Evaporator temperatures below 32° are common and acceptable in refrigeration; that's why there is a defrost sequence. In a heat pump running in heat mode, it's the same; freezing is a part of the process, and defrost is necessary. In comfort cooling, we can't allow the evaporator to get below 32°, or it will freeze. […]

When brazing and soldering, we have a few things we need to accomplish to make a proper connection: We can't overheat the joint until it overheats the base metal or the flux where applicable. We must bring the entire joint above the melting temperature of the brazing alloy. Draw the alloy deep into the joint. […]

Since I started in the trade, we would take discharge line temperature in the winter on a heat pump system. You can easily check the discharge line in the winter, while suction superheat and even subcool can be more difficult to access. The old-timers who trained me would say that the discharge temp will be […]