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Floating vs. Fixed Suction and Head – Short #163

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In this short podcast episode, Bryan talks about compression ratio and efficiency, particularly how floating or fixed suction and head pressure affect those things.

Compression ratio (absolute head pressure divided by absolute suction pressure) closely correlates to efficiency in all sorts of compression-refrigeration HVAC/R systems; the most efficient systems have high mass flow with less compressor work. High compression ratios indicate a greater differential between the head and suction pressures. A lower compression ratio is desirable, but the number has to be realistic; a compression ratio of 1 indicates that the system is off. Medium-temp refrigeration compression ratios are typically around 3:1, whereas low-temp refrigeration can have higher compression ratios (6:1).

In commercial refrigeration applications, we can help control the compression ratio with floating suction and head strategies. Floating the suction and head pressures allow the equipment to achieve lower compression ratios and higher equipment efficiency. Old strategies for controlling compression ratio would involve having a fixed evaporator temperature and suction pressure. In a parallel rack system, floating suction allows the suction pressure to float up when the case maintains temperature; this strategy helps close the gap between the absolute suction and absolute head pressures and reduces the compression ratio.

Floating suction strategies allow the suction to “float” up by allowing the evaporator coil temperature to rise a little bit when the box temperature is under control. Floating head strategies, on the other hand, allow the head pressure to float down in low-ambient conditions. We can look at ambient temperature and discharge pressure to determine how much we can float down the head pressure.

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In this live stream episode, Bryan sits down with Tony Gonzalez, who has spent more than 25 years at Fieldpiece and now leads the company’s training department. Tony started out packing boxes in the warehouse straight out of high school, and the two longtime industry veterans use his experience to dig into why culture matters so much when you are building a business that lasts. As Bryan puts it, culture may be talked about in HVACR, but it is true everywhere.

Tony walks through TURTL, the five core values that anchor Fieldpiece’s culture: Tribe, Upfront homework, Right stuff, Trust, and Lean. The missing “E” is intentional, since it reminds everyone to leave their ego at the door. He explains why values can’t be purely aspirational, and how Fieldpiece keeps them alive through recognition, one-on-ones, and development reviews. Bryan shares how the same ideas show up at Kalos, including the phrase “professional pride, personal humility.”

The conversation then turns to leadership, which both guests agree is where culture is won or lost. They discuss why your culture is defined by the worst behavior you tolerate, why people stay at a company, and why curiosity should come before judgment. Tony describes the “bank account” of care that makes hard conversations productive, along with the Radical Candor idea of avoiding ruinous empathy. Bryan adds that clarity is kindness and that small problems should be dealt with before they become mountains.

They close by looking at team building, using Bryan’s flight crew analogy and the “right people on the bus” idea from Good to Great. Every role matters, leaders shouldn’t only hire people like themselves, and snap judgments can make you overlook great talent. Bryan wraps up with a few of his leadership commitments, and Tony’s final advice is to start documenting what matters to your organization, live it consistently, and give yourself grace on the leadership journey.

Topics Covered:

Tony’s 25-year career at Fieldpiece, from warehouse to head of training
The TURTL core values and why “Turtle” has no E
Keeping core values visible through quarterly recognition, one-on-ones, and development reviews
Leaders as culture carriers, and how culture shows up when things go wrong
Defining culture as a social operating system and the worst behavior you tolerate
Professional pride and personal humility, and leaders who celebrate their team’s success
Why people stay: growth, recognition, fair compensation, and connection to the mission
Curiosity before judgment, root cause thinking, and celebrating failure
Making “deposits” of care so difficult conversations go well
Radical Candor, ruinous empathy, and clarity is kindness
Handling bad news and building a safe environment for people to speak up
Building a flight crew: hiring for attitude, valuing different strengths, and avoiding the horns effect
The weakest link in the chain and treating every role as equally important
Book recommendations: Good to Great, The Power of Company Culture by Chris Dyer, and Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh
Bryan’s leadership commitments: truth over comfort, open doors with no gatekeeping, and people over plans