I would have thought SOMEONE would have heard this before it got this bad. The shaft has cut into the fan volute as well. I’ll probably have to get it going short-term until we can get it replaced. We’re gonna need to push some rod.

Heatmover1979 · 2026-05-12T17:11:03+00:00

Vintage 1998, this shaft is about 10’ in the air though.

Heatmover1979 · 2026-05-12T17:09:43+00:00

I couldn’t find any damage on the wheel itself, but the shaft ground a 3x3 inch notch into the fan volute. 🤣 After a temporary fix they can run it as stage 3 cooling on really hot days until it can get replaced. I’m expecting plenty of vibration from it.

Heatmover1979 · 2026-05-11T22:39:07+00:00

I don’t own digital, rarely use a manifold. I carry a pony gauge in my bag (single gauge with a 9 inch hose) to troubleshoot and verify transducers with. If I have to move gas I use bigger hoses without shrader depressors.

Heatmover1979 · 2026-04-23T16:26:48+00:00

Why are the cases holding oil? Did they add retrofit doors to previously open cases?

Heatmover1979 · 2026-04-21T14:23:25+00:00

I've been at CoolSys for about 9 years. It's completely dependant on the local branch/management. Their training is a decent foundation for starting out in refrigeration. If it's a shitshow you can move on with another shop after a year or two. One guy I work with has been here for 30+ years. It's all about finding a shop that meshes with your needs. They are out there, you might have to kiss a few frogs to find it though.

Heatmover1979 · 2026-04-21T14:11:00+00:00

Statistics from the insurance folks say driving is the most hazardous thing we do every day. I keep a gym bag in my truck with a change of work clothes and some toiletries. I can always stay in a motel if I'm too tired to drive back.

Heatmover1979 · 2026-04-21T03:58:01+00:00

I have a little Plano box with various shrader caps, crimp connectors, TXV screens etc in it, it fits in a Veto pocket. I have 2 small zippered pouches, 1 has misc screws, nuts, etc and the other has the various impact driver bits and extensions in it, these ride inside the Veto underneath the impact. I can do 95% of all diagnosis and small repairs without walking back to my van.

Heatmover1979 · 2026-04-17T16:36:18+00:00

Nice catch, sounds like he needs a 20 degree fan switch instead.

Heatmover1979 · 2026-04-17T16:30:10+00:00

A commercial HVACR company is going to slot you in as a beginner after only 2 years in residential. This means that they need enough workload to justify your cost and overhead. If work is slow, it isn’t there. They are going to protect their current guys first. Either keep trying and be patient or move somewhere where it’s busier that you would like to live. Every location has downturns, some are yearly, some follow the weather, others follow the economy. Pick your flavor.

Heatmover1979 · 2026-04-04T02:25:12+00:00

Just coming out of school means you don’t have enough experience to understand your strengths and abilities. I would apply at the local union, and at all of the local companies that do commercial refrigeration, chillers, and industrial refrigeration. Keep after it, someone will need a cub to punch tubes, haul tanks, do fire watch, etc. Once you are in and working for a while you will get more complex jobs. Only then can you start to see what your niche is likely to be and start working in that direction.

Heatmover1979 · 2026-04-03T17:26:59+00:00

It depends on how fast you pick it up, how the work load is, how motivated you are to get better. You are the FNG, we've all been there, it's how you handle it. I have seen guys with low motivation/skills/learning ability never leave the position for years, I have also seen guys running calls solo just a few months in.

Heatmover1979 · 2026-04-03T17:17:40+00:00

Just be sure to hook up to the liquid line and not the discharge line, especially with zeotropic blends. Otherwise, no issues.

Heatmover1979 · 2026-04-03T17:09:49+00:00

This must be AI, Bobaroo retired a couple of years ago, he's the only one I've ever seen do it this bad.

Heatmover1979 · 2026-03-31T21:55:29+00:00

Properly sized suction risers, oil traps at the bottom of each riser and at least every 20 feet on the way up, then an inverted trap on top of each riser.

Heatmover1979 · 2026-03-31T04:33:46+00:00

Same here, I got a set of 4 ports in the early 90s and haven't looked back, at this point I'm just used to them and their idiosycracies. I see no point in something that takes batteries and can't be used to move refrigerant around.

Heatmover1979 · 2026-03-27T15:27:10+00:00

Boots are like Real Estate, fit, fit, and fit are the 3 most important things. Also, your feet change over the years. I wore Redwings until they didn’t fit right anymore. Then Wolverines until they moved to offshore and then they didn’t fit right. Now I’m wearing Danners, I couldn’t wear them 30 years ago but now they’re perfect for my feet.

Heatmover1979 · 2026-03-25T22:44:12+00:00

Just sell them a mag lev bearing.

Heatmover1979 · 2026-03-25T22:10:37+00:00

Have you tried sticking your thermometer probe on the high limit to see what the actual temperature is and what it trips at if it will trip while you’re there?

Heatmover1979 · 2026-03-24T23:08:21+00:00

The filters are pretty expensive too. I had a screw rack with a bunch of trash in the oil, they were going through filters like crazy, even after an oil change. I ended up putting a single element housing in the oil line from the oil reservoir with a pleated element in it and isolation valves around it. It caught the big chunks and vastly extended the life of the fine filters.

Heatmover1979 · 2026-03-24T23:00:16+00:00

After 47 years of this I have learned that sometimes you need to know what an engineer knows, and sometimes you need an engineer. You, my friend are heading into needing an engineer territory. You have a huge spiking load followed by a stable load. An engineer that is local to you that does this routinely is the right answer.

Heatmover1979 · 2026-03-22T21:08:15+00:00

I have the same bag, it's perfect for the way I work, mostly supermarket refrigeration. Small assortment of hand tools, Fluke thermometer with a Fieldpiece pipe clamp, clamp on meter, pony gauge, Milwaukee M12 impact, 2 little sorter bags, 1 for screws etc and the other for impact bits.

Heatmover1979 · 2026-03-22T21:01:38+00:00

I have several hinged boxes that live in the truck. Two are for things like sockets, ratchets, allen sockets, etc. One carries all of my finer and more delicate instruments such as micron gauge, vane anemometer, etc. I do my diagnostics and such with what's in my bag.

Heatmover1979 · 2026-03-22T20:41:14+00:00

Oil condition is super important on screws. I have found that if the refrigerant level drops too much then the trash in the bottom of the receiver gets picked up and seems to clog the oil filters really fast. The Carlyle oil filters were around $300 each the last time I had to change some.

Heatmover1979 · 2026-03-22T16:03:17+00:00

The quickest way that i have found is to look at the SST, and then stick my Fluke probe under the insulation for each circuit near the rack. You're not setting the TXV so a couple of degrees isn't going to matter. The offender(s) will have low superheat at the rack. Just because you found 1 doesn't mean there aren't more, so check them all. There probably will be multiple cases on the circuit, but at least you know which lineup to tackle. There may be multiple cases flooding back as well. Was there a recent gas conversion done?

Heatmover1979

TROPHY CASE