John Pastorello

When I started in the trade in 1999, there were still many oilable blower motors in service. As part of the maintenance, we would remove the housing and oil the motor. We would also vacuum the motor and wipe it down. Before you pull the blower, shut off the power at the breaker or disconnect, […]

I’ve always opposed the practice of grabbing a hub puller as the first method of removing a blower. The video below by Brad Hicks with HVAC in SC on YouTube demonstrates the exact method I use to safely remove a blower wheel without damaging anything. Thanks, Brad! The Steps Kill the power. Pull the blower […]

Put three good tradespeople in front of the same problem, and you may see three different kinds of enthusiasm. One wants to understand why the system behaves that way. Another wants to get the failed part out and make the repair. The third is already thinking about the layout, access, and details that will make […]

 In this short podcast episode from AHR Expo 2026, Bryan sits down with John Pastorello for a discussion about the latter’s lifetime of HVAC/R. John was a chemist and an HVAC technician before founding Refrigeration Technologies in 1987, and he received the HVAC Tactical Lifetime Achievement Award in 2026. Prior to entering the trade, […]

John Pastorello from Refrigeration Technologies joins us to talk about testing oil and refrigerant for contamination. He also explains what each test is good for. John developed the Checkmate testing kit when he recognized a need to test reclaimed and recycled R-12 for acid and moisture. The Checkmate method removed a small amount of refrigerant […]

John Pastorello from Refrigeration Technologies is back on the podcast to talk about leak detection procedures from start to finish. Big Blu was what started the Refrigeration Technologies empire. John developed Big Blu to create a bubble leak detector with a higher sensitivity to leaks than any other bubble test solution on the market. Big […]