As with most other trades, HVAC/R technicians need to have a solid set of hard skills to make it in the industry. Whether we pick up those hard skills by working on cars as teenagers, learning them in a trade school, or acquiring them on the job, we’ll have to rely on our hard […]

I once had an old commercial blower assembly on a 20-ton package unit, and the bearings and pulleys were seriously shot. I was 19 or 20, and as much as I tried, I just couldn't get the rusted hunk of metal apart. I tried penetrating oil, pullers, pry bars… I knew better than to beat […]

This article is part 4 of a 5-part series on troubleshooting by Senior Refrigeration and HVAC tech Jeremy Smith Ok, so we've got our data scribbled and scratched out on paper. Maybe a bit of grease, dirt, and oil, too, if you're doing things right—blood if you're doing it wrong. Now, time to take a […]