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                                                                                         …

A Christmas On Call                                                                                             …

Tip: Protecting Tools and Electrical Components  By Gary McCreadie A few years ago I was running into economizer control board issues.  The boards were corroding as a result of sitting in the outdoor air stream.  I was changing them yearly in some cases.  Yes, if you are able to install the control…

Tip: Five Minutes To Be A Better Tech By Gary McCreadie This tip is brought to you by my advanced refrigeration instructor.  He repeated weekly, "the difference between a good technician and a bad one is five minutes."  How is that possible?  The intended message was to differentiate between the tech that spends an…

Tips For The New On Call Tech By Brian Flesch I will start off with a bit of my background, I have been a service technician in the commercial and industrial side of things for about 11 years now and somethings have just stuck with me that I picked up from senior technicians.…

It’s Sunday night, the snow is falling gently at a steady pace in my small town just north of Toronto.  Something in the air has triggered my mind to re-conjure up images of HVAC and trade related tattoos, actually that’s complete bullshit, I purposely sat down to write this article.  It really is snowing though….

A few months back in My HVAC Hub powered by HVAC Know It All, my private discussion group on Facebook, I asked a question for fun.  “If you won the lottery, would you continue to work in the industry?”  Perhaps not the exact wording, but something pretty close.  I received…

Most of us have heard the statement, Work Smarter, Not Harder before. So, what does that mean in a residential HVAC service business?  1)    Take the shortest route to the call? 2)    Make sure your truck is stocked with the right parts before you head out for the day 3)    Pack your lunch…

Rick Ruscigno CMHE Lincoln Technical Institute mr.rickruscigno@gmail.com The Hot & Cold Of It Vol 1 First Impressions We are all familiar with the saying, “don’t judge a book by its cover,” but the truth is you will in fact be judged within your first seven seconds of an encounter. A first impression is formulated by at…

Tip: Raise Refrigerant Tank Pressure For Easier Charging In Cold Weather  By Gary McCreadie If you work in an area of the world where winters are harsh, then you have probably experienced difficulty charging a system due to low refrigerant tank pressure.  Refrigerant tank pressure is directly related to the ambient temperature…

Pulling a proper vacuum is vital to the operation and longevity of any refrigeration or cooling system.  Moisture and other contaminants that are not removed can wreak havoc on system internals over time and can cause premature failures.  Lets go through the steps of pulling a proper vacuum.   1.    Start…

I am very excited to post this blog, Steve is the first official guest blogger at hvacknowitall.com.  Apprentices pay attention, thanks Steve!  If you are interested in contributing in any way shoot me an email gary@hvacknowitall.com.  Happy HVACing!   The Do's & Don’ts of an HVAC apprentice By Steve Wiggins The night before his first…

Tip: Carry Your Own CO Detector By Gary McCreadie Safety, as always should be at the forefront of each and every job.  It is very easy to become complacent and take safety measures for granted.  CO (carbon monoxide) is produced during the incomplete combustion of carbon.  In small amounts, it can cause…