting it with too many uggaduggas. 204 00:13:18,240 --> 00:13:21,100 And then they fall out sometimes. 205 00:13:21,100 --> 00:13:27,560 But we have all these things that are extensions of ourselves to do this job faster, to do 206 00:13:27,560 --> 00:13:29,040 it better, to do it easier. 207 00:13:29,040 --> 00:13:32,720 We could go around and take screws out all day long with a handheld screwdriver, but 208 00:13:32,720 --> 00:13:36,100 nobody does because they're not powered screwdrivers. 209 00:13:36,100 --> 00:13:41,920 If we look back at the old timers, if somebody ever comes across sheet metal ducts with flat 210 00:13:41,920 --> 00:13:44,200 head screws in it. 211 00:13:44,200 --> 00:13:47,160 And there are still some out there. 212 00:13:47,160 --> 00:13:51,920 But if you ever see those and you think about how they had to put those screws in, how much 213 00:13:51,920 --> 00:13:59,880 time every single one of those holes was pre-drilled with a hand drill, not a power drill, a hand 214 00:13:59,880 --> 00:14:01,840 typically. 215 00:14:01,840 --> 00:14:05,880 And then the screw was put in with a manual screwdriver because they didn't have power 216 00:14:05,880 --> 00:14:06,880 screwdrivers. 217 00:14:06,880 --> 00:14:09,880 90 degrees at a time. 218 00:14:09,880 --> 00:14:10,880 Yeah. 219 00:14:10,880 --> 00:14:14,000 And they used ratcheting screwdrivers. 220 00:14:14,000 --> 00:14:15,000 Those were very popular. 221 00:14:15,000 --> 00:14:17,000 Yeah, that's true. 222 00:14:17,000 --> 00:14:18,880 Holy cow. 223 00:14:18,880 --> 00:14:21,120 All those screws. 224 00:14:21,120 --> 00:14:25,560 You might count hundreds of thousands of screws in a duct system. 225 00:14:25,560 --> 00:14:31,080 And I think back at that and I look at how easy we have it today. 226 00:14:31,080 --> 00:14:36,400 So and realistically, I know some of the listeners on this show are also instructors. 227 00:14:36,400 --> 00:14:41,720 So I think it's very important from a school level, from an education level in the schools 228 00:14:41,720 --> 00:14:43,480 to be teaching this new technology. 229 00:14:43,480 --> 00:14:48,680 I hear a lot of instructors on a regular basis say, oh, we have to teach them the analog. 230 00:14:48,680 --> 00:14:49,680 And that's good. 231 00:14:49,680 --> 00:14:50,680 I know. 232 00:14:50,680 --> 00:14:51,680 Teach them the analog way. 233 00:14:51,680 --> 00:14:52,680 Sure. 234 00:14:52,680 --> 00:14:53,680 But. 235 00:14:53,680 --> 00:14:54,680 Maybe write it first. 236 00:14:54,680 --> 00:14:55,680 Yeah. 237 00:14:55,680 --> 00:14:59,480 But then let's get some exposure into those tools that they're actually going to be using 238 00:14:59,480 --> 00:15:06,940 in the field because analog may do good for an emergency or an older tool may be good 239 00:15:06,940 --> 00:15:10,700 for an emergency, but we have to keep up with the technology that they're going to be handed 240 00:15:10,700 --> 00:15:12,600 by companies in the field. 241 00:15:12,600 --> 00:15:17,220 Now, personally, I've worked for a number of different companies. 242 00:15:17,220 --> 00:15:18,560 Some of them provided a lot of tools. 243 00:15:18,560 --> 00:15:23,560 Some of them provided a very little bit of tools and I own now I own a ton of tools of 244 00:15:23,560 --> 00:15:27,120 my own just because I kept buying. 245 00:15:27,120 --> 00:15:34,760 And a lot of the companies I find they were hesitant to buy tools because technicians, 246 00:15:34,760 --> 00:15:38,960 let's face it, sometimes we're not the easiest on tools. 247 00:15:38,960 --> 00:15:43,760 And I prefer to have a partnership between myself and the company where I own the tools 248 00:15:43,760 --> 00:15:45,780 and they'll replace them if. 249 00:15:45,780 --> 00:15:47,200 And I've done that too. 250 00:15:47,200 --> 00:15:51,920 Now, if I lose the tool on the job, that's on me. 251 00:15:51,920 --> 00:15:53,240 That's my responsibility. 