When most of us think about tools of the trade, a few main ones come to mind: manifold, multimeter, vacuum pumps, recovery machines… the list goes on. One that may NOT come up nearly as often as it probably should is the thermal imaging camera.  A few symposiums ago, Bill Spohn and Eric “Elk” Kaiser […]

Evaporator coil leaks are a fact of life in the industry. (We could have a long and lively discussion about how evap coils aren’t made like they used to be, but that’s for another day.) When you have an evaporator leak on a system, you’ll have two choices to fix the problem: replace the coil […]

In the furnace sequence of operation, the ignition sequence happens after the safeties have been checked, the inducer fan comes on, and the pressure switch closes. The ignition sequence begins with the ignitor. This part provides the heat needed for combustion (remember: a fire needs heat, oxygen, and fuel), and the ignition process looks a […]

Eric Mele, Eric Kaiser, and John Oaks come on the podcast to talk about commercial PM best practices and what matters most. Drain cleaning is a critical part of the standard commercial PM. You must assess the drainage situation (pitch, length, location, etc.) to plan your cleaning strategy and arrive at the best result: the […]

In today's podcast, I talk to John Oaks about his experience as a VRF tech in the field, including branch boxes and two-pipe vs. three-pipe technology. John primarily works on the troubleshooting and service side rather than the installation and programming side of the field. Variable refrigerant flow (VRF) systems, also called VRV systems when […]