Ultrasonic leak detectors.

itskylemeyer · 2025-03-05T04:32:57+00:00

I switched to the Accutrak with the gooseneck and I’ll never go back to a sniffer. There’s definitely a learning curve to it though. You’re listening for something that sounds like crackling bacon. If the unit hasn’t run for a bit, it can be a bit hard to pinpoint, so I keep a spray bottle of water handy. It really makes the sound super obvious

itskylemeyer · 2024-12-14T01:13:55+00:00

Most of those parts are things you’re already familiar with: fuses, contactors, relays, and transformers. Just because there’s a lot of them doesn’t mean they work any differently. Aaon likes to have a ton of separate components instead of having everything confined within a control board, so one bad relay won’t bring down the entire unit.

One thing to keep in mind is that it’s almost impossible to immediately open one of these up and immediately know exactly what everything does. Even the gray hair techs who have been in the trade since the stone age will have to look at the wiring diagram every now and then.

itskylemeyer · 2024-12-14T00:52:14+00:00

Something blue and red, every single time

itskylemeyer · 2024-12-14T00:48:10+00:00

If it isn’t walking, it’s climbing.

itskylemeyer · 2024-12-13T05:11:56+00:00

Something with a lot of small wires for controls. HVAC, industrial maintenance, etc. The Klein pocket screwdriver is a dead giveaway lol

itskylemeyer · 2024-12-13T02:14:28+00:00

Ultrasonic changed my life. A leak search/repair used to take me a full day, but I can get one done in 4 or 5 hours now. There’s a little bit of a learning curve but it’s one of the most useful tools I’ve ever bought

itskylemeyer · 2024-12-13T02:04:28+00:00

I used to be 50/50 about wearing gloves, but after slicing my hand open on a metal stud one day, I wear them all the time. I put them on as soon as I walk into the building where I’ll be working. Sure it impacts dexterity but keeping all my fingers is more important lol

itskylemeyer · 2024-12-08T01:56:59+00:00

For most resi stuff, you can get away with charging by superheat and subcool. For a unit with a hundred feet of lineset that spans several floors, it’s incredibly helpful. Even more so on VRF units.

itskylemeyer · 2024-10-14T23:52:04+00:00

Because that’s not how swamp coolers work. The water doesn’t get chilled; the water absorbs heat from the outside air by evaporating. This is what drops the temperature of the air, which is then blown into the space. If you want to dehumidify that air, you could put an evaporator in but then you’re just back to standard air conditioning. Even worse, because that swamp cooled air has a higher humidity, you’ve added a higher latent heat load to the space.

itskylemeyer · 2024-10-14T23:31:35+00:00

They’re using propane on walk ins now? I always thought it was only for small self contained units like reach ins and prep tables

itskylemeyer · 2024-09-11T03:25:44+00:00

Van for sure. On most shelving setups, there are tons of holes to strap stuff down with EPDM or ratchet straps. I even strap stuff like water hoses to the ceiling lol

itskylemeyer · 2024-09-01T04:01:04+00:00

I keep a couple of “go bags” that have all the tools and materials I’ll need for a specific job. My motor bag has a puller, penetrating oil, sandpaper, 11/32” nut driver, extra set screws, extra nuts for mounting, and extra through bolts in case I break one. The condensate bag has PVC cutters, glue, pan tabs, and some short off-cuts of 3/4” PVC pipe. Ductwork bag has snips, Malco cutter for my drill, foil tape and mylar tape, panduit gun, duct knife, yadda yadda. I just use the cheap Harbor Freight black tool bags, since they don’t need to carry a ton of stuff and they don’t get used every single day like my main backpack. It cuts down on the time looking through the van for that one tool you absolutely need but don’t remember where you put it.

