Articles by Joe Marchese

A common accessory used on many refrigeration systems is the liquid receiver, a storage vessel designed to hold excess refrigerant not in circulation.

Today, recovering refrigerant from a system during major repairs is a routine practice for technicians and contractors.

Having excellent customer service skills not only makes you a better technician — it makes you a better employee. 

For maximum efficiency, a bank of compressors should be connected to evaporators operating at similar temperatures. From an operational standpoint, cases of different evaporating temperatures can be connected to the rack; however, this causes a substantial energy loss.

A ton of refrigeration can be defined as the amount of heat removal to produce one ton of ice at 32° from one ton of water at 32°. But what else does it mean?

An excessive pressure drop across the suction line will reduce the operating capacity of a refrigeration system.

Techs may not see the importance of the service ticket, but they should, since it can be an accurate reflection of him and his work. 

Refrigeration technicians need to use extreme care when working with torches during the brazing and soldering process. The flames of a torch can easily reach 3,000°F. At this temperature, serious damage can be the result of misuse and carelessness.

High-pressure switches are designed to shut down a compressor if the system’s high pressure rises above an unsafe level, not allowing the compressor to restart until the pressure returns to a safe level. 

One field problem frequently encountered with this type of metering device is that it can become plugged with system debris, causing a restriction. When this happens, the cap tube will typically need to be replaced.