Safety??

[mingualez]

Probably a no brainer ? But thought I'd ask anyway. AC is a trade I have floated in and out of helping a couple of friends out from time to time over last few years. I have never used gloves when removing gauges. But recently in the current cold weather our gauges got stuck on, in short I got a nasty burn and blister as a result. Not having that again. So interested to know what gloves you guys recommend?

Ta

[Grizzly]

Ones that are on the hands of those that have been trained to the minimum legal standard.
And not those that "drift in and out of the trade"!
However if being kind and accepting that you are undergoing "training"!
Your suitably qualified trainer would advise you that whilst a fitting is frozen, there is a huge likelihood of liquid being present.
Remove the Liquid and you remove the frosting.
IE purge the lines before removing the fittings.
Grizzly

[monkey spanners]

What Grizzly said if your working on commercial stuff. If its air con with shrader connections you need some quick couplers on you lines or taps. I often wear car mechanics style gloves but they will not stop a freeze burn. Gloves that will stop a freeze burn will likely be too bulky to work with....

Also, you need an F-Gas ticket to work on refrigeration systems, you, your employer and customer are only escaping prosecution because no one offical knows what you are doing yet.

[still learning]

i use some cloth type gloves with a rubber coating on the outside around the fingers , have no idea what they are called or who makes them .
my bin man left his on my wall . they do the trick. you can get quite a bit of liquid gas on them, and still no burn . have to warm the hand up after, mind you .
band q or wickes type places ,a garden centre should have something .

[frank]

you can get quite a bit of liquid gas on them, and still no burn

An Oxymoron me thinks......

[kefah]

Probably a no brainer ? But thought I'd ask anyway. AC is a trade I have floated in and out of helping a couple of friends out from time to time over last few years. I have never used gloves when removing gauges. But recently in the current cold weather our gauges got stuck on, in short I got a nasty burn and blister as a result. Not having that again. So interested to know what gloves you guys recommend?

Ta

man you read my ideas
here photo of my burned hand because i don't wear gloves in work
Snap_2013.03.31_22h10m06s_001.jpg

[jdunc2301]

rubber type ones where the palm is rubber and the top of the glove is cloth...if i remember

[jdunc2301]

man you read my ideas
here photo of my burned hand because i don't wear gloves in work
Snap_2013.03.31_22h10m06s_001.jpg

oh....dear

[mingualez]

Thanks for 99% of replies. Just found out about alternative shrader connectors. We all know health and safety procedure, and most of us have cut corners. The reason I asked about gloves is that if a certain percent of glove is cloth, it is possible to old gas on skin for longer and create more of a burn.
I would suspect that rubber chemical gloves may be best??

As for Grizzly. Your comment about floating in and out. Bit nasty really! People do what they have to to earn a living. I removed gauges knowing what I was doing. 99.9% of hundreds of times removing gauges I have never suffered a burn.

[mingualez]

KEFAH, that looks sore man!! Ouch!!

[Brian_UK]

If going for 'rubber' type gloves then select nitrile if possible as they are more resistant to the oils. Trouble is they get slippy too.

[jdunc2301]

Thanks for 99% of replies. Just found out about alternative shrader connectors. We all know health and safety procedure, and most of us have cut corners. The reason I asked about gloves is that if a certain percent of glove is cloth, it is possible to old gas on skin for longer and create more of a burn.
I would suspect that rubber chemical gloves may be best??

As for Grizzly. Your comment about floating in and out. Bit nasty really! People do what they have to to earn a living. I removed gauges knowing what I was doing. 99.9% of hundreds of times removing gauges I have never suffered a burn.

quick couplers are also a good shout....

if your floating then make sure your f-gassed up.... unfortunately people doing what they have to to make a living can make our job/careers quite tricky as skilled and unskilled workers get dilluted

[install monkey]

387310_149602318480094_81509002_n.jpg
spotted this whilst working on site- apprentice/improver allowed to remove gauges, got the liq connection half undone and then burnt himself- his mate had to jump up and use mole grips to remove gauges- didnt see him top up the 1.5kg he lost

[stufus]

The two main things to consider here are knowledge and equipment.
1- You should have the knowledge to know how to boil off the liquid in the line prior to disconnecting.
2- You should have the right equipment for the task and it should be in good working order. IE- no leaks and set up correctly.
One of the biggest reasons for over release on disconnection is the depressor in the gauge line is to far out so the depressor remains engaged after the seal has been broken.
As mentioned quick couplers and tapped lines are good but the depressor position still applies.

Yes we all do what we have to do to survive , but in this industry the majority of us undergo the required training both for safety and legal compliance.
As we are all aware the ones who don't have the added expense of this training can cut the price on the job and the compliant person doing things by the book with the additional overheads cannot compete.
I believe this is what Grizzy was getting at and I for one fully agree with him.

Cheers
Stu

[Grizzly]

As for Grizzly. Your comment about floating in and out. Bit nasty really! People do what they have to to earn a living. I removed gauges knowing what I was doing. 99.9% of hundreds of times removing gauges I have never suffered a burn

But recently in the current cold weather our gauges got stuck on, in short I got a nasty burn and blister as a result.

The above contradicts your reply!
And is why I took the stance I did!
You will note that I was then trying to be fair!
However much I want everyone to benefit and earn a crust, some of us have to comply with more than others.
Hence my "mean" reply.
So do Gypsy's have to earn a living, but I don't condone the way they go about it.

I think you are very brave admitting that you have uncontrolled releases of refrigerant.
Which result in hands being blistered or burnt.
I don't take offence of your reasoning for asking your original question.
But your comment about floating in and out of the trade, implying that you are untrained.

Call me mean, but this is my way of earning a living and I cannot condone bad practises from whoever.

Grizzly

[The Viking]

WARNING!
The gloves with a rubberised palm/fingers and fabric on the rest of the hand is worse than useless when it comes to protect your hands against liquid refrigerant.

The fabric, wherever it is exposed be it on the back of your hand or where the rubber has cracked, will absorb the liquid refrigerant not only allowing it to burn you but also freezing the fabric and the glove (now saturated with liquid refrigerant) on to your skin making it impossible to remove until the whole lot evaporated and melted.

Yes, I also thought they were a good solution until the above happened to me

Nowadays I use a thin pair of all leather gloves whenever I work on refrigerants.


P.S. Mr Bear, I can't give you reputation points but I fully agree with your postings in this thread...

[monkey spanners]

Don't forget eye protection too...

[RusBuka]

))) Liquid ***** in face? Never)))

[kefah]

KEFAH, that looks sore man!! Ouch!!

its sore
its making me feel un rest for month
ouch

[r.bartlett]

its sore
its making me feel un rest for month
ouch

DSC00307.jpgDSC00316.jpgOh come on it's not that bad...

[kefah]

DSC00307.jpgDSC00316.jpgOh come on it's not that bad...

no man my photo was after month of the accident
my finger were look black

[jdunc2301]

DSC00307.jpgDSC00316.jpgOh come on it's not that bad...

ouch............

[jdunc2301]

Yes, I also thought they were a good solution until the above happened to me

Nowadays I use a thin pair of all leather gloves whenever I work on refrigerants.

Them your driving gloves?.....

[bigspee]

I just Use some oil resistant latex gloves and sometimes a pair of gripz over the top of them usually does the trick

[still learning]

that looks shocking .
i like what stufus said about depressors out too far.
i am lucky my boss man gives good kit.
i like the idea of the leather gloves too .