Thank you thank you thank you I might help if I unmute myself huh? hey guys! Welcome to our weekly show where we answer your heating and air questions Live! We are back in Virginia and uh, ready for some heat but no not too much heat like Texas had ready for some humidity but not too much humidity like Texas had. so anyway I've got some cool things I want to share with you guys tonight and of course we're always taking your questions live. We're going to start out our show by saying hello to a few of you guys hey Gary Bob and Gil Good to see you guys! Steve and the the mark and TJ So hey to all you guys! welcome to the show again! If you have any heating and air questions, feel free to add those to our chat and uh we will try to answer those. uh it's not just me here.

Uh, there's some other Pros that join us from time to time and if I don't know your answer, maybe one of them will. So um and good to see Carl So yeah! I Just got back from uh Daikin behind closed doors tour of the the largest heating and air manufacturing facility in North America Last week we had a good time. In fact I've already got one video I would say 92 percent done. Uh, it's not 100 done.

Um, and there's a couple reasons for that. Um, there's actually some proprietary things that I'm not allowed to show that they showed me and so I have I've sent the video to them just to kind of make sure that everything's okay that I'm not showing anything I'm not supposed to and um yeah, Gil says it's 109. it was. it was 108.

uh, when I was there last week in Houston So man, I don't know how you guys do it. uh I think I'm back here in Virginia and we've only touched 90 90 degrees twice now. So even with the heat index I don't think it's hit 100. Maybe it has, but there's a whole other level of heat.

uh that you guys done in Texas take uh to take on there. so uh Geo Mac Granddad good to see you. uh it says I got one percent battery thought I'd say hi before it dies. Go plug that thing in and stay with us.

Go plug that thing in and uh Emery Good to see you aren't Dykin Goodman and a manual manufacturer by the same people? Uh, they're all under the same roof. they're all owned by Daikin but I don't know if they're manufactured by the same people because there's different product lines. Uh, now that I've been in the factory, I can say that I've seen the different lines and so on. and uh.

so anyway, yes they they are all owned by Daikin and uh all. I Can't say all the products are made in that factory, but a lot of them are there. that that is one big honking. Factory So again, I've got a video that's going to be coming out very soon.

I'm just waiting for them to kind of give me the the approvals to say everything's okay, that I'm not showing anything that I'm not supposed to show and I've got one video to go I mean ready to go that we're gonna launch. Uh, hopefully in the next few days. Um, and uh, I'm really excited about it. It's unlike any video I've ever done, so please stay tuned.

Please like it please. Uh, you know, please share it. You know, if you like it, share it with your friends. It's uh, like I say it's unlike any video I've ever done.

and I've put more time, effort, and money into this one video than any video I've ever done. Um, by traveling down there and all the things that we did. um, obviously I've put quite of an investment of Tom and and so on into this one video. Now we're going to be doing a bunch of videos, but this one first video.

um I think it took me I think it took me a total of five days total. uh of you know, editing from beginning to end and I think it'll come out that way. It's not one of my normal videos where I just sit in front of the camera and I just spout off some tips or or ideas and then edit it. This video is is more about our whole trip, some of the people we met, and and so on.

So I hope you guys like it again. I'm hoping it'll launch in the next few days and if you do like it I want to see it do well so please, you know, share it and like it and all that good stuff. So as soon as I get there, um as soon as I get their blessing on it, we're gonna watch that video and so hopefully that's you know over the next couple days. So I'll obviously let you guys know.

hopefully it'll be before our next show. so that's that's the first thing. Steve says what's editing um let's see Craig says we're gonna start out some questions Craig says how often do you how often do you new TXV out of the box being bad. The one I had was a swirling three and a half to five ton.

It's happened. Uh, it doesn't happen very often, but it has happened. I did a whole video not long ago where um, it's my belief and and my experience as well that a lot of Txvs that are diagnosed bad are not actually bad. Um, and so I did a whole video on that talking about airflow, talking about refrigerant levels and things like that and so I've seen a lot of Txv's diagnosed bad that the the TXV itself actually wasn't bad, but a lot of guys will replace the TXV and then get the charge right or they'll replace the TXV and then realize something's still kind of off.

and then they clean the evaporator coil or replace the air filter or whatever. and so uh I Just had a guy one of my own employees the other day called me. he's like I've got an iced up coil I think I got a bad TXV and I said whoa, whoa, hold on, why don't you thaw that coil out and then let then let's see what's going on. You got to get it thawed out before you can diagnose that metering device.

So but yeah, no, I Can't say I've seen a lot of Txv's bad out of the box, but um, I've had a few here and there. I'm not as experienced as some of you guys are though, right? Um, Geo Mac Granddad says he's coming to the eastern shore of Virginia next week. curious where you're going? Let me know. Um, are you going to what's that? There's that town that's literally across the bay from us that everybody but I never get the name right? Cape Charles maybe or something like that I don't know I Don't want to say I'm not gonna say any more names because I'll just sound dumb but um, but yeah, I'd be curious where you're heading to on the Eastern Shore There's a lot of cool stuff over there to see, and it's It's pretty rural, but there's still a lot of cool stuff there So uh Craig says I installed the piston and it fixed it.

