Foreign. Foreign foreign foreign foreign. Thank you Foreign! Hey guys, we are live coming to you from Virginia Taking your heating and air questions Live! Feel free to drop your questions in the chat and it looks like we've got a few other Pros on here with us tonight. so hello to everybody out there.

Uh again, if you have any heating and air questions, feel free to drop those in the chat and we will do our best to get to those. but before we get started tonight, I Thought I would start out tonight's show by going over a story coming out of I'm probably not going to pronounce this right Kenny Kennel Canalworth maybe some of you guys know I'm probably sounding like, uh, sound like an outside tourist. We always know when people aren't from Virginia because they'll say things and we'll be like you're not from around here, huh? um. but anyway, so this story is coming out of canal worth New Jersey and I don't know this company good or bad, but it looks like they did something good here and I figured we'd start tonight's show with this story.

So this the this article is called HVAC Contractor supports Organ Donation non-profit and this company is called Meyer and Dpu Company A community-based HVAC company serving Central and Northern New Jersey For 70 years recently presented the sharing Network Foundation with a check for twenty nine thousand, four hundred dollars. The foundation supports the work of the New Jersey sharing Network A non-profit committed to saving lives, saving lives through organ and tissue donation and transplantation. So pretty cool. Uh, pretty good calls I Don't know I'm sure this article probably goes into it more on you know, the uh, the raising of the funds and and all that good stuff.

I I uh I'm still shaking that cold I mean it's like I've told I told somebody about that last week about how I've just had a hard time shaking a cold and they were telling me that the pollen has been really high or something like that and so maybe that's why. Maybe you know because I do get allergies from time to time and I have to take Allegra but um anyway, um, looks like we've got some veterans. some folks that join us uh from time to time. hey to Gary we missed you last week uh LED Handyman service out of Southern California Welcome to the show Steve from everything HVAC Good to see you um Emery Another one of our regulars.

Good to see you and of course Bob Good to see you Mark and making sure I say hello to everybody Ryan Another one of our regulars. good to see you Sean Sean starts out tonight. Uh, let me start with a fun one. Bosch Ids2 or train 19 seerside discharge.

What's better and why? Well, I Um, I'll say this and and I'm I don't I don't particularly push either one of these brands. However, when Bosch first came out, this was before we were a Daikin dealer and when Bosch first started producing their heat pumps the the 1.0 18 Seer line honestly put one in my house and I've been happy with it overall. but since then it when they first came out it was a a new cool technology. They were able to offer inverters to folks without having communicating technology so you could purchase a normal thermostat and um you know I put one in my house and you know again I've been overall happy with it it.

I Will say a couple things about Bosch The first thing is years ago when they first came out they were really price competitive. like you could get a an inverter system non-communicating but still an inverter system and up to 18. Seer of course later they came out with the 2.0 up to 20 Seer and um you know they were really price competitive you I I The reason I that was the main reason I put it in my house I got an inverter system 18 Seer for the same price as a lot of single stage 14 Seer systems out there and um since then and we could talk about why. you know whether it's political or other reasons but regardless of what the reason is since then being that they are imported from overseas, they have gone up in price and so they're not as price competitive at least I don't feel they are Maybe I'm wrong but I don't feel they're as price competitive as they once were and so that's why you see folks starting to compare them to a 19 Seer train for example and so you know I think that that's one thing to consider I Also have noticed honestly both brands have had seem to have had troubles since Covid and even since Covet is kind of I don't want to say covet's over, but it's definitely not.

We're not in the thick of it as much as we once were and even since the beginning of or the prime you know the the thick of Covid even since then even now they s both Bosch and Trane both seem at least from what I'm seeing to have a have trouble with their parts um, getting some of their parts and and getting them in a a reasonable time in comparison to some of the other brands. and I'll give you a couple examples. We ordered a motor from Bosch last I believe it was September and we did not get it until December and hopefully you guys can see me. My computer's notifying me that my internet connection is bad, so hopefully it's going still it's going well enough.

hopefully. um, but so that that you know we had to wait several months for that and then train more. recently, we needed a drain pan for a air handler that had cracked. The drain pan had cracked and we ordered a drain pan for it and waited I believe it was I mean we waited almost six months for a drain pan and so you know that was that was way longer than I would have thought we would have had to wait especially from one of the the big three.

you know the big three here in America and I would say the big three at least right now seem to be carrier train and Daikin um you know and and some of their subsidiary Brands but you know I would say those are the big three. some people like try to throw Linux in there I think that's reaching a little bit. So anyway hey to Carl um Steve says we can tell by the way you say Louisville oh yeah so Louisville I think is how you guys say it you locals I say Louisville um or maybe I really get you to cringe Steve I'll call it Louisville oh man man who is this guy Emery says hey I watch your Linux video and was wondering which HVAC manufacturer has the best warranty I did a whole I did a whole tournament I did a a series of videos a tournament of who has the best video out there I mean video the best warranty out there and we narrowed it down and we basically got to the final round and we I think we narrowed it down to you know we had I believe York had some sort of Labor warranty that no one else had and they had some lifetime warranties on a few things. and then Daiken had their 12-year warranty um on some of their products, they had a 12-year unit replacement warranty on some of their products and then of course Daikin makes a mana and Amana also has a lifetime warranty on some of their products.

So we ended up giving the uh that Crown if you will to Daikin and so dike into to this day. For now, they still hold that crown so let's see: Steve says hit that like button I I would agree with that Steve if anybody feels LED you feel the itch to hit that like button, I won't fight you on it and Led says hello to Carl Gill welcome back Gil says hi everyone and Steve says put your questions in all caps I think that's a great idea? Uh, it'll make it to where I don't miss your questions so easily I try to hit all of the um all the questions or comments at least skim over them. but I I Do think that eventually that will probably get. we will get to a point where I just simply will not be able to read everything.