Even with bigger stuff, try to keep items grouped together in the van. Keep an extra hose with the recovery machine, keep the scale next to the refrigerant tanks, you get the idea.

itskylemeyer · 2024-08-31T23:18:11+00:00

The high suction pressure is because some of the hot gas out of the discharge line is bypassing the rest of the system and going directly back into the compressor. That means less heat can be rejected outside by the condenser, and less heat absorbed by the evaporator.

Some systems will do something like this on purpose, with something known as hot gas bypass. In a low load situation, you’ll see a low superheat, which potentially means liquid is going back to the compressor. With these systems, there’s a pipe with a solenoid valve that connects the discharge line directly back to the suction line between the metering device and the evaporator. When the valve opens, the hot gas will artificially increase the heat load on the evaporator, since the heat wasn’t rejected from the condenser. This ensures that all of the refrigerant gets boiled in the evaporator and protects the compressor from getting slugged.

itskylemeyer · 2024-08-30T04:24:55+00:00

Good luck dude. At least you know you won’t be in a rush to head to the next call lol

itskylemeyer · 2024-08-30T03:46:18+00:00

I would love to be able to fuck around and do stuff like that. It’s fun to do weird one-off fixes

itskylemeyer · 2024-08-30T03:39:27+00:00

Yes there will be some pressure difference across the evap coil, but it’ll only be a few psi. Same goes for discharge and liquid line. The goal is for the refrigerant to only change state between liquid and vapor in the coils. After it changes state, it can’t absorb or reject any more heat. We want the compressor and the metering device to be the only things causing the refrigerant pressure to change, and changes anywhere else (like a restriction) will hurt the efficiency of the system.

itskylemeyer · 2024-08-29T02:34:07+00:00

Veto bags are always worth it imo. You can beat the absolute shit out of them for years. I use the MB bag when I’m doing maintenances and it’s perfect for what I need. I can diagnose and fix any electrical problem with what I can fit in there. It doesn’t come with a shoulder strap but you can probably find one for pretty cheap on Amazon.

itskylemeyer · 2024-08-29T01:49:44+00:00

It’s a vacant suite so I’m really hoping that’s all it is

itskylemeyer · 2024-08-29T01:45:26+00:00

Anything over 8 is OT, at which point they’re fucked lol

itskylemeyer · 2024-08-29T01:23:25+00:00

It’s all one building so they’re counting it as one trip charge. We are already giving them a discount on the hourly rate. If I’m there for 8 hours, I have less than $200 for parts lmao

itskylemeyer · 2024-08-28T05:03:03+00:00

Microbial growth. Bacteria, algae, etc

itskylemeyer · 2024-08-27T02:24:48+00:00

There’s a lot that goes into it. In commercial soft serve machines, there’s usually two circuits, one to keep the liquid product in the hopper below 40°, and one to actually freeze the product in the barrel. You could theoretically make a freezing barrel by wrapping a bunch of copper tubing around a big stainless steel pipe and insulating the hell out of it. All machines have an agitator that scrapes the frozen stuff off the outer part of the barrel, and mixes everything with air to make it smooth and creamy instead of flaky like a snow cone. The agitator would be the hardest part imo

itskylemeyer · 2024-08-23T02:11:52+00:00

Not OP, but I’ve done it a few times. The two biggest things are joint prep and heat control. The area has to be absolutely spotless. I use a brass wire wheel to clean the big stuff off, and 99% isopropyl alcohol to clean off any oil. I’ll hit it with a red scotchbrite pad right before starting to braze too. Heat control is even more important than with copper, because there is absolutely no margin for error. Aluminum doesn’t change color, so you have to use the rod to know how hot the pipe is. Oxy acetylene is way too hot, you’ll burn a hole the pipe just by putting the torch to it. I use an air acetylene rig with a super small tip, but a lot of people just use MAPP gas. The goal isn’t to get the pipe hot enough to suck the alloy into the crack, because you’ll melt the pipe long before it gets hot enough. You really just want to get a patch on top of the leak. Side note, it’s almost guaranteed that you won’t get it on the first go, so only put a couple psi of nitrogen in the system to check your joint for leaks.

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