This article is a continuation of “Btu Buddy 62: An Overheated Boiler” from the May 19, 2008 issue. After Bob talks with Sid, the water treatment expert, Btu Buddy assists Bob in cleaning and filling the system.

Under no circumstances should you ever see water around the indoor unit. This is a sign that something is either dripping, leaking, or not draining. But indoor water problems don’t occur only during the summer cooling season. Here's a list of possible causes of water leaks and things to check.

The spring is beginning to bring warmer weather when Bob gets a call from the dispatcher that a small apartment building is overheating. The building is heated with an old boiler that is running really hot. Btu Buddy helps Bob track down the problem.

A leaking chiller forced an automotive manufacturing plant’s HVACR engineer to decide between a costly production shutdown or using a can of refrigeration system sealant to eliminate the leak. Deciding on the sealant quickly put a lid on the engine factory’s repair fees.

The dispatcher calls Bob about servicing an old oil furnace. The customer is old and is adamant that he doesn’t want a new furnace, so Bob does not try to get him to upgrade to a new model. He tells the customer that he will see that he gets the most out of the old furnace that he can.

Air conditioning system commissioning and startup is the process of inspecting a new air conditioning installation, and verifying that the new system is running properly and efficiently. This article describes the commissioning procedure.

Bob and Btu Buddy get together for lunch and talk about why high head pressure seems to drive up the power consumption of a compressor. Bob remarks that the problem “doesn’t seem to happen in the cooling season, only in the heating season. What is the difference and why is this happening?”

Dealing with a user’s complaint of a noisy motor can be a frustrating experience. After all, the perception of noise is extremely subjective (just ask the parents of teenagers). Not only does the range of human hearing differ considerably among people, but it also varies by specific frequency.

Bob is called to a new customer’s home with a 5-ton heat pump that is experiencing power bills that are considerably higher than the same months last year. Btu Buddy assists Bob in diagnosing the problem.

An air conditioner coil can be a perfect breeding ground for mold and bacteria. This mold and bacteria buildup on a coil can cause a variety of indoor air and other problems. What to do? Glad you asked.