To prepare you for this month’s troubleshooting situation … you’re not the first technician to be called, nor are you the second technician. You’re the third one that’s been called in to solve this customer’s problem, which involves a heat pump that serves a residential building in a mild Southwest desert climate.

Bob and Tim have arrived at a home where the owner is complaining that the heat pump is not heating properly. It has been getting cold in the home during the late night and early morning hours. It’s really cold outside, about 10°F at night and 25° during the day.

Bob and Tim are continuing a service call on a heat pump that has two failed auxiliary heaters. When they went to the supply house to get new heaters, they left wondering if the heat pump itself was operating up to capacity. After replacing the defective heaters, Bob suggested a visual inspection of the heat pump.

In this month’s troubleshooting situation, we have a customer who has called to say that their condominium has no heat. The particular equipment in this case is a thru-the-wall package unit that provides cooling in the summer and employs a natural gas system to heat the building in the winter.

Ideal for professional preventive maintenance and troubleshooting applications, the 160x120 thermal imager is an addition to the Test and Measurement line and M12™ Lithium-Ion system, the company says.

Bob and Tim have been sent on a routine service contract call to a new customer. The system is a gas furnace with central air conditioning. After changing the filter and oiling the fan motor, Tim went to the thermostat and caused the furnace to come on and they were looking at the burner when Tim said, “That gas flame doesn’t look right.”

Some of the most common problems and solutions for smooth compressor operation can be found in training materials and on-the-job experience. There is also another method for educating HVAC contractors and service technicians — getting answers straight from the manufacturers.

Some people say that the compressor is the key component, or heart, of an air conditioning system. And like the human heart, the compressor must be kept in tip-top condition to run the system efficiently.

Technical Training Associates has announced the introduction of a new series of HVACR troubleshooting training videos. Each video will focus on a specific problem, describe how to take a step-by-step approach to correctly diagnose the failed component, and explain the cause and conditions behind the failure.