There are many aspects of a technician’s job where a smartphone or tablet can be extremely useful. These devices allow a technician to search the Internet for technical information while on the job.
Gone are the days of the three basic refrigerants: R-12, R-22, and R-502. Today’s technicians need to be well-educated on all of the refrigerants they encounter.
When it comes to choosing a multimeter for servicing refrigeration systems, there are a lot of choices on the market. Careful planning should go into selecting the right meter.
Checking the acidity and/or moisture content of refrigerant oil is one of the methods used to test if a refrigeration system is clean and uncontaminated. But how can you take an oil sample without an oil plug?
Today more and more systems are incorporating microprocessor controllers into their design. Troubleshooting the operation of these controllers can be a little tricky at times, but if broken down into sections it can be easier to handle.
I have always been impressed with the true refrigeration professional; the type of guy that not only is able to fix a problem, but also understands the why behind the problem. These guys are not satisfied with just knowing how to replace a failed component . They want to know why it failed.
One type of starting relay used on fractional-horsepower compressors is the current relay. A defective current relay can cause a compressor not to start. One popular method of troubleshooting this type of starting relay is with an ohmmeter.
An effective means of building any refrigeration contracting business is to sell maintenance agreements. Maintenance agreements help to build a strong customer base and even out the workload throughout the year. Is there something else they do for a contractor?
Manufacturers are increasingly designing their systems with unique controls and features that may apply only to their systems. Servicing, installing, and maintaining these new systems can be challenging. Sometimes they require us to reference material provided by the system or component manufacturer. Without this reference material, servicing, installing, or maintaining many of these new systems may be quite difficult or at times even impossible. What is a contractor to do?
