Monthly Meeting

Although the meeting day and date were changed our chapter remained in step with quality programing for the month of February. Mr. Bob Thomas from Honeywell http://www.honeywell.com/ spent the evening at our chapter meeting reviewing the 7800 series Honeywell burner control. He explained the Honeywell terminology that is used to identify the steps of the control. He also reviewed the sequence of operation for the control. I've seen a lot of these controls on campus, but really learned a lot about their operation. I appreciated his explanations of the various types of flame detectors that can be used along with their strengths and weaknesses.

It was nice to see some new folks at the meeting tonight, I hope that you all will return and become an active part of our RSES chapter.

Our self study group is nearing completion. Each week in March we will be reviewing the material from the RSES technical institute years 1,2,3. There are five members who anticipate taking the CM exam in April at the EKA convention in Pittsburgh. For first time takers of the exam the failure rate is 70%. We want to see if we can beat this percentage, but it doesn't happen with wishful thinking. It takes consistency and hard work. We've been working on this project for 3 or 4 years and it hasn't been easy. Even if I flunk the exam the first time, it's still been worth the effort to learn and train and improve. There is no doubt that I'm a better HVAC technician because of the excellent material in the training institute. Don't misunderstood me, a lot of the material is dated and could use an upgrade, but overall the information presented has been very useful and practical.

Our chapter has started the $5 raffle. For $5 you can buy a ticket that could win you a Fluke 117/322, a Milwaukee 12V cordless drill, or a Husky 160 pc. mechanics set. We are only going to sell 200 tickets, so your chances are reasonably good. Thanks to MEIER SUPPLY and JOHNSTONE SUPPLY for donating two of these items. One of our members donated the Husky set. Thank you also.

Set aside the fourth Thursday in March. We are planning a session about Heat Pumps with the author of a book about Heat Pumps. More later

PATIENCE is a VIRTUE

I can't wait any longer. At the recent EKA training sessions in NYC one of the speakers was Mr. Joe Marchese, CMS. He made a comment about PATIENCE being the greatest asset of the HVAC technition. That really made an impression on me. After the session I complimented him on the talk and he gave me permission to publish his article on Patience. Here it is:

Mr. Joe Marchese, CMS

Patience is a Virtue

One attribute all RHVAC technicians must possess is patience. Patience is vital for all aspects of a technician’s job. It is required while maintaining, repairing and installing equipment, and even while troubleshooting systems.
Having patience is definitely a plus while troubleshooting systems. It is easy for a technician to rush to early conclusions, leading him to incorrectly diagnose a system problem. Many times a system must be thoroughly inspected before determining the root cause of the system problem. This may include measuring the system’s suction and discharge pressures, evaporator and system superheat values, the amount of subcooling at the outlet of the condenser and perhaps some other system conditions. At times measuring these values takes time and it should not be skipped or, even worse, their values must not be assumed. When measuring a system’s pressures and temperatures, a technician may need to let the system run for a period of time to allow the pressures and temperatures to stabilize. It is generally recommended to let the system run at least 10 to 15 minutes after a shut down or after any adjustments are made before relying on the measured values.
Patience is also required while maintaining systems. For example, a typical maintenance inspection on a system with an air-cooled condenser may require cleaning the condenser coil. Properly cleaning the condenser coil takes time and patience. It is important that a technician cleans both the outer and inner surfaces of the coil. Only cleaning the outer surface of the coil is not completing the task. Also, while cleaning the coil a technician must take care not to damage the fins of the condenser. This can easily happen if too much water pressure is used while rinsing the coil.
There are many times when patience is required while repairing systems. A typical example of this is the simple process of working with flare nuts. It is quite easy to cross thread a flare nut if care is not taken while assembling a flared connection. If the threads are not properly mated and a technician applies pressure with a wrench to tighten the flare nut, it is easy for the threads to cross and become damaged. It is generally a good practice to always hand tighten a flare nut a few turns before applying pressure with a wrench. If the flare nut cannot be tightened by hand, find out why before taking a wrench to it.
Patience is always required during system installations. Technicians need to take time their time while laying out piping to ensure the system is properly piped together. Once the piping is installed the system needs to be properly evacuated. Most systems should be evacuated to a 500 micron level to ensure it is completely degassed and dehydrated. Sometimes this process is time-consuming and requires a technician to be patient and not shortcut the process.Patience is definitely a virtue when it comes to troubleshooting, maintaining, repairing and installing refrigeration systems. It is a must for all technicians. Without it a technician’s job can become quite frustrating.

Mr. Joe Marchese,CMS