avatar
Matthew Bruner
Company name: Hearthstone Heating & Air
Position: Owner
Matt Bruner is a Texas-based HVAC technician and small business owner. He has 6 years of experience in the HVAC industry and has operated Hearthstone Heating & Air for a little over a year. He is a regular contributor to HVAC School.
No tags found

Followers:

+

Following:

+

Tech Tips written:

The Heating Sequence of Operations and Onions
Just like Shrek, I like to think about the heating sequence of operations as an onion—it has layers. And each layer builds upon the previous one. We have written previously in great detail about gas furnaces, from top to bottom. I want to focus today on why there is a sequence of operations and how […]
Read more
The Best (and Worst) Ways To Duct a Dehumidifier
There are a couple of really important things to understand when ducting a dehumidifier. Getting one or both of these things wrong can throw off your entire dehumidifier install. Instead of just telling you the different ways you can install a dehumidifier, let’s talk through some dehumidifier basics, which will help us understand why it’s […]
Read more
How To Do a Heat Maintenance That Actually Matters
I know I’m not the only one who has sometimes felt a little bad doing heat maintenance. I remember many a day when my lead technician and I (as an apprentice) would crawl into an attic, clean the flame sensor, and then play FarmVille on our phones for 15 minutes before crawling down, giving the […]
Read more

Event speaker:

The Challenges of Small Business – Roundtable
NOTE: If you cannot view the recording, the video may still be processing. The maximum wait time is 24 hours. We apologize for the delay and appreciate your patience.
Read more

Video guest:

Podcast guest:

Make Summer Work for You w/ Matt Bruner
   In this episode of the HVAC School podcast, host Bryan Orr welcomes Matt Bruner to discuss the concept of a “summer survival guide” for HVAC professionals. They explore strategies for maintaining work-life balance during the busy summer season and share personal experiences on prioritizing family and personal well-being while managing the demands of […]
Read more
Learning Outside the Box (Live Rebroadcast)
 This podcast episode is a live rebroadcast of a livestream with Craig Migliaccio (AC Service Tech) and Ty Branaman (love2hvac). It focuses on different types of learning and how to make the most out of learning experiences. The hosts discuss the differences between random learning, goal-driven learning, and forced learning. Random learning involves casually […]
Read more
Women in HVAC (Live Rebroadcast)
 This podcast brought together several women working in the HVAC industry to discuss their experiences and offer advice. The conversation focused on the positives of working in HVAC as a woman, the importance of community, and the resources available. The women talked extensively about how welcoming and supportive the HVAC community, and particularly HVAC […]
Read more

