Thermostat tools - Let's see what you service techs use

[bonneyman]

In my 30+ years of doing HVAC I ran into ALOT of thermostats. At the very beginning it was just the old Honeywell round T87F and White Rodgers 1F56. A small screwdriver and a pocket level and you were GTG. Then the first programmable stats came out and with them a host of new tiny tools to work on them. By the 90's security became a big issue, and the service tech needed special driver bits (then keys) to physically access all the stats in the building. And of course every manufacturer had their own screw size/drive style and you needed to keep up with all of them so you could do your work. Then it seemed like everybody and their brother came out with their own digital programmable stats - nessitating more tools. Finally toward the end of my career the NEST wi-fi stats came out. It got to be so ridiculous I had a shoe box of all sorts of gizmos that I carried in the truck, because invariably you'd go to a call and the stats would be locked. And the person with the key was out to lunch, sick, or on vacation. So you had to figure out a way to get into them. Then you'd find out they used different screws.

I ended up "making" and modifying alot of little bits to do my job, and thought since there wasn't a T-stat tools thread I post some of the stuff I used everyday. And see what you other techs do.

Back in the day dealers would give away pocket 2-in-1 screwdrivers, so I accumulated a handful over time. Plus the old mercury-bulb stats had to be level to work right (now the digital ones just need to be level for appearance) so a pocket bubble level was also standard. many times you'd get a complaint that the set temp and room temp thermometers weren't the same, so we'd pull out thin metal calibration wrenches to adjust them. That, too, went out with digital units.

 

[bonneyman]

Honeywell introduced their commercial programmable stats, and one needed a tiny allen wrench to lift the cover to access the buttons. Also at this time the first "lock boxes" became available so businesses with older stats could keep the employees from jacking around with the temperatures. Originally the wrenches were standard allens, then went to tamper resistant allens and hidden lock tabs, then Torx and so on. So I accumulated allen bits and such and added sizes as need be. I wish I'd known about watchmakers tools back then - those professionals have alot of quality small tools!

Thankfully many lockable covers using keys could use the same key, though some makers made their own. I had several on my work keychain.

 

[bonneyman]

I'm not above using other "tools" to get my job done. Or modifying an existing tool to new parameters. When the Maple Chase digital stats came out they had recessed screws for the wire leads that were smaller than the old stats. So I took a pocket driver and carefully ground down the tips to access them.
I found that a sewing button hook tool worked well for reaching into a wall and grabbing the T-sat wires that were hidden. And a dental cleaning tool with a small angled brush really helped get dirt and grit out of a stats screw area.

 

[bonneyman]

Toward the end of my career I discovered a web site that specialized in tiny tools. Among their many small tools they had these micro screw starters that seemed great at holding and setting stat screws that were just too small to hold with my arthritic hands (and a magnet or regular screw starter wouldn't work). For $26 a pair they are great.

Micro Screw Starter | Phillips #00 Precision Tool | Micro-Mark

Start tiny Phillips screws with ease using Micro-Mark’s Micro Screw Starter. Spring-loaded tip securely holds #00 screws for precision placement.

www.micromark.com

 

[joel63]

Toward the end of my career I discovered a web site that specialized in tiny tools. Among their many small tools they had these micro screw starters that seemed great at holding and setting stat screws that were just too small to hold with my arthritic hands (and a magnet or regular screw starter wouldn't work). For $26 a pair they are great.

Micro Screw Starter | Phillips #00 Precision Tool | Micro-Mark

Start tiny Phillips screws with ease using Micro-Mark’s Micro Screw Starter. Spring-loaded tip securely holds #00 screws for precision placement.

www.micromark.com

Things always keep changing.

 

[SteadyC]

Pneumatic thermostat tools

 

[bonneyman]

Ooooh, liking those, SteadyC!

 

[bonneyman]

I never did much pneumatics at all, as they were usually an industrial control. Residential and light commercial (which I did) very rarely used them, preferring the more traditional electrical (then electronic) controls. Though one company I worked for had an account at a manufacturing firm as I recall, and they used pneumatic stats. He had a little bag o tools for them. Some time later I asked to learn about pneumatics and my boss at the time said they sucked, so, it wasn't worth going into. I did manage to acquire a booklet on the basics of pneumatics and kept it through the years. Figured reference is always good idea.

 

[SteadyC]

I never did much pneumatics at all, as they were usually an industrial control. Residential and light commercial (which I did) very rarely used them, preferring the more traditional electrical (then electronic) controls. Though one company I worked for had an account at a manufacturing firm as I recall, and they used pneumatic stats. He had a little bag o tools for them. Some time later I asked to learn about pneumatics and my boss at the time said they sucked, so, it wasn't worth going into. I did manage to acquire a booklet on the basics of pneumatics and kept it through the years. Figured reference is always good idea.

I worked in high rise buildings. Almost all had pneumatic controls with some phasing into DDC's. They are good systems if knowledgable hands are on them, properly maintained etc. Very reliable. Some controls I've run into are over 40 years old and still have parts available.

 

[SteadyC]

Some other tools...

 

[bonneyman]

Yeah, that pressure gauge right in the center with the multi-tip probe looks familiar.
Since they ran on air they typically were found in factories and the like that had alot of equipment with compressed air around. As I recall (stretching way back here) there always seemed to be a problem with the air filters on the systems. They didn't get serviced as much as they should, and dirty air would mess with the stats.

 

[SteadyC]

Yeah, that pressure gauge right in the center with the multi-tip probe looks familiar.
Since they ran on air they typically were found in factories and the like that had alot of equipment with compressed air around. As I recall (stretching way back here) there always seemed to be a problem with the air filters on the systems. They didn't get serviced as much as they should, and dirty air would mess with the stats.

