https://youtu.be/ILoBIL5c7gU When the driver unloaded the new Milwaukee® 46” Steel Storage Chest and Cabinet from the truck, my mouth dropped, and I stepped aside, in awe. Every time I go into the garage, that same feeling overtakes me. Of the 80 new tools released by Milwaukee in 2015, the Chest and Cabinet organizer is in Read more
ShopTalk
https://youtu.be/ILoBIL5c7gU
When the driver unloaded the new Milwaukee® 46” Steel Storage Chest and Cabinet from the truck, my mouth dropped, and I stepped aside, in awe. Every time I go into the garage, that same feeling overtakes me.
Of the 80 new tools released by Milwaukee in 2015, the Chest and Cabinet organizer is in line with Milwaukee’s overall message in that this is not just any other new tool launch, but it is made with the tradesperson in mind. Built for extreme productivity, the new storage solution was designed with the versatility, function, durability and organization options that professional users need every day.
“Many storage solutions in this category do not have the durability that professionals expect, and do not provide users with the versatility they desire,” says Bobby Shaw, Director of Product Marketing for Milwaukee Tool. Milwaukee’s new storage solution features a reinforced angle iron frame and 5” industrial casters — two of which swivel and have wheel lock capability — for ultimate durability, and is fully loaded with innovative features to maximize productivity.
Installation and Set-up
The storage chest and cabinet come separately, as two pieces, and overall installation time is less than 20 minutes. Set-up instructions are simple to navigate through and it comes with proper tools, sans Philips screwdriver. I will caution that the two pieces are quite heavy so having a second person onsite to help lift the Chest on the Cabinet is needed.
My integrated workstation: this pull-out work surface is ideal for laptops while storing important documents underneath.
The Tool Chest
The top and side power centers feature 12 outlets for optimum charging ability.
I’d like to think of the storage chest and cabinet an integrated workspace. It features enough surface space to organize tools, and one of the drawers features a pull-out work surface, (drawer/moveable lid) so I can place my laptop right on top when the drawer is extended, and beneath I can store documents. In addition, the “toolbox” features a built-in power center that includes 12 outlets for necessary charging. There is a cord in the back of the unit that needs to be plugged into an electrical outlet.
Plenty of surface area for tool placement; the pneumatic lid features 10.5″ clearance so upright tools will not be upset.
There are 16 drawers in all that feature 100-lb soft close capability, and two that include a second set of slides to support 200 lbs. In all the 46” Steel Storage Chest and Cabinet can support a weight capacity of 1,800 lbs. All of the drawers can be locked — with key entry — for added security.
Storage space galore: 16 drawers feature 100-lb soft close capability, and two that include a second set of slides to support 200 lbs.
For added utility, a power tool organizer keep tools upright, and an independent locking drawer keeps valuables and personal goods secured while working. Under the pneumatic lid, users can also store tools on the integrated metal peg wall, or upright directly on the work surface, which has 10.5” of clearance from the lid when closed.
Have larger power tools? It has a drawer for that.
Retail price:
• 48-22-8500 is the combo ~ $700
• 48-22-8510 steel storage chest (top) ~$300
• 48-22-8520 Rolling steel storage cabinet (bottom) ~$400
Awareness of indoor air quality has increased substantially in recent years, and the systems that supply air to our living and working spaces are critical to the maintenance of a healthy indoor environment. I recently had the opportunity to install a Hornet 24v UV light by UV Resources on my home’s furnace. As with any Read more
Awareness of indoor air quality has increased substantially in recent years, and the systems that supply air to our living and working spaces are critical to the maintenance of a healthy indoor environment. I recently had the opportunity to install a Hornet 24v UV light by UV Resources on my home’s furnace.
As with any product I test I look at a list of things that are important to contractors such as the following:
- Does the product provide a solution to problems contractors face daily?
- How long has the product been available? Does it have a history of use or installation?
- Cost and availability.
- For non-tools: Is it easy to install?
- Does it work?
