This time around we have a customer who has called to say that it’s warmer than it should be in their home. When you arrive you find a nine-year-old package unit, and you determine in a short time that, electrically, everything is as it should be, which means that what you have is a unit that is running, but is not cooling enough.

The customer had called another contractor and was not pleased with the results, so Bob’s company was called. The other technician said he could not get the compressor to start. With Btu Buddy’s help, Bob checks all the components that have to do with starting the compressor. He finds that the start relay needs to be replaced.

With the approach of 2010, the industry will be faced with a shift in both refrigerants and system lubricants. The impending phaseout of chlorine-based refrigerants mandates that the industry move to lubricants that work satisfactorily with the new hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerants.

If duct cleaning is necessary, it is important that the cleaning professionals be familiar with both the North American Insulation Manufacturers Association (NAIMA) and National Air Duct Cleaning Association (NADCA) guidelines. Today’s air duct insulations are designed to withstand the rigors of cleaning.

Bob and Btu Buddy sit down for a lunch discussion about humidifiers and Bob asks: “Aren’t all humidifiers about the same?” Btu Buddy responds, “They are all the same in that they add moisture to the air. Different homes have different types of heating systems.” He then discusses the ways water is evaporated in various humidifiers.

After your evaluation of the equipment, you’re leaning toward the diagnosis that the motor is failing and you double-check two things. Your troubleshooting question: Which component was replaced, eliminating the intermittent equipment operation failures?

Bob receives a call from a customer who says her house is so dry that the wood is shrinking. Bob finds that the humidity level in the home is extremely low. Btu Buddy explains why this is happening in this older home and guides Bob in providing a solution.

Even on small boilers, the prevention of scale formation can produce substantial energy savings. Scale deposits occur when calcium, magnesium, and silica, commonly found in most water supplies, react to form a continuous layer of material on the waterside of the boiler heat exchange tubes.

Bob gets a call about a new customer who has complained about their gas package unit smoking and smelling bad. In checking the unit, Btu Buddy suggests that Bob take off the vent cover and see if there could be a blockage at the fan outlet. Bob removes the cover and finds that the fan wheel is all torn up.

Red-tagging is characterized by the installation of a red tag on a furnace, stating that it has been shut down and is dangerous to operate unless repaired or replaced. Questions are: Is this enough action to prevent the building owner from turning the furnace back on? And what other steps are necessary such as contacting the local utility company?