HVAC School - For Techs, By Techs

Latest Episodes:

The Lost Art of Steam - Revisited Nov 07, 2019

Show notes

In this episode from the archives, Dan Holohan joins us on the podcast and talks about his vast experience in the lost art of steam learned from long-dead men.

Steam heating is a "lost art" nowadays; it has become increasingly uncommon and has been disappearing since the Vietnam War. Many people who understood steam heating either retired or died after the Vietnam War. Many elements of steam heating are difficult to understand or surprising. (For example, steam pressure has a surprising relationship with velocity: low-pressure steam moves through piping much more quickly than high-pressure steam.) So, Dan Holohan is on a mission to revive that knowledge and teach the newer generations about the lost art.

There are many older steam heating systems still operating today, especially in the older large buildings in New York. Dan learned a lot about steam heating when working on these old systems and optimizing them. Most of the time, he optimized those systems by removing unnecessary accessories, not adding components like steam traps.

Many old boilers used coal as a heat source. Nowadays, many old boilers have been fitted with conversion oil burners with thermostats, but they are still piped for coal. Some systems now have multiple risers or massive vents on the main riser to prevent the thermostats from getting too hot too early and satisfying the thermostat too early. We call that master venting, reducing pressure and allowing steam to move very quickly and efficiently.

Dan also discusses:

The 2-PSI standard
Transportation metaphors for BTUs in steam
Harmful renovations for old boilers
Replacement vs. restoration mindsets
Gaps in steam boiler education
Monopolizing the market if you HAVE the education
Boiler piping and venting
Two-pipe vs one-pipe steam

Find out more about Dan and hydronic heating at HeatingHelp.com.

Learn more about Refrigeration Technologies HERE.

If you have an iPhone, subscribe to the podcast HERE, and if you have an Android phone, subscribe HERE.

What Makes a White Shirt Tech #LIVE Nov 04, 2019

Show notes

In this honest—maybe overly honest—live podcast, we talk about the dark side of white shirt techs. We also discuss ways the industry can make money while doing the fundamentals well.

The term "white shirt" refers to a sales technician who prioritizes selling equipment over fieldwork; these technicians don't necessarily sell expensive products, but they lack technical expertise. The surefire way to tell if someone is a "white shirt" is to see if they can solve problems with their hands or if they just pull solutions from a menu of new products.

However, "white shirts" do have some skills we can learn from. They are usually great communicators, which is an excellent characteristic in our trade. Honesty is also important, though, and great communication can only be a good thing if it's backed up by honesty. "White shirts" lie, and they make excuses for their lies.

Unfortunately, many of us want to do good work and make less than "white shirts." The problem may not be with the white shirt technicians; we contribute to the problem by undervaluing our expertise and quality work.

Strangely enough, we rarely ever see white shirt technicians in commercial HVAC. That's because commercial HVAC is a far more expensive, less sales-oriented part of the industry. There is less of a need to push products onto the customer to make money.

We also cover:

The fine art of setting prices
Sales tactics
Made-up simplified product names ("heat rejector")
Honest, straightforward, non-emotional communication
Vetting technicians
Deceptive training by salespeople
What drives people to sell extra accessories
"White shirt" profit margins
Labor rates, diagnostic fees, and maintenance prices
Hard start kits and potential misunderstandings
Bad intentions vs. ignorance
Billable time in residential vs. commercial HVAC
Buyer's remorse
Consulting vs. sales
Surge protection

Learn more about Refrigeration Technologies HERE.

If you have an iPhone, subscribe to the podcast HERE, and if you have an Android phone, subscribe HERE.

Callback Prevention Principles Oct 31, 2019

Show notes

In this podcast episode, Bert joins Bryan to talk about what he has learned to help prevent the dreaded callback on the job.

Callbacks are bad news for customer service, time, and profit. However, the highest cost is the inconvenience caused to the customer. To reduce callbacks, Bert recommends communicating your expectations to your customer clearly; explain what the expected performance should be and how a customer should use their system. We need to do better at having conversations with the customer where we listen to them; we should not explain everything through the paperwork and walk away.

Customers become less of a callback risk when technicians stay with them until they are no longer a risk. The technician must run the equipment to ensure that it's working and set expectations before they leave. This tip can be a bit tricky, as many of us have to move from one emergency to the next, but the extra time and effort will almost surely help prevent a callback. The goal is to get a system to last as long as possible without having a problem.