Um, partly because I'm not a very fast reader, but also partly because you know once one, if this thing keeps growing and people keep putting questions out there, we might have to skim over some of the the chatter if you know. If you you know, some of you guys like to chat back and forth which is great but I might not be able to read over that stuff. So a good friend of mine Steve just texted me and said he's watching our show. So hey to Steve and um, glad to have you Led says he's on vacation and why do you gotta ruin my show tonight by telling us all you're on vacation now now I'm jealous and Steve says 21 Seer Carrier green speed Steve must be a carrier fan Ryan says part one of two: How do you feel about HVAC products not changing often like other technology.

Seems like the same products are being sold for 10 plus years. Example: Train has been selling the XV line for since 2014. I actually agree with you on that Ryan and I think that a lot of Industry experts agree with you as well. Uh, up until about uh I would say 10 years ago.

at least here in America a lot of Technology Even now. even now, even with these updated uh uh, you know the the new government standards that went into effect this year, you still see guys that will not sell newer systems. they won't sell higher sear stuff. You see a lot of contractors that just simply won't offer it for one reason or another and they'll tell you why.

They all have good reasons why. They think that they shouldn't offer that stuff. But I think it's a really good point that there are people in our industry and and Brands as well you you brought up one that are still selling. Um, you know stuff.

I Think it could be argued that there are our technicians in our industry or salesmen even that are selling and installing equipment with the same technologies that were back in the 80s. And you know, especially if you take a single stage system and you take the TXV out of it, you know you if it has a piston in there that's the same Technologies might be a different refrigerant but very, very very same. Technologies Um, you know, maybe updated programming and the defrost control board? Maybe digital thermostats have that delay when you know when the mechanical thermostats didn't But it still could be argued that a lot of people are living in the past and you know they're They're almost kind of being drugged down the road. Maybe Kicking and Screaming a little bit.

So that's a good point. Uh Steve Oh oh and Ryan answer your question. how do I feel about it? I don't really know. I Mean everybody has an argument for why they feel the way they do and why they sell what they do.

We've always tried to keep up with The Changing Times offer the best, uh, whatever. the best seems to be out there. We try to offer that at our company but you know? um I remember when Douglas units started really catching on, you know you had a few people that you knew here and there that had these little mini splits but a lot of Americans Still, you know, weren't quite sure what they were. you know what is that thing? and so you know.

Now here we are years later and they I think it's It's not uncommon to see many splits Here There and Everywhere You know I was just at a restaurant the other night and kind of kind of. you know, peeking at the mini split you know did they do a good job installing that. So yeah Steve says what other Technologies are out there I assume he's uh, commenting on Ryan's question. um I I will say you know a part of that is it is interesting to always see you.

We kind of get to see Europe you know they'll they'll offer products before we will. you know before we'll have it here. And and that's not just refrigerants I think a lot of guys will say well you Josh you're just talking about refrigerants. they they seem to.

you know they'll They'll get rid of refrigerants quicker than we will and and change them. but I think Technologies as well and I think they're a little ahead of us on some things as well. So um I could be wrong, but you know? well I'm not gonna say that. but I think just in general across the board, that's usually the case.

Bob says Planetary Herbals Herbals makes a cough syrup called Old Indian Wild Cherry Bark Syrup works very well. Give it a try. Let me, let's see. Give me one second there.

Bob Planetary Herbals Sanitary Herbals Wild Indian Cherry Bark Syrup There we go, All right Bob I'll look that up I Just saved it Ryan says part two: Why such little Innovation or iteration in their products? I Wouldn't want to be the one buying at the end of the product cycle X Car companies make small improvements with mid cycle refresh. Yeah I don't have much to add. Uh Ryan I think you raise a good point? Um I Do know that there are uh, some folks from a few of the manufacturers that have been reaching out to me just a little bit just to say hey we we've we see your show from time to time or we see that your videos. maybe they'll catch this and and you know make see what they make of it.

um I Will say in the past 10 years and definitely in the past five years I've I'm seeing companies on the regular coming out with stuff you know there's I don't know if it's because of competition or just cuz or maybe it's not true and it just feels that way. but I I think that you know over the next decade I think you're gonna see more companies move towards these sad discharge units more. and when I say towards them I mean you know 10 years ago they weren't even offered by anybody and Mitsubishi started kind of making making one that would match up with an air handler. and of course Daiken started making some of their Vrv stuff and a couple other companies making you know some of their stuff that's equivalent to that.

and you know here we are. 10 years later and side discharge units are kind of becoming the thing you know folks are seeing the the you know, like the Daikin fit for example, it's smaller, it's quieter, it's an inverter system. It's still a good price point on on their product in comparison and you know we're seeing uh, more and more companies move that way and so I think that's going to continue. and of course inverter systems.

Uh I think a lot of folks were hoping that geothermal would be become more of a thing than it is. but you know geothermal is pricey, you know? and I'm not saying it's not a thing. I'm just saying not everybody can afford it. you know Ryan says Bosch has the IDS 2.1 now with the IDS premium IDs premium connected 20 series system.

Yeah they've got a very unique setup over there with the you know the the mismatching of or I shouldn't say mismatching but being able to switch one air handler with one outdoor unit and it is interesting how they've kind of paved their own way isn't it? You know they. they haven't gone down the same path as some of these other companies. Ryan says what temperature should I set my house to during a vacation in the cooling and heating season Should I turn it off Any downside to just leaving it off the whole time until I return Ryan I don't know where you're located I'm sure you've told me before, but I can tell you that here in Virginia where I'm located it can get pretty hot and can also get pretty cold depending on what time of year it is. and so obviously both of those uh can present their own challenges.

The main thing with cold obviously you know, freezing pipes and things like that. and then the in the summertime we do have customers that have made the mistake of leaving their system completely off. and then they have humidity issues, especially if they have hardwood flooring. We've heard some horror stories with it buckling and things like that, but just in general, if you've got a house that is materials in the house that are just not not meant to sit in a you know, that much heat um, and then you know you pair that with you know it.