Right from the start I can tell you that I went into this product test with little knowledge of UV light systems. I have read and followed different sources on the subject on and off for a few years but I have not installed one prior to this test.
It is generally agreed that source removal of contaminants remains the single best method for cleaning and decontaminating HVAC systems. One of the tools used to improve air quality from HVAC systems is the use of ultraviolet lighting within the system, intended to decrease the level of airborne pathogens and allergens going through the HVAC system and into the indoor air environment. The Hornet™ system claims to provide reductions in air conditioner allergens, mold and odor while improving a/c efficiency.
The installation
The Hornet™ comes securely packaged in a retail-style box with full-color printing and product descriptions.
Retail-style packaging, top view.
The Hornet efficiently destroys surface and airborne microbes that grow in, and circulate throughout, A/C systems and which impede coil efficiency, clog drain pans, and become major contributors to allergies, airborne transmitted disease, odor, or poor indoor air quality.
Included in the box are all parts needed for a complete install. The lamp, mounting plate, power converter cord for 120v supply and a useful template for drilling the holes needed to carryout the installation.
The Hornet™ installs from the exterior of the furnace plenum so it does not require you to perform any duct surgery; making the install very quick and clean.
One 2-3/4” hole saw is used for cutting mounting bracket hole. The second hole drilled is 5/8” to mount the clear plastic “view port”.
The total time of installation [when using the plug-in 120v cord] was about 15-20 minutes once the proper/safe location for the lamp was located (location and measurement of the A/C coil is necessary prior to drilling).
Add another 15-20 minutes for wiring the unit into the zone panel or furnace control board for automatic operation when the air handler is running. The use of the 120v cord adapter will leave the lamp running constantly, even when the furnace is not in use. Installed labor and materials should place the final costs in the $300-500 range for purchasers, of course this is dependent on labor rates and install conditions.
Overall, UV light systems like the Hornet™ can offer another avenue for complete service offerings to the HVAC contractor. This particular product installs easily with a minimum of tools, none that are specialized, and would be a great add-on for any service/install contractor.
Pictures of the install are below (taken with a phone, I apologize for the low resolution)
For years now I’ve been tripping over loose drop-cloths and floor runners on my way out the door with an old, dirty water heater. Since there are few water heater replacements that fall under the “pro-active replacement” category [does that even exist?] it seems that most tanks I myself or my guys have carried out Read more
For years now I’ve been tripping over loose drop-cloths and floor runners on my way out the door with an old, dirty water heater. Since there are few water heater replacements that fall under the “pro-active replacement” category [does that even exist?] it seems that most tanks I myself or my guys have carried out of a house or commercial space have been leaking some sort of dumpster juice quality solution or shedding their share of rusted jacket material only to leave a trail of evidence that we were recently there.
A few months ago our friends at Bradford White contacted me with a solution to this problem. I suppose they heard the outcry as I was frantically searching Google for the nearest available carpet cleaner due to a drop-cloth mishap. Well, they delivered.
The HEATER HAULER, as it is appropriately named, is a giant containment bag engineered to assist the installing contractor in a tidy job without the added hazard of loose floor runners/drop-cloths.
The features listed on their website are as follows:
- Facilitates removal of light duty commercial water heaters up to 80 gallons (303 liters) (maximum recommended weight – 250 lbs. 113 kg.)
- Heavy duty, vinyl laminated nylon construction with full velcro opening
- Double stitched heavy duty top & side handles
- Helps eliminate damage to floors and carpets during removal
- Liquids, oils and grease will not penetrate
I’ve put it to the Aune Plumbing test on over a dozen jobs now and the time it saves me is worth the price of admission. I’ve tried tarps, heavy-duty plastic bags and more to contain the mess of some of the tank style heaters we’ve replaced over the years. This bag does the work, only better, than any of those failed experiments.
If I had any suggestions to our friends at Bradford White it would be to offer a smaller model. This bag is huge and will haul an 80-gallon tank. That’s a lot of room and considerably more than is needed for the typical 40-50 gallon replacements of our market. The extra room makes for a sometimes-cumbersome handling through doorways or up stairways.
