Tag: Tech Tips

Embrace a Smarter Spring: Why Now is the Perfect Time for Thermostat Upgrades

Contractor installing smart thermostat

Spring is an excellent time to update your customers’ systems to smart thermostats. Prior to peak cooling season, you probably have more time to discuss the benefits of a smart home and to perform installations without the rush associated with extreme weather conditions.

Preventive Maintenance Between Seasons

As homeowners switch from heating to cooling, they may be more aware of their HVAC system’s performance and energy usage. This awareness creates an opportunity to suggest upgrades that can improve efficiency and comfort.  Spring maintenance calls provide the perfect opportunity to assess current thermostats and recommend smart upgrades. Since you are already servicing the system, it’s a convenient time to discuss the benefits of a smart thermostat.

This can provide a more seamless and automated home environment before the temperatures heat up. Continue reading “Embrace a Smarter Spring: Why Now is the Perfect Time for Thermostat Upgrades”

Tech Tips: What Every New HVAC Technician Should Know

Three simple tips for anyone who wants to be an HVAC tech

Haller Enterprises

Being new in any industry is daunting — but especially in the trades, where experience is invaluable. Many skills must be learned first-hand on the job and can take years to develop. However, experienced HVAC professionals have a wealth of industry knowledge and skill to share for the benefit of new technicians entering the field.

Seasoned technicians recently shared some trade skills and unique insights into how apprentices can set themselves up for success. Let’s look at three tips every new technician needs to consider before heading out on the job.

While more advanced tools are typically provided by employers few reliable everyday essentials in your tool kit will ensure you’re always prepared on the job.

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Series: Learn How To Use Our Website Like A Pro – Tip #7 Filtering and Searching for Product

East Coast Metal Distributors stocks and distributes thousands of products and we understand that the thought of having to shift through them all to find the right one can be intimidating. That’s why we have made it easier than ever to narrow down your search through filters such as SEER, size, gauge, brand, and more! 




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Series: Learn How To Use Our Website Like A Pro – Tip #2 View Inventory & Stock Levels

See inventory levels anytime, anywhere. Login to your account to view up to date inventory at your local branch.

Making sure the product you sell to your customer are in stock is an important part of any sale, which is why we make it easy to view inventory levels right from our website or mobile app. Login to your online account at www.ecmdi.com to see inventory at your local or nearby branch. No more calling your salesperson or branch to see if your products are in stock.

Green lettering, indicates that the item is available for purchase at your local branch. Click on the “Stocked At” drop down to select your local branch or nearby branch to view inventory that is stocked closest to you.

Working over the weekend or after our normal business hours? No problem! You can check inventory levels and have the system ready for pickup the next business day.

We hope this helps you look up inventory on our website like a pro. Still have questions? Contact your local branch or salesperson and we can help set up additional training on our website for you and your staff.

Tech Tips: Diagnosing a Front Cover Switch

On a recent cold afternoon, I received a call from a frantic service technician. He diagnosed a faulty gas valve in a gas furnace, arrived on the job site with a new gas valve, taken time to ensure the new valve was installed properly, and then observed in horror as the exact same failure to ignite happened with the new valve. Now, let us all be honest with ourselves … after all, nobody is watching … we have all been that technician. We have all experienced the horror of realizing our diagnosis is wrong. Not a good feeling … and far worse if the furnace is in a closet and the homeowner is standing over your shoulder.

After the technician took a few deep breaths and regained composure, we began to go back through the furnace together.

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Tech Tips: Surge Protection

Power surges are commonly blamed when controls go bad on high-end units. I am not sure how often this is an accurate diagnosis versus how often this is just an easy scapegoat for unexplained parts failures. Plus … let us all be honest for a minute and acknowledge that as technicians we have all been guilty of condemning a control board because the system was operating abnormally and we did not understand what was happening … so therefore it must be that fancy looking control board.

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Tech Tips: What’s in Your Bag?

When I was first starting out in the HVAC Industry as a new technician, it was a common joke at my first company that you could tell the longer a technician had been in the industry by looking at his tool bag. The joke was that while newbie technicians such as me had a tool bag loaded with tools, the veteran technicians had a mostly empty and worn bag that had a few things here and there in it. Granted, I learned a lot from the senior technicians at that company, but I did not carry that habit with me. If you want to do a job correctly, then you must have the correct tools.

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Series: Pro Training – Troubleshooting An Inverter Driven Compressor

Pro Training Blog Series

Robert Frost once famously fretted over which two diverging roads in the woods to take. He presented the case of a traveler that has come to a crucial decision that must be made. The same theme often rings true in HVAC diagnosis. The technician finds themselves at a diagnostic crossroads, if you will, and a choice must be made: 

  • The variable-speed blower motor will not run. Is it the board or is it the motor/module? 
  • My inverter system is throwing an error code. The service manual says it could be the compressor or the board. 
  • My HVAC system will not communicate. Is it the indoor control board, the outdoor control board, or the wiring? 

Today I am going to review troubleshooting an inverter compressor and the control that drives it. Often in analyzing service manuals you find flow charts that look like this: 

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Series: Pro Training – Non Disposable A/C Units

Pro Training Blog Series

I don’t know about you, but I can say comfortably that I do not find myself in the position of having thousands of dollars I want to dispose of. If you find yourself in a different position, please contact me and I will be happy to help you relieve yourself of those burdensome funds. I am using that statement because I know we can all never agree on the exact “average” cost of a Ductless AC installation, but I feel confident we can all agree that the number is over $1000. My point being that the price point means I am not interested in just “throwing it away” at the first sign of trouble. These machines or appliances are not disposable. They can be maintained, and they can be repaired. However, both of those concepts must begin with us doing something that many of us feel uncomfortable with … opening the machine up. 

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Tech Tip: Slime Time in Summertime

A common service call that arrives in the latter days of summer is a clogged drain line. It is par for the course in the Southeastern United States; we have warm temperatures combined with high humidity. Air conditioning systems work to address both the temperature of the home (sensible heat) as well as the humidity of the home (latent heat). As the HVAC system runs it absorbs both heat and humidity from the home into the evaporator section of the unit. The heat is transferred outside via the refrigerant lines and superheated refrigerant while the humidity is transferred outside the home via the HVAC system drain line.

Slime in a drain is a universal problem. It occurs in shower drains, sink drains, and even appliance drains.  There are many variables that can increase the likelihood and frequency in slime forming in the HVAC drain system. However, two key ingredients are always present: food and moisture. Food is provided by dust or dirt that manages to get into the HVAC system. This dust and/or dirt will contain some organic matter which will serve as a food source. This will combine with already present moisture from normal cooling operations and provide a moist environment with a food source. The result will be a slimy gunk that will easily clog the HVAC drain line. The drain lines in an HVAC system are not under any pressure, therefore it does not take a large amount of resistance to block the drainage of condensate.

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