252 00:15:53,240 --> 00:15:56,860 But if I break the tool on the job, that's a different thing. 253 00:15:56,860 --> 00:16:01,160 Or if I wear it out, something like that, batteries go bad. 254 00:16:01,160 --> 00:16:03,440 They get worn out over time. 255 00:16:03,440 --> 00:16:05,300 Then the company pays to replace it. 256 00:16:05,300 --> 00:16:06,600 But it's my tool when I go. 257 00:16:06,600 --> 00:16:12,280 And then the reason I like that is because I have that. 258 00:16:12,280 --> 00:16:14,040 Now I know what I'm dealing with. 259 00:16:14,040 --> 00:16:16,720 I can I get to pick and choose somewhat. 260 00:16:16,720 --> 00:16:23,360 Now, today, a lot of companies are starting to standardize test equipment. 261 00:16:23,360 --> 00:16:24,680 Exactly. 262 00:16:24,680 --> 00:16:25,680 Their platform. 263 00:16:25,680 --> 00:16:26,680 Yes. 264 00:16:26,680 --> 00:16:27,680 So all technicians are using the same things. 265 00:16:27,680 --> 00:16:28,680 They can teach on it. 266 00:16:28,680 --> 00:16:30,880 They know what to order for service materials. 267 00:16:30,880 --> 00:16:31,880 Right. 268 00:16:31,880 --> 00:16:33,960 And they can keep backup tools at the office. 269 00:16:33,960 --> 00:16:39,160 So exactly, it does go bad because let's face it, just like the equipment that we work on 270 00:16:39,160 --> 00:16:42,800 every day, this stuff wears out and gets it goes bad. 271 00:16:42,800 --> 00:16:43,800 It breaks. 272 00:16:43,800 --> 00:16:44,800 It's just a tool. 273 00:16:44,800 --> 00:16:45,800 It is. 274 00:16:45,800 --> 00:16:46,800 It's a tool. 275 00:16:46,800 --> 00:16:47,800 It's not going to last forever. 276 00:16:47,800 --> 00:16:51,200 Even the really old stuff that we like to say lasts forever doesn't necessarily last 277 00:16:51,200 --> 00:16:52,200 forever. 278 00:16:52,200 --> 00:16:55,200 They all require maintenance. 279 00:16:55,200 --> 00:16:59,400 You know, when we talk about these new tools, we have to be very realistic, especially as 280 00:16:59,400 --> 00:17:00,780 educators. 281 00:17:00,780 --> 00:17:03,080 I hear the same thing all the time. 282 00:17:03,080 --> 00:17:06,120 If we don't teach the fundamentals, they're never going to understand it. 283 00:17:06,120 --> 00:17:07,120 And that is so true. 284 00:17:07,120 --> 00:17:12,120 And I truly believe on teaching with mechanical gauges and thermistors to calculate basic 285 00:17:12,120 --> 00:17:13,640 superheat subcooling. 286 00:17:13,640 --> 00:17:18,040 But at the same time, that'd be realistic about the capabilities of modern tools and 287 00:17:18,040 --> 00:17:19,040 technologies. 288 00:17:19,040 --> 00:17:25,120 And really, if we think about it, are you going to ask a Gen Z to buy a mechanical tool 289 00:17:25,120 --> 00:17:27,520 when they have grown up with digital? 290 00:17:27,520 --> 00:17:32,060 Everything they know is digital because it is accurate and because it is faster. 291 00:17:32,060 --> 00:17:38,600 So it's not really realistic to put the expectations of our own learning into the hands of a new 292 00:17:38,600 --> 00:17:43,520 generation who learn in a different manner. 293 00:17:43,520 --> 00:17:44,920 Is it right or wrong? 294 00:17:44,920 --> 00:17:50,280 Well, that comes down to your own evaluation of what tools that you think are appropriate. 295 00:17:50,280 --> 00:17:52,360 I personally like to teach on both. 296 00:17:52,360 --> 00:17:56,560 I like to show the mechanical and I like to show the digital in all aspects just so that 297 00:17:56,560 --> 00:17:57,800 they see the fundamentals. 298 00:17:57,800 --> 00:18:01,520 But when they get out into the field, what are they going to buy? 299 00:18:01,520 --> 00:18:02,520 They're buying digital. 300 00:18:02,520 --> 00:18:03,520 And that's exactly right. 301 00:18:03,520 --> 00:18:04,760 I mean, they're used to digital. 302 00:18:04,760 --> 00:18:06,200 They're used to phones. 303 00:18:06,200 --> 00:18:07,360 It feels natural. 