You fixed it. Uh, brand new system on an install Steve says I thought it was always the TXV that that is always the answer right? Uh, some of the forms that you see guys say whenever they're like hey there there's a couple of groups that were in that you know they're actually for beginners that some of the some of the young guys that are still learning. they'll go in there and ask questions and some of the older guys will give them a hard time but also try to help them and they almost always say it's the TXV So pretty funny there. Yeah, the uh.

the trip last week um I was privy to some information I was told about some upcoming products. Unfortunately, I'm not going to go over uh, any of those products quite yet because I've got to figure out which ones I'm allowed to share and which ones I'm not. but I will say I do got a couple things I Want to touch on with you guys because some of you submitted questions to me that you wanted me to ask while I was there and I will say that most of those questions I did ask. You know now I will say some of your questions were tough.

some of the answers I got was you know they they didn't always have an answer or you know weren't quite sure. Um, but I did ask most of those questions and some of the answers that I got I will also be sharing soon. but I again I don't know what I'm allowed to share and what? I'm not as far as that goes. So I will say this: we've got some upcoming videos coming.

They might answer some of your questions that you guys submitted. Um, obviously if I do a video on it and it comes out then you know it's something that I was allowed to share and so I just don't want to get in trouble I don't want to share something that I shouldn't have and but I will say they they are working on a lot of new stuff. a lot of cool stuff I'm sure most brand, most heating and air manufacturers are probably working on something. Um, some of the things that have come out in the past I wasn't so excited about, but I will say some of the things coming out now some of the things that are going to be coming out in the next two years I'm really excited about as someone that sells their products on the regular I'm really excited about a few of them.

The other thing I wanted to just point out is I know a few of you have asked about the inflation reduction act and I will tell you that Daikin is working on that too. So I I don't think I'm out of out of um I don't think I'm doing anything wrong to say that they are concerned about that, that they have heard you and that they want to offer you some solutions when it comes to the inflation reduction act. So I will say that. and the last thing I'll say about the trip that I think I'm okay to say is they're going to have me back that I'm supposed to be going back on a podcast.

Let me share. You know this podcast isn't really for homeowners but there is a podcast that they are doing. um it's it's public on YouTube so I think it's okay to to be public. um you know with about it here and let's see share this tab so hopefully you guys can see my screen here.

this is the YouTube uh Channel and I'll put in Ben's name because I knew that it would come up under that. but um yeah they've already got up to almost 500 subscribers they're they're belting out some videos 26 videos and this is the podcast that I believe I think that they're gonna have me on. and the reason I say I think is because I thought that the lady I spoke to said that they only had two only two episodes recorded. Um and this looks like they've got several recorded So Maybe this isn't the right one, but either way uh looks like if this is the right one, this is the one, that they're going to have us.

uh, have me as a guest on so that'll be one one time that they're gonna have me back. and then they also have a conference coming up that they've asked me to speak at. So which is kind of crazy. I'm just a a small town I Grew up in a trailer park and I learned how to fix some air conditioners right? So come a long way and uh, I'm excited about that too.

So uh, let's see. for some reason it looks like my chat over here that you guys can see is way ahead or it looks like there's some things popping up there that's not popping up in my normal chat here which is weird but anyway, maybe it will eventually. Um so let's see Steve says I thought it was always TXV commercial are usually adjustable and Carl says when in doubt is the TXV Yeah so uh again, if you have any heating and air questions if you've caught this show, uh feel free to drop those in the chat. uh looks like we've got several Pros on here with us tonight and again if I don't know the answer your question one of them will.

so feel free to drop your questions in the the chat and if we get no questions we'll have we'll have a real quick show tonight. Um another thing I Wanted to share with you guys is I think we might in a show very soon on one of our live shows we might have a guest uh, from one of the the folks that we talked to down at the Daikin Factory uh, they actually call it the Daikin Texas Technology Park and that's a mouthful I probably I Don't think calling it The Daikin Factory does it justice because it's more than just a factory I mean it's there's a research and development. uh, part of the facility. There's um, actual meeting rooms and and you know, when you call Daikin you're I Don't know if it's one of the people that was in the cubicles that I saw or whatever, but they have.

It's more than just the factory there is. The point. Uh, there's there's a lot there under that one roof. so maybe Park is the better word to call it.

But um. anyway, one of the folks that I met down there um I don't want to reveal who it is yet I feel like I'm being real vague on a lot of things, but I just don't want to be inaccurate. but one of the guys that's in charge of a lot of stuff let's put it that way. uh has said that he may be coming on a show with us here live on a show very soon, which that'd be pretty cool and uh, he would have been on last week's show I think um, but it was too short a notice for him I think he had something else going but um yeah, that'll be cool and he's one of the guys that um you know he knows some stuff.

he knows some of those upcoming products that he shared with me. um I remember I told him I was like well listen we we can talk about him but I I won't release any videos I won't release this recording until you tell me it's okay and he said well with that. with that then I'll share a few things with you. So um anyway uh yeah.

so again, if you have any questions, feel free to drop those in the chat. Any heating and air questions? um feel free to do that. Uh, let's see I did want to. another thing we we have segments every week and so one of our segments that we'll do sometimes is ask the audience where I ask you guys some questions and so my first question this week that I'm going to ask you guys is what are some of the other YouTubers that you follow and it doesn't have to be other Heating and Air Guys although if they are I'd love to hear them.

maybe it's somebody I've never heard of. maybe maybe they're an up and comer and you know you think Holly of them I'd love to hear about that but maybe there's some other YouTubers that you kind of follow them a little bit and they put out some pretty good stuff and you'd like to share that. so feel free to drop um their the name of the channel or a link to the channel. feel free to drop that in the chat I don't know how I don't know how um YouTube looks at that I don't know if they say it's you know, good or bad to you know for you to drop that again.

