Michael Housh from Housh Home Energy Experts shares with HVAC School. This is an detailed demonstration of how to Make a Metal Duct Transition in the Field.
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Checkout Housh Home Energy Experts: https://www.houshhomeenergy.com/
Read all the tech tips, take the quizzes
and find our handy calculators at https://www.hvacrschool.com/
The S locks up since I just marked one, take our band soul and cut them off all right. Today, we are going to work on showing you how to build a sheet metal transition in the field. There's lots of ways to do this. This is just what I've found out to be the easiest way for me to do it in the field and hope that it helps you along the way.
This is a pretty common scenario you could envision this plenum to be either a plenum. It could be an evaporator coil, but let's say we have to transition from a furnace to this coil. So what we want to start out with is putting s locks or s strips around the whole thing. What we want to do is just measure our transition or our plenums, which is about nineteen and a half it looks like, and so I'm gon na mark out our s lock, so we can cut it.
I've got the two s locks together and I'll use. My fan Sol to cut them, which makes it a little bit easier. I'm going to take a quarter inch off at each side, so I'll mark the s lock at nineteen as a since. Our measurement was nineteen and a half when we just want to line the s locks up since I just marked one take our band Sol, cut them off other dimensions besides 20, so we're going to cut our s, locks at nineteen and a half.
Once again, we just line up the ends like our Rams off the mark and cut them off. If you look closely, these are formed like an S and what I always do is I put the part on the outside the S lock on the outside, but by putting them on the outside, it makes it easy to slide metal in as opposed if they're, in The inside you can't work them into the one inch gap, they're, probably a good stopping point, all right, so we've gone ahead and prep the plenum and also prepped our s, locks that we'll put on the furnace and just thought. We'd show you how we do that real quick. Once again, we make sure that the S is pointed towards the outside.
You want to get it started and then just tap it down into place Center, it Nate B, and then we just repeat that step with each each side. So the next step we want to measure our height. What I like to do is go from the inside of this rock to the inside, of the s lock. So we've got 15 inches here and then we'll add an inch each way, so our height will need to be 17 inches and then you also want to go from the farthest point to and kind of eyeball the farthest point on this side.
We're going to call that 20 and a half and we want to make sure we have an inch on both sides, so we're going to need to cut our piece 17 by 22 and a half, so we are going to prep our metal here. We actually have this piece is 22 and 1/2, which looks for the width that we need so we're just going to go ahead and Mark out the 17 and 1/4 we'll go ahead and cut that off so and on these I like to take the wine off. So you want to kind of remember where you marked as far as what side of your shears you go on, so if you see I'm starting on the inside of the line there make the wine with me all right. So we've got our piece of metal prepped. What I didn't say last time is you always want to start with the hardest piece to get to, and for me that's typically the back, so we prep this piece for the back and what I do at this point is. I will slide it in to one of the sbox, so in this case, I'm going to slide it into the bottom. Make sure that we're overhanging an inch on both sides where our folds will end up being so that puts your piece of metal in place. You want to make sure it's down all the way and then we will mark our corners where the S locks hit, so we're just going to put a little mark on all four sides yep.
So, as you see, we want to put our marker right about where it's going, to hit this s lock and put a mark and do the same on the top on all four sides, and that will give us our exact transition all right. So then we want to take a spare s lock, we line up the inside of it with our marks and then we mark the opposite side. That adds an inch so that we're able to fold it, and it will end up exactly where that is. It often doesn't hurt to mark the 1-inch on the top and bottom as well.
So that'll tell us where it fits in the upper F lock that will trim off eventually so we're gon na go ahead and mark this side as well, where we put it on our marks and then the mark. The outside, which these are another set. They're often called Andes snips use these this time instead of the shears trim off. I don't add our line that we made.
Then we also to notch our corners, and this is where the top and bottoms come in handy or marking the s lock on the top and bottom. So you just want to go. Maybe a quarter-inch past your line so that you're not cutting just a straight line. You've got a little bit of an angle on it.
Just notch out your corners. Don't do that on all four sides. We are going to take our folding bar. This has a one inch fold on one side and a half inch on the other.
We want to use the one inch fold make sure it's seated well itself and easier on a flat surface. You take fold while pressing down and work it a couple times to make sure you have a nice crisp Bend. Then we do the same. On the other side - and that is our transition piece that will now move and slide back in it should be cut perfectly all right.
It's also easy to makes it a little bit easier. If you take a screwdriver open your wrist locks a little bit on the sides, then you're going to slide your metal one too. You want to start at one side line it into place, so that will be our first and it's important to note how I phone both of my back corners, so that when we're sliding a piece on the side, we can slide back into this fold. Just kind of makes it easier so, on my my piece in the back, I always fold two sides to make it easier when we're sliding our sides in so we've went ahead and print our other sides, you'll notice.
We we did not fold an extra inch. We have some s locks on our back and so we're going to go ahead and slide this in get the top and bottom started and get close to where the the s lock is on the back and then, if we take it and actually bring it off And have it start on this piece sort of like that, put your hand on the back to hold, and you can slide them together easily on this side, essentially pre-prep them we didn't show, but before you market, you want to go ahead and pre fold these sides, So it makes it easier to mark because we have a little offset on the side, but we're going to do the same thing where we slide. This get a wrist, lock started on the bottom or it could be the top whichever and slide it all together. So we went ahead and prepped our last piece here. You'll see it's important to finish in a place that is easy in this scenario. It ended up being the front. Sometimes it could be a side. So this piece and last piece tends to be a little bit trickier, so we're gon na start on one side and get our top started as well as one of the sides.
