Tech Tips

With Father's Day passing recently, I have been reflecting on my relationship with my Dad and how he has helped shape my journey through HVAC. It is more common than not to find people in residential HVAC to be a second or even third-generation tradesperson. Deciding to get into trade is easy when you grow […]

This tech tip is a companion piece to a recent podcast with Kevin Hart from HAVEN. We’ve already had some record-breaking heat here in Florida, and that’s translated to an overwhelming number of calls. We know our HVAC brethren in other areas have been working their tails off all the same.  Going without air conditioning […]

It’s easy to see yourself as a hero during the summer months. Desperate families in sweltering houses sing your praises after you quickly swap out that capacitor or install that new unit and the first blast of cold air comes out of the vents. Most companies make or break in the summer months, using the […]

This is a quick tip from the “Expansion Valves – What Does and Doesn't Matter?” livestream on our YouTube channel featuring Joe Shearer, Matthew Taylor, and Corey Cruz. Thermostatic expansion valves (also known as TXVs or TEVs) don’t have little brains that tell them when to open or close to maintain a specific superheat. They […]

This is a quick tip from the “Expansion Valves – What Does and Doesn't Matter?” livestream on our YouTube channel featuring Joe Shearer, Matthew Taylor, and Corey Cruz. As metering devices, TXVs can adjust the size of their orifice to maintain a constant superheat. Some TXVs are set to maintain a specific superheat from the […]

This is a quick tech tip derived from a short podcast episode in response to a question by one of our viewers, Gunther. You can listen to that episode HERE. If you would like to submit a question for the podcast, you can submit a voice recording on Speakpipe at https://www.speakpipe.com/hvacschool.   Restaurants are commercial facilities […]

I’m installing the HVAC system for a house that is being completely gutted. It has vaulted ceilings throughout, and a small attic area was designated for mechanicals. The duct system can’t go in the attic because there basically isn’t one. The engineer intended the equipment to go in the attic mechanical space, and then the […]

This is a quick tip from the “Expansion Valves – What Does and Doesn't Matter?” livestream on our YouTube channel featuring Joe Shearer, Matthew Taylor, and Corey Cruz. It’s time to talk about brazing again! Even though rehashing “flow nitrogen” and “use a wet rag” gets a little old, bad TXVs and callbacks also get […]

There are several neighborhoods in my area with two—and three-story townhomes with zoning, and I always wonder how long those systems will survive. Zoning can be notoriously hard on HVAC equipment if not set up properly. A single-stage system running full tilt with half the airflow it was designed for because a zone is closed […]