My comment section is not staying up to date here so let me let me jump over to what you guys are seeing. Yeah, see I I see I see what you guys are seeing? see where I'm highlighting this I see Arch there. Um, but I'm not seeing it in my normal chat over here. Let me try.

Give me just one second guys. I'm gonna try to refresh this. Give me one second. it might boot me out.

but I'll come right back there we go. so hopefully that helps us out here. It would not be a live show with unless I uh unless I had problems huh? So yeah, let me go back up here and see if we get caught up on some of the things you guys were saying. but yeah if you would share your favorite YouTubers in the chat hopefully you can hear me because now it's saying I have nobody in our uh watching us live and I don't think that's true because I'm watching us on another on a at least one other computer over here.

so it should at least be a one right there. So lovely. lovely technology. Uh, let's see.

Steve says congrats thanks Steve Emery says what is the sign of a failed? TXV Um so there's a couple things. so a TXV is basically a valve. Hopefully you guys can see me if you can. If you can hear me or see me, um, let me know Emery just said is this thing on so let me know if you can see me or hear me because now I'm not sure if there's anybody else in here and I don't know if I'm talking to myself now okay Steve says thumbs up.

So yeah, okay, well hopefully you guys can hear and see me my my screen. If you can see what I can see, it says zero that there is nobody watching which is uh, obviously not accurate because again, I'm watching myself. But anyway, so Emery says what's the sign of a failed? TXV a TXV is essentially a valve that opens and closes. So some Txvs will become stuck.

Some of them will be oh, stay open and not open and close. Some of them will stay closed and not open. um, some of them. The temperature bulb itself is not acting properly and so um, to answer your question, I would say the majority of failed Txvs that I see just become stuck in some Manner and they they're creating some sort of restriction.

although I have seen some of them where they're staying open or closed. um and a good way to test that is if you if you take if you take the system and reverse it. So um, the indoor TXV and heating mode should be completely open and the outdoor TXV and cooling should be completely open so that way it can you know flow refrigerant that way and uh you Steve's of my buddy Steve says I see you're in a big green shirt. you look like the incredible bulk.

thanks Steve um Emery said so Yeah So that's essentially when I see a failed TXV That's what I'm seeing I'm seeing a a valve that is not opening and closing like it should and so in a lot of cases it's going to be recruit. It's going to create some sort of restriction. Um, and they're just simply not opening and closing as they should. So that's why you've got to.

There are variables that will will fool you. you know, like low airflow for example might make you think that oh I've got a restriction here I'm starting to see some ice build up things like that. um and and in reality it's the the airflow is the issue. It's not the actual metering device so be says congrats they liked your info.

Thanks Be! Hopefully I'm saying your name right? Um Steve says hi sub cooling high superheat Arch says good afternoon from Arizona hey Arch I actually talked about you Arch at Daikin I was telling them about um the whole package unit thing and and so on. So again I don't I don't want to get into anything I'm not supposed to but we did talk about you I will tell you that and and some of your questions and concerns might be in some upcoming videos Bruce says hi Josh Good to see you brother My Cond: My contractor put in a five inch pleated filter 16 by 25 inches I believe I have three returns downstairs but there are no filters in those. We'll leave ductwork will the we'll leave So I think he's saying will the ductwork get dirty? yes it will. Um, but as long as you're filtering that air before it goes through the unit um that's not uncommon.

um I have seen people have returned return you know, grills without a filter Grill there and so the the return duct itself will become quite dirty as long as you're filtering that air at the unit. Um, you should be okay Bruce says I'd like to add that filter is in the return of the air handler only. thanks Josh Yeah, so we have customers that have that set up. That's not what we do at Griffin Air.

If we're doing like a new install, we'll usually put filter grills in wherever possible. Um, but we do have customers that it was already made that way. From the get-go they'll put a filter at the air handler and um, you know they'll have return return ducks that get like you said, quite dirty. So um and you can clean them.

You know you can get a duck cleaner to clean those and if you know, especially if it's bothering you, uh, if they've never been clean and it's been a bunch of years and you want to get it good and cleaned up, um, they can usually clean a return Grill you know pretty easily usually uh Arch says hey Carl what's the weather up north both those Arizona guys Tech junkie good to see you HVAC Survival HVAC guy I do I watch summer Curtis's stuff too um Quality HVAC I have watched some of his stuff and anti-diy HVAC yeah he pops up on mine as well. so um, all good channels. all ones that I watch as well. So um I don't think I've seen the H H A V A C Survival one as much but the other guys that definitely watch their stuff from time to time.

So um it looks like I am behind again. so I don't know what's going on guys. my my chat is not my it's not populating like it should if I go over here and look at the chat where you guys are I can see where you said things and then it's not populating in. you know I use Stream Yard as our service and stream yard is not doing very well for me tonight.

So um, let's see. let me see if I can just go by your chats over here and and maybe you know, maybe I've got to update something on my end. um and do it that way So let's see, everybody says they can hear me so that's good Carl says I think wax moisture are good confusing issues and diagnosing a TXV says the bulb is the only closing Force so a bulb that's lost its charge will usually pump down Arch says thanks Josh I'd be interested to hear what you talked about down the road. yeah, maybe someday.

uh I think there might be a few things arched that never make it on on air, at least not for any time soon. but they I will say you came up I'll tell them that I'll tell you that and then who knows. maybe someday I'll be out in Arizona and I'll share everything with you. it's it's nothing huge, it's just I don't want to share something that I'm not supposed to.

