I walked into a supply house the other day and looked at a “universal” expansion valve on the shelf. The friendly guy behind the counter saw me and walked over. After saying hello, he said: “That's a great valve; it's even balanced port.” Now, I am a bit of a troublemaker. I should have […]

We had a situation a few months back where we needed to monitor amperage on a grocery store panel over a period of time. The trouble was that we needed data-logging capability AND accurate measurement at 600+ amps. Finding an all-in-one solution proved to be quite expensive. Luckily, my friend Jim Bergmann happens to own […]

Here's the first question: Does it really matter if the speed taps on a motor are run or common? Well, yes… sort of. In some cases, it helps to identify if you're dealing with an open winding or an open thermal overload. The thermal overload breaks common, but you will still read a path between […]