Tech Tips

This article was written by Austin Higgins, an experienced commercial service tech from Iowa. Thanks, Austin! Ice machines and limescale Any seasoned refrigeration technician knows that ice machines can be extremely finicky contraptions. Modern commercial ice makers have become a complex symphony of tubing, valves, pumps, and water directed by advanced microprocessor control boards. Newer […]

This is a business article I wrote several years ago. No hard-hitting tech tips, but I still hope you find it beneficial. “What would you do if you had a time machine.?” It’s a question that came up at least 17 times in your first week of 6th grade, answered with the typical “kill Hitler” […]

Jesse Grandbois is one of the techs who reads the tech tips, and he wrote a few tips that he wanted to share on some gas furnace control basics. This tip is about the basic terminal designations on a typical 24v gas valve. Thanks, Jesse! Have you ever noticed the TH/TR terminal on a gas […]

This article was written by up-and-coming young tech and new contributor Kaleb Saleeby. Thanks, Kaleb! Recently, I came across a work order description in my dispatch that made me scratch my head. Clean Salamander broiler I had to ask the omniscient Google for answers. It turns out it has nothing to do with vividly-colored, “fireproof” […]

Dissimilar metals, like aluminum, copper, brass, and steel, are some of the main metals one may experience in their trade, and few people are comfortable working with dissimilar metals. They don’t trust their brazed joint, or they are afraid of melting away material. To put some of the nerves of those in the field at […]

This article is written by tech and business owner Genry Garcia from South Florida. I met Genry at a Solderweld demonstration, and he later offered to write this excellent article. Thanks, Genry! Though dehumidifiers have increased in popularity, thanks in part to the implementation of new building codes, they have become a kind of red-haired […]

This article is written by Sal Hamidi, founder of Productsbypros.com, an innovative manufacturers representative agency that promotes great HVAC/R products through training and media. You can reach Sal at Sal@productsbypros.com.   If we are going to discuss vacuum pump oil, it's important to understand what it is first. Most HVAC application vacuum pumps are rotary […]

This article was written by longtime contributor and RSES CM Jeremy Smith. Thanks, Jeremy! Nitrogen doesn’t absorb moisture like many techs think that it does, and I think that we, as technicians, need to reevaluate the reasons for the “triple evacuation” process. OK. Hold on, now. Put down the pitchforks and torches, and give me […]

Does heating the air cause the humidity in the air to decrease? Yes and no. Heating air causes the RELATIVE humidity percentage to decrease, but it does not change the overall moisture content in grains of moisture per lb of air. Many old-timers will swear a blue blaze that oversizing a furnace will directly result […]