In this episode Bryan speaks with Jim Bergmann about his path to being a test instruments business owner. we talk about –
– The Challenges in the past with poor quality instruments
– Enthalpy calculations
– The Future of test instruments and readings
– Taking readings with a pitot tube
As always if you have an iPhone subscribe HERE and if you have an Android phone subscribe HERE
In this video we cover the basics of using the Testo 510i with a pitot tube to do a duct traverse and easily calculate Velocity in FPM and volume in CFM on a small 8″ duct. Using this method is handy because you can use the reliable, accurate and inexpensive 510i to perform the measurement without any other equipment other than tubes and a pitot tube.
As stated in the video, a pitot tube is best (most accurately) used in the following conditions –
For more information see the following links –
TruTech Tools Traverse Quick Chart
TruTech Measuring with a pitot tube
Video on the performance of a rectangular time average traverse
You’ve probably heard the famous last words “Dude, watch this” before a concussion, burn, shock, broken bones or some other bodily harm. This phrase has become synonymous with young guys doing something dumb to impress their friends.
Technicians have two common phrases that may not lead to bodily harm (although sometimes it might) and they are –
“That’s Good Enough” and “That’s Normal”
Pulling a vacuum for 30 minutes without a micron gauge and then “That’s good enough”.
Doing a standing pressure test and the pressure keeps dropping JUST A LITTLE and “That’s normal”.
Running a 0 superheat and “That’s normal” followed by some made up reason about this particular equipment, or load conditions.
I have heard lot’s of made up explanations over the years… some of them out of my own mouth and almost all of them being used as a justification for something being good enough or normal.
Don’t misunderstand, normal and good enough are both real concepts, but they need to be backed by deep understanding of the equipment you are working on (have you read the entire installation instructions and / or service manual?) and the readings you are taking (Do you understand what they mean, why you are taking them and how your test instruments / tools work?).
If you can’t follow it up with “It’s normal because…..” or “That’s good enough because….” with a real answer, not a made up reason, then you need to keep working.
This is a journey for all of us, but stop for one second and be honest with yourself. When you get frustrated, short on time or feel in over your head… Do you ever use these phrases? If so, congratulations. You are in an elite group of techs willing to admit what you don’t know.
Now repeat after me…
“I will no longer make excuses for what I don’t understand, I will stop and work to understand what is actually going on until I have it mastered”
— Bryan
P.S. – Sorry for the repeat after me thing… It’s a bit too much, but this whole article is nerdy as heck so I figured I would just take it all the way.
Some quick basics –
An Ohmmeter is used to measure the resistance to electrical flow between two points. The Ohmmeter is most commonly used to check continuity. Continuity is not a “measurement” as much as it is a yes / no statement. To say there is continuity is to say that there is a good electrical path between two points. To say there is no continuity means there is not a good electrical path.
In other words, continuity means low or zero ohms and no continuity means very high or infinite ohms. Don’t get the terms zero ohms and infinite ohms confused, they mean opposite things.
This type of testing is commonly used to check fuses, Trace wires, check for short and open circuits Etc… Resistance readings are necessary for identifying motor terminals, and checking for a breakdown in insulation. An Ohmmeter continuity can be used to identify normally open, and closed terminals on a relay. Simply place the leads of the meter across the relay points, if there is continuity the relay is normally closed. Now apply power to the magnetic coil of the relay, the contacts that were closed should now open, or vice versa. An Ohmmeter can be used to identify a single wire in a bundle. Go to the opposite end of the wire and expose two separate wires in one sheath. Twist the two wires together and list the colors. Go back to the other end and check for continuity between all wires of that color.
Once you find two wires with continuity, you have found the correct wire. If you suspect that a particular wire is shorted to another wire, simply disconnect both wires on each end and check for continuity between the two wires. If continuity is read between the wires you have found a short.
These are only a few examples of ways to utilize an Ohmmeter. Remember an Ohmmeter should only be used in un-energized circuits, Otherwise the meter could be damaged.
