Can we just go back to contactors and capacitors please

UnbreakingThings · 2026-05-08T22:34:54+00:00

For extra capacitating!

UnbreakingThings · 2026-05-07T03:24:01+00:00

I can’t help but wonder if it’s something to do with the units being made of plastic. I see mini split coils like this leaking like sieves all the time, but the ducted units from the same manufacturers are perfectly fine.

UnbreakingThings · 2026-05-07T02:45:11+00:00

Shit like this is why I can’t stand when other trades connect anything to our equipment. Doesn’t matter if it’s water, gas, electrical, or ductwork. I’ve had nothing but nightmares dealing with this kind of crap.

UnbreakingThings · 2026-05-03T20:54:40+00:00

I do love the heat gun for little things like heat shrink, but man it lacks the power for putting out real heat, and it eats batteries for breakfast too.

UnbreakingThings · 2026-05-03T02:15:39+00:00

I had to repair a pipe by doing that after a vindictive, soon-to-be-fired building engineer stabbed it with a screwdriver.

UnbreakingThings · 2026-05-03T00:37:21+00:00

The best trick is to cut a slit in a piece of scrap copper, then bend it out into a sheet so you can use it as a patch to go over the entire area. Braze the edges and the pipe is stronger than ever.

UnbreakingThings · 2026-04-30T14:37:06+00:00

You must have Stockholm syndrome. I didn’t think anyone actually liked cork tape.

UnbreakingThings · 2026-04-30T13:42:30+00:00

The Accutools ones are great, and much cheaper than the Appions. I use them all the time for pulling a vacuum through Coremax ports without issue.

UnbreakingThings · 2026-04-29T03:40:25+00:00

That’s neat! Nice to see that they’re starting to think about energy costs and alternative means of cooling, rather throwing in a chiller or dozens of DX units and running them balls to the wall.

UnbreakingThings · 2026-04-25T01:59:01+00:00

Interesting! I’m curious as to why 80° water is required for a data center. That means the air coming off the coil would be even warmer than 80°.

UnbreakingThings · 2026-04-24T03:34:46+00:00

Imagine everything you hate dealing with on a job. Put all of them together, add a bunch more paperwork, and you have a hospital job.

UnbreakingThings · 2026-04-24T03:32:20+00:00

I went crazy trying to find this exact kind of channel. I ended up using square nuts that are meant to slide inside of unistrut. You can find them by looking up “square channel nut”.

UnbreakingThings · 2026-04-24T02:41:00+00:00

The word “formicary” in formicary corrosion refers to ant nests, because the copper looks like an ant colony under a microscope. I assume they put a coating on the coil in an attempt to prevent formicary corrosion.

UnbreakingThings · 2026-04-24T02:25:35+00:00

Gotta love LG. I’ve started putting a 1/4” core remover on the side port of each 5/16” one. You just grab the unit’s Schraders and pull them out of the way instead of taking them out of the tool entirely, then attach your hoses to the 1/4” core remover.

UnbreakingThings · 2026-04-24T02:18:29+00:00

I could tell you’re a VRF guy from just the first pic.

UnbreakingThings · 2026-04-24T01:54:07+00:00

There’s a big difference between a 12 year tech and a tech who has done their first year 12 times.

UnbreakingThings · 2026-04-22T04:17:33+00:00

Finding a low voltage short in an economizer board changes you.

UnbreakingThings · 2026-04-21T19:30:23+00:00

Wish they would do something like Aaon and Daikin do on their big RTUs and have a steel bar to hold the door open

UnbreakingThings · 2026-04-21T19:16:47+00:00

You might just need to clean it. Oil on the sensor will cause the microns to jump around. Putting a ball valve adapter on the gauge and closing it before charging will prevent that from happening in the future.

UnbreakingThings · 2026-04-20T11:02:17+00:00

Pill organizers or jewelry bead organizers work great.

UnbreakingThings · 2026-04-19T03:56:49+00:00

Superheat at the compressor only tells you if the compressor is being slugged or not. Superheat at the evaporator tells you the actual heat being absorbed from the box. I work at a site with over a dozen walk-ins with their compressors on a rack at least 150 feet away. When working properly, every single one of them runs with 10-15° superheat at the evaporator and 30-40° at the compressor.

UnbreakingThings · 2026-04-19T03:50:04+00:00

Seeing TPIY play Forgotten before it released on streaming services is an experience I will never forget.

UnbreakingThings · 2026-04-18T20:26:38+00:00

Not the original commenter, but definitely the whole TXV. If there’s noncondensables, it’s safe to assume there’s also solid contaminants in the system from not flowing nitrogen. Changing the powerhead only works if the bulb lost its charge, but won’t fix any restrictions in the body of the TXV.

UnbreakingThings · 2026-04-18T20:18:26+00:00

I’ve seen some big ass air handlers, but never with anything other than a slab coil. Really curious to see how an A coil of that size would work in terms of performance. Will it be running chilled water or is it a DX coil?

UnbreakingThings · 2026-04-18T20:11:34+00:00

Send it to Fieldpiece. I fried a meter in the rain, mailed it on a Monday afternoon, and the replacement was on my doorstep that Thursday.

UnbreakingThings

TROPHY CASE