304 00:18:07,360 --> 00:18:08,360 It does. 305 00:18:08,360 --> 00:18:09,360 It feels very natural. 306 00:18:09,360 --> 00:18:10,720 It's very comfortable to them. 307 00:18:10,720 --> 00:18:14,440 You and I, we kind of grew up in an analog age. 308 00:18:14,440 --> 00:18:15,440 Absolutely. 309 00:18:15,440 --> 00:18:18,440 We live that transition. 310 00:18:18,440 --> 00:18:23,320 We started out with dial telephones and transitioned to push button telephones, and now we have 311 00:18:23,320 --> 00:18:24,800 touch screens. 312 00:18:24,800 --> 00:18:30,680 So we're kind of in a, I would say somewhat of a unique generation in that we can bridge 313 00:18:30,680 --> 00:18:32,760 that gap a little bit easier. 314 00:18:32,760 --> 00:18:37,620 But I do like, and I agree with you teaching on some of the older technologies because 315 00:18:37,620 --> 00:18:41,400 I think it gives an appreciation for where we're at today. 316 00:18:41,400 --> 00:18:42,500 It does. 317 00:18:42,500 --> 00:18:45,000 It shows how far we've come. 318 00:18:45,000 --> 00:18:52,760 And I embraced digital, especially refrigeration gauges, but I have really embraced the digital 319 00:18:52,760 --> 00:18:55,560 and the technologies as we've gone forward. 320 00:18:55,560 --> 00:18:58,600 I started with digital refrigeration gauges in about 2004. 321 00:18:58,600 --> 00:19:02,240 Yeah, I think somewhere in that ballpark, it would have been about the same. 322 00:19:02,240 --> 00:19:03,240 2004, 2007. 323 00:19:03,240 --> 00:19:05,440 I'm sorry, 2007. 324 00:19:05,440 --> 00:19:08,120 And I still own them today, still own the first pair. 325 00:19:08,120 --> 00:19:11,880 And they're still just as accurate as the day I bought them. 326 00:19:11,880 --> 00:19:12,880 Yeah, take it. 327 00:19:12,880 --> 00:19:18,560 You know, and they got beat around in the back of trucks in rainstorms, you name it. 328 00:19:18,560 --> 00:19:20,520 They're still kicking around. 329 00:19:20,520 --> 00:19:23,720 Quality can last for a long time. 330 00:19:23,720 --> 00:19:24,720 Exactly. 331 00:19:24,720 --> 00:19:29,600 We have came a long way with the quality of our test instruments, and I just hope everyone 332 00:19:29,600 --> 00:19:33,080 understands that we are evolving as an industry. 333 00:19:33,080 --> 00:19:38,740 There are things that are going to transition away from. 334 00:19:38,740 --> 00:19:43,480 When we start talking about tools and people are hesitant to move to new technologies, 335 00:19:43,480 --> 00:19:52,140 I ask how many of our educators are using the mechanical voltmeters, the analog voltmeters, 336 00:19:52,140 --> 00:19:55,960 the non RMS voltmeters that they grew up on? 337 00:19:55,960 --> 00:19:59,920 And very rarely do we see those still being used in our programs. 338 00:19:59,920 --> 00:20:04,520 We might use them as a history lesson, but when it comes to practical application, I'd 339 00:20:04,520 --> 00:20:08,000 say they're all using digital. 340 00:20:08,000 --> 00:20:11,600 They'd better be using the digital equipment if they're getting anywhere in your frequency 341 00:20:11,600 --> 00:20:17,920 drives and things like that, because you've got to have that true RMS. 342 00:20:17,920 --> 00:20:23,720 The averaging meters don't work today with what we're trying to really measure out here. 343 00:20:23,720 --> 00:20:29,400 And if we want any kind of accuracy or precision, that's the caliber. 344 00:20:29,400 --> 00:20:33,720 All right, Eric Heiser, we sure appreciate you joining us today and we look forward to 345 00:20:33,720 --> 00:20:39,280 many more discussions on the evolutions of tools and where can everyone find TrueTech 346 00:20:39,280 --> 00:20:40,280 tools? 347 00:20:40,280 --> 00:20:41,280 TrueTechTools.com. 348 00:20:41,280 --> 00:20:42,280 Thanks, Clifton. 349 00:20:42,280 --> 00:20:43,280 Awesome, man. 350 00:20:43,280 --> 00:20:48,280 We appreciate your time.