Usually the air handlers in a chilled water system would have a Magnehelic (Dwyer) gauge on the filter bank. Control air is very critical on pneumatic controls (usually a refrigerated type). Water in lines is a nightmare and very expensive to remedy.

On another note....I have some old bonney wrenches laying around. I think I have some smaller ignition type somewhere.

 

[metaldad]

feeling under the weather.
refreshing the thread so i can find it.
pics,,,,,,,,,,,,, are coming.

 

[bonneyman]

I'd love to see whatever you have, metaldad - when you're up to it. I'm sure with your years in the biz you've got lots of T-stat tools.

 

[ambenz]

It is really interesting to see those old tools from back in the day.
I believe I have a Honeywell pocket screwdriver downstairs somewhere.
But, I am a controls tech, not a maintenance tech.
Where it use to be one industry now has become 2. Mechanical and Controls.
The day of physical tools, for the control tech, is fast approaching the wayside as most thing are controlled by automation.
Sure, the basic 6 way screwdriver, channel locks and a 10mm socket wrench is just about it today.
I remember the pneumatic gauges and the logic blocks that controlled pressure in a few buildings I worked on, those pneumatic actuators seems to be indestructible! Once in a while I still used a magnehelic to set filter alarms and pressure sensors.
The "tool" I have used the most in my working with commercial HVAC from 2006 to 2017 is WebCTRL by Automated Logic.
The windows based software gives you a Birdseye look at color coded thermo floor plans flexible to be designed in any structure.

You can lockout individual thermostat controls in any room from the software viewed on a laptop, smartphone, or tablet from anywhere in the world connected to the world wide web.
You can see what fan power boxes are doing, set run time for each individual room, check power consumption, and about a million other things that your basic Honeywell clock thermostat could never do.
It monitors equipment in engineering spaces too.


It was an interesting job designing customers equipment and maintaining their software.
It may not be a physical tool, but to todays engineers, it is indispensable!

 

[jhelrey]

^ Better graphics than what I get at work!

 

[metaldad]

otay. took pics of whats in the buggy, not at werk. i know i have a **** ton of the honeywell calibration tool, just not with me. i tend to hand them out like halloween candy. as you'll see, im heavy into pneumatics. (woof and ****). unfortunately, its a dying art.
pic 1, various tstat cal tools
pic 2, various syringes
pic 3, receiver controller cal kit made by powers, adulterated by me, and a set of calibration gages, in a pistol case, which has wide eyed non knowing folks before
pic 4, barber colman receiver controller cal too
more **** at work.
pics of squeeze bulbs, fittings...................... boring
pic 5, one of the panels i dig in.
pic 6, one of my installs (kinda near impossible to keep multiple poly lines straight and neat. this was not the finished product. it got neatened up, properly labeled)

 

[metaldad]

and, sorry ambenz. not a fan of ddc. ddc futzes up, new doodad wont communicate with old whamshutter. need to replace system. and it needs to update to communicate. dead in the water till then.
something pneumatic dies, i can work my way around it to get operation

 

[bonneyman]

I never would have made it in the pneumatic world. Yikes!

 

[ambenz]

Metaldad, I understand your favor with pneumatics as I saw systems running first hand.
It really rings true, "It's easy if you know it!"
And you are right, DCC has a lot of issues...nothing about DCC is simple.
I was at the Hamilton lakes hotel up here and their pneumatic system was the first one I worked on.
I had some basic training with a sales rep and had to wing the rest.
I found a bad pneumatic damper, some cracking hoses and then I had to calibrate pressures....man I was lost.
But it was my first pneumatic system, trying to get our system in the door for DCC.
The cabinet I worked on, looked a lot like the photo Metaldad posted....what a rats nest!!!

They just couldn't make tubing from getting brittle and I do believe the tubing was the Achilles heel and the downfall of pneumatic running HVAC.
By the time they did make some good tubing, the hand writing was on the wall and DCC electrics was coming into it own.
It is such a shame too as I believe pneumatic systems was pretty robust and very dependable.
Most of the building in downtown Chicago were pneumatic systems from the mid 1930 to the late 1990's.
I was a major player in servicing the new computer controlled systems.

 

[brownbagg]

my thermostat died about 15 years ago, its just a on and off switch now, i get too hot i turn it off

 

[bonneyman]

my thermostat died about 15 years ago, its just a on and off switch now, i get too hot i turn it off

You might want to try these. Construction thermostat probes with a preset temperature that you wire in in place of a thermostat (so to prevent theft while the house is being built). Used to use something like it to keep people cool while their special stat came in. Could save you alot of getting up to turn your system on/off manually all the time.

iO Temp-Stat Temporary Construction Thermostat for 70 Degrees - Heating Only

These low cost, non-adjustable, temporary construction thermostats are preset to a given temperature. Made in heating or cooling applications. Use in place of a regular thermostat that can’t be stolen, damaged or tampered with. Save on heating and cooling costs during construction or anywhere...

www.trutechtools.com

 

[metaldad]

oooooohhhhhhh!
contractor i worked for, many years ago, used a stat, with set bulbs, for restaurant use. didnt matter where you set the *******, it maintained whatever bulb was secretly installed
i forget the name. and as old as i am, i sometimes forgit mine

 

[metaldad]

and, btw, ambenz, your fingers and mine may have crawled thru the same panels in downtown shitacago.
eerie eh?
the electronics side will march on as time marches on.
pneumatics, is a dying art. none of the 'kids' i've apprenticed, can comprehend the idea of air pressure. to my knowledge, out of 100+ guys at my shop, mebbe only 1 has the amount of experience i've encountered.
kinda like terrazzo setters.