I do caution anyone looking to add this to the truck, the bag has two large canvas strap handles [like a duffle bag], after about five or six uses I personally tore one side of one strap from the bag while attempting to use the straps to move a 50 gallon gas heater thru a hallway. The bag is still useful but I would recommend not relying on the straps for handling while loaded.
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7-6-15
Shortly after posting this review the nice folks at Bradford White sent over a replacement Heater Hauler; I assume in reaction to my comments about one of the handles detaching from the bag after only five or six uses.
After at least a dozen uses since I can report back that both handles/straps are intact and remain fully attached on the replacement bag. I would caution that during lifting or hand-truck transport of a bagged tank all workers be careful and practice safety first. I don’t believe the bag handles are intended to be used as the main connection point the to load at hand and are there more for slight maneuvering etc. Overall, I’d say this has been a valuable tool to keep on the truck and I have no reason not to recommend it to professional contractors looking for a useful tool to make the job quicker and cleaner.
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A Home Inspector’s Review of the Flir One Infrared Camera for the iPhone About a year ago, I heard about an Indiegogo funding campaign to develop an infrared camera that would attach to a smartphone; it was called the Mu Thermal Camera . I was sure this was a scam, but at the very beginning of this year, Flir Read more
A Home Inspector’s Review of the Flir One Infrared Camera for the iPhone
About a year ago, I heard about an Indiegogo funding campaign to develop an infrared camera that would attach to a smartphone; it was called the Mu Thermal Camera . I was sure this was a scam, but at the very beginning of this year, Flir announced they were developing essentially the same thing, calling it the Flir One and selling it for under $350; far less than any other infrared camera available today.
My biggest question was whether this camera would be a viable alternative to a traditional infrared camera for home inspectors. As soon as the camera became available for order, I ordered one. It just showed up on Wednesday, 8/20.
The Basics
The Flir One camera attaches to the iPhone 5 and 5s models. It has its own built-in battery, which charges with a standard micro-usb cable. That’s nice. Unfortunately, the iPhone can’t be charged at the same time, which is quite annoying.
Getting started was easy, even though I’ve never owned an iPhone. I went to iPhone app store, downloaded and ran the required app, and the software guided me through the rest. Piece of cake.
Size
The Flir One comes with a little black case that the iPhone pops into, which then slides into the camera assembly. It makes the whole package about twice as thick as an iPhone, and a little taller; approximately the height of a Galaxy 4S phone. It’s small enough to slip into a pocket, but it’s a big lump. That’s a lot better than any other IR camera, but the size of my infrared camera has never been a problem for me. When I inspect houses, I bring a big bag of tools into the house with me every time; I have my infrared camera with me whether I plan to use it or not. Making the camera smaller won’t change that.
Shape
I tried using the Flir One at my last two home inspections, and it felt clumsy. The Flir One is the opposite of ergonomic. You really need two hands to hold the camera and take photos; trying to do it one handed seemed like a sure-fire way to drop the phone and break it. Just like taking photos with a smartphone, you need to touch the screen to capture an image while you’re still holding the phone. See below; I have my pointer finger hovering over the “capture” button while I’m holding the phone with my middle finger and thumb.
I’m sure that I would drop and break this phone within a month of using it if I started using it for home inspections, and my understanding is that it doesn’t take a much of fall to break the screen on an iPhone. Aftermarket phone cases help to protect the iPhone from falls, but that’s not an option when the phone is connected to the Flir One.
Every other infrared camera I’ve owned has had a pistol-grip with a trigger for taking photos, making them perfect for one-handed operation. The image below shows my current infrared camera, the Flir E6.
Even if I drop my E6 camera, it won’t break. Before buying this camera, one of the Flir reps tossed the camera up into the air and let it fall onto the concrete floor, just to show how durable and rugged they are. I’m sure the Flir One wouldn’t tolerate any kind of abuse like that.
