Spotted a neat trick at a refinery shutdown in Baton Rouge

I was down in Baton Rouge last month for a week-long turnaround and noticed one of the older guys using a magnetic angle finder to check his tube alignment on a heat exchanger. He said it saved him from having to crawl under the unit with a level every 10 minutes. I grabbed one from the truck for 15 bucks and it's already paid off on two different jobs. Anyone else use magnets to speed up layout work?

3 comments

3 Comments

wade_perez17d ago

Man I feel that last line about dropping markers into insulation, I swear my tools are magnetized more from crawling around in attics chasing dropped stuff than anything else. I tried the magnet on the marker trick once and ended up sticking the marker to the side of a duct I was working on, forgot about it, and it's probably still there in some unsuspecting homeowner's crawlspace.

cameron42617d ago

Had a buddy who used a magnetic string level to mark pipe runs in a tight ceiling crawlspace. He said it saved him from having to hold a regular level with one hand and mark with the other while sweating bullets. He glued a small magnet to the back of his marker too so he could just stick it to the pipe when he needed both hands. The whole setup cost him maybe 20 bucks and he still uses it two years later. No more dropping markers into the insulation, ha.

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abby_robinson5813d agoMost Upvoted

You know @cameron426, I used to think magnetic levels were just a gimmick, but hearing about your buddy's setup actually changed my mind. I've been in enough tight crawlspaces to know every second counts when you're trying not to knock your head or lose your balance. That magnet on the marker trick is genius too, I've lost way too many pens in insulation myself. Might have to copy his whole $20 rig next time I'm sweating it out under a house.