I guess before I do that you'll notice. I took the S lock off the bottom because you can't really slide things in well, so I'm going to start it on the side start working it into place, they're the same on the other side, and then what we want to do is take our s lock. For the bottom and we're actually going to pull this out and slide it in ever final step, they'll go, and so then everything would obviously be screwed together in the field. Mastic the seams make sure everything's right, put your hand up.
That's how we make a transition in the field.
I'm a service and testing Tech for Fluid Chillers Corporation. I have mad respect for Builders and fabricators. My background is electrical and Diagnostics. But I can't build or fabricate something for the life of me. Electricians and plumbers also have mad skills with fabricating. But they typically leave me alone when it comes to diagnosing or commissioning a huge ultra low temperature chiller. LOL
Nice work!
Well done. It looks great.
I'm guessing that duct is a super loud popper when the air comes on.
Great tip on using the screen roller. I wouldn't have expected it to work so well. I'm thinking one of those thin, expanded rubber yoga mats would make a good semi-rigid backer surface when forming the cross break. Just don't tell my wife I'm going to use hers to try this technique. Are you in Kanata ?
When do you add the insulation?
Great video
Good video but it would have been even better is you showed the layout/prep for the other pieces.
No insulation?
Very helpful THANK YOU . What you showed is exactly what i need to do. Thank you for taking the time to make this video Are you in Nepean ?
Is cross breaking a big deal? Doesn’t the metal pop when blower comes on? I was always taught to use a screwdriver and score the metal to prevent the noise.
Where's your cross breaks bro?
Really appreciate the video. Interesting use of tools. Only things I'd do is cross breaks and it doesn't take much take and reduces noise.
Tape the seems lmao fuuuuuuuck mastic
Gotta break that metal too to keep it from banging when blower comes on
One thing i do differently is not putting s slip on the furnace. Just make a 1/2” fold out away from heat exchanger across bottom of metal piece and tbat gives you a good place to screw it to furnace, just looks better than the slip but otherwise good demo
This is a prank video right, I mean like Logan Paul channel level.
Please tell me you’re not serious, please! 🤦🏻😖😭
Great vid! I can make about any kind of transition and offset in the field myself , but I'm gonna show this to some of the guys at work.
Awesome Video thanks Are you in Ottawa ?
Nice
Just an electrician but still amased when I see was how they can make a transition from round to square or even a rectangular duct. Reducing offsets look impossible to do. First thing my eye goes to in a new commercial site is the electrical then the duct work. At a 65 man maintenance shop that I worked in they had a tin knocker who could build anything out of sheet metal and never had much scrape left over. He would place eight 90 degree bends to make packing conveyor lines that had lowered lay down area on both sides to store material or parts that had to go onto conveyor belt. He always deburred edges then bent back edge 180 degrees back into itself so workers could not get cut. I was surprised when I made a sucessfull single 90 degree bend in a piece of sheet metal. Guys are absolute artist who make great duct work.
Nice work fellow HVAC brotha Service area Kanata??
Why didn't you put a break in your metal? I bet that thing pops when the blower kicks off.
Well done beautiful work
Much appreciated Thanks for sharing
I learned this style and refer to as washing it in .
I think this is a very good video from start to finish. The only thing I noticed immediately is there is no flex duct connector. I
My understanding it that its required by code on both sides (in h out) of furnace to reduce duct vibration/noise in duct system.
Thanks
Ilove ductman
No stiffening bends in the panels you just made? That's gonna be one noisy HVAC.
was always taught to cross break the sheet before putting it in to reduce flex in the metel when the blower kicks on, though depending on the surface area it may or may not be an issue. I wish more installers made transitions like this though.
Excellent
Simple and looks goods. Thanks for sharing this Are you in Orleans ?
WOW 😳 Well played Sir. Well played.
Excellent video!
People make 4 piece transitions still? We do 2 halves with Pittsburg seams air tight and cleaner looking in my opinion.
Makes it look easy. Nice
Wow great vid
Great video. Service area Nepean??
I am in the process of replacing my 40 year old furnace and AC coil with a MrCool Universal heat pump system. This video was exactly what I was looking for. Thank you for the easy to follow video tutorial.
Now, off to the hardware store to get the required hardware. Cheers!
Funny how trades people (myself included) never see the need for safety glasses until they get an eye injury. He's wearing gloves…why? Must've got cut in the past. He learned from experience gloves are a good idea.
When it comes to the eyes, however, don't wait for experience.
Yooooo furnaces are lit!
Wow this is simply the best video on a transition that I have ever seen.Thanks for the knowledge.I would love to work with you because you are a great teacher.
damn thats clean work. great craftsmanship. any video on insulation?
No cross break?easy way to do it,I use a Pittsburgh seamer.
Looks tight though Service area Barrhaven??
Where’s the crossbreak
Not bad, my only issue is – I never have that much room around a unit. Nice job!
Where is your cross brake on the transition pieces and the plenum?! That metal would be popping all day and would be a call back to do it all over again. can't recommend this video and a good teaching technique. Service area Ottawa??
No crossbreaks?
I know nothing about sheet metal work. This was fascinating and educational for me. Where do you get the S locks from? Do you make them at the shop or purchase them?