#boilers

Tech Tips:

Principles Of Troubleshooting: Seeing the Big Picture

If you’ve been in this trade for any length of time, I’m sure you’ve run into situations that have left you scratching your head. If you’re lucky enough, you have the ability to call a senior tech, service manager, or company owner to bail you out of this situation. But have you ever run into […]

Boiler Basics Part 2 – Components

This article is the second in a series on boiler basics by senior boiler tech Justin Skinner. Thanks, Justin. There are many types of boilers that do many different things, but almost all of them have some of the same basic components. It's partially because regulatory agencies require them, and other times, it's because they […]

Boiler Basics Part 1 – Types and Components

This series of articles is written by senior boiler tech (and all-around swell guy) Justin Skinner. Thanks, Justin. There are quite a few different types of boilers out in the world. They come in all shapes, sizes, pressures, and types of fuel burned. I'm going to go over some of the more common ones, their […]

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HVAC School – For Techs, By Techs

Real training for HVAC ( Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration) Technicians. Including recorded tech training, interviews, diagnostics and general conversations about the trade.

In this podcast, Bryan Orr and Bert discuss various aspects of pool heaters, focusing on issues that make them different from typical HVAC systems. They cover the basics of pool heaters – the main types (heat pumps and gas heaters) and how they operate similarly or differently from things HVAC techs work on regularly.

The bulk of the 45-minute podcast looks at common service and troubleshooting situations with pool heaters, which are usually installed by pool contractors initially and not HVAC contractors. Bryan and Bert talk through typical causes of common error codes and problems like units frequently going out on high pressure. They cover water flow issues and the role of pressure versus flow switches, the sizing and limitations of heat pumps, low ambient operation challenges, freeze protection, and proper refrigerant charging. There is also a good amount of discussion on gas pool heaters – frequent component failures due to heat and corrosion issues, piping considerations due to their large BTU capacity, and combustion troubleshooting basics.

Throughout the casual discussion, both hosts interject humor and personal stories related to their dealings with pool heater equipment, clients, and installations over the years. The overall message is that while heat pumps and gas pool heaters have some specialized considerations, much of the core knowledge needed to service them comes from foundational HVAC systems understanding combined with an awareness of the unique aspects covered in detail during this episode.

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