Articles by Jim Johnson

Website Management for HVACR Service Managers

Tips for Developing and Maintaining a Better Website
June 10, 2013
An HVACR service manager or service company owner in pursuit of excellence should be actively involved in the maintenance and almost-constant evolution of their website. Approaching it via a blend of the available options makes it manageable.


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Troubleshooting Challenge: A Split System That’s Still Sitting Dead

May 6, 2013
In this month’s troubleshooting problem we have a homeowner who has attempted to repair his own equipment, and he has replaced two components. The original symptom of the split system sitting dead still exists.


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Troubleshooting Challenge: A Modular A/C Unit That’s Not Cooling

March 4, 2013
In this month’s troubleshooting situation, we’re taking you to a school, but not to the equipment room of the main building. Instead, it’s a modular classroom (similar to a double-wide manufactured home) that is brand new, and employs a heating/cooling unit that mounts on one end of the building. 


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Troubleshooting Challenge: A Gas Furnace That Won’t Heat

January 7, 2013
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.


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Troubleshooting Challenge: A Heat Pump That Kicks Off

November 5, 2012
In this month’s troubleshooting problem we have a customer who can only tell us that their heat pump “isn’t working” and “the temperature in the building isn’t right.” When you arrive, you confirm the system isn’t operating properly. The indoor fan motor is running normally, but the building temperature is far from the thermostat set-point.


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Troubleshooting Challenge: A Gas Furnace That Heats, But Not Enough

September 3, 2012
This troubleshooting problem brings you to a three-bedroom, ranch style home on a concrete slab, which, as most typically do in this area of the Southwest, employs a rooftop evaporative cooling system in the summer and an upflow forced-air gas furnace for heating in the winter. The customer says one of the bedrooms “just won’t get comfortable.”


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Troubleshooting Challenge: Assisting With a Split System Problem

July 9, 2012
In this month’s troubleshooting problem, you have been called by a colleague who is relatively new to HVACR to assist in repairing a split system in a manufactured home. The original diagnosis regarding this unit that is sitting dead was that the PCB 3-amp fuse was blown, and when it was replaced, the new fuse also failed.


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Troubleshooting Challenge: An A/C System That’s Not Keeping the House Comfortable

May 7, 2012
In this month’s troubleshooting situation, our customer’s description of the problem is “not cooling” and “blowing warm air,” and the equipment that is supposed to keep this residence comfortable is a split system that has been in service for 16 years.


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Troubleshooting Challenge: A Thru-the-Wall Package Unit That Won't Heat

March 5, 2012
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.


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Troubleshooting Challenge: An Older Heat Pump With a Problem in Cool Night/Warm Day Weather

January 9, 2012
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.


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