Overall, hard skills are less important than soft skills when it comes to callback prevention. Many techs have the technical knowledge; far fewer take the time to listen to the customer and get the whole picture of the problem. When it comes to hard skills, callback prevention requires more attentiveness and skill application than the technical skills themselves.

With all that in mind, the ultimate key to preventing callbacks is to take responsibility for ALL of your work: testing, setup, communication, and fixes.

Bert and Bryan also discuss:

"White-shirt" techs
"Callback risk" customers
Reducing loads by adding insulation
How rain and temperature affect performance
Recognizing a customer's budget
Checking for wire rub-outs and loose/poor connections
Visual observation

Learn more about Refrigeration Technologies HERE.

If you have an iPhone, subscribe to the podcast HERE, and if you have an Android phone, subscribe HER

Short #78 - 7 Tips for Newbies Oct 29, 2019

Show notes

This short podcast is for the newbies out there. For HVAC trade newbies, Bryan recommends applying 7 tips to help you win.

When you start off in the trades, you'll want to check your mindset. Successful HVAC technicians are usually humble; recognize that you don't know everything. The truth is that nobody knows everything, and every other person has wisdom and knowledge to offer you. (However, don't mistake humility for a lack of confidence.) You'll also want to hang out with good people; you are the sum of the five people you spend the most time with, so you don't want your friends to drag you down intellectually or get you into trouble. (And make good use of your time!)

Stay hydrated on the job! Water is the very best thing you can have on the job, especially during hot summers. To take care of your body, you will also want to wear safety glasses on the job and gloves when appropriate.

Curiosity is also an incredibly important trait of successful techs. Push further to understand your work fully, and you will be much more successful in your career. If you are curious, you will bring more ideas to the table and have a better grasp on the work you do, which will hopefully help you get raises and promotions. Another extension of curiosity is to test what you know. Pursue a possibility and find all of its weaknesses; don't accept a solution as the truth without further investigation.

Perhaps one of the most useful tips for newbies is to learn to be okay with failure. You sometimes won't have everything you need, whether that's a lack of tools or knowledge. Making difficult situations work is part of the job, and the fear of making mistakes should not hold you back.

Learn more about Refrigeration Technologies HERE.

If you have an iPhone, subscribe to the podcast HERE, and if you have an Android phone, subscribe HERE.

Why is a Power Quality Meter Useful? w/ Jim Bergmann Oct 24, 2019

Show notes

Jim Bergmann returns to the podcast to talk about the power quality meter. He also discusses what it is good for and how to use one.

A power quality meter accounts for the power factor in its measurements, and it measures true power in watts. We can notice failing capacitors and other issues that can cause a device to draw higher wattage. In inductive loads, the power factor will be less than 1. However, we can measure the power factor because the capacitor counteracts the inductive reactance and gets the power closer to unity; the current and voltage should be in phase with each other, so the circuit should be balanced.

The main difference between watts and volt-amps (VA) is the power factor. Volt-amps represent the entire quantity of energy, watts represent power, and volt-amps reactive represent useless energy. So, the power factor is the difference between what makes watts useful and VA reactive unuseful. (Think about a pint of beer, which is VA: you can't drink the foam, which represents VA reactive, and the actual liquid beer is the watts. Unity would represent a pint of beer with no foam.)

When looking at EER and SEER, the power quality meter helps you get a more accurate wattage reading, which allows technicians to determine efficiency more easily. You MUST know your power factor to measure wattage properly. Since consumers are billed on wattage, an accurate measurement is critical to make sure they're paying an appropriate price for energy.

Jim and Bryan also discuss:

Supco Redfish iDVM550
Matching capacitors to inductive loads
Fan efficacy and PSC vs. ECM motors
Back EMF
Considerations for measuring frequency
VFDs
BTU capacity, amp draw, and efficiency
Commissioning and benchmarking with power quality meters
Single-phase vs. three-phase power factor tools

Learn more about Refrigeration Technologies HERE.

If you have an iPhone, subscribe to the podcast HERE, and if you have an Android phone, subscribe HERE.