I Think it kind of depends on how long you leave, right? If it's a short vacation? maybe not such a big deal, but a super long vacation and completely turning that system off, you know it may not be the best idea, just kind of depends on where you're located. I I Remember when I used to do apartment maintenance years ago we would tell uh, some of the it was in a college area and we would tell the students if you leave for Christmas to not turn your system off to set the heat to I'm wanting to say no lower than 60. um, some people say 55 but I think 60 is a good safe number. you know you've got Plumbing in some of those walls and then we would tell them if it was the summer time to try to not turn the system off and not set the thermostat.

you know, leave the AC on and not set it any higher than 80. and was kind of the the general rule and they had this little cute little booklet on why and and all the different things that can happen. but I think in general, that's just kind of the consensus. You know you don't want something to happen and um, you know I think it's always a good idea to have you know some sort of Wi-Fi connection stuff.

Maybe be able to check on your house or better yet, have a neighbor check in on the house every now and then. you know Emory says why? isn't Reem rude Considered the top three, but just not. You know? Um, there's probably some marine guys that would fight me on that, but um, you know they're I Think you could compare their products across the board I Think they make some okay products, especially when you're talking about some of their furnaces, some of their, um, their heat pumps, and things like that, but you know they don't. They don't really have a strong, um, you know, inverter setup.

at least at least that's the reputation that a lot of guys will say. And then when it comes to the mini split stuff, anything across the board there, you know they've partnered with Fujitsu to try to fill in those blanks a little bit. When they're you know, going up against some of these other companies so that's just my feeling. But again, everybody you like Ford I like Chevrolet you know you like chocolate I like vanilla.

whatever. Everybody has their own preferences so you'll I there's guys out there that won't install anything else but Reem or rude so it's something I Think it's a good question, but that's when it comes to the big three. You know I think there there's there's something to be said for having proprietary technology. Uh, another thing I would that a lot of guys look at is sales.

You know how how much do you sell? You know that might play a role in whether you're part of the big Theory And then I think that You know your products that you're offering. You know when you compare it apples to apples. Are we looking at a more a more Superior product? And you know sometimes again, there are guys out there that would fight me on which ones I think are the big three? but that's kind of what I use when I look at you know, look at them. You know reputation might play a role in that too, right? And so anyway, that's I think those are the big three, but somebody else might tell you that you know Reem York and Lennox are the big three I I would I Don't think there's many heating and air guys that would agree with that.

You know that some of them might even say Nordon I Think they would be mistaken if they said Nordon was a part of the big three, but that's just you know everybody has their own preference. Ryan says if you had to guess percentage-wise what is the percentage of units that are that are still running that are R22 versus 410A Residential only at least in your area in my area. So um, you know 410 has been out a while now. You know some of these carrier guys have been installing 410A since the mid to early 90s.

I think is when carrier first started coming out with some of the 410A stuff. so it's been around a while. do I still lay hands on R22 stuff every now and then of course. um I believe we had one just two days ago that had R22 in it.

Um, but if I think to answer your question. if I had to, if I had to guess a percentage-wise I would definitely say less than the majority. So I'd probably say 30 percent or R22 right now. maybe even less than that.

we're still seeing them. they're you know, one out of every five calls might have R22 for us. Um, but that's you know me just throwing numbers out there and it may be different. You know, depending on what area you're in area you're in.

you know, I'm in a I'm near the coast, you know, I'm in an area where a lot of folks will retire to. you know, um, I'm in an area where a lot of folks will have a second home. you know, kind of near the coast. So I think maybe the that percentage might be different if you're in a say, lower income area in a big city where folks might be more inclined to repair more often.

You know they get as much life out of that system as they can. Maybe you'll see a little more R22 systems out there I Don't know. Pretty cool question though. Um LED says I was the first like wow, man we did.

We should. We should send out some prizes. maybe like some free Griffin air hats I Don't even know if anybody would care to wear a griffin air hat but uh um, maybe I should get some Griffin air hats with like my big chubby face on them and then send those out. You guys thinking that you get this nice cool Flex fit you know Griffin air hat and then you get this hat with my face on it.

that would be that'd be funny to me Carl says I think some contractors are afraid to take on new technology I think that that's in general right? Most people hate change. You know you? you uh you. you change your mattress on your bed. You hate that mattress at first.

I got a new recliner like I don't know. Three months ago my wife it's a long story but finally I was able to get another recliner uh put in the house. she had gotten rid of my old chair and then put these. you know Fufu they they looked nice furniture but they weren't very comfortable to sit on in my opinion.

So she finally let me get a recliner and I hated that new recliner for a little bit and now I'm starting to like it more, you know? But I think people just hate change in general, you know? But I think contractors in general too though if you take some of these old school guys, they um I think they just fight at tooth and nail. not just because it's new and different, but you know in some cases it does cost more. You know, and you know they'll start playing that game of pros and cons. But you know, Obviously, none of them can argue that newer communicating inverter systems are more efficient.

They can't argue that Now they might argue with how efficient they are and whether it makes sense mathematically, but they're not going to argue that they're quieter. There's no way anyone could argue that. they're definitely quieter. You know you look at it.

We just did a video where we showed how quiet the dike and fit is compared to a single stage you know, heat pump system and um, we took decibel levels. If you guys haven't seen that video. I Finally, some of you guys have been like you need to get out of your studio and go record some videos. So we've been trying to do a little bit of that.

So Steve says the Cottonwood This area drifted right by my outdoor unit mean Mad Faces 3000 says thanks as always I have a three ton Central system that I am having a three and a half ton put in I Noticed that the single return under the air handler is only 475 square inches which isn't enough for a three ton and we see that every day pal should I have the contractor enlarge the return to 700 square inches should you? Probably, you know, especially if they're going up in size on capacity. I Think the main thing if it's not an inverter system is you're going to notice uh, that it's a pop. Well, it's possible that it could be louder. so when you have start to restrict the airflow especially with return grills in regards to square inches, they can start to in some cases whistle.

You know you'll hear that, you know I'm whistling in some of y'all's ears right now. Um, you know so that that might be part of it. but uh, but there is something to be said for performance as well if you start getting too much static pressure. I would say that in general the answer to your question is yes, but I would say the second part of my my second part of my answer might be have someone to do it.

You know, check the static pressures. Um, let's see LED says it's hard to be on vacation and my parents are in my home today because I am having their house termites tent. uh LED where are you on vacation at? um he says they are 89 years old. good for you.

