In this edition of the Btu Buddy series, Bob goes on a call where an oil furnace won't always start. He discovers heavily sooted electrodes. Btu Buddy assists him in servicing the burner and cleaning the electrodes.

The thermostatic expansion valve (TEV or TXV) is erroneously considered by some to be a mysterious and complex device. Here we discuss typical valve complaints, causes, and remedies.

In this installment of the Btu Buddy series, Bob finds that a customer's heat pumps are losing cooling capacity operating in mild temperatures. With Btu Buddy's help, he discovers that the units' evaporators are starved for refrigerant.

Dirty Sock Syndrome started appearing a decade or more ago. Since then, people have tried to figure out the source and what to do to solve the problem. A couple of companies have developed coating solutions.

Learn how to select a thermostatic expansion valve (TXV) for a particular application and what is the correct position for the TXV sensing bulb.

In this edition of the Btu Buddy series, a customer with a heat pump is seeing his auxiliary heat light stay on almost all the time. With Btu Buddy's help, Bob finds that a check valve in the refrigerant circuit is stuck open.

The compressor's discharge temperature is often an overlooked temperature when troubleshooting a refrigeration or A/C system. However, it's very important because it's an indication of the amount of heat absorbed in the evaporator and suction line, and any heat of compression generated by the compression process.

This article describes how to troubleshoot a compressor and the associated problems that can cause a system to fail prematurely. It discusses the proper methods of diagnosing and repairing system problems.

In this installment of the Btu Buddy series, Bob services an oil furnace and discovers a plugged up oil filter. Btu Buddy explains the cause of the problem and assists him in correcting it.

The next time you're faced with replacing an old steam boiler that was attached to a two-pipe air vent system, try the old-timer's trick. Remember that the replacement boiler is smaller in size and holds less water, thus requiring a boiler feed tank that acts as a reservoir for the new boiler.