The Rewards Of The Trade

[Editor’s note:This letter is in reference to Ed Dice’s letter, “Field Of Dreams,” September 23.]

Ed, you are right on the money. In the letter that you have written, you have hit the nail on the head with the true facts and rewards of this beautiful trade. Just wanted to reassure you that yes, there are others out there that do think like you do. I only know because I am one of about 200 others that I know who do agree with you.

John Williams Jr., Controls Specialist, Carrier Corp., Plymouth Meeting, PA

More Receiver Points To Consider

This is in reference to John Piasecki’s article (“Don’t Let The Receiver Be Your Weakest Link,” September 2) and Bryan Wyrick’s response in Feedback titled “Receiver Location” (September 16).

While I certainly agree with the points made in the article and response, there are some other important points that need to be addressed if a receiver is to be used:

1. A receiver should always be located below the condenser outlet.

2. If the outlets of the condenser are horizontal, they should be piped with full-sized ells and the vertical receiver. No traps rising above the condenser outlet should be piped from the condenser to the receiver.

3. The addition of a subcooler cannot be overemphasized and its location has to be at the receiver outlet as mentioned in the “Receiver Location” letter.

4. Lately, there has been a lot of effort given to surge-piped receivers. In my opinion, a straight-through receiver with a subcooler is a simpler and more reliable technique than a surge-piped receiver.

Using an electrical analogy, a surge-piped receiver can be considered to be a fluid capacitance and a flow-through receiver is analogous to a fluid inductance. An inductance has considerably more forgiveness than a capacitance. This has been borne out in my experience.

Eliot Batiste, P.E., Refrigeration Engineer, Esthete, Houston, TX

No Complaints About Ethical Competitors

[Editor’s note:This letter is in reference to Ed Dice’s letter, “Quality vs. Price,” September 16.]

I don’t think most contractors complain about competition from anyone who is a licensed contractor, who sells and installs a “legal and safe” job. Our problems are mostly with the unlicensed, uninsured “contractor” who has no overhead or the legal contractor who cuts every possible corner (e.g., leaky ductwork, undersized ductwork, no permits, and doesn’t follow manufacturers’ installation instructions).

Art Dobson, Encompass Mechanical Services, Seattle, WA

Send Feedback Via E-mail
You can send your feedback to The News electronically: e-mail us at LetterstoTheNews@bnp.com or visit our home page, click on the Feedback logo, and fill out the Feedback form. All correspondence must include the writer’s full name, city, state, daytime phone number, and (if applicable) e-mail address. Letters may be edited for length and clarity, and may be published in any medium.

Publication date: 10/07/2002