So um, let's see Steve says opening Force Tech Junkie says by the way, I'm taking an online course in HVAC which one are you taking Tech junkie I'd love to know which one that is Uh, share that with us um I just would love if my computer would act right I'm gonna. hmm yeah very frustrating my chat over here that I usually use where I can you know? kind of Click it and it'll You guys will pop up here. it's not populating. um it's it's way behind.

So anyway, um let's see he says the one through preppy and Auburn University hmm yeah let us know what you think of it. I think a lot of the courses that you know that are being sold kind of depends on where you get it from right? So there's some that are being sold that that well let me back up. So a lot of trade schools at least the ones in our area I have not experienced any of the latest. so let me let me preface it that way because there are some new teachers at our local um Community College where they teach HVAC classes and then there's also a um um I guess it's like a continuing education or like a trade school that is a part of the high school or some of the high schools in our area and I have not met the teacher or experienced any of the students I haven't met any of his students that he is currently teaching.

but anyway I prefaced it enough. uh I Will say years ago I hired a guy uh, that had been through two years of schooling and they had not even taught the guy how to wire a thermostat and I was I was pretty upset for him. um I thought that you know I thought that was a little much I thought they you know if if you've been through two years, they should at least have taught you how to wire a thermostat by then you know. Um, they had.

They had taught him some things, they had taught him how to braise and things like that. but you know at some point you have to get off the philosophy of things or the physics behind some of this stuff and teach the guy if he wants to learn how to fix an air conditioner, you got to fix. teach him how to fix an air conditioner. and so I just felt kind of bad for him because he had come out of pocket with his own money.

went through two years of schooling and still did not even know how to wire a thermostat. So I felt real bad for him. So um, so anyway so there's there's that side of it right? There's there's people that are trade schools that are, you know I don't want to say you're wasting your money, but it's almost like you've got to go through 10 years of schooling to get to. you know? Oh, a basic level of knowledge of what we do seems like and then there's this other flip side of the coin.

and I don't think that based on what I just Googled for of the the school that you're going to Tech junkie I Don't think they fall under this, but there are some newer schools out there that they're basically run by these guys that want to teach uh Heating and Air Guys how to become millionaires overnight and how to basically jack up your prices and how to sell things and how to in all these things. So it's not necessarily A a class that's going to teach you the skills on how to fix an air conditioner or even you know, install an air conditioner. It's more of how to sell an air conditioner and how to make the most money while doing it and have higher margins and things like that. And so you know, I'm all for guys making a decent living doing this.

but if you think you should be a millionaire after a year of doing this, you're probably going to take advantage of somebody along the way. I'm just saying. you know that's horrible. but I'm just I'm just being honest.

so I'm I'm good at that just being honest. uh Emery says, what kind of gauges do you use I have actually two sets of gauges I have a if you're talking to me I don't you know I don't know if you were talking to one of the other folks in here, but if you're talking to me um I I don't want I don't love all of the digital gauges out there I haven't found a set that I'm in love with. However, I do have the wireless set of field piece gauges that are really handy and I can put everything you know, connect everything to my phone and I can get really quick measurements of everything you know I can just walk to a job site through my temperature probes on the Uh vents inside, run outside, connect my gauges, my clamps, and I can find out what's going on with the system really fast. and then in addition to that, I keep an old set, an old school set of analog gauges.

That's what I learned on Um and that's in my opinion. every guy should have a set of those on their Um truck. uh, if nothing else, for no other reason. If it's raining, you know if it's starting to rain and you're trying to finish up a job and you got your digital gauges out there? I've actually heard of guys having their gauges ruined and so aside from that, um I Also think that if you learn how to do the math and how to properly use analog gauges and then if you want to go to digital gauges Fine, but it's sort of like my dad taught me how to drive a stick shift truck back in the day before he would let me drive an automatic because he said if you can, if you learn how to drive this, you can drive anything but if you start out the other way, if you start driving an automatic and then you know somebody's got a broken leg and you've got to run them to the hospital and the only thing to drive is a stick shift, you're in trouble, you know? So that's kind of how I look at gauges too.

I think every Apprentice should start out on a set of analog gauges I Know there's guys out there that would disagree with that, but that's just how I feel. So Tech Junkie says it's really. it's actually really good for the most part. I Also get an EPA 608 and a Nate education hours.

Good good stuff there. Techjunkie also says they also have an externship that they will pair you with a company for 40 hours minimum for OJT but they work with you and your schedule so that's good. and I think that that I mean you know I call it the School of Hard Knocks You're going to learn more at a company. you you spend three months out of school and then three months out of company.

You should. if you're if you're trying to learn, you should learn more in my opinion. Real World Experience at the job. but the good thing with the schooling is it does teach you.

You know the the math behind things and things like that. You know nobody out in the field ever taught me say Ohm's law you know with electricity and that does come in handy a lot of times with heating and air stuff. So you know I learned that in a classroom. uh Tech Junkie also says I also have a 3D VR that has Diagnostics which is integrated with skill Mill Yeah, that's the that was actually the reason I asked.

um that virtual reality is becoming a huge thing I know Daikin has a CL has a school that they're doing some virtual reality stuff. Um I know their skill cat and then there's what's the other big one? something. What's that? There's there's another big one, foreign virtual interplay. that's the other one.

