So, ah, it's time to chill out and get ready for a mediocre q, a live stream if you're old enough grab yourself your favorite adult beverage and if you're not stick with apple juice, put your feet up and relax. If you have any questions, feel free to ask them in the chat and now, let's queue up the intro music yo. How are you guys doing this evening? Hopefully you guys are doing good, i'm doing pretty cool over here. Um work is getting busier and busier every week, a bunch of stuff going on this week.

So today was pretty mellow tomorrow, i've got a uh. Let's see, i don't know if i'm going to get video footage of an of it or not, but i've got a a 15 ton split system. That's got a crazy long line set and the evaporator coil has over 20., i'm not joking between the two circuits. It has over 20 refrigerant leaks in it all on the return bands and the braze joints.

So it's like almost impossible to replace this equipment and i honestly don't even want any part of it. So we are going to be doing a repair tomorrow. So we're going to be putting in two new dryers recovering the charge each circuit holds like 28 pounds of gas. It's a big system um, so uh yeah that'll be one.

I don't know if i'll get footage of it or not. It just depends, but um that'll be an interesting one. I've been kind of avoiding this one just because it's a long process and it's at a shopping mall so getting to the roof. Where the the condensing unit is it's five stories up.

It's nuts, you got ta climb a giant ladder, a bunch of stairs. It's a pain in the butt, so it's actually the one that i think i did a video on it that i did a compressor replacement. It's the exact same system that i did a compressor replacement on actually, where i had to make the gantry lift and lift that compressor and the reversing valve up it's that system, we're fixing the leaks on it. Finally, that thing's had leaks forever so, but now it's getting so bad that it's leaking out really quick, so i think uh i had put refrigerant in it.

I don't know like a month or two ago and it's already out of gas, so i was like yeah. No more, no more fixes on that thing, so we'll be starting on that one tomorrow. I quoted it for a two day project. So, let's see if it actually takes two days but i'll have a helper with me too.

So that'll be nice, but yeah so hey to everybody, that's just coming in right now, hopefully you guys are all doing well uh. Do me a favor, as you guys come in smash the like button or the thumbs up button. It really helps the stream or thumbs down button. I could care less either way.

Just give some sort of interaction to help youtube realize that you guys are here because youtube does appreciate that kind of stuff um. Just so you guys know like any interaction. You guys can give on anybody's youtube. Videos is always a plus, i mean just even leaving a simple comment.

Whatever um you know it, it definitely helps to let youtube know that people are interacting with other people's content, so definitely helps people's channels to grow. So if you watch anybody's youtube channels, just leave a comment, it doesn't have to be anything crazy. Just leave any sort of comment in other people's videos and and mine too, if you feel the need to so that'd be cool, it definitely helps out creators. You know the creation space is definitely getting interesting because youtube and facebook and instagram they're always coming up with new ways of of trying to promote their brands right and they have all kinds of new requirements that they want us to follow.

It seems like every couple months they come out with a new thing, whether it be and and they're good things like with youtube. You know, youtube is, is like hey start putting uh, you know um at the end of the video they want bookmarks. You know so that people can see the bookmark, you know marks and okay. So now you have to watch your video and time stamp, everything which is fine, you know, but it just seems like they're always doing things put captions, which again it's all good stuff.

It's just more and more work that the creator has to do, but hey first world problems. Right, i mean you know we're complaining or i'm complaining about having to do extra work, but it's like you know what i got to be thankful for the little things that i do have so you know in these crazy times. That definitely helps so, as usual got a couple things on my list, which you guys don't see here is i i've got my monitor right in front of me, and i have a microsoft word document right here with, like basically all my bullet points of things to Talk about and then uh, obviously we're going to get to the chat too. So if you guys have um uh comments inside the uh or questions that you want me or things you want me to address, please do me a favor and do me a favor and put your comment in caps lock, and it helps myself and the moderators to Be able to field the questions? Okay, remember you know for the new people that are in here right now.

I don't get to every single question. It's just not possible, because everybody's always got stuff. They want me to cover. So if i miss your guys's questions, please feel free to send me an email to hvacrvideos, gmail.com and i'll try to get to them, and so what happens is if you send me that email, then i try to go through it and i put it on my List for the next week usually, and we try to cover it.

