VRF Pipe Thing

We had a job coming up where the original installer had mis-sized a lot of refrigerant piping, and we needed to document every wrong pipe in the building — hundreds of pipes across a dozen outdoor units.

My old method was a crescent wrench wrapped around the pipe, held against the tiny ruler in the back of my notepad. Workable for a pipe here and there. Not workable for hundreds.

I had just started 3D printing. I sat down with CAD software and designed the first version of this — a single push-through tool that snaps onto the line and tells you the size in a few seconds. We got through the job.

A coworker wanted one. Then his shop wanted a stack. Now they’re for sale.

Single push-through.

Push onto the pipe until it snaps into place. Single notch, no back-and-forth between cutouts. Covers 1/4″ through 1 5/8″.

Labels you can read.

Sizes are printed into the plastic — dark on light, light on dark. Readable in a dim mechanical room or on a sunny roof.

No batteries. No screen.

Light, pocketable, and always ready. Hangs off a tool bag or lives on your dash.