Now that's a meeting

Last night's meeting of the local chapter was a test of resolve for those who attended. Despite near Hurricane conditions we still had a good handful of faithful chapter members who came for the educational and business meetings.

Many thanks to Rick Seasholtz for taking time to share some information with us about boiler control and oil additives. I was relieved that he didn't activate the sprinkler system with his demonstrations. We look forward to hearing from him in the future.

Our business meeting was short. It doesn't take long for a treasurer report when the "well" is almost dry. The discussions centered around how we can promote our local chapter particularly with the younger upcoming HVAC technition. Let's face it-- that's the future. All us old guys should be looking for ways to interest and involve the younger generation in the society. I heard some really solid ideas last night. All it takes is the preserverance and commitment to implement them.

One disturbing point that I would like to comment about: One of our members made an insightful comment about the reluctance of some contractors and supply houses to become involved in the RSES chapter. It seems that some folks may feel threatened by HVAC professionals from different companies coming together for the common purpose of furthering education and skills. As if sharing information might be a threat to their "turf". Nothing could be further from the truth. Our sole purpose is to promote training and education for the HVAC pro. We are non political, non sectarian, non denominational but totally oriented toward training and education. Admittedly, we have a long way to go to become fully established, but we are not going to go away. I would respectfully say that if someone has the attitude of trying to guard their little world we don't really want or need your participation. Sorry if this sounds harsh, but we're about education not recess.

Having said all that, Mr Kevin Wasielewski CM made to quote of the night when he said that "learning something new is like putting cash in your pocket.". Doesn't that really sum up the whole ideal of the RSES organization. Continuing education is the key to success in our industry. It's really not that different for any profession.

We want to wish everyone and their families a wonderful holiday season. We will not have any meeting in December, but keep the third Thursday of January '07 available for our monthly meeting.

If you want to help the chapter right now take some time to look at the adds that are posted on this blogsite. We earn some money for every click you make on the posted adds. So take some time to read them and you'll also help the chapter.

Posting soon

Your Local RSES chapter needs YOU!

Now that heating season has begun in full force, our schedules will become a little more managable and hopefully we all can turn our attention to some additional training. No matter what our experience level we all need to continue to learn new things and be reminded of standard things. That's where the local RSES chapter comes in. Our sole purpose in to further the skill and knowledge of the HVAC technition. There are so many things in our busy lives that can claim our time, but we always need to make room for those opportunities that can enhance our skills and make us more valuable to our employer and especially the customer. We can encourage and support each other in our profession by sharing our ideas and knowledge. I am always impressed with the willingness to help I receive from most HVAC pros.

We encourage anyone who is interested in continuing development to become an active part of our local RSES chapter. We meet most months on the fourth Thursday from 6-8PM at the Moravian college " doghouse". Check out our meetings and see if you don't come away with something new that you can put into your "toolbox" of knowledge. Its amazing how some things that you learn about in a meeting can be put into actual practice on the job.

If that's not enough reason to put aside some time to enhance your profession just think about the support you can receive from the international RSES in the way of the Journal and the website. So much useful information can be a great contributor to our profession and ultimately serve our customers in a better way.

I hope to see all of you at our meeting on November 16 from 6-8PM at the Moravian College "doghouse". We'll enjoy some food and fellowship and hear from a good speaker, Mr. Rick Seagraves, on some relevant topics. Maybe we can hear some reports from those of us who attended the international convention in October in Atlanta. It was a great experience.

Lehigh Valley members back from Georgia

Hey Tom and Mike glad to see you guys are back safe and sound.Cant wait to hear your experiences from the Omni center in Georgia. If you have any lituature you would like to share bring it along.

RSES Atlanta

Having just returned from Atlanta, I have to report that the international RSES conference was a wonderful experience. I was only able to attend on Wed. Oct. 3, but even that was a memorable experience.

The training sessions that were offered were top quality.

Heat loads, Air flow and Combustion Analysis were the sessions that I was able to pack in one full day. Tom Donmoyer was able to attend the entire conference and I am sure that he was super saturated with information and technical knowledge by the time that the conference was over.

One thing that really made an impression on me was that in each of the training sessions that I attended there was a wide representation of people from all over the country. Hearing their questions and comments was and education in itself. And being able to meet and converse with contemporaries from different areas of the country was something that I look forward to doing again next year in San Antonio, Tx.

Congratulations to Ron Lobb, Tom Donmoyer and Nelson Long on their successful completion of the proctored exam for year one for the training material for CM. We are going to be starting the self study group for year two in the near future, so if you are interested in joining us, let one of the officers of the chapter know ASAP.

