Dan Riggs

When tightening down a blower wheel or a fan blade on a motor shaft, ONLY tighten it on the flat of the shaft. That flat is machined into the shaft on purpose. It gives the set screw a face to bite into instead of a curve to slide off of. On most residential motors, it […]

How does a typical single-phase motor know how fast to run? Typical induction motors depend on the electrical cycle rate of the incoming power (measured in hertz) for their speed. Our power in the US makes one complete rotation from positive electrical peak to positive peak 60 times per second, or 60hz (50hz, or 50 […]

Relays can be used for many different control applications, including controlling fans, blowers, other relays, contactors, valves, dampers, pumps, and much more. A 90-340 is a very common, versatile relay that many techs have on their truck, so we will use it as an example. A relay is just a remotely controlled switch that opens […]

 In this short podcast, Ruchir Shah and Dan Riggs from SkillCat talk about how to make online training that does not suck! They talk about how to develop training that is relevant to the trades and can be applied in real-world trade work. The skill gap is widening in the trades, especially as shortages […]