Short #77 - What Causes Capacitors to Fail Oct 22, 2019

Show notes

In this short podcast, Bryan talks through (once again) what REALLY causes capacitors to fail and what we can do about it.

High temperatures and overvoltage (NOT undervoltage) are what cause capacitors to fail. (There are also some poor manufacturing practices out there. Remember: they should be just foil and oil.) Capacitors create a phase shift to assist split-phase induction motors. Normally, a three-phase motor can start and run just fine because the sine waves are all angled. That is not the case for split-phase motors. Start capacitors help startup, which is difficult for the motor.

The capacitor stores and discharges each time there is a cycle change (usually 60 times per second). That rapid storing and discharging helps create a lag that gets the motor get moving. However, capacitors are limited by their design: their charge capacity (current) is dictated by size (microfarads), voltage, and frequency. If you measure amps on the start winding, you will notice that the amps are lower than on the run windings; the capacitor acts as a limiting factor.

When the run capacitor fails, you have no current on the start winding. The motor does NOT cause the capacitor to fail; there is a slim-to-none chance that a motor's back EMF can cause capacitor failure. Excess temperature or voltage is what really causes capacitors to fail, and THAT can negatively affect the motor. The hotter a capacitor runs, the shorter its life will be. Locations with high temperatures year-round and lots of thunderstorms will have more capacitor failures than places with more temperate climates.

Capacitor oil also plays a role in longevity. Oil exists for heat dissipation and should be mounted with the terminals up. Condenser cleanliness and temperature can also help or hinder the oil's efforts.

Learn more about Refrigeration Technologies HERE.

If you have an iPhone, subscribe to the podcast HERE, and if you have an Android phone, subscribe HERE.

Commercial PM Best Practices #LIVE Oct 20, 2019

Show notes

Eric Mele, Eric Kaiser, and John Oaks come on the podcast to talk about commercial PM best practices and what matters most.

Drain cleaning is a critical part of the standard commercial PM. You must assess the drainage situation (pitch, length, location, etc.) to plan your cleaning strategy and arrive at the best result: the entire drain gets cleaned. If you use chemicals, you need to be very careful not to let them back up into other units.

Condenser coil cleaning is another important PM procedure in both residential and commercial HVAC. However, you don't always need to clean the condenser coils. When you actually need to clean the coils, some best practices include splitting multi-row coils (on VERY dirty systems) and washing the coil against the airflow (usually from the inside out).

Lots of commercial equipment use belts, so HVAC technicians should know how to work on them. Unfortunately, many HVAC technicians aren't great at aligning and tensioning belts. Bryan is of the school of thought that many belts that are adjusted should just be replaced.

When working on gas equipment on rooftops, you can perform very accurate combustion analysis because the flue is in an ideal location for testing. Grilles are also very important in commercial HVAC, and the best practice is to check them for restrictions.

As always, you cannot underestimate the importance of visual inspection, "do no harm," and making sure the equipment is running when you leave.

The Erics, John, and Bryan also discuss:

Drain pan cleaning tips
Neutralizing algae in drains
Clearing drains with nitrogen or shop vacs
Transfer pumps
Paperwork and documentation
Environmental reasons NOT to clean coils needlessly
Microchannel coils
Quoting specific procedures
Belt longevity
Browning tools and literature
Checking for phase imbalance
Benchmarking equipment
Maintenance people vs. technicians
Communication

Learn more about Refrigeration Technologies HERE.

If you have an iPhone, subscribe to the podcast HERE, and if you have an Android phone, subscribe HERE.

The Skills Gap and Training #LIVE Oct 17, 2019

Show notes

In this live podcast from CASTBOX, we discuss the skills gap and how we are going to get more people into and trained in the HVAC/R trade.

Instead of gaining skills early in life and then looking for a job, many of us in the HVAC/R trade started our careers and gained skills along the way. The most successful technicians (and Bryan's favorite job candidates) have the "growth" mindset and care about their work, not just connecting a paycheck. Many people have experience working with their hands (or working any job), but they don't go into the HVAC industry with trade experience under their belt. Work ethic and care for one's work are more indicative of success than prior skills.

From a contractor standpoint, Bryan thinks that we must teach and force the application of skills. The basics are important, and being a "hands-on learner" is not an excuse for a technician not to learn the basics. Repetition and muscle memory are a major part of learning in our trade; however, they are undervalued in the classroom. It's all about striking a balance.