— Bryan
In this video Bryan talks about
In this video Jesse and Bryan demonstrate the creation of a 3/8″ and 1/4″ flare on a ductless unit including –
As a technician you most likely know some customers who still have an oldie thermostat (you know, those old mercury bulb things, like the round Honeywell CT87 and such). Keep in mind those usually have an adjustable heat anticipator. If you’re newer in the field you may not have seen or worked with those very much, or even not at all. They can seem confusing at first (why is it set with amperage? What amperage? How am I actually adjusting this???) but actually are quite simple to work with.
First of all, I hear you thinking “do you actually need to adjust that? I mean, is it going to make that much of a difference?” Honestly, in most cases, no, it won’t make a big difference. But it’s no reason to ignore it. And when it actually does make a difference, you will want to know how to adjust it properly.
Here’s a hypothetical story: you just changed a system, let’s say converted from a 30 year old oil furnace to a brand new condensing gas furnace. The homeowner just loves their old, simple, ‘’I-just-have-to-turn-it-up-or-down’’ thermostat and won’t upgrade it to a modern digital one. And hey, it still works fine, so why bother. Then, a few days later, you get this service call: ‘’that new furnace you guys just put in, it doesn’t work right! It keeps starting and stopping every 5 minutes! (or) It stays on for too long and overshoots the set temperature by a whole degree!’’ (and the line everybody loves to hear): ‘’It didn’t do that with my old furnace! It’s that new one, you sold me defective garbage equipment!!!’’
Okay, it doesn’t happen like that all the time, but I’m sure you’ve heard of similar stories. Now, to focus on the problem. I’m writing this tip about heat anticipators, but please don’t assume that’s going to be the issue whenever you get this kind of service call. I am merely reminding you that it is one of the many possible problems. So let’s say everything else is normal, no faults occurring during furnace cycles, no airflow issues, proper system sizing, etc. There’s a chance a very poorly adjusted heat anticipator will make a significant difference in cycle time. After all, it’s what it’s designed to do.
In short, the anticipator is simply a resistor built in the thermostat that is in series with the heat call low voltage circuit, i.e. the “W” terminal. That resistor generates a tiny amount of heat to preheat the bimetal and end the furnace cycle a little bit earlier, anticipating the residual heat from the furnace and fan off delay to cover the gap in temperature and avoid overheating the space. Now, even though it’s a resistor, you don’t set it by ohms. You set it by amperage. The amperage drawn by the heat control circuit.
Now it takes a little bit of effort to get that measurement properly, but it is quite simple. First of all, you need to remove the anticipator itself from the circuit when checking the control’s amp draw! All this means is you need to remove the thermostat from the circuit by twisting together the R and W wires at the thermostat. This will, obviously, give you a constant call for heat.
Now the amperage you need to measure is typically very low, no more than half an amp in most cases, sometimes much lower. So, in order to get a more precise reading (unless you have a super sweet meter that gives you precise readings in the tenths to hundredths of an amp range, this would be done in series instead of with a clamp) you should proceed as follows: get a nice very long piece of thermostat wire, which you will repeatedly wrap around your meter clamp, so it goes through it 10 times. Then connect that wire to your W wire from the thermostat on one end and to the W terminal on your furnace control on the other end. Simply put, just extend the W wire so that you have enough to wrap it around the clamp ten times. Then turn the power on and let the furnace cycle begin. Wait until all the relays and components are energized (on a typical gas furnace you will see the greatest amp draw coming when the gas valve is energized), then take your reading. Divide it by 10, and you have your heat anticipator adjustment value. Simple as that. For example, you might read (completely arbitrarily) 2.40 Amps on your meter with ten wraps of wire. Which means the control actually draws 0.24 Amps, so you will need to set your heat anticipator to 0.24. It is recommended to insert the tip of a pen or something similar in the slot to gently slide the needle to the desired setting. And this procedure, by the way, is still explained in modern install manuals.
Honeywall also gives a basic guideline for different heat types
To further adjust cycle times if the actual setting doesn’t seem to work quite right, you may change it accordingly: higher amperage setting = longer cycle time lower setting = shorter run time. I wouldn’t stray too much from the ‘’proper’’ setting, however.