Your parents have uh are still you know still with us here at 89 years old. Ryan says the thing with Technologies like inverters aren't new. Well that's true. It's new to some though.

They've been fighting it so long that it that it is still new Steve says seeing a lot of Vrv Vrf on Commercial side me too I Went and stayed at a hotel recently and it was a Margaritaville and I saw that they had some VR Vrf Vrv type stuff in there which was kind of cool you know I was over there like a fanboy going look at this system. Let's see Ryan says I'm not sure why they are afraid I don't think they they know why they're afraid Crypto says uh welcome crypto I don't think I've seen your name on our our show before he pumps that go below negative 20 degrees um I'm not sure if there's a question, maybe that is the question. Are there heat pumps I think there are some inverter systems, especially ductless systems that get down that low. Um so there there are a few and far between though they you're asking you're starting to ask a lot there but there are some that get down there.

and of course Steve pointed out there some out there that claim they can go to negative 25. they're that is true. Some of them claim that the question becomes what's the performance like when you start getting that cold and you better have a space, you better have your house or whatever you're trying to heat very insulated at that temperature because the capacities. Even if the systems do go that low, you know you start to lose capacity dramatically.

You know you might have a system that says they might say you know it, it, warms, it runs heat down to negative 25 But then you start looking up the specs and find out that you've got a 24 000 BTU system that at that temperature is really only producing about 6 000 BTUs of heat. you know? So that's something to keep in mind there. Ryan says Steve meant to say Industries other Industries they refresh their product lines more often Steve says I was thinking other than inverter I'm commercial so we see a lot more random technology. That's definitely true.

You guys see all kinds of stuff. Bob says problem with side discharge is when two homes are 20 feet away from each other. It can affect their performance as they blow warm air into the opposite unit, causing serious problems. Um, yeah, I mean you got to be mindful of that, but that's not something I Would you know I mean some of these units still only require you know, a few feet of clearance out in front of the unit and then we're talking inches from the indoor I mean from the back of the unit from the from the coil So you know I would I would say in general side discharge units are you know, very very accommodating when it comes to clearances and so on.

Steve points that out as well. Ryan says I Can't wait for more of the heat recovery technology reaches residential I know it's more in commercial now. Very very true, especially on the Vrf stuff. Vrv stuff.

Um, you know having that technology is Huge. You know you get one customer that you know two offices and one one of them wants to have it warm the heating and the other one wants to have it. Cooling And just having that technology is is a pretty awesome really. um Steve and Steve pointed out the obvious the cost would keep it out of residential for a while.

Sheldon says I Think we are experiencing higher temperatures today than before. Should we oversize the units to keep up with the higher temperature? Should you oversize the units, you should never oversize at least where I live. You don't want to oversize the unit if you live in a dry area. It's not as big of a deal, but you just certainly don't want to cause humidity issues regardless of the temperatures outside.

Whether it's summer, winter, or somewhere in between, you should do a proper heat load calculation and size accordingly. Emory says this: train and carrier off I Think that means offer inverter systems? Yes, they do. They both have an inverter communicating system Steve says absolutely R22 is still prevalent and Commercial it's still pretty prevalent in China too. In some countries, R22 is still still the way to go, you know? So um I shouldn't say that I actually don't know I just regurgitating stuff I hear So I've never been there and I've never I wouldn't really know I have a friend of mine that we've done shows with though that is in the UK and so we we've talked about that.

You know the fact that they're phasing out some of these refrigerants that America is just now starting to introduced to our markets. So it's a good uh as I say you know it is a snapshot of things to come in some some cases. So I did want to say looks like we're just after nine o'clock I did want to say last week I did not know until the show had ended that um I had that music playing the entire show uh I didn't know it until after the show was over and I went back to just kind of you know, glance at the show and see how everything went and just see how I sounded and and so on. and then I realized there's music playing in the background the whole time I was very disappointed.

um so in fact uh, my buddy Steve who watches our show sometimes not not Steve from everything HVAC but another guy, a friend of mine he was telling me he's like I couldn't watch it it was just too much music I felt like you were you know I was at an opera or something so Ryan says why just limit the number to the Big Three I Think multiple manufacturers make good products and bad ones. If your company is a billion dollar company it's big. That's a really good point, you know I think it. I think that's a really good point Ryan Instead of saying the big three, we should probably be saying the big seven because I think I think there is the big seven when it comes to I think it's seven.

It's seven or eight big manufacturers here in. America when it comes to heating and air residential stuff and then it's everybody else, it's the big seven. And then you've got a few companies coming in from overseas, right? Or it's the big seven And then you've got you know, Rickety Company I Shouldn't say Rinky Dink But companies you've never heard of before, you know, trying to break into the the market. so it's a good point.

You know? maybe I won't say the big three anymore I Don't want to offend Ryan on this big three thing, so thank you for that. Ryan Arch says greetings from Arizona Good to see you Arch uh Ryan says is there any issues with condensate from AC dripping on electrical whip and other thermostat wire seen here while the plastic around them hold up to the acidic condensate I mean I Think that anybody, when they're installing a system, a good installer is going to be mindful of the condensate you know, coming out the drain and so on. Um, electrical whips are supposed to be rated for that for wet locations, but um, but it's not a bad point. You know things do break down over time and I think as I said, any good installer is going to be mindful of where that condensate pipe comes out, where it's going to be dripping just because it's You know, a time of year that it's not going to be condensating trying to look ahead a little bit and be mindful of that.

And so if you guys, if you're a homeowner and you've got a home, uh, you know, a contractor installing a new system or something like that, maybe that's something you should watch too. You know they they start installing stuff and you you look at where's this condensation going to be going? You know, is it going in my flower bed? Here Is it? Did they plummet out somewhere else? You know it. does. It connect to a condensing furnace and I need to worry about it freezing in the winter.

so maybe we need to either cut it back or reroute it because of that. You know those are all things that should be considered by the installation company, but also you you know as the homeowner might be a good idea for you. Pewter is slowing down here. We go all right there it goes.

