Get insight from John Tomczyk, NEWS columnist and renowned HVACR professor at Ferris State University in Big Rapids, Mich., through his “HVACR Service + Troubleshooting with The Professor” eBook.

The NEWS has announced the publication of a new eBook, HVACR Service + Troubleshooting with The Professor, by John Tomczyk, a renowned HVACR professor at Ferris State University and a NEWS columnist.

Bob and Tim were on their way to a residence outside of town where the homeowners’ complaint was excess humidity in the house. When they arrived, they met the housewife and she told them, “The plumbing fixtures often sweat, there is mold in some of the closets, and mold is beginning to form in the laundry room.”

Bob and Tim were on their way to a no heat call. It was an oil heat application and Tim was anxious to work on an oil system. He had not seen an actual oil heat installation, only in the school lab. Those are great, but not like the real thing at a customer’s house.

Bob and Tim have gotten together after work to discuss the oil furnace service call that they were on earlier in the day. Bob had asked Tim if he would be willing to stay after work and review the call and Tim readily agreed.

In this troubleshooting problem, the customer’s general definition of the situation gets more specific when you arrive at the site and discover that the reason there is no heat is because although the burners ignite on a call for heat, the air handling system never starts, and the system’s limit control shuts the furnace down.

Bob and Tim arrived at their fifth service call of the day. They were both wet from servicing a heat pump outdoor unit in the snow. This was a no heat call for a gas furnace. The weather was cold and there was no heat at all in the house. 

Bob and Tim were on their way to a “low heat” call at a residence when the dispatcher called them back and told them that the homeowner had called and explained that the furnace was hot, but the home was cold. The dispatcher had told the owner to shut the furnace off until Bob and Tim arrived.