As a society, we don't see as many people involving their family members in the trades. As a result, our trade currently has a hiring and skills gap. It's up to us to get people excited about the trade and help them get involved. We must make it clear that HVAC/R careers ARE good careers where you CAN make a nice living.

We also discuss:

Hiring out of desperation
Self-control and maturity regardless of age
Successful techs from other industries and hard times
The Diagnosis Game
Company culture
Successful communication
Formal vs. informal performance reviews
Interpreting hiring exams, interviews, and phone calls
Proficiency timeline and career evolution
Learning without an internal training program
Competitive starting wages
Better high-school programs
Socratic method
Getting younger people involved in the trades and job-shadowing
Being safety-conscious
Apprenticeship programs
HVAC/R teachers
Being intentional about training

Learn more about Refrigeration Technologies HERE.

If you have an iPhone, subscribe to the podcast HERE, and if you have an Android phone, subscribe HERE.

Who is Responsible for Proper Sizing? Oct 17, 2019

Show notes

In this episode, Nate Adams and Michael Housh give the HVAC 2.0 rebuttal to the idea of standard load calculations. They take a different, possibly more radical approach to proper sizing.

Michael and Nate believe in doing real-world load calculations, not just relying on models for load calculations. They are on the side of replacing equipment like-for-like unless the customer will pay for the proper load calculation; customers should have the option to get a free quote for a like-for-like or slightly smaller replacement or a full consultation, but they will often opt to choose the free quote for a similar or slightly smaller unit. The full consultation includes blower door tests and load calculations, which are keys to proper equipment sizing.

Even once we do all the typical tests for consultation (blower door, duct leakage, load calculation), there is still some room for ambiguity. The tests are not all-telling, but they exist to help the contractor and homeowner decide what the next step should be. No matter what, there will be some degree of guesswork, but there will be far less guesswork if you perform all the tests and look at utility usage.

Some problems can be "HVAC'd away," but excessive leakage may require work on the actual shell of the home to address cracks and infiltration points. To "HVAC problems away," proper equipment sizing will play a major role in promoting comfort.

Nate, Michael, and Bryan also discuss:

Like-for-like tonnage
Building customer relationships through consultation
Windows and radiant heat loads
Natural pressurization vs. blower door testing
Sizing increments and room for error
Air changes per hour (ACH)
Assessing leakage rates
Moisture problems and dehumidification
Load calculation theater
The consumer-oriented mindset
Diagnostic pyramid
Natural leakage
Communicating testing practices to your sales team

Learn more about Nathan's work, go to energysmartohio.com or natethehousewhisperer.com.

Learn more about Refrigeration Technologies HERE.

If you have an iPhone, subscribe to the podcast HERE, and if you have an Android phone, subscribe HERE.

Short #76 - The Freon Sniffer (A True Story) Oct 15, 2019

Show notes

In this true story from Bryan's teen years, you learn about the "Freon Sniffer:" what inspired him to become an HVAC/R technician (maybe).

When Bryan was working with his uncle at age 14, he was an electrical apprentice who worked in grocery stores. He installed "pink lights," which were lights that hung on aircraft cable over produce displays. (The aircraft cable came from Bryan's grandfather's aircraft junkyard.)

The pink lights were difficult to install, and many people were unwilling to do the installation. However, Bryan and his family were willing to install that difficult equipment. Bryan primarily assembled the lights and didn't do any particularly dangerous work. Bryan and his family traveled around the state, staying at hotels and working at grocery stores across the state.

In a remote Florida town, Bryan's uncle and a coworker discussed something about checking a "Freon sniffer." They promised to show Bryan what that was. All they said was that "Freon sniffers" just existed to check for refrigerant leaks in the refrigeration piping.

What really was it? They tricked Bryan into pressing down the disconnect fitting for the produce sprayer, which sprayed Bryan's face. It was all just an elaborate prank to humiliate him!

If nothing else, the situation inspired Bryan to learn more about HVAC/R equipment. Maybe in the future, he wouldn't have the wool pulled over his eyes.

Learn more about Refrigeration Technologies HERE.

If you have an iPhone, subscribe to the podcast HERE, and if you have an Android phone, subscribe HERE.

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