I'm having some internet issues tonight guys, so hopefully uh, let's see. let me make sure it's gonna work Okay there it goes. I'm checking on my other computer making sure that it is turning out okay. it looks blurry but it but it looks like it's still still coming through.

So I apologize if uh, the internet speeds or are as bad as they appear to be. so Emery said or let's see Ryan Okay we answered that. Emery says how do we? how do you get R22 to charge a system that's low on R22 it's a great question I don't know if you can uh in some places now I I ca I don't think I could get uh my hands on it right now at least from ordering for my normal suppliers. Uh, every now and then I'll have somebody email me or call me and say I've got one that's been sitting in my my garage and I'll sell it to you you know? But other than that I think R22 We're very close to it being like R12 you know where maybe in the next couple years seeing those green jugs are gonna, it's gonna be like you know it's going to be like looking at a museum.

You know what is that? When did, when did when did they make those green ones you know Emery says Sheldon no you don't want an oversized unit, especially in humid environments. Very true Charlie says if I buy an H by the way, welcome Charlie I don't know if I've seen your name on our show before. If I buy an AC surge protector at the same time I buy a new furnace and an AC will the installer put them in? Got it from Amazon Uh, that's a good question Charlie Some installers will not install stuff bought from Amazon but sometimes they will So um, so he said. got it from Amazon LED says Griffin Air okay but with your face iPad Uh, that's funny Ryan says do you stay busy during the shoulder seasons in the past Did you ever have to Pivot your business to doing a non-hvac work to keep employees busy I Always hear you can get a deal during those times? Uh Ryan I have heard that too.

Um I've done videos on that where companies will change their pricing based on how busy they are. We don't do that at Griffin Air. um, not very much Anyway, I mean I can't say that we've never done changed our prices. um, a little bit here and there.

but for the most part I see some of these companies, they'll swing their prices thousands of dollars. you know, certain times of the year and it's you know they'll they are before anybody gets on here. Comments: Well Josh you just don't understand supply and demand. Um I understand what Sublime demand is I also understand that you're changing your prices and I'm just telling your customers that you do that.

So there you go. Uh, but um, to answer your question on if Griffin Air ever does anything outside of HVAC the answer is yes. So we offer plumbing and we'll usually do less of it when we're real busy in the summer and more of it when we're not so busy in the fall and winter. and then um, we also do crawl space encapsulations so that's something we started offering last year and there's a lot of companies in our area that do them incorrectly and so there was a big need for that.

and so it's something that we can stay busy at, you know, and do it right and help a customer out. Then it's a win-win So Arts uh says Carl how's it going up north? Watch out for the Bears Kendall welcome to the show uh Kendall follows us on Facebook more I always see you you know, liking our stuff on Facebook so we appreciate you uh, keeping up with us over there. He says I'm putting in the new Bosch heat pump in my house. Do you think it's worth upgrading the blower to an ECM I have three zones with a bypass damper.

so Kendall I think that um, if you do have uh zoning then I would consider maybe going with a variable speed system um I like Bosch I think Bosch is uh, an okay product across, you know in general. but I would maybe if you haven't already pulled the trigger, maybe consider an uh communicating inverter system. The zoning equipment is going to cost a little more, but the functionality and the capabilities of being able to ramp up and down based on you know, just one of the three zones calling is far superior than a non-communicating system. So just throwing that out there maybe something to consider.

Um Carl says that poor guy got eight by one Arch says anyone with a Mirage inverter mini split seems that are seems that are these mini splits are made in China A couple of texts said that it's easy to find parts around here for Mirage So Arch I don't know much about Mirage because I think they're bigger out in your area than they are mine. but what I was told that is that they're not being made in China that they're actually being imported in from Mexico and so good or bad I mean that I Um I I was told that now I don't know how accurate that is. Maybe one of the other Pros on here can speak to that, but um, just something to consider. Maybe the parts might be more available if they're coming out of Mexico versus China Um, you know, just might be something to consider there.

Uh Carl what a way to go! Carlson's finally hit the 90s here. Um, we are just now starting to see some upper 80s. We haven't touched 90s yet, but I think we will by the end of this week. Here in Virginia Uh Carl says poor guy just drinking his morning coffee and gets ate by a bear.

goodness that is I I haven't heard about that so Charlie says bought a Carrier AC and furnace today going in on Friday nice Charlie Um, let me uh, ask you where are you located and what company did you go with Phil Feel free to give them a shout out Arch says just enjoying the nature and relaxing. A real tragedy? Yeah, that's crazy Arch and uh Carl talking about some bear attack, let's see. Hellboy says got a Bryant Ph4z can find the motherboard can I get pointed in the right direction This is all new to me looking to learn. Um Hellboy have you tried I mean I I Don't know if you're a pro and you're having trouble finding this part or if you're just a homeowner trying to find this part.

but most, uh, heat and air guys should have some sort of carrier or Bryant because carrier and Brian are the same company. um should have a good supplier somewhere that you should be able to get that part that you need or at least point you in the right direction. LED says Riverside California My parents live here also nice. My wife and I have been to Beverly Hills and Hollywood and all that sort of stuff.

Uh, twice now. she's been twice, I've only been once and um, it was a good time. It's not really like I Don't know that it would have been top of my list I probably would have been like you know, maybe wanting to do something like go to an NFL game or something like that. but um I still had a great time.

you know going out there Arch says when it's hot like this they come down looking for water and food. Still talking about the Bears um Ryan says hey Josh what did you think of the questions I Sent for a tour at Daikin hey Ryan I copied those questions and added them to our Master list that we have for all the questions that we're going to be trying to get asked and stuff or for video ideas. um I don't have those right in front of me so I I can't speak to them but I I can tell I will say this I did glance at them and I was like some of these are good. let me add them to our Master list.

We are going to have a finite amount of time when we're there and I do appreciate your suggestions. um and if one of them works out and we end up getting it done I I Hope we can, but please don't be offended if we don't Um, we've got. You know, all these ideas that we want to get done while we're there and we just don't have. but so much time we're gonna get as many as much done as we can there and show some of these folks kind of that behind the scenes at Daikin that a lot of homeowners never get to see.