Enter play. So and actually, since I Googled that uh, akka looks like they've got some stuff. so um, virtual reality is kind of. It's actually pretty cool because you know I don't know if it's quite as good as real world hands-on experience, but by gosh, it's It's pretty close.

they're get. they've come a long way haven't they? You know you've kind of. You walk up to a unit and you got to fix it. You know it's kind of neat.

So um Arch says in my opinion honestly, oh on it probably meant honesty is the best policy and you'll have a better chance of building a loyal customer base. Very true. I Just listened to a podcast by a guy the other day where he was talking about how he a customer had had multiple companies come out and try to sell them a system without actually looking at it and he he said hey, you know, give me an hour here. you know it's not free, you know I'm gonna charge you for my hour but give me an hour and see if I can get the system going for you, buy you a little more time you can save up for your new system.

And so he was basically winning a customer for Life by taking care of them a little better, at least giving them the option to repair. that's that's the big thing. You should be able to tell them exactly what's wrong with their system and here's exactly how much it's going to cost to fix it. and then if you give them that information but also say do you really want to put that kind of money into an older system or would would you rather you know go with the new system with a warranty and everything then you're giving them all their options there.

But you know there are times that you know companies don't even you know even look at the system, you know it could be something simple and you can get another year to one to five years out of that system. You know nobody's a psychic and you've got these guys that are you know going right to selling a system. So I think that the money you would make off of a customer for life would far outweigh that quick sale, you know? But I'm sure there's guys that would disagree. Tech Junkie says I'm pretty impressed with the course I had 30 days to try it and I tried to get as far as I could to determine whether it was worth and I feel it is nice.

Interplay is also in the course. very cool. Very cool. Yeah I wish my uh my my chat thing was working so you guys can uh I could put your uh you know your little thing right up down here but it's not working guys.

I'm sorry it's every week. it's something right. One week it was the audio and one week it was my camera stopped working and this week is chat so it's always something, uh, home. Rapid Repair Good friend of mine says good communication is always key with the customer.

He's got a really successful business home. Rapid Repair uh share where you're located again I Know it's out west somewhere but I don't want to speak out a turn so so if you would share where you're located but um anyway. uh let's see it's after nine already. That's good.

Uh, so we're moving right along. Let me see if I can find my notes. Here I Told you guys about the going back uh to Daikin I'll be going back to do the podcast but then I'm also going to be doing that Conference in October I don't know how much of that's going to make it as far as how much of that will be good for a YouTube video. but I am going to take cameras with me so I learned a lot from this trip to Daikin because if nothing else I need better gear.

um I was a struggling at times with you know, the gear that we had um and uh, you know so I'm if nothing else I'm gonna get some better gear and uh, you know have a little better setup. but anyway, yeah so when I go back for that conference I'm going to take a camera or two with me and if I go back for the podcast, I'll do the same. so who knows I might be able to Corner somebody and ask them some more questions. So um, let's see.

um Tech Junkie says I've missed a few weeks here I've been on vacations? yes a few. uh Rapid Repair says Michigan Home Improvement channel is going well my friend. yeah he's got some really good stuff if you guys like Home Improvement type stuff type stuff. uh check his channel out, check his channel out if I could talk and give him a subscribe.

he's got some really cool stuff and uh, he and I chat every now and then. so yeah, give him a a subscribe over there. but yeah, if you guys have any heating and air questions, feel free to drop those in the chat. I'm going to go back to our ask the audience segment over here and ask you um to share an HVAC horror story.

So if you have any horror stories, it doesn't have to be super bad. Uh, if you have a super bad one then feel free. but even if you don't, you know if you've got something to share. we'd love to hear it.

Uh, if you have experienced anything that wasn't fun, whether it be a company, a heating and air system, a thermostat, something that was kind of a pain for you to deal with, uh, we'd love to hear about that. share that in our chat as well. Uh, let's see. Bruce says sure if there's anybody else we can see you fine I can see you fine Nice.

I um on my end I can see me fine too. The camera looks good, the chat looks fine so you you guys see right here on my screen. there's a chat right here. but see this is what I'm having to go to to read your your comments I have to go to this whereas usually on my software I can click on things and go through the comments and you know you see right? like right now.

Arch's comment from 20 minutes ago is showing up, but nothing since the last 20 minutes is showing up. So anyway I'm just I'm just complaining. You know you got you guys know me. I'm just complaining.

So uh Charlene welcome to the show I Don't know if I've seen your name before, so welcome I'm in. Central Florida I Was in the I was in the Residential Building scene years ago now looking to replace an HVAC system new in 2020 2005 and replaced Flex Ducks in the Attic original in 1984. WoW Um, she also says, why are they now strapping Flex duct to attic Joyce Um, it seems to feed us by lifting them out of the insulation. It increases the duct Heat uh uh I don't know the answer to that uh I think every every, uh, every I'm just reading some of the other comments: I I don't know the answer to that I I have customers that, um, that their their ductwork is buried under the insulation.

In fact, one of the new things today is, uh, they have the spray foam insulation that they're spraying ductwork with now. and um, it. It's pretty cool because at first I was like this is a little snake oil-ish But As time has gone on, I Actually think it's pretty cool stuff because hypothetically, it's sealing the ductwork as well as insulating it better. And so you know if the duct work needed to be you know, re-strapped in some way and you could not do that well, you know, obviously that might not be ideal.

