Service and Maintenance

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This month’s troubleshooting situation involves an air-to-air package unit heat pump that is approximately six years old, and the customer’s complaint is that, rather than providing cooling, it’s just blowing warm air.

Bob and Tim were on their way to a no cooling call at an office building with a 100-ton water-cooled chiller. As always, management was in a hurry to get the problem solved because the tenants were hot.

PVC is hailed as a wonder material, and in many ways it is. However, the possibilities are not endless. PVC has its limits, especially in HVAC applications. PVC sometimes makes sense for heating and cooling applications — other times, it doesn’t.

Alpine Mechanical Services has announced the completion and results of a collaborative energy efficiency study on rooftop units conducted by Alpine Mechanical, Siemens Industry, and Nexant. The study tested the efficacy of HVAC preventative maintenance best practices in a retail environment.

Bob and Tim were on their way to a no cooling call. The spring season was still cool at night and warm in the daytime. The customer told the dispatcher, “The unit started up at about 10:30 a.m. this morning and made a noise, but did not cool the house, even though it is still running.”

In this month’s troubleshooting situation, our customer’s description of the problem is “not cooling” and “blowing warm air,” and the equipment that is supposed to keep this residence comfortable is a split system that has been in service for 16 years.

Bob and Tim were on their way to a no cooling call, their first of the season, when Tim asked, “Wonder why we would have a no cooling call this time of year? It is only 75°F during the day and 40° at night.”

For the HVACR technician, the right tool for soldering and brazing pipe — an air-fuel or oxy-fuel torch — depends on the type and diameter of the pipe, its location, and considerations related to cost, safety, convenience, and ease of use. This article will examine those factors, as well as clarify some technical issues.

Tim had asked Bob to go into depth about tuning an oil burner during the last service call. “You said that oil burning equipment requires more attention than any other type of residential heating equipment,” Tim said. “Can you explain why?”

Looking ahead to the upcoming cooling season, the equipment in this troubleshooting situation is a split system that’s approximately eight years old, consisting of a gas furnace that provides heat in the winter and a condensing unit and A coil to provide summer cooling.