So that's some of the bullet points that i have to talk about tonight are of things that people emailed me about. So all right, um. Let me see what we got in here: um, okay, cool um, so i had two videos this last week. Okay, the two videos were the cook's region, is too warm um, and that was the one that i changed in evaporator, coil and txv, and i got to use the new field piece vacuum pump and leak detector in that video and then the second video was the Walk-In cooler replacement, where i changed: two evaporator coils in a condensing unit on the roof and changed as much of the line set as i can access and we use the zoom lock max press tool on that one.

So that was a cool one too got to use all kinds of new tools in these videos. Um. You know i do have to say that i'm super thankful for all of you guys, and i got to say thank you so much, because your guys's support by watching the videos by visiting the sponsors by you know just interacting using the offer code that i have With true tech tools, uh shameful plug big pictures, the offer code - okay, i get a small commission when you guys use that and you guys get a discount so but um. Thank you guys to all you guys that support this channel by watching and helping it to grow, and i don't think i think i've said it once or twice before, but i have to say thanks so much again because we did hit 100 000 subscribers here.

A couple months ago - and that was a really awesome feat - and that's because of you guys that are watching right now, so it's really awesome. So thank you guys so very much for all the continued support. Okay. So i wanted to kind of start this off and talk about being responsible for yourself.

Okay, and what i mean by that is, i get emails. It seems like monthly i'll get at least one or two emails about people having a hard time with their company. They want to ask my advice on whether or not they should be making more money, whether or not they should be getting raises, and while i'm certainly not an expert in any one of those areas. Okay, i operate a business, i wouldn't say successfully i'd, say we kind of get by okay, um but uh when it comes to the people asking those questions.

Okay and i'm gon na pose a question. You know someone will email me and they'll say hey, you know what um i i feel like. I need a raise. You know i've been here this long.

Daddy did all these different things right. The first thing i always think in my head is how i would reflect on that problem. Okay and whenever i'm presented an issue whenever i have an argument with someone whenever, whatever okay, whether it be at work life whatever i always start by reflecting on myself. Okay again, this is just my opinion in the matter.

Okay, so i always start by reflecting on myself if i'm having an issue with someone and they're being a problem um, the first thing i do is is i'll. Usually go talk to my wife because she's, usually my support, pillar right and i'll talk to my wife and i'll say. Am i being unreasonable here be honest with me? You know and sometimes she'll say yeah you're being a punk, you know or whatever, but i always try to reflect on myself. First, okay and then i start looking out, but by doing that, in my opinion, it helps me to make sure i'm aware as to what's going on, because it's really easy for people sometimes to get caught up in themselves and think their stuff doesn't think when, in Fact they might have made a mistake, and it's just as simple as admitting your mistakes, sometimes okay, but when people are asking me those questions you know, should i be making more? Is this unreasonable, whatever i always remind them to look at themselves? First, okay, when they say you know what my boss isn't working me very much he's not giving me very many hours and i'll email him back and say: okay, i'm not saying it's their fault, but i'm just saying is there anything you can do to make that Better, are you showing your boss that you want to be a better technician? Are you you know or whatever, or you know just reflect on yourself? You know, are you not capable of that kind of stuff? Now again, sometimes there's nothing wrong with the person and it is the company or the owner or whatever, but i always try to reflect on myself: first, okay um.

That gives me perspective, and that keeps me on my toes - and i believe kind of keeps me humble because it makes me realize, like hey, you know what maybe i was being a little unreasonable there. Maybe i could have handled that differently. Maybe that offended that person that kind of stuff okay, so i always try to look at myself. First, okay: the next question: i get so much guys and please do not take offense to this okay, but i am gon na say that 99 of these people have absolutely no business doing this.

Okay, they email me and they say i just finished trade school. I want to start my own business. What do i do? Okay now, i'm not saying that you'll never succeed, but i am saying that if you just finished trade school, you have no business starting a business. If you have no experience in this trade, okay in order to - and some people may succeed, okay, but you have to be so cautious about that stuff, because there are so many new businesses opening up right now and again, if you don't know how to run a Business, if you don't know how to be a service technician, then you have no business.

Opening a business you're only hurting the industry and yourself more than you're doing any good. Okay, you don't know how to price you don't and just because you're, the cheapest person in town and you're, the busiest person in town does not mean that you're successful. Okay, i'm not saying you need to be the most expensive, but i'm saying you need to price your business and your your customers, you know the stuff you give them needs to be priced on not based on other people, not based on what other businesses charge. It needs to be what you need, but you need to understand that you need to charge a fair wage.