You know, a lot of folks have never seen what a factor history looks like that you know where they're making Heating and Air Products A lot of folks don't even think that if it says assembled in America or made in America or whatever verbage these companies are using, a lot of them will say well, it's just Chinese parts and they just put some screw couples I've literally had people say they just put a few screws in it just so they can say assembled in America Not realizing you know that's one of the things I hope to show when we're down. There is a lot of these companies making American-made products or American assembled products. That's not the case. You know.

Maybe maybe some of the control boards or Motors are being you know, imported and things like that. but you know these companies are. You know, a lot of them are supporting American jobs they are making us. You know, an American product in some way, assembling the product wherever verbiage I'm allowed to use.

But um, you know when you see metal come in one end of the factory and heat pumps go out the other end of the factory, you know that tells you something. You know. There's literally sheets of metal being rolled out in there and stamped and shaped and coils being made and bent and all these different things. and um, you know that's uh, that's definitely one of the things I hope to capture when we're there.

The other cool thing. So for those of you that don't know, we got word that Daikin is going to have us. you know, go behind the closed doors if you will. They're going to have us down to Texas next month.

It's actually a few weeks away just after the Fourth of July so just a couple weeks away we're coming up on a quick but we're gonna um be touring the Daikin Factory We're going to interview some of the you know the folks there making it happen and I was told by one of the the guys on a on a call we had that we will be the first outside of the company that actually films a a shot if you will of the Daikin Fit conveyor belt line that we're going to be the first ever that they've had a lot a lot of other media Outlets come into the factory and do videos and do all kinds of different things. but this little chubby kid from Virginia that grew up in a trailer park is going to be the first one in the world, the nation and the world that's gonna actually get to record a video of the of the Daikin Fit being made on the uh the the you know conveyor belt line uh there in Texas So that's pretty cool, you know? So I'm excited if you can't tell Arch says an electrician came by and he's going to give us an estimate on installing many breakers for connecting a couple of Mini Splits any opinions on many Breakers or versus installing a sub panel. um if you're talking when you say mini Breakers if we call them uh, one of the things we call them is Piggyback Breakers It's basically where you've got the one slot and you're able to put two skinnier Breakers in that one slot and so um, let me show you. let me see if I can find it here.

Yeah, here we go. So if you guys see on the screen here, this is kind of what we call piggyback Breakers Um and basically and this is what I wanted to show you. So if you've got a uh a 240 volt, you see the the two in the middle here have a bar and then the two on the outside on these piggyback Breakers uh has this I guess you could call it some sort of a clasp or whatever you want to call that I Don't know what the verbiage is, but basically you're able to. You know, put if you look over here, this is two Breakers that are put into one spot and um, you know I'm not an electrician I'm not gonna uh I'm not a master electrician I Did go to school to be an electrician originally, but um I so I don't I don't want to speak to their reliability or anything like that, but I will say that we've installed them.

We've had, you know, electricians install piggyback breakers for us before and they work just fine. You know? Um I I Think that most electricians would even agree that this setup right here with especially this one on the outside, not the two in the Middle with the bar, but that one on the outside I've seen Breakers trip. so this out, you know. let's say one of these 20s on the outside trips right here and the other one doesn't that the the clasp not being strong enough or however it's set up there.

There's been times where it didn't actually turn both off or both to the trip to position. and so if you ever get one like that and it trips like that on one of them, just be careful. It does not necessarily mean that power is off and it's tripped both, so just be mindful of that. But anyway I assume that's what you're talking about and um, you know, um, that's you know.

Pretty common. I I Will say that we've seen them done a bunch of times. Bob says I use four or seven C's since my air handler is for R22 We replaced a condenser six years ago and it works great. Um I've personally never used 407c but I have friends that I think isn't 407c the one that they call um, new 22 or something like that, they they call it something 407c I don't I can't I'm not seeing it.

but anyway. uh I've never personally used that as a replacement or a drop in for R22 but I've heard a lot of other guys using it. Um, we a lot of times. if somebody wants to go that way, we'll do the Mo99 just because it's been around longer than some of the others.

and I've never really had many issues with Mo99 so that's usually the one we'll go with. 3000 says do you suggest a soft start unit to a single stage unit I Assume you're talking about an inverter system and it depends on the situation. but in general for the most part, yes, I mean if if I'm just comparing Apples to Apples the pros far outweigh the the cons, especially with some of these companies like Daikin making the fit where you can get a fit for you know, not much more if not more at all. You know in some cases it's the same same price or you know it depends on the company you know.

I don't want to go down that road but just to go up to the fit. In some cases it's minimal. I guess is the point is one. I'm trying to make you know to go from say a a single stage 16 Seer to a you know a fit in communicating inverter system that's super quiet, super efficient, and you know, smaller, less clearance, better performance.

Someone we could just keep going on and on. And so if you're asking, do I suggest maybe doing a Fit versus a single stage system in general I Think in general across the board the answer would be yes Arch says I bought three Intermatic surge protectors off Amazon for when we get the mini splits or package heat pump installed, Good idea. Foreign surge protection is definitely a necessity these days. at least here in Virginia no doubt Ryan says Charlie offer them Gatorades first, then ask them nicely if they would install the surge protector.

Um, sometimes asking nicely does go a long way. Um, I'm going to take a break from our comments for a moment and we're going to do a quick session over on. We uh, we'll usually do breakout sessions if you will and uh, let me pull that up here for our live shows. Tonight's Breakaway session uh segment if you will is I'm gonna ask the audience um let's see what thermostat, What thermostat do you have on your current heating and air system? So what thermostat is it? Do you? If you know what brand, what model is it and do you like it? So do you have a a Honeywell T6 Do you have a nest? Generation three? Do you have an Ecobee? What thermostat do you currently have? And do you like your current thermostat? So feel free to drop that in the chat.

What thermostat do you have and do you like it? Let's get back to our chat here in the meantime. and um, we will, uh, hopefully get some responses on those. Arch says made and PRC imported from MX company um from MX So maybe that means Mexico R22 in Mexico is 200 at Home Depot in in Mexico that's crazy if that's true. I Don't think you'd be able to buy it and bring it over the border, at least not legally, but that is pretty cool.