— Ben Mongeau
I’ve got a confession to make.
I’m ‘that guy’ call it OCD, call it being anal retentive, but I’m always making an effort to be as technically correct as possible, and one aspect of that effort has been the use of torque indicating or torque limiting tools when tightening fasteners.
It started after I put new valve plates and gaskets on a Carlyle 06E compressor. As I was always taught, all the torque you needed to apply to a fastener was the torque you could apply with a normal sized combination wrench, so that is exactly what I did. The compressor gaskets failed and were bypassing the very next day because I didn’t get those bolts tight enough. The tech who took that call asked me if I had and used a torque wrench. At first, I didn’t understand.. sure, I tighten the bolts. No, he asked, did you TORQUE them to specifications? 90-100 ft/lbs was the spec and, while you can get that kind of torque out of a standard length ¾”
wrench, you’re working at it.
That question started a dive down something of a ‘rabbit hole’ for me and I’m going to share
some of what I learned.
I started with one torque wrench, just to tighten the bolts on compressor heads. From there, I’ve expanded to have three torque wrenches (¼ ⅜ and ½ drive) and a torque limiting screwdriver mostly for electrical connections.
What is torque? Simply put, torque is a measurement of the amount of force required to turn a fastener. For bolts, torque is normally measured in ft/lbs or in/lbs. To help you understand a foot-pounds (ft/lb) or inch-pounds (in/lb). A foot pound is one pound of force applied on a lever one foot long measured from the center of the fastener.
As we continue to increase the torque applied to a bolt, the male threads on the bolt move deeper into the female threaded hole while the part being fastened, for example, a compressor head, prevents the head of the fastener from following them. This stress results in a stretching of the bolt. That stretch applies what is called ‘clamping force’ to the assembly. This stretching permanently deforms and weakens the bolts, and sometimes proper assembly requires
the use of new bolts. Lubricant applied to the fastener makes it easier to turn which decreases the torque required to achieve the same clamping force. Be careful to always follow manufacturer guidelines.
One place where torque wrenches are making inroads in our industry are with ductless mini splits. While I haven’t broken down and added one of these to my kit yet, I do have an easy way to torque flare fasteners using a regular torque wrench. Crowsfoot wrenches.
These little guys allow you to turn any ratchet or breaker bar into a handy wrench. To use them with a torque wrench, however, requires a little extra step.
Remember how we measure torque? It’s based on the distance between the center of the fastener to the point where force is applied. Well, a torque wrench is calibrated to have force applied on the knurled part of the wrench handle and centers that force on the centerline of the drive spindle. Adding a crowsfoot wrench to the end of the wrench changes the center of the applied force. What we need to do is account for the extra length of the crowsfoot and the extra leverage that
reates.
For this, use your required torque force as TA to solve the math. That said, I’ve found very little actual difference when using a crowsfoot wrench, and since often torque values are given in a range, it isn’t really necessary to calculate the difference, just set your wrench to the low end of
the torque range and use the crowsfoot. That will generally keep you within the specified torque range.
Another trick, where possible, is to install the crowsfoot at a 90° angle to the drive. Doing this makes the actual and effective length of the tool the same and allows direct use of the tool without calculations. Keep in mind that a standard socket drive extension won’t affect your torque wrench settings because it doesn’t affect the length of the tool in the direction that matters.
I hear a lot of guys argue against using a torque wrench because they can tighten things up just fine without one. Probably so. I did a lot of jobs prior to the one I mentioned earlier without using one and I was “just fine” or was I? Did I tighten those flanges evenly or did I warp the flange by over-torquing one side? Did I over-torque that flare and set myself up for a leak later? Did I tighten all the bolts evenly ensuring even clamping force on all those gaskets? A torque tool simplifies things for us. Tighten to specified torque, and you’re done. You don’t have to think about that variable anymore. It’s as tight as it’s supposed to be and no tighter.
It’s one less thing to worry about.
— Jeremy Smith