So um, as Tech Junkie just pointed out, Flex duct can be buried but um, should not be straight. It just I don't I don't know if there's any uh I don't know if there's a Code necessarily I could be wrong I don't do a lot of new construction. we do more service and fixing other people's stuff. um, but you know I have had inspectors come behind us and say Hey I want another strap here or there or let's get that up or whatever.

but I don't know if there's an actual code that says it has to be strapped up like that. In fact, Charlene I would think that you should be able to say to the contractor, hey, I want this ductwork to be under the insulation I want to be insulated better and I would think a good contractor is going to hear you on that, you know So Carl says I had a lady slap me um did you know her Carl um let's see Arch says talk about a satisfied customer Emery says I had an ancient 1970s GE unit in my old house that went out in 100 degrees summer and had to go one day without AC that's my Horror Story one day is nothing compared to some folks I've I've had uh folks that we've helped with our guide and and Folks at Griffin air for one reason or another that had to go longer than that. In fact, we started at kind of like an extra anybody that's a part of our maintenance program that we we call it the VIP Club if they are without. AC We started bringing them uh, portable units so that way they can at least make it through.

um, while you know we're waiting on a part or equipment or whatever. Um, but uh I I You know it's still not fun even going one day we lost power I Don't know if it was last year or the year before, but it wasn't that long ago and uh I don't know. maybe it has been a couple years because I don't think my daughter was born yet. but we went through a summer, uh where we went about four days without power and it was, you know, real hot and so we had a generator run in I had you know I didn't we don't have a standalone generator so I had this portable generator on Wheels drug up to the house and uh, you know, had uh, extension cords running everywhere.

including putting one of those little portable units in our bedroom just to kind of get by. But um, you know you, you expect when the power to goes out that you're going to be without for a little bit, right? You expect for it to be out for a few hours while they repair it. maybe even a day. but you know two days goes by, three days goes by and then four days goes by and you're like how long you know how long until this ends.

and uh I know some. I Don't know if any of you guys live in Texas but I know they went through something like that I think they went a month during a real hot summer of just a few years ago. I Remember that? So uh, let's see. Tech Junkie says flex stuff can be buried and should not be strapped up in my opinion.

Yeah, I mean I think my answer is uh, you know, depends on the house in general. you know. So some houses, you may you know, strap it up. but it just depends.

So let's see. See now, y'all's now you're uh, there it goes. I swear I was gonna say I'm seeing your chat go past it over here, but now I'm not seeing it over here. So hopefully I get my stuff together next week.

You know you guys might might end up firing me at some point Charlene says I considered spray foam for insulation. but I do know that my joist engineering is not considered for the added weight. Interesting. Um, yeah.

and I'm not talking about the spray foam that you know because I know there is that too. where you spray it in between the joists. You know if it's in your attic so you would spray it on the roof joists. Um, I'm not talking about that.

I'm talking about actually spraying the duct work itself. Um, I've seen where they're They're starting to do that, you know? Well, I mean not starting if they've been doing it for a few years now and um, there's nobody around here doing it. I've only seen it once or twice in our area, but I see it online all the time. Uh, let's see.

Tech junkie says I needs to be buried within four or six inches of conditioned space and covered with 18 inches or something of insulation. but it has to be air sealed and mastic paste and best practices use. He says Josh you didn't get hit by Dereko in 2012, did you? I don't think so I don't recognize that name. Um, but we've where I live now.

Uh, the big. The big one they always talk about is Hurricane Isabel which was before I actually lived here but apparently it messed up a lot of stuff for folks around here. Uh Charlene says I just went through three days of no AC in July and 100 plus degrees heat heat index. Wow I don't know how I mean I I would have to go stay somewhere you know I don't I don't think I could do that, especially with my little girl.

You know we'd have to figure something out. Arch says there was a News segment on a lady in Phoenix that had no AC in her home was 99 degrees inside, some big local HVAC outfit donated a new heat pump that was nice in Tucson 100 homes are without power after a storm yesterday. Wow. Hopefully they get those folks back on because I know you guys out in Arizona Y'all really deal with it Bob says we had three days without power in Houston during the winter and worrying about frozen pipes Bob Are you in Houston I Feel like maybe you've told me where you're at before but that's where I was I was in Houston I actually stayed in Cyprus last week and of course the factory is in Waller uh just outside of Houston so we had three days without power in Houston crazy Charlene says I agree I do not want it strapped up.

been without been out of the industry a while. didn't know if new code just wondered. yeah I mean there are. There's also you guys in Florida have codes that no one else has.

You know there's a few things that, especially when it comes from a humidity standpoint. You all have to deal with things that other parts of the country don't Um so Louisiana and Florida in general as a state have certain codes and and things that they do in general to deal with that. uh Tech Junkie says the back half of my neighborhood spends more time without power that with power. Been like that for years.