I'm not surprised, but um, that's interesting. Charlie says I'm in Kenosha Wisconsin Wisconsin fuel Heating and Cooling nice. So that's the folks if you guys didn't know. Asked Charlie a moment ago to give the company that he hired a good shout out.

Charlie If you do join us again, let us know how they do. You know, let us know if you were happy with their work. Um, if you're not happy with their work, we'll just you know, not say anything. But if you are happy with their work, um, feel free to give them another shout out on a future show.

Arch says they have Mirage R32 Mini Splits for sale R32 versus 410 Any opinions on which to go with while 410A is being phased out Arch if you if you're if your state now has our 32 and you've got a company that is starting to use it, they're comfortable with it. They're already used to working with the A2l refrigerants. I think that uh, being that 410A is going away I would not want to be anyone's guinea pig. Not right from the get-go but if they're starting to use them and you've got a good company that is, uh, offering them, might be a good idea to try to, maybe go ahead and make the switch.

Uh, there was a bear attack. that's that's really sad. Arch My father did two tours at March AFB in Riverside California Ryan says Arch get the R32 if you can find someone to install it. you need special equipment rated for A2l refrigerants.

That is true. Charlie says I looked at carrier Brian American Standard got the best deal on the carrier system. That's actually surprising. that would not be the case in my area at least.

I don't think it would be uh Emery says what made you get into HVAC Man, that's a good question. so a lot of folks don't know this about me. but I actually went to school to be an electrician and the first few years of my adult working life I worked at an electrical company. so for four and a half years I worked at a Commercial Heating and Air company.

then I switched to another one and then chasing jobs I Ended up at a plumbing company for a while and learned plumbing and then I ended up at a company a year or two after that. that did all three. So I kind of fell into it. a lot of guys will say that and I fell in love with it.

Um, it was the first out of the three trades. it was the one that I enjoyed the most. Um, so that's kind of how I fell into it. My first boss in heating and air.

he was, uh, he uh started teaching me on Steam boilers. I knew way more about boilers and how to work on them, which is pretty, uh, rare here in Virginia If you go further north, it's not rare, but here in Virginia it's pretty rare and I learned how to how a boiler worked and how to work on those way before. I even knew what a reversing valve was I didn't even know what a heat pump was I didn't know what a reversing valve was. So I remember learning that for the first time a guy named red uh was the guy that taught me what a reversing valve was.

That's crazy that I remember that. but I do Donald Hopefully I'm saying your name right? I need two tons of cooling and five tons of heating? Would I be a fool to have an inverter heat pump only system or as a hybrid system the rational option? It's a good question. Donald I Don't know where you're located, but the fact that uh, you're you're saying that you need a lot more heating I I would guess that you're somewhere up north and I would probably defer to your local contractors on that. Um I Think there are setups that make sense for what you're describing? Definitely.

Uh, you know I Don't think a heat pump is a horrible idea in all cases, but um, you know, obviously having a heat pump that is super oversized. So if you were to size it for the heating, you know your cooling time of the year, you're going to have a system that's significantly oversized. So I think your local Pros would probably know the market better than you you know than I do um for that and I would defer to them. And also, depending on where you're located, you know availability of certain products slash Brands might play a role in all of that as well.

So they may say well, you know it's nice that some guy on YouTube told you about. you know, a dual fuel system or or this type of system, an inverter system, but you know we. We just don't have that you know available typically here. Could we order it and get it in? Yes.

But then you gotta consider Parts availability and things like that. So Carl says does the Fit have the 12-year unit replacement warranty? Yes it does. Arch says talk to a tech from Green Valley Cooling and they are now installing nothing but Daikin He said they are proving to be reliable and have a 12-year warranty I might consider Daikin yeah that's that's what we did. We tried them a few times and then fell in love.

So LED says go Arizona Cardinals God Bless you guys. you guys are probably y'all have uh have had a flat rough last few years just like I have as a Cowboys fan. Oh did I just drop that? I'm gonna probably lose a few uh fans. There's people dropping off the call right now because I told them that I was a Cowboys fan when I was growing up.

everybody was a Cowboys fan. Everybody I knew because they were good and then when all the bandwagon fans went on to all the um, all the other brands I mean uh companies, uh uh, teams I stayed on. you know now I I could never see myself cheering for another team I've tried I was like there's been a few years that I was like this is heartbreaking. Maybe I just need to switch and and uh but I just can't bring myself to do it you know Gary I support them in the good times and bad it's just been a lot of bad times.

Gary says congrats Chubby fellow we are all proud of you Enjoy your visit to Daikin Thanks Gary uh Arch says too bad Daikin doesn't make a fit to replace a package unit on a roof Um Daikin does make package units, but you're right, they're they're not. That's not their main thing. They don't have a communicating inverter system especially. Josh Orion says Josh no offense I thought you asked us to send some questions.

Maybe one of my questions will sneak in. have a great tour man. definitely not offended. It's your interview and your time with them.

Yeah I appreciate that I just more than anything. Um I I have that list of questions and while we're there I'm gonna probably go over with I have a lady that helps me with some of the editing and she's going to be doing a lot of the recording and we're gonna just Jam pack as much as we can into that trip. So uh I will say one of your questions I remember the the whole paint question and marketing and stuff I Thought that was rather interesting. you know, maybe even like a quirky maybe I'll throw it out to them in a quirky way.

just see what they say. So um, let's see. Ryan says make some great content Can't wait to watch when it's ready. Carl says yes Kendall says three Honeywell 8 thousands and yes uh Kendall was uh, we were talking about that zoning issue a moment ago I'm probably not gonna say or I'm not gonna pronounce this correctly.

so I apologize but Nyant Niant says he has a Nest learning and loves it or likes it Gill says Ecobee generation four um Ryan says Nest not learning. nice Mark says the Honeywell Home 800 Love it I've got the 8 000 so maybe that's the equivalent. um to the 800. I'm not sure Daniel says I hate the nest.

we're uh, we're starting some Uh, start the the beginning of the war has started right Arch says an Rth 3100 you've got one of the old 3000s I I Remember cutting my teeth uh years ago in this industry with the three thousands. Uh, they were very, uh, user friendly. Daniel says I love Ecobee Gary says about to order a couple of Mitsubishi mhk2 wireless remote thermostats for the split system. Nice.

