ShopTalk

Hauling out old, leaking and dirty tank water heaters can be a messy job. I’ve covered walkways with drop cloths, tarps or plastic in attempt to contain the dripping water, soot or rust and still have had carpets get soiled; not since we started using the “body bag” heater hauler. It’s a giant duffel with a water resistant lining inside that contains the mess. It’s always on my truck and I haven’t had to hire a carpet cleaner for years now.

Check out my first review from 2015 on The Hub

Bradford White Heater Hauler

A broken bucket handle or cracked shop-vac aren’t just minor annoyances on the job site – they’re common frustrations that can lose you money in delays, unnecessary trips to the hardware story and expensive repairs or replacements.

Instead of falling behind on your next project, consider keeping a professional grade duct tape on hand as your backup. It’s the tool you don’t realize you need until you need it. Here are seven tips for using different types of duct tapes for unexpected, on-the-fly repairs and improvised tools.

1) Create a makeshift chain

Rope and chain are handy tools for unforeseen jobsite tasks — but they’re also cumbersome and they take up a lot of space. Which means they’re often left behind at the shop when you need something for tasks like hoisting tool boxes and materials to a roof or platform. Enter heavy-duty duct tape. A product like T-Rex® Brute Force™, which can hold 700-plus pounds of weight with one 36” loop, can easily handle the job and be cut to the size you need.

2) Keep your socks dry

Torn boot uppers or holes in the sole are one of the most common annoyances you can experience. If you’re working in wet conditions, those annoyances can become hazards. Some rubberized pro-grade tapes are specifically designed with waterproof and extreme adhesive qualities, which makes them perfect for keeping sand, dirt, water, mud and other liquids out.

3) Repair or replace that broken bucket handle

Buckets always seem to break in the most inconvenient situations. Don’t let a busted handle force you to make a 20-minute work detour for a trip to the hardware store – tape it up, reinforce it, and get back to work with a high-strength tape.

4) Keep a hammer hammering

Tools aren’t indestructible, and when they break you can lose money in delayed work if you don’t have a backup on site. If a hammer handle snaps or the head comes off mid-job, wrap it with an extra-strength duct tape to get you through the rest of the day.

5) Keep the paint flowing

Paint sprayers are a real time saver — until you accidentally puncture the hose. Instead of reaching for a brush or roller to finish the job, try wrapping the hose with multiple layers of a high-adhesive duct tape to help keep it sealed until you can pick up a new one.

6) Patch your truck’s interior

Contractors often reach for duct tape to patch holes in truck seats. But standard duct tapes tend to curl in extreme temperatures, moisture and constant wear. Reach for a stronger alternative like the original T-Rex® Tape, which won’t curl or peel even in extreme temperatures.

7) Unspring a sprung leak

A cracked, torn or ill-fitting vacuum hose is a recipe for a mess. Use a waterproof tape to patch it up, reinforce the connection of the hose to the main vacuum chamber, or, combined with caulk, even patch a crack in the chamber itself.

Instead of falling behind on your next project, reach into your toolkit for a professional grade tape. The repairs may not be permanent, but having a tape on hand as backup on the job site can help keep you on schedule and on budget.

We’ve all been there, so let us know some of the cool ways that you’ve used tape on the job.

An all new tape from the ground up. Milwaukee is promising zero tape tear and the best blade marking protection on the planet. Take a look behind the scenes at the 2018 New Product Symposium.

As we work out our first few installs of the the ADEY MagnaCleanse I wanted to share a few quick videos ProStaff’er Andy Mickelson has posted on his Instagram account. Andy has a older radiant system he’s been working on in Montana that has thousands of feet of Onyx tubing and some major corrosion with a terrible buildup of iron oxide within the heating solution.

The ADEY products; the MagnaClean magnetic filter, MagnaCleanse magnetic filter flush station and chemicals all work together to filter an entire hydronic system of efficiency-robbing elements. The magnetic sludge, as you’ll see in the short 60 second video posts can cause failure of system components such as circulators, valves, air eliminators and flow controls; depending on the type of heat-exchanger used at the heat source the debris can even cause total failure from restricted flow and over-heating. Please watch for future posts here on The Hub and our social media pages as I will be installing and using the ADEY products on some of my installs as well.