Tech Tips

This article was written by Christopher Molnar, a licensed Florida mechanical contractor. While I'm not personally a practitioner of the “check static every time” doctrine, I certainly appreciate Chris and his passion for this topic. Thanks, Chris! Why Check Static Pressures on EVERY call You wouldn't go to the doctor’s office and walk away without […]

You may not know this, but the HVAC School podcast began before the website. When I started the podcast, I never intended to create a website, but there was more demand for quick tech tips than the podcast could hold. So, we started hvacrschool.com. In the same way, I never set out to create a […]

Photo by Brad Hicks at HVAC in SC Right off the top, let me state something loud and clear: The tool does not make the tech. Let that sink in before you move on. A good tech has a solid understanding of WHY they are doing what they are doing, the basic math of the […]

For those of you who follow the podcast, you know how excited I am about the new MeasureQuick app and what it will do to help technicians make better measurements and diagnoses. The app is NOW AVAILABLE on Android and will be available within hours on iOS (Apple). To find out more and to download, […]

Make the most of those expensive refrigerant hoses.

When evacuating, the FASTEST way is to use two large-diameter hoses connected to two core removal tools and the cores removed. These hoses are then connected to the pump using a tee or evacuation “tree.” However, when you only have one large hose, another acceptable method is to connect the large hose to the suction […]

This is a video tech tip from our friend Brad at HVAC in SC. In this video, Brad demonstrates that using a cap off of a refrigerant tank on a system can depress the Schrader core on the system in some cases. Make sure to use proper caps that have seals or brass flare cones. […]

I don't do much in the way of “rack” refrigeration. However, I recently had a conversation with experienced rack refrigeration tech Jeremy Smith, and he got me thinking about EPR valves. I've heard EPR (evaporator pressure regulator) valves called suction regulators or hold back valves. In essence, they hold back against the suction line to […]

The title says it all. It should be one of the first things you learn when you started. However, I have seen a lot of experienced techs who seldom (if ever) do it. When connecting to a tank, purge your hose by cracking the center connection at the manifold for a second. When connecting to […]