This article discusses the purpose of evacuating a refrigeration system and how low a vacuum is needed to properly evacuate a system.

In this installment of the Btu Buddy series, Bob's customer has a major problem with a condensate leak. Btu Buddy assists in solving the problem and suggests what to do to prevent a reoccurrence.

Indoor airflow in any air conditioning system is critical. Too much air and the customer suffers lack of dehumidification in cooling. Too little air in cooling may freeze the coil. Here are procedures on how to measure airflow.

In this edition of the Btu Buddy series, Bob's cooling system service call seems to be a classic case of low charge. With Btu Buddy's help, he discovers that it's actually a compressor problem.

Supeheat and subcooling are two terms that every service technician should know. Here are some quick facts on what they are and why they're important.

Infrared (IR) thermometers make it safe to take surface temperature measurements of items like rotating, hard-to-reach, electrically live, or dangerously hot targets. For preventive maintenance tasks, they cut measurement time to almost zero with the ability to take a surface temperature reading in less than one second.

In this installment of the Btu Buddy series, Bob examines a heat pump system and finds the airflow is low. He discovers that the problem is a dirty coil.

To ensure maximum TXV performance, here are some tips on bulb mounting/location, brazing, valve orientation, external equalizer use, superheat adjustment, and troubleshooting.

To finish the job they were working on last week (see "Btu Buddy 24: Looking At A Heat Pump Drawing A Lot Of Power"), Bob meets Btu Buddy at the jobsite to change the heat pump's four-way valve.

The maintenance requirements of filters, blowers, and motors are well known, but familiarity with energy recovery wheels is not as high. Understanding and implementing maintenance requirements for energy wheels will improve performance, effectiveness, and the life of the wheel.