Posts Commented

The Wide-Narrow-Wide of Manual J
Starting to work on a Manual J load calculation can feel extremely overwhelming. How do we know what to focus on? What does normal look like? What if I’m way off on something and install way too big or small of a unit? On a practical level, what is the payback or value of spending […]
Read more
Sales: Techniques or Values?
“The very substance of our existing which has made us leaders in technique, stands as a barrier to any thinking which might be able to comprehend technique from beyond its own dynamism.” -George Grant The odd quote above takes some time to understand but has been rattling around in my brain for weeks now. George […]
Read more
What Changes Will You Soon See With the Shift to A2L Refrigerants?
This article was written by Don Gillis, the current Technical Training Manager at Chemours. Don was also involved in a popular symposium session about A2L refrigerants with Jason Obrzut and Dr. Chuck Allgood, which you can now watch for free on our YouTube channel HERE. Thanks, Don! We all know that the change to A2L […]
Read more
Plenum Takeoffs Best Practices
In my second year in HVAC, I went out with a senior technician to install a supply duct for a bathroom in a house. While he ran the duct, I cut a hole in the plenum and attached the collar. He crawled back across the attic and very nicely told me that people don’t typically […]
Read more
Residential AC Maintenance Process
I like processes. I especially like them in the HVAC profession because they give me confidence that I did the job correctly and save me time. When I’m following a process, I spend less time thinking about what I’m doing because my body and mind are trained by repetition. I particularly like processes that back-check […]
Read more
Understanding 240-Volt Circuits
It can be useful to think of a multimeter as a “voltage drop” tool. Bryan covers the concept here in an excellent class that I highly recommend. This concept was a big help to me as I began to truly learn how to use a multimeter.  A meter reads the voltage differential between two points. […]
Read more
Impacts of Decreasing Evaporator Airflow
Airflow, airflow, airflow… When we set up and commission comfort cooling and heating systems, we need to pay more attention to airflow before worrying about the fancy controls or the refrigerant circuit. One way to do that is by checking out Bill Spohn's Airflow 101 webinar on ESCO Group's learning network, which you can access […]
Read more
Diagnosing a Reversing Valve
Introduction Replacing a reversing valve is either every technician’s dream or nightmare. The sheer amount of brazing involved in confined spaces will inspire either delight or nightmares about the upcoming valve replacement. Fortunately, these emotional highs and lows are uncommon because we don’t diagnose and replace bad reversing valves very often.  That itself poses a […]
Read more
Furnace Air Temperature Rise
Every gas furnace data plate/tag has a specification for the temperature rise through that furnace. It is shown in a range like 50-80° or 45-75°. Those first two numbers are the lowest recommended temperature rise; the highest allowed temperature rise through the furnace is usually a 30° difference. When possible, we want to get the rise […]
Read more
What is a Micron?
To answer the question in the title, we use it as a measurement of pressure. REALLY, it is a measurement of distance. First, any scale CAN be used to measure vacuum (negative pressure) and positive pressure. The trick is knowing which is best suited for which and the size of the scale. Larger units of […]
Read more
Refrigerant Oil Basics
First, here's a quick summary of the role of oil in the refrigerant circuit: The compressor requires oil for the lubrication of the moving parts in the compressor. We would keep 100% of the oil in the compressor if we could. However, that is generally unrealistic. So, we need to utilize oils and oil strategies […]
Read more
Making a Flare – Quick Tips
This article is not a full lesson on making a flare, but it will give you some best practices to make a flare that doesn't leak. First off, we need to clarify that very few unitary manufacturers use flares anymore. You will most often find flares on ductless and VRF/VRV systems and in refrigeration. A […]
Read more
Our Best 3D Animated Videos
Over the past year, we have been adding 3D animations to our YouTube channel. It can be difficult to film everything we do in the field, so we've found 3D animations to be a helpful tool to show how parts work and how to do certain tasks. So far, we've uploaded nine 3D animations. This […]
Read more
Total External Static Pressure (TESP): A Basic Review
Probably the most popular measurement method for indirect airflow readings is total external static pressure (TESP). A dual-port manometer or two Bluetooth single-port manometers are essential to the HVAC technician toolbag. Here’s a quick review of TESP, why it’s important, and how to make the measurements. TESP is a pressure reading of the “balloon” pressure […]
Read more
How a Heat Pump Reversing Valve Works
If you don’t have a gas furnace or fireplace in your home, your unit’s reversing valve is probably your best friend during the winter months.  As their name suggests, reversing valves reverse the refrigerant flow to send the hot, compressed vapor to the indoor coil instead of the outdoor coil. The system releases heat into […]
Read more
Piston Design and Bypass
I remember it like it was yesterday. It was my first day of work as a trainee at my first technician job, just a wet-behind-the-ears kid fresh out of trade school. It was a Monday morning, and the technicians and I were standing in the dusty warehouse surrounded by stacks and stacks of brand new […]
Read more
What Should My Superheat Be?
  The most common—and often most frustrating—questions that trainers and senior techs get asked sound something like this: “What should my ______ be?” or “My _____ is at ______. Does that sound right?” Usually, when the conversation is over, both the senior and junior techs walk away feeling frustrated because the junior tech just wanted […]
Read more
Fan Blade Shroud Depth
When a system has abnormally high head pressure (high condensing temperature over ambient) and compression ratio, one of the easiest things to look for is a dirty condenser coil. More often than not, that will be the cause. However… There is another category of issues that can cause high condensing temperature (high head pressure), but these […]
Read more
Checking the Charge on a Heat Pump in the Winter
When you ask many people nowadays how to check the charge on a heat pump during low outdoor temps, they will say that you need to “weigh in and weigh out” the charge. While this may be an effective method, it isn't always practical. Now, if you are making a refrigerant circuit repair, weighing out […]
Read more
HVAC System Design & Load Calculation Course
Duct and system design are two of the BIGGEST needs among technicians, salespeople and contractors. Matt Milton has generously agreed to teach a small online mastermind class on design, load calculation, the math of the trade and much more. While this training may be at “no charge” it certainly isn't FREE. It will require a […]
Read more
How to Determine the Friction Rate for Residential Duct Design
This article is written by one of the smartest guys I know online, Neil Comparetto. Thanks, Neil! Recently, I posted a question in the HVAC School Group on Facebook that went like this: “When designing a residential duct system, what friction rate do you use?” As of writing this, only one answer was correct according […]
Read more
loading

To continue you need to agree to our terms.

The HVAC School site, podcast and tech tips
made possible by generous support from