Minus 60 degrees Fahrenheit to 200 degrees Fahrenheit is the operating temperature window of the Safety Orange DuraSquirt® Formula found in Squirter® DTIs (Direct Tension Indicators). As an experiment, the Applied Bolting Technology® team froze them on dry ice until they reached minus 53 degrees and baked them at 200 degrees to prove they still work in extreme conditions. Plus, on real job sites, Squirter® DTIs have properly functioned at minus 40 degrees in Alaska, USA, Fort McMurray, Canada, and Sakhalin Island, Russia. They also worked in the deserts of the Middle East and Southern California, where it was 110 degrees, meaning the steel surfaces rose to 140 degrees.
Squirter® DTIs Frozen on Dry Ice
Why does the Safety Orange DuraSquirt® Formula not seem to work when temperatures go below freezing?
DTIs are mini load cells that function independently of torque. They are hardened, washer-shaped devices incorporating small arch-like protrusions on the bearing surface. These protrusions are designed to compress as the structural bolt is tensioned.
Squirter® DTIs emit Safety Orange DuraSquirt® Formula when the bumps are compressed by the bolt being tensioned. If the bolts haven’t been tensioned, the Squirter® DTIs will not emit DuraSquirt® Formula, no matter how much torque is applied.
When Squirter® DTIs do not indicate in cold weather, they are still working. They are just indicating that the minimum required bolt tension has not yet been achieved. This commonly occurs with pneumatic wrenches when condensation in the air supply freezes, reducing torque output.