Software Options
The Flir One app has very few options. There are the standard color palates like “iron” and “rainbow”, as well as a bunch of fairly useless ones like “hottest”, “coldest”, and “arctic”. Emmissivity settings can be changed, the save location of images can be changed, the temperature units can be set to Celsius or Fahrenheit. There’s also an option to turn on a spot meter, which displays the temperature of whatever is shown in the middle of the screen. That’s about it for options.
Resolution
The infrared camera has a resolution of 80×60. Infrared images are combined with optical images, which gives a much clearer image on the screen than you’d get with just an infrared image. Flir calls this Multi-Spectral Dynamic imaging, or “MSX” technology. I have the same technology on my E6 camera, and I absolutely love it. It seems to highlight the edges of objects, which gives you a much better understanding of what you’re looking at with the camera. My Flir E6 has an infrared resolution of 160×120, which is about four times the resolution of the Flir One (19,200 pixels vs 4,700). To show the power of MSX technology, take at look at the two images below.
The image on the right looks a heck of a lot better, doesn’t it? The funny thing is that the image on the left is from the much higher resolution E6 camera with the MSX technology turned off, while the image on the right is the far lower resolution image of the Flir One. The MSX technology makes the much lower resolution image of the Flir One look far better.
Side note: this makes me contemplate the difference between real value and perceived value.
When using the Flir One in well-lit environments like the images above, everything looks great. In the dark… not so much. The two images below show the same room with the lights turned off. All of the benefit provided by the MSX technology disappears, leaving you with a few indiscernible orange blobs. Using the Flir One in a poorly lit attic would probably be quite frustrating.
I think this test is the most telling, because it shows you what information the Flir One is really giving you. The perceived value is far higher than the actual value when the lights are on.
Usefulness
To me, the biggest question is whether this camera could be used to do the same stuff that other infrared cameras can do. Sometimes I use my infrared camera as a time-saving device; I’ll quickly scan all of the radiators or supply registers in a house to make sure they’re all working properly. It does a fine job of that. The images below again show a side-by-side comparison between an E6 and the Flir One.
Sometimes infrared cameras can be used to find wet spots. I poured a little bit of water into a cardboard box and took photos, showing how the cold spots compared. The Flir One wasn’t great at this, but if you were to really take your time and scan things slowly and up close, you could probably identify the same stuff. It’s just not nearly as obvious.
The Flir One also seems to do a fine job of identifying hot spots at electric panels, although this test revealed that the infrared image isn’t perfectly blended with the optical image on the Flir One. If you look carefully at the image below, you’ll see that the cold tips of the circuit breakers don’t match up quite right with the image, probably be. That’s annoying.
While I don’t find that the exact temperature reading is all that important, it was reassuring to see that the spot temperature readings of the E6 and Flir One were basically identical. In the images above, you’ll notice that both cameras identified the temperature of the circuit breaker at 114 degrees F.
Range
The temperature range of the Flir One is 32° F to 212° F.
32° F to 212° F. Huh.
That makes this camera pretty much useless in Minnesota attics during the winter, which is one of the most useful places to take an infrared camera during a home inspection.
Another important thing to note is the operating temperature range of this camera: 32° F to 95° F. Ouch. That almost relegates this camera to the class of “cool toy”.
Conclusion
All in all, this is a neat device. If you’ve always wanted an infrared camera but just haven’t wanted to fork out over a thousand dollars for it, this is the camera for you, assuming you already own an iPhone 5.
If you’re a home inspector and you’ve been looking to add an infrared camera to your tool bag, don’t buy this camera. The resolution is low, it’s clumsy to use, you’ll surely break it, and the temperature range is unacceptable. Go with a dedicated infrared camera. I’ve tested many different infrared cameras, and I’ve been happy with a resolution of at least 120×120. My advice is to go with the E6, which currently retails for about $2,500.
Author: Reuben Saltzman, Structure Tech Home Inspections
Reuben is a second generation home inspector with a passion for his work. He grew up remodeling homes and learning about carpentry since he was old enough to hold a hammer. Reuben has worked for Structure Tech since 1997, and is now co-owner of the company.