Uh Tech Junkie says code for strapping that I know for certain is that it shouldn't be allowed to Sag more than two inches. Bob says yes I'm in a town called Temple Tomball hopefully I'm saying that right 20 miles north of Houston Very cool. Well Bob I'm going to be back down there if you want to grab a show me where the best steak is around. uh I don't know how far that is from Cyprus but Cyprus is kind of Northwest which you know if you live in that area and um you know I'll buy you a steak if you just you just let me know um shoot me an email Chad Welcome to the show I don't think I've seen your name on our show before.

apologize if if you have been on shower before but Chad says both my AC units just went out 16 year old systems and it hurts the pockets and Tech joke he says I'd get this repaired Chad that's interesting that both went out uh did, was it a power surge or you know, is this kind of ironic that they both went out there at the same time? um now we'll say if if you haven't a company telling you they both went out and they're trying to sell you something, maybe get a second opinion you know? So Bob says uh we're 10 miles away from Cyprus Yeah so we we uh we ate at a couple cool places there. one place we ate at it was a it was a I think it was only open for lunch and breakfast but we went. We got there about 10 o'clock in the morning 10 or 11 o'clock and the in it was 10.. it was still pretty early and so from 10 to about 11 15 there was a line out the door almost the entire time we were there.

um and it was good. so I was very I just couldn't believe it I was like wow you know I can't imagine what a place like this would be you know on a Saturday night. So but I don't think they were open for dinner so Arch says we're surviving using a couple of portable AC's in our house. It's actually bearable and we might make through the summer before having a couple of Mini Splits installed wanting waiting for the IRA rebates? Nice? Yeah.

I tell you those portable ACs I have surprised a few of our customers at how well they do. Um, because I'll have customers say oh, I Want you know? bring me five of them and I'm like you don't need five of them and they're like yeah, dude, you know I I got I got I got 1200 square feet and I'm usually these those little units on most days. maybe not the hottest of days, but those little units I've seen them just uh, just a thousand square feet here in Virginia one unit could do, you know, a thousand to twelve hundred square feet and so I don't know what the BTUs are and all that As far as that goes. but I will say I've been quite impressed a few times with how well they do Tech Junkie says arch window units are a lot more efficient.

If you got ductwork, then skip the mini splits. Chad says yes First time on stream mice chewed through supply lines on one other system not sure but AC isn't keeping up. Ah ouch hmm let's see Arch says looked into those but we have sliding Windows Yeah, if you've got sliding windows, that kind of narrows it down. doesn't it good enough? Um, I'm gonna break away to another segment again.

and um, another thing that uh we have seen in our industry is line. So so one session it's one segment that we'll sometimes do is fake inventions or or inventions that kind of come out of my brain and some of them are kind of goofy. We've talked about, you know, geothermal systems where you drop the loops in when you're building foundations. We've talked about Bluetooth thermostats with no wiring in the walls at all.

We've talked about uh, thermostats that have sensing where they actually can use a thermal eye that sees oh, you're hot I need to turn on and um, and then we've also talked about these units that would you would literally just screw them to the joists and they would be in the wall cavity and recessed. Sort of like a mini split, but completely hidden and so including the outdoor unit. so that's some of the inventions we've talked about in the past. Feel free to steal them and become millionaires off of my goofy inventions.

Tonight up tonight's invention I Want to throw out there is We have seen uh, line sets come a long way. We've seen line sets made from different materials. We've seen these line sets that have Quick Connect type fittings on them and uh, and so on. And so tonight's invention and and it's kind of more of like a hypothetical invention.

You would think that they would would have come up with some sort of invention at this point where you could, um, now again. I'm just spitballing here. but we have so much technology that today it seems like a lot of the line sets they keep coming out with that are not copper are still not as good as old school copper. and so my invention was coming up with some way that you could use copper that you know you continue to use copper, but have it um, set up to where instead of having to braise it or swage it, but just some sort of like Quick Connect fittings that with the technology we have today I Don't know why we haven't been able to come up with something already, but where these guys should be able to just kind of shove it in there and you know, have the lines that's already attached.

but you know we we see These some of the lancets that are coming out, especially with these quick connects or these other materials. So we've seen these line sets that almost have like a a plastic jacket and maybe either aluminum or some sort of outer coating. And what happens is when you have those types of fittings, there's all this extra slack and you know there's no way to you know repair them so you can't kind of cut off the the bad part and re-braaze it or re-swage it. Um, and so you know, that's kind of my goofy invention for tonight.

having some sort of whether it doesn't have to be copper, but just some sort of material, some sort of mindset that you would just get it to the unit and you just chop it off in some way tubing, Cutters or something and then have some sort of compression fitting or quick connect or some sort of fitting to wear. especially with today's Technologies I'm surprised they have not been able to come up with something that has kind of caught on a little better. Um, and and I see some of you guys are already throwing out Pro Press Pro press uh you know I think that that's you know one way of of doing that right. but even with without Pro press you would think that there's or Zoom lock I think is is the pro press I think is the um the the plumbing version of that but the zoom lock fittings.

you know there should be some sort of way to you know, especially with these plastic line sets and all these other materials to have them as like a compression fitting of some type. I mean I don't know. Maybe it would have a Barb on the end and then you could just kind of slip it over and then you know tighten it down or I I don't know I mean I'm just spitballing. You know this is an invention that's never been come, that's never come out.

but there's Engineers out there that are way smarter than me. Come up with something people. Uh so that's my goofy admission for tonight for our breakout segment for goofy inventions. So back to our chat.

Uh let's see. make sure I don't miss anybody here Chad says power lines Tech junkie says just get it repaired unless the compressor Burns Out keep what you have Chad says yeah telling me compressor is shot due to shorting out. we have bad mice here in Wisconsin Arch says Horror Story a poor HVAC contractor in Tucson was electrocuted when the crane made contact with a powerline. man that's tough.

