Tech Tips

I wrote this years ago, but now this feels like a season of tough decisions. I hope this helps. When you run a small business, you are called upon to make hundreds of decisions, both large and small, but sometimes, there comes a tough decision you REALLY don’t want to make. It’s times like these […]

This picture is from a recent call I ran that clearly had an interesting past. It had a condensate pump to pump the water just a few feet up to a drain that went to a common drain. The “cleanout” after the trap is supposed to be a vent, not a cleanout, which means it […]

Today, I ran a service call with another tech where the previous tech had diagnosed an intermittent piston restriction. I read the history beforehand. For the past several years, there were many assorted comfort complaints and a lot of minor charge adjustments in both the summer and winter. It is worth noting here that the […]

I've always opposed the practice of grabbing a hub puller as the first method of removing a blower. This video by Brad Hicks with HVAC in SC on YouTube demonstrates the exact method I use to safely remove a blower wheel without damaging anything. Thanks, Brad! Transcript What's going on, guys? Here's another 60-second tech […]

When working in a business with people, you have two options: 1. Become bitter as you experience people, life, and issues. 2. Grow from experiencing people, life, and issues. I’m not proud to say it, but I realize now that when I started my business and had bad experiences, I would run to option #1 […]

At the time of the publication of this article, COVID-19 (coronavirus) is spreading across the world at an alarming rate, and many people have self-quarantined to help slow or stop the spread of the virus. These precautionary measures are prudent and responsible. However, with the increased amount of time people spend inside their homes, there […]

Oxidation is the loss of electrons, reduction is the gain of electrons, and the reaction is what occurs between the two. When we talk about chemistry or chemical reactions, we are really talking about an electrical interaction between molecules seeking equilibrium. In other the words, the old “high voltage goes to low voltage” rule applies […]

Let's take a deeper dive into the magic that is gas defrost. Most techs who are familiar with heat pumps understand the basics of a gas defrost. When we apply this strategy to a larger system where we're only reversing a small part of the system, we need to add some controls and valves to […]

The amount of pressure you're under depends on where you live. I live in Florida, so I'm very close to sea level. Therefore, the weight of the atmosphere is exerting exactly 14.7 pounds per square inch (PSIA) of pressure on every surface in every direction. There is no such thing as negative pressure—only pressure lower […]