I'm not sure who first started calling evaporator coil odors “dirty sock syndrome,” but I really wish they hadn't. Nowadays, every tech out there can't help but categorize every odor from the system as “dirty sock syndrome,” and customers just LOVE to hear that they have a “syndrome” named after a dirty locker room smell. […]

There is a lot of misunderstanding about the HSO (hard shut-off) or “non-bleed” TXV (thermostat expansion valve) and what makes it shut off, why it exists, and how it “magically” opens. Once you understand the forces inside the valve, it is quite simple, obvious, and sadly devoid of any magic. The Three Forces  The TXV […]

A good leak detector is a big investment and one of the more important tools a tech has on the truck. I've had the same leak detector for years, and I've replaced everything on it, from sensors to pumps to the probe. And no, the one shown above isn't mine. One thing that I have […]