Poor guy was doing some work for a non-profit and he in Tucson man that is tough I tell you as I get older the more sensitive I am to things I remember being younger and just I don't know being very selfish and not caring about things and the older I get the more I mean I don't want to say like I want to cry I didn't know the guy but the more I'm like man, you know especially especially when you hear like young folks. you know when they're just so young and something one one poor Decision One We've all made dumb mistakes, right? We've all made poor decisions and and I I know I have um on you know in the workplace and and I've actually had quite a few boo-boos over the years and so you know it just takes one. that's that's the other thing is how dangerous some of this stuff is. It only takes one boo-boo one mess up and and that's it, you know? So I guess if I could leave you with anything tonight if you are watching my show my show's about heating and air.

but I I will uh I'll get a little sentimental with you and just say if you have something on your bucket list, do it this next year. Do it. Do it in 2023 before the end of the year If you've always wanted to go on a cruise and you never have and you've always said well, I will when I retire, go this year or if you've always wanted to visit Niagara Falls or if you've always wanted to go to the to Key West where the southernmost part of the country is or if you have anything on your bucket list, make sure you do it this next year. That's my that's my call tonight.

Um for anybody that sees this: Tech Junkie says I'd get a second opinion Bob says we had a customer with a German Shepherd pup that chewed through refrigerant lines. Wow, that's a German Shepherds man. I Have met a few of them and most of them are really sweet, but you don't want to be on their bad side. They're very loyal to their owners, which is not a bad thing.

Um, especially if you know if you're their owner and you ever do need them right? Um, Tech Junkie says they are refrigerant approved at a time they made suction lines pre-charged in plastic and they were terrible. 50 years ago. Yeah, that was 50 years ago. You would think they'd be able to come up with something today.

Something you know, they've got these gas lines that you know they run now with the corrugated tubing and I'm not saying that's the solution here. Um, but you know you would think that because because in my opinion, from what I've seen to this day, copper line sets being braised is still the best way of doing it today. And if it, and if that was not the case, then you wouldn't see them doing so much of it in the factories when they're actually building these units. You know? So they're doing brazing of copper in the factories with all this machinery and everything and you would think by now somebody would have come up with something a little better.

It's it's You know we're still doing it the way we were 50 years ago. you know, 30 years ago and uh, it's not like they haven't tried to come up with other Solutions that's just still the best way to do it to this to this day, you know Tech Junkie says I mean they have to be strong enough to hold back 500 PSI Very true. When I was younger I was like man, he's dead womp womp now I'm like no, he's dead that's sad Yeah, same same I'm getting I'm becoming a sensitive old man Carl says five years ago or so and HVAC Tech was electrocuted in an attic troubleshooting a drain issue. uh, we had a guy years ago I want to say it wasn't here in Virginia but I want to say it was just down in North Carolina that he was just simply crawling through a crawl space and there was a wire hanging down and I guess he had gotten up against it and couldn't get off of it and that you know because he was in a crawl space and and it just basically you know he lost his life.

Um so yeah, you got to be careful out there. Emery says it's 99 degrees at sunset in I Guess that means Texas thank God for HVAC Amen to that it's 9 31 guys Uh, we're gonna wrap up here shortly, but before we do, if you have any good heating and air companies, we still will take any more questions that pop in here. So if you do have any last minute questions heating and air questions, feel free to drop those in there. But as we wrap up and as those questions come in, we wrap up our show every week with the same way.

and that is if you know a good Heating and Air company, even if you have shouted them out before, let's give them some love, share who they are and where they're located. let's shout out the good heating and air companies out there because we all know that they're not all good and so let's show some love to the ones that deserve it and so throw their name in our chat where they're located and um, that way you know, who knows someone else in your area might be able to. you know, use that company too. Tech Junkie says wasn't there a guy in West Virginia or some place near that died working on a dishwasher? I Think he was replacing a dishwasher for his brother's family and he got electrocuted.

um I I haven't heard about that. but I mean it's obviously, uh, even a dishwasher? You know there's electricity there. You got to make sure you kill power and verify it. and I've heard of? um I Remember when I was a kid hearing about a guy that he did not, uh, bleed the capacitor on a on a microwave? so he killed power.

He did everything right. but then the the microwave was or the capacitor was holding charge and he and it killed him? Um, so yeah. Charlene says thanks for your tips thank you Charlene Chad says thanks for all you share thank you and Tech junkie says Griffin air Amen to that Amen. If you were in our area, we're uh, we're in the Williamsburg middle Peninsula Northern Neck areas of Virginia we're busy Griffin Air is is really busy right now.

My guys are working hard and it's been hot and nowhere near as hot as as Arizona or Texas but it's still been pretty hot. It finally got hot and our guys have been really busy because of it. So anyway, what's the difference between a contactor and a capacitor? Essentially, a contactor is just a switch that uses electricity to open and close, and a capacitor is a component that it does. It can do a couple different things, but essentially it can hold charge depending on if it's AC or DC voltage.

It does different things. um, but they're used in a lot of heating and air systems to help Motors and compressors get started. When they have that initial Spike and resistance trying to get started, spike in amperage. it's because of the resistance Gary says thank you Josh Always a great way to spend a Tuesday evening.

Thanks buddy! I Will be in Maine for work next week, but if I am back to the hotel by Showtime I will join in Travel safe Gary Tech Junkie says yeah, capacitors hold an unbelievable amount of power. Yeah, they really do. especially. I mean some of them are tiny, right? So all right guys.

Well we're going to end with that May we're going to be back next week. Tuesday Night 8 30 Eastern eastern time so figure out what time, what time that is in your area if you're not on the East Coast and we'll be here live, uh, answering heating and air questions and on that I'll just say make it a great week and we'll see you, then take care.