8
Standing in a 140 degree attic in Phoenix last July taught me a lesson
I was swapping a 20 year old AC unit on a 115 degree day and the attic hit 140. After 10 minutes my meter started giving false readings from the heat. Now I always keep a backup meter in a cooler on roof jobs. Anyone else run into heat issues with their tools?
3 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In3 Comments
the_aaron11m ago
Man, that cooler trick is smart but I gotta bring up something nobody seems to talk about. It's not just the meters that take a beating in that kind of heat, it's the batteries. Lithium ion cells in your tools will start venting and losing capacity real quick once they hit 140 degrees. I've seen batteries swell up bad after just a few hours on a hot roof. Keep them out of direct sun and let them cool down before you charge them again, otherwise you're just baking the life out of them. The meter might be the first thing to fail but the battery problems sneak up on you later.
6
michael_jenkins3918h ago
I fried a Fluke 117 in Texas last year doing the exact same thing. The internal temp sensors on most meters just straight up fail past 130, they don't even warn you. I started wrapping my meter in a reflective sunshade and keeping a cheap IR gun clipped to my belt for quick checks before I break out the main meter. Also pro tip, those clamp meters with the big rubber boots actually trap heat worse so you are better off with a bare plastic housing in extreme temps.
2
Oh man, this is absolutely spot on. I didn't realize those rubber boots were actually making things worse, that explains a lot honestly. I always thought they were protecting the meter but they're just cooking it instead. I bet the reflective wrap trick works wonders, I might have to steal that idea for my own kit this summer. People don't think about heat damage until they're holding a dead meter in the sun wondering what happened.
2