Welcome to what was intended to be my second article on refrigeration circuit practices and the importance of pulling a good vacuum on a system during installation or repair. This was going to be the time where I discussed POE oil being
Welcome to the first of a two-part series covering the subject of key refrigeration circuit practices. In this post, I will be discussing the importance of properly using nitrogen when brazing refrigerant lines. The process is called “sweeping” and this is not a new process. What has changed over the years is that POE oil has become the predominate refrigerant oil used throughout the world. One characteristic of POE oil is that it’s an excellent detergent and will literally clean the inside of tubing within the refrigerant circuit. This will become problematic when short cuts are taken during installation.
The topic of refrigerant has been an ongoing saga since we first announced the phase-out of HCFC R-22 in 2010. There have been numerous rumors circulating throughout the years about what would happen to refrigerant and when it would happen. We have lived through a roller coaster of prices with not only R-22, but with R-410A as well. However, it is important to keep in mind that the value of anything in the world is only what you can find someone willing to pay for it. So, here we are in 2019, and I am not sure we have any better grasp on where we are headed than we did nearly ten years ago.
In the depth of winter, the weather outside is frightful and the heat pump is “chugging” away to keep the inside delightful. Without our trusty defrost cycle in these conditions our heat pump would quickly begin to look like Frosty the Snowman…minus the jolly part. There’s nothing jolly about a broken heat pump.
The defrost cycle is what allows for our heat pumps to continue efficient heating operation in cold weather. However, the actual operation of the defrost cycle is often not understood as well as desired. This leads to improper settings as well as misdiagnosis. Let’s dig into the basic concept of a heat pump operating in heat and the defrost cycle that protects it.
Continue reading “Tech Tip: Defrosting During The Cold & Understanding The Defrost Cycle”
With each season’s change, it can take a little time for technicians to adjust. It seems every summer we forget all about how heating systems work and every winter we purge the concept of the cooling cycle from our consciousness. Therefore, the first few weeks become an adjustment period where it requires extra focus to remember the fundamentals of gas pressure, temperature rise, sequence of operation, flame rectification, etc.
Recently, I have spoken with quite a few technicians and company owners on the topic of furnace short cycling.
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As cold weather approaches and heating season enters, HVAC professionals might see an increase in service calls from customers who say that their heat has stopped working or won’t turn on. One of the most common problems identified is heat sequencer failure.
Several issues can contribute to the failure of this part:
As the summer heat slowly begins to fade, the cool breeze of fall will meander into the area. Many of us will begin to shift our focus to heating equipment check-ups. These can be a bit monotonous in the early days of fall, but the most important time to check a heating system is before it endures regular run time through the winter.
A crucial area that is often overlooked on a gas furnace is the temperature rise. The temperature rise across a gas furnace is like ensuring that your vehicle has plenty of coolant in the radiator. Furnaces, much like engines, do not like to run hot!
Continue reading “Most forget this crucial area when doing heating equipment check-ups. Are you?”
