Tech Tips

This tech tip is based on the podcast with Joey Henderson, “Using Refrigerant Troubleshooting Charts w/ Joey Henderson.” You can listen to that podcast HERE. The HVAC trade is very much a visual one; I wouldn’t recommend doing a drinking game where you take a shot each time you read “Do a thorough visual inspection” […]

Courtesy of Copeland The design goal of most modern compressors is to make them more efficient and better able to match loads, hopefully without reducing ruggedness. The Copeland Scroll Digital™ or digital scroll is one compressor design that has become very popular due to its simplicity and versatility. But before we go further, let's define […]

Suppose you have two extension cords. One is a nice, thick #10 50′ cord with good ends, and the other is a crappy #14 25′ cord. Unfortunately, you need to connect them both to get to your drill 75′ away. Which do you connect to the plug, and which to the drill? Come up with […]

This tech tip is based on a segment of a recent podcast episode with Joey Henderson, “Using Refrigerant Troubleshooting Charts w/ Joey Henderson.” You can listen to that podcast HERE. Credit: efficientcomfort.net If you’ve seen a superheat charging chart (like the one above), you’ll notice that you need to take the dry-bulb (DB) temperature entering […]

This tech tip was heavily informed by Ed Janowiak’s past symposium presentations. You can watch his presentation about setting proper airflow HERE. You can also now purchase your tickets for the 6th Annual HVACR Training Symposium HERE. HVAC School was founded by a Floridian—representing Climate Zone 2, to be exact. So, it’s no surprise that […]

A friend of mine was telling me that a utility had the idea that they could reduce energy consumption by turning HVAC equipment on and off rapidly during times of high load. In their minds, wouldn't it be better to spread out the off time rather than keeping the system off for longer periods and […]

Assessing the Situation It is fairly common for a service technician to come across a failed condenser fan motor in the field. It doesn’t matter if we are talking about really old or fairly new equipment—condenser fan motors sometimes fail. The issue is deciding whether to use an OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) or a universal […]

This tech tip was written by Dr. Chuck Allgood with Chemours. Thanks, Dr. Chuck! While the ever-evolving world of refrigerants can often seem overwhelming with what seems like a never-ending parade of new gases being developed, taking a simplified approach may help clear the clutter. It can be as easy as A, B, C—that is, […]

This tech tip was written by Casey Contreras. Casey is a field coach and instructor for the National Comfort Institute (NCI). Thanks, Casey! As HVAC technicians, our careers often focus on either cooling or heating. Because of this split view, we typically ignore gas-fired appliances during the cooling season. There are dangers lurking in any […]