Let us know how you like those. Gary Arch says you can cross R32 and 410 into the US from Mexico according to customs agent, you probably can with those currently, but I don't think they would be very happy if they found out you were bringing in smuggling R22 over the Border Carl says with A2l refrigerants being flammable, do you have to have a DOT warning placard on the trucks? Um I don't know the answer to that. Virginia has not approved H2O refrigerants yet or at least I have not been told if they have and so as those uh, regulations and things like that come out here locally, I'm going to know more about it and we're going to be able to do videos on that, so stay tuned for that. We will do videos on that so that way you can you know, maybe see some of those changes and such Arch says my grandfather was a plumbing contractor but unfortunately he only taught me how to dig a ditch I did get a con get to connect a few PVC and Abs pipes sure wish I had learned Plumbing ABS Man a lot of guys don't even know what that is so that's awesome Arch says it would save uh it would save us money.

That's true if if you uh jumped into did your own Plumbing you probably would save some money there and Arts is a Redskins fan. uh God bless you I think they're called the Commanders now so certainly don't want anybody get upset with me. but uh I have grown up not being a a fan of Washington's team. um and uh, mostly not because of the team themselves but I lived in that area where a lot of the folks in this area when I stayed on as a Cowboys fan they they would uh they like to say things to you I I'll be I'm actually careful of where I wear my cowboy swag out in public because people think that it's you know if you wear a team out in public, people will just look for a reason to you know Heckle you so you know maybe I'm too sensitive for the heckling I don't know Arch says ask them if Dyke and package heat pumps are different and an improvement over Goodman I will keep that in mind Arch uh I Don't know that we are going to do a lot of package units stuff while we're there.

you know because of the fact that they don't lean into it as much. but um, but I will definitely keep that in mind pal. Mark says typo 8000 yeah I love the 8000. it's probably my favorite thermostat all time.

If I had to pick one, um, it'll probably change eventually. but I can do things with an 8 000 that some people with a lot fancier thermostats can't even do so. Anyway, Ryan says Panthers fan here in North Carolina I would have thought in Virginia you got Washington comes on TV in your Market um yeah I mean as I said when I was growing up, everyone was a Cowboys fan everyone I knew you know so all the kids you know cowboys it was. We're talking about the early 90s so you know they were winning Super Bowls and they had Emmett Smith and everybody was a Cowboys fan and then you know as they as they weren't so good and people moved on I just didn't So anyway some of you guys that don't like football you're like get on with it.

stop talking about football Arch doesn't like the Commander's name apparently Emory says I am both the Chiefs and a Cowboys fan nice and Daniel is a Cowboys fan. Go! Cowboys Nice. All right. Um, we're going to be wrapping up here shortly Guys: I Wrap Feel free.

If you do have any more questions, please drop those in the chat. We will try to get those answered before we wrap up here. But uh, we wrap up each episode with the same thing and that is if you have a good Heating and Air company that is local to you, please share where they are located or what area they service and who they are. Um, you know there's some good companies out there.

Let's do them a favor by you know, giving them a shout out and we will shout them out even if you've shouted them out before. Let's let's put them in there again and give those guys some love. Especially this time of year. some of these guys are needing some love.

Yeah, some of these guys are fighting the fight. They're out in the Heat and they need some love. So feel free to drop them in there And um, we will give them some a good shout out. Emery says what is the purpose of a TXV valve and why are they found in newer systems? So refrigerant flow? Um, when it gets to the evaporator, uh, needs some sort of metering device and what essentially what it does is it restricts the refrigerant and in the old days they simply had an orifice that would do that or a piston is what a lot of guys would call it and the Txvs when they came along um, were basically an upgrade to that.

They're a valve that will open and close based on the temperature of the suction line and so you'll see this bulb that they'll have you attached to the suction line that it when I say attach like it'll you just lay it up against it and a lot of guys will clamp it on there in some fashion and then insulate it real well. but it's testing that temperature and will open and close based on that temperature. and that's why on a heat pump system when it sees hot refrigerant coming through there, that valve will open all the way and then you'll see a some sort of metering device at the outdoor unit. Because you know the essentially the evaporator coil becomes the con condensing coil and then the condensing coil becomes the evaporator coil because the refrigerant's running the you know the other way back backwards.

you know the the other way. So um, that's essentially what a TXV is. It opens and closes and meters that refrigerant Rusty says DJ's HVAC They will treat you right in Illinois so shout out to DJ's HVAC show them Then some love Niant says do you have some suggestions for a two-ton Central units for the New York New Jersey area. They don't have many Daikin installers here I Have helped several folks in Long Island and I have been told the same thing.

Did I hear it right that you prefer single stage units over variables? You did not hear that right? I I Like a give me a non-communicating inverter system all day long and um, you know we. We obviously are fans of Daikin But if you don't have a good Daikin dealer in your area I'd worry less about the brand and find a good installer. And if you want an inverter system, just find somebody that don't don't be anybody's guinea pig. Find somebody that's done them before.

Gary Giving a plus HVAC out of Westfield Massachusetts A shout out. So hey to those guys. A plus. You guys are doing something right because Gary has shouted you out a few times.

so that is awesome. Um, maybe we'll do some sort of competition for this too. some of you guys that are shouting out these great companies, Maybe we'll put together something and uh, reach out to those companies and and let them know that you guys think highly of them. Gill says Jnj Heating and Air they service the Dallas and Fort Worth area I Love that area.

You have uh, some good food in your area. I've passed through there the airport and going to Waco once and um some of the best food in my life. I ate on that trip so LED says I love the nest thermostat and hate the Cowboys but I love this show Chubby, that's great. uh Ryan says what's the better investment insulating my attic better or moving up to R8 Ducks from R6 the attic is hot and I think it a