By helping your customers apply the predictive approach to maintenance, downtime can be avoided and costs can be reduced. The advantage to the service contractor is that maintenance work can be planned and performed on a regular schedule.

Troubleshooting and servicing refrigeration and air conditioning systems can be a challenging process for entry-level or experienced technicians. Regardless of your experience, it is essential that you have a solid understanding of the fundamentals. You also need to have the right tools.

There are good reasons for purging air from your refrigeration system, operating efficiency being the main one; increased equipment lifespan is another. It’s important, however, that correct purging procedures are used.

In this second installment of the Btu Buddy series, Bob and Btu Buddy perform an emergency service call. They determine the most efficient way to repair and charge an air conditioning system for an office building.

In our approach to humidity control for air conditioning systems, we must not overlook one very basic fact: If the evaporator coil is not cold enough, it cannot remove moisture, and it will stop removing moisture at its dewpoint temperature.

Most of us believe that technical expertise is the most important factor in building a successful maintenance organization. However, we all know excellent technicians that fail in the service business. Why do they fail, or why do they fail to grow?

Bob has a buddy in the business. He recalls his long-time HVACR mentor and imagines him accompanying him as “Btu Buddy,” someone who reminds him to take time to stop and think before rushing to judgment, helping keep him on the right track.

With increasing energy costs and demand for more efficient cooling systems, the need for accurate superheat measurements has become more important. Unfortunately, some technicians have either forgotten what they were taught about superheat in school or think it’s too much trouble to perform.

Most refrigeration equipment breakdowns are repeat problems to some degree. The purpose of this article is to cover the higher percentage problems and repair procedures of TEVs in supermarket applications.

This article is the second installment of a two-part series. Part One provided some background on screw compressors, then discussed the various components and capacity control methods. Part Two discusses maintenance of the screw compressor.