An interview with the guy
About Madison
Innovations
(it’s me).
A self-interview, because there’s
nobody else to ask.
Q.
So what is Madison Innovations?
A.
Specialty HVAC tools, 3D-printed by a working tech. Four shipping today, more in design. Backed by The Pledge — tools that work, or I make it right. One guy. One shed. That’s the whole company.
Q.
And who exactly are you?
A.
Tyler Madison. Fifteen years in HVAC: started in building automation, then switched to mechanical startup and service (normally the other way around), and now in technical support. By day a tech support hotline and technical instructor; by night an inventor and maker.
Q.
Wait — Madison Innovations is named after you?
A.
Yeah. Madison is my last name, not the city. People assume Wisconsin. I'm in Washington.
Q.
Why does every tool end in “Thing”?
A.
The first one needed a name. I'd been calling it the “Refrigerant Pipe OD tool,” which is descriptive but reads like a part number. “VRF Pipe Thing” was a placeholder that stuck. Once I had a second product, I leaned into it.
Q.
Where do you actually make these?
A.
A storage shed on my property that I converted into a workshop and makerspace. Dug a trench, ran wiring out from the house, insulated it, and built out the bench. My house didn't come with a garage; the shed turned out better than a garage would have.
Q.
Why 3D-printed and not injection-molded?
A.
Small batches and constant tweaks. The VRF Pipe Thing is on its ninth revision. If I switched to injection molding, the design would freeze the day I bought the tooling — and the tooling itself would cost a small fortune. I'd rather keep improving the tool than save a few cents per unit.
Q.
You've never even worked on a ReliaTel. Why make a tool for one?
A.
I saw a problem on a forum, realized nobody had solved it cleanly, and wanted the design challenge. The ReliaTel Test Mode Thing was my first project with surface-mount components, sourced PCBs, and design-for-manufacturability. Techs finding it useful is the bonus.
Q.
What's the deal with the “Founder's Edition” EEV Thing?
A.
A small Founder's batch on the current Shopify site within a week, to fund the next round of design revisions and the second production run. The full launch follows this summer. If you want one of the first ones — and don't mind they came from prototype #1 — keep an eye out.
Q.
What's coming after the EEV Thing?
A.
Depends what I run into in the field and what someone emails me about. I'm always working on something. If you have an idea for a Thing that would make your job easier, send it over — half the catalog came from techs saying “someone should make this.”
Q.
Can I suggest a Thing?
A.
Please. If you have an idea, email me. Best case it becomes a product. Worst case I learn something.
Q.
Where do you ship from?
A.
From the shed in Renton, WA. Every package is packed and labeled by me. If your order shows up wrong, you'll be emailing the guy who packed it.
The shop, in numbers
15
years in HVAC
4
Things shipping
1
guy (Tyler)
0
venture capital
The arc, roughly:
3 yr building automation → 4½ yr commercial startup & service → 8 yr technical support (current) + instructor.
got a Thing
I should make?
I read every email. Ideas, complaints, photos of my tool in the wild — send it all.
browsing instead?
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Free web utilities for Mitsubishi VRF at vrftools.com →