Along the path to becoming a great HVAC technician lies the dreaded wiring diagram. It's meant to be a helpful map of the equipment's electrical system, but with its crisscrossing lines and cryptic symbols, it often feels more like a barrier than a guide. If this sounds familiar, you're not alone. But what if you […]

Industry data shows that up to 40% of compressors returned under warranty have no fault found. Technicians often blame the compressor when another component is the root cause. This checklist is designed to help you definitively confirm compressor failure, saving time, money, and unnecessary replacements. Let's make sure it's truly bad before we cut it […]

This tech tip was written by Eric Kaiser from TruTech Tools. Thanks, Eric! Filling refrigerant recovery cylinders is a task HVACR technicians perform regularly, but figuring out how much refrigerant to safely put into a cylinder can still be confusing. The challenge almost always comes back to refrigerant density or specific gravity. Specific gravity, also […]

Andrew Greaves joins us again from AHR 2020. This time, he discusses what mentors and role models do in our trade and why they're important. Mentors are not just the grouchy senior techs who throw hammers at apprentices. Mentors have an active role in others' professional development; they spend a lot of time with their […]

Andrew Greaves comes on the podcast to give us a sneak peek into the life of a tool manufacturer. Andrew has worked in the field for a long time and has recently begun working for NAVAC. He currently works as a regional manager who oversees operations in 24 states; his main task is to establish […]

In this simultaneously heavy and lighthearted discussion, Bryan Orr and Andrew Greaves discuss ego, Dunning-Kruger, insecurity, and apprenticeship in the trades. In the early days, apprenticeships were quite different from the way they are today. One-on-one mentorship used to be a much more significant component of early apprenticeships, but that style of training is uncommon […]