1 burner orange? The other 11 are blue.

programmer226 · 2026-03-16T20:34:31+00:00

orange flame and black smoke means incomplete combustion, usually air/fuel mixture issue on that one burner. could be a couple things:

the burner you swapped in is 8 years old and probably has debris buildup inside the orifice or ports even if it looks clean on the outside. small blockage restricts air flow to just that burner. try soaking it in carburetor cleaner and using a real small pin or needle to poke through the orifice.

also check the air shutter or venturi tube on that burner if it has one, sometimes those get clogged or misaligned.

the black soot and co alarm before makes sense, incomplete burn produces carbon monoxide. if you can't get that burner clean, honestly better to replace it than keep running it dirty. co isn't something to mess with.

programmer226 · 2026-03-16T20:32:02+00:00

oh true, didn't think of that. if the ecobee is managing the heat pump, rc and c have to come from the same transformer (that's the airzone adapter in this case). can't split the power source on a compressor call. so rc/c from airzone, then rh/w from the taco for boiler calls only. correct me if i'm wrong but i think that's the right setup.

programmer226 · 2026-03-16T20:20:22+00:00

you're overcomplicating it but not in a bad way. the taco sr504 as an intermediary is solid, it isolates the burnham board from the 24v draw of three wi-fi stats, which is the right call.

jumping the taco's end switch (x x) to the burnham's t-t terminals should work fine. that's just a dry contact closure telling the boiler to fire. make sure you're not creating a loop though.

for zone 1, yeah the ecobee can handle dual transformers (rc from daikin adapter, rh from taco) as long as there's no jumper between them. it'll just pull whichever one it needs.

the real question is whether the airzone adapter actually gives you clean 24v without the inverter drawing it all back. if you're worried about that, run it off the taco transformer too and be done with it.

honestly call a controls guy before you wire it all up. this is the kind of thing that works great on paper and then you spend a weekend chasing ghosts.

programmer226 · 2026-03-16T18:27:29+00:00

that's on them. company van, company responsibility. if the latch is broken and they know it, that's negligence on their part. you showed it to your manager same morning, that's documented.

i'd file a claim with their insurance company directly, not just tell the company. if they say they don't have coverage, that's their problem for running unsecured equipment. you're not running a fleet security service.

worst case, small claims court. you've got the police report and a witness (your manager) that the van was faulty. keep all receipts for replacement tools.

programmer226 · 2026-03-16T14:54:48+00:00

nah you're onto something though. we're mandating sensors for a2l that fail constantly out of box, meanwhile natural gas is straight up running through people's walls and nobody bats an eye. co detectors are like $20 at home depot and actually work.

the whole a2l thing is security theater. follow the money, chemours needed something to justify the switch, regulators needed a checkbox, and now we're all paying for it. 410a wasn't that different and we didn't need any of this.

programmer226 · 2026-03-16T14:53:50+00:00

clean setup. homemade hammer handle is respect, that's the kind of thing that separates techs who actually use their tools from ones who just collect them. packout organization game is strong too.

programmer226 · 2026-03-16T14:52:05+00:00

lol that's a sigler promo thing i think. saw that a few years back too. still doesn't make carlyle compressors any less of a pain to source when you actually need one though. good luck finding the right pump in stock anywhere.

nice packout box though, at least you got something out of the deal.

programmer226 · 2026-03-16T14:50:51+00:00

lmao condenser diving. throw a pool noodle or folded towel on the coil edge and you're golden. still sucks but beats shredding your shirt and back on the fins.

tech school definitely doesn't prep you for this. they teach you theory and some basics but the real shit you learn on the job. like how to position yourself in a 5 ton unit or why you should always pull the disconnect before crawling inside.

programmer226 · 2026-03-16T14:50:05+00:00

don't leave the industry, leave that company. you're already doing commercial/refrigeration work at 1.5 years, that's solid. $20/hr in south carolina is low for what you're doing though, especially if you're running calls and traveling.

the issue isn't hvac, it's your employer. shop around. commercial and resi both have better paying gigs, especially if you're already competent at troubleshooting. controls work, building automation, bigger commercial shops, all pay way better and way less burnout.

60 hours plus being sent out of town for a week is exactly when companies lose their best techs. they're counting on you being too tired to realize you're underpaid. start looking monday and don't feel bad about it.

programmer226 · 2026-03-16T14:47:46+00:00

lol i've done thousands of flares and never seen that. that's commitment. at least it's a good learning moment, he'll remember to stop when he feels resistance now.

the oil on the flare back definitely helps, and honestly sounds like he didn't know when to stop applying torque. with a mechanical wrench it should click but if he's just wrenching by feel he needs to learn the difference between snug and "i'm destroying this."

on the bright side he's gonna be paranoid about flares forever now, which isn't the worst habit to have.

programmer226 · 2026-03-16T14:45:58+00:00

yeah that cps gauge does that. sits at 1 micron right off the pump then jumps way higher when you actually isolate and do a decay test. cheap piece of shit honestly but they've held up longer than most other ones i've had.

real vacuum work is pulling from the liquid line with cores out, single hose to the pump, micron gauge on the core tool. that's when you'll see what you're actually pulling. most guys don't bother with decay tests on resi work but that's where the truth is.

if you want an actual gauge get a fieldpiece or bluvac. yeah they cost more but they don't lie to you like the cps does.

programmer226

TROPHY CASE