Don't forget the October monthly meeting on the fourth Thursday (October 26 from 6-8PM).

September Meeting News

Thursday Septermber 28th was the first meeting of the 2006-2007 year for the Lehigh Valley RSES. The Moravian College "doghouse" was the site of our meeting. In addition to some great pork b'que, we were privlidged to enjoy a training session on scroll compressors given be Mr. Pete Gunderson from Emerson technologies.

Mr. Gundrerson explained the principles and practical workings of Copeland scrolls. In addition, he spent time reviewing Alco flow controls for the group.

Many thanks to Mr. Gunderson for spending the evening with us and helping us to improve our skills. Thanks also for the "ton"of litterature that you gave us.

In case you havn't heard Mr. William Parlapiano III will be the new director of Region 2 for RSES. We wish him all the best.

The first week of October will be the time that the Int'l RSES will host its annual convention in Atlanta, Ga. at the Omni hotel (not far from the airport). Two of our local chapter members will be attending. We are looking forward to hearing from them about the convention.

Make plans now to attend the October meeting. Thursday October 26 at 6PM at Moravian College. See you all there!

September meeting

Wow lots of info transfered tonite, a big thanks to Mr. Pete Gundersen from Emerson & Meier supply for a great seminar. The show was so long we couldn't even fit in the business meeting. For all who couldn't make it we will be having more quality sessions in the near future.

hope to see everyone at the meeting tonite, even you wet noodle

UPCOMING MONTLY MEETING

The monthly meetings for the Lehigh Valley RSES chapter will resume onThursday, September28. We will meet from 6PM- 8PM at the Moravian College "doghouse". We are looking forward to a good year of educational meetings that will increase our knowledge base in the HVAC industry. If anyone has any suggestions about a topic and/or speaker for a meeting please contact any officer.

We are going to try to send as many e-mail notifications as possible in order to cut down on postal costs. Right now that's one of our biggest expenses and with a treasury of less than $500.00 we need to save as much as possible

We are asking all members to make an effort to attend our monthly meetings. They always start promptly at 6 PM and end promtly at 8PM. Non members are welcome to attend up to three monthly meetings before we ask that you join our local chapter. The cost is $90.00 for the first year and $80.00 for renewals. If your are a student in the HVAC industry, the student membership rates are much less than the full rate. It is well worth the cost of memebership just for the RSES magazine that you will recieve.

Congratulations to Mr. Kevin Wasielewski CM on his successful comptetion of the Cerficalte Member exam. We also have three members who will be taking the first year exam for the CM self study course on Sept.7

If any member would like to contribute an article to this blogsite, e-mail me and we will set you up as a contributing writer. We would invite as much participation as possible as this helps all of us. We all benefit from each other's knowledge and experience.

Hope to see you all at the meeting!

HEAT AND HUMIDITY( Part 1)

Thanks to wet noodle for the kick in the pants. I haven't posted for a while and hope that will change. Anyway, with all this rain that we've been having lately,wet noodle got me thinking about humidity and how it can affect both the comfort and quality of an A/C system.
Humidity refers to the amount of moisture that air can hold at a specific temperature and pressure higher the temperature of the air the more humidity that it can hold. The higher the pressure of the air the less humidity that it can hold. A relative humidity of 50%indicates that the air has one half of the amount of moisture that it can hold at that temperature and pressure. There are all kinds of tables and charts which explain this in great detail. Think about it this way- dry air(low humidity) causes rapid evaporation which makes a surface feel cool. Wet air( high humidity) slows down evaporation which makes something or someone feel warmer than the actual dry bulb temperature. So why all the fuss about humidity? Because if the humidity is high even though the room temperature may be 68F the occupants will not be comfortable. There is another more sinister problem here as well and that is that if the humidity is excessively high it can promote the growth of mold and other nasties.

AT LEAST IT'S DRY HEAT

There are times when no matter how diligent we are at maintenance that we need to inform the owner of a piece of equipment that it is time for replacement.
Even if you could get a unit like this running, imagine the energy savings by "selling" a newer more efficient unit.
All this being said, it is still important to spend the necessary time to properly clean coils, check electrical connections, oil motors, change filters and other routine maintenance.
A clean coil can save upwards of 30% towards the cost of operation. Certainly reason enough to make it a part of our spring start up routine.
Anybody! What cleaners work best for you when you are PM ing HVAC equipment?

I'M ONLY KIDDING-SORT OF.....

