I hear many techs complain about the finicky and ineffective nature of electronic leak detection—so much so that some claim that it is a waste of time altogether. We recently located a leak inside the fins of a ductless evaporator coil—pinpointed to an exact spot—using an electronic leak detector. For demonstration purposes, we took that […]

In a previous article, we covered the standard way to check capacitors under load. I am now going to give you an even easier test. A properly functioning PSC (permanent split capacitor) or CSCR (capacitor start capacitor run) motor should have a power factor of very close to 1 if they have a properly sized […]

I bought a crappy old house built in the 1920s a few years into my marriage. There were so many things wrong with it. Water intrusion, leaking pipes, roots in the sewer line… on and on. But it was our house, and we loved it. One issue was that the water heater was tiny, and […]