This tip is brought to you by Theo Mac... Here's a tip for anyone who encounters issues with induced draft blower motors over heating due to coming in contact with the panel and burning out prematurely. This is the only fix, look at the piece of the door I held in my hand, you'll…

Tip: Check Your Crankcase Heaters By: Gary McCreadie It would be real hard for me to count the amount of times I have come across a tripped breaker or blown fuse due to a failed crankcase heater.  It makes sense though, a lot manufactures don't provide an auxillary contact or thermostat to cut its…

Tip: Checking Run Capacitors Under Load By Gary McCreadie Checking run capacitors under load is an alternative method to shutting down power to a system and checking in the traditional manner by using the uF (microfarad) setting on your meter.  I would always recommend checking capacitors with the power off, from a…

Rick Ruscigno CMHE Lincoln Technical Institute rruscigno@lincolntech.edu   The Hot & Cold of It Vol. 3 Why Pursue A Career In Skilled Trades?    College or Trade School? How many young folks have been told: “To get ahead in life you must have a degree”? As you reflect on that statement while standing in line at a coffee shop, have you ever…

Tip: No Oil Return, It Maybe Your Accumulator... By Gary McCreadie Having oil return problems?  It might be an issue with a plugged screen on your suction line accumulator.  If you are not aware, suction line accumulators are installed in series with the suction line to protect the compressor from liquid returning and…

Rick Ruscigno CMHE Lincoln Technical Institute mr.rickruscigno@gmail.com The Hot & Cold of It Vol. 2   HEAT In the refrigeration and air conditioning world we don't add cold, we remove heat! From childhood we are taught that heat equals hot, but the terms “hot” and “cold” are strictly for the purpose of describing comfort. Heat is…

Tip: Check Switches and Contactors for Continuity By Gary McCreadie A few years ago I had a re-occurring issue with a certain rooftop unit, each time I would cycle the power from the local disconnect, two of the three fuses would blow.  None of the loads within the unit were responsible for this…

Flir One Pro  By Gary McCreadie The Flir One Pro is a slick pocket sized thermal camera to be used with your mobile device, Android or iOS.  It comes complete with a carrying case and charger.  The device takes approximately one hour to completely charge and will give you approximately one hour…

HVACing Like A Boss By Gary McCreadie And Joshua Thompson As the HVAC Know It All wall of fame continues to grow,  I wanted seek out an “HVAC Boss” worthy of  prominence down the long and narrow hallway, where I continue to hang virtual plaques of HVAC greatness.  I canvassed my Facebook…

Tip: Nitrogen Tank and Gauge Precautions By Gary McCreadie This is a short tip but a very important one.  Nitrogen cylinders contain approximately 2200-2400 PSI of pressure, that kind of force can do some serious damage to a person or property.  Before attaching your nitrogen regulator to any cylinder, inspect the threads of…

Why Flame Rod Failures Happen and How to Prevent Them By:  Eric Shidell, HVAC Service Mentor A lot of HVAC service technicians learn early on that cleaning a flame sensor is a standard maintenance practice and that neglecting this basic task can lead to nuisance burner shutdowns and no heat calls.  Let’s look…

Azeotrope vs. Zeotrope By Gary McCreadie   After reading this article, check out a short podcast on this subject.   Do you understand your refrigerant? Do you listen to it, communicate with it... wipe it's tears when it's sad? Yah probably not, but it is important to understand some terminology, so you can understand your refrigerant's deepest,…

Don't Be Scared It's Only HVAC By Gary McCreadie   Thinking back to my early years in the HVAC trade, I realized that I made a fabulous amount of mistakes.  The cost of “Smoke Put-er Back In-ers,” were out of my price range as a struggling apprentice, so on many occasions I had…

It's A Man's World No More By Gary McCreadie When I think back to my years in pre-apprenticeship training until now, I can honestly admit that I can count the amount of females I have come across in the field on one hand.  Over the years though, I have noticed a small increase…

Carbon Tracking Explained By Gary McCreadie I was a second or third year apprentice working for a very knowledgeable boss and business owner.  At the time, he just happened to be the dispatcher, which was bitter sweet.  The bitter part, well, he was one hard ass dude that didn’t think twice about…

Tip: The King Valve Location By Gary McCreadie There is a common mistake that I hear from HVAC and refrigeration technicians.  “Hey man, can you front seat the compressor King valve.”  It grinds my gears a little, only because the King valve has one distinct address on a system.  The receiver outlet…

The Hot Gas Bypass Valve Explained By Gary McCreadie Hot gas bypass valves are a simple and very effective way to add a false load on an evaporator coil.  What is a false load you ask.  Well, as we have learned in the past, refrigerant pressures are directly related to the ambient…

Carbon Monoxide Testing and CO Action Limits! By:  Eric Shidell, HVAC Service Mentor Carbon Monoxide is an odorless, colorless poisonous gas that is a natural and common product of combustion of all kinds.  Most gas burning furnaces normally produce carbon monoxide as a part of their operation.  When all systems are operating…

Flame Rectification Explained                                                                          By Gary McCreadie A jittery pilot flame sits in a damp, poorly lit room.…

A Life Well Lived  By Steve Driver                                                                                         …