As my truck bounced into the parking lot, I thought to myself :"this is good, nobody here, I should be able to get in and out quickly.".
however, walking up to the service counter I soon realized that I must have a sign tattooed on my head: "ignore me, please". There were at least four counter people who seemed very skilled at being completely absorbed in doing everything else except to acknowledge a paying customer. One counter geek was on the phone, one paging through some manuals, another answering the phone and asking the person to hold, and the fourth engaged in some conversation with the other customer about lawn grubs.
Did I come at the wrong time? I waited patiently for almost twenty minutes before the guy on the phone asked some office slug if he would see what I wanted. The office guy reluctantly came in my direction mumbling (not so softly) that this wasn't really his job.
I had enough! "You know," I said,"I've been waiting here almost twenty minutes and your complaining that you don't want to wait on me!"
It was at this point that he realized that he had made a parts guy faux pax. Now things were beginning to happen. Pages turned, printers printed and those much needed parts appeared from the back room with an apology.
My demeanor softened and we thanked each other cautiously.
"I think something is missing " as I emptied the contents of my purchase back on the job. "I forgot to get the capacitor #@&*#". This time I would drive twenty minutes farther to that other parts place. It's the one with coffee and doughnuts that I can pig out on while I'm being ignored.

In case you are unaware the RSES intl. has changed its logo to better reflect its true purpose which is to provide training in all aspects of the HVAC industry. Every one of us needs to constantly upgrade and improve our skills to stay current in this ever changing industry.

For example, just consider all the different refrigerant blends that most of us handle today compared to just a few short years ago. Without constant training and retraining we will "loose our way" and may even cause significant damage to a system.

One of the best investments that you can make is to invest your time in some additional training that will upgrade your skills.

All that being said, Does anybody out there have any experience with NU-22? Is it a good drop in for R-22?

Wake up and give me some input!

Lehigh Valley Search and Rescue and LVRSES

Who would think that one of the members of our Local RSES club is also involved with the Valley Search and Rescue club? Jim Roberts, my friend, co worker and fellow RSES member has a wonderful German Shepherd . Today I had the pleasure of allowing his German Shepherd in training to track me to my hiding place in the woods. I was given a five minute head start -do you realize how far you can travel in five minutes? Definitely far enough to get seriously lost!
After traveling about one half mile up a steep incline I found a good hiding spot behind some large rocks. Jim told me to wait about 20 minutes before I started to yell. After 25 minutes and in the middle of a light drizzle and thunder, I started to move down the hill not really sure were I was. After about ten minutes of wandering we meet each other. The dog lost my trail about half way into the search. Hey, he's in training and I traveled much farther than he is currently trained to sniff out.
We reassembled and decided that I would walk parallel to the mountain with a three minute head start. By this time it was raining pretty good, but the dog needed some confidence and I needed to see how this really works.
I traveled across the mountain with the head start and waited no more than what seemed like a few moments before the Shepherd ran up to me. I WAS TAGGED! He turned around and ran back to Jim so he could lead him to my location.
Cogo's reward was getting to play with a little red ball! I thought that was a rip off, but the Shepherd couldn't be happier.
Jim is a very skilled HVAC technition that at one time owned and operated his business. It's impressive that he is still interested in pursuing new skills and interests. The owner of a search and rescue animal has more to learn than the dog. It requires a lot of commitment.
Hey RSES members we could all learn a lesson from this!

Welcome

This blog is being created as a service for the local chapter of the Refrigeration Service Engineer Society. Don't let the title of the chapter convince you that it is only for Refrigeration. It is for refrigeration, but also for all aspects of the HVAC(Heating, Ventilation, and Air conditioning) industry. I'm going to try and post some articles that will be helpful for the service tech but also talk in language that every homeowner can understand. Service techs and homeowners can interact with each other and help each other.It would be great if anyone would post comments/ questions that we all could respond to with our knowledge. Hey, if you don't know the right answer how are you going to learn if you don't ask. Everybody can learn from everybody else.

Speak about learning, three of our local chapter members are poised to take to exam for the first year of the self study course that RSES intl. offers. I think this is an exceptional accomplishment, especially that these men have had to do all the work on their own. I won't publish their names until they pass the exam.

Hey homeowners! If you want a reputalble, qualified service tech at your house you better ask some tough questions of the HVAC contractor. Like is he or she NATE certified? Does he or she even know what NATE is? Run for the hills if you don't get the right answer.

Our local RSES chapter will sponsor NATE core and specialty testing in September.I'm hoping for a good response. This will be the second time that our little chapter is sponsoring this testing.

More to come later.