Okay, you can't low ball everybody in the industry just to get work, because that again is not gon na help. You, in the long run, because you're gon na have to build your prices up when you realize how expensive it is to operate a business okay. So please don't take offense from this guys, but i'm just saying you need to be an advanced mechanic in this trade. Before you start your business, you need, especially if you're, going into the commercial side.

Okay, i know there's a million residential companies out there, and these people start their businesses and all they want to do is sell, sell, sell, but just be weary of that stuff. Okay, you need to be experienced in the trade. I'm not saying there's a certain time frame that i'm going to give anybody, because it depends on every single individual, but you need to have technical skills. You need to know how to master.

You know the trade and you need to understand business, okay or you're. Gon na have some pretty hard hurdles to overcome and i'm not saying you'll never be successful, but it's gon na be a struggle and you're, probably gon na hurt yourself. Okay, a lot of people ask me, you know, i want to start a business or i want to get in the trade and i'm worried about my family. How is this trade on families? Okay? This is a fine balance.

It's a struggle to have a good family life and be a good mechanic in this trade and or business owner okay. So it takes a commitment from yourself and your partner 100. You guys both have to be in on this. You know it can't be.

One person is skeptical, the other person; let's go for it, because you're gon na run into problems. Okay, there's gon na be days, you're, not home in time, and things like that and it's gon na be a struggle. Okay, joshua. Thank you.

So very much for that. Super chat man. That is amazing. I really appreciate it um.

Oh, that's, really cool from an uber passenger because of the things you learned on what? Oh that's cool man right on. I really appreciate it: okay, um so yeah just be cautious about thinking, you're gon na start a business right out of trade school. Okay, you need to have experience for sure all right. Let me have a look at the chat here and see if i missed anything.

Um, let me see yeah hit the thumbs up for sure. It definitely helps it out. Okay, any feedback on the navac vacuum pumps. Truetech has some great prices: okay, damon damon.

I hope that's how you say your name. I have one of the navac backing pumps and it is the two cfm or three cfm, the very small battery operated vacuum pump. Now i do not have any other experience with the navac vacuum pumps, but i will say this. I have heard absolutely nothing but good things about the navac vacuum pumps.

Okay, so i cannot say anything bad about them. I will say, like i: have the little tiny battery operated pump and it's kind of a novelty kind of a toy. It's not really for commercial. At least for what i'm doing um but uh yeah, i again have heard nothing but good things about the navac vacuum pump: okay or vacuum pumps right um.

Now, since we're talking about the vacuum pumps, i did get to use, and actually i i don't know if i've some of you may know this - some of you may not, but i am actually um a beta tester for field piece, so i've often got new tools Way before the release to the market - and it's been a long time coming, but i have been working with the vacuum pumps for several several months now, so it was really cool to finally be able to show the vacuum pump that i've been working with in a New video - and i do have to say it is an awesome awesome vacuum pump. Now i did opt for the giant 10 cfm vacuum pump right. It's the vp x7 um. I didn't need a 10 cfm, but the weight of it.

I was just like this thing. It was it's lighter than the 8 cfm that they have on the market right now, which i love my vp85 um. But so you know there's several different tools out there. It really depends on what you like: okay um, i love field piece stuff.

I've been a pretty loyal person with field piece for many years now, of course, i don't say that i use everything of theirs. I mean i still have some fluke meters and different things like that that i'll swap out at different times, but for the most part i use majority of field pieces products and partially it has a lot to do with their reputation. Um and you know even like i've been working with them a little bit too as far as videos and things like that lately and even that, like you know, i don't really it'd be kind of funny. If i showed you guys the people that i turned down on a regular and i'm not trying to flex as far as like people wanting me to promote products and things like that um, you know i kind of really only want to work with certain people.

You know, and fieldpiece is one of them: they've always been a great company and good to work with, so they make good stuff um, jose rivera. Thank you so very much for that super chat man. I really really appreciate that. That is amazing.

Again, you guys do not have to do these super chats; they definitely definitely help to support the channel. So, thank you so very much, but i will continue to do these live streams even with or without the super chats. Okay, because i do like sharing the little bit of knowledge that i have all right um, let me see what else we got in here. What do i think of the proposed phase out of hc hfc, refrigerants? Okay, scott great question: let's just put it this way pretty much every refrigerant that is on the market right now, at some point in time, is going to be phased out in the future.

Okay, some of the hydrocarbon refrigerants and some of the natural refrigerants are going to be around a lot longer than majority of them, but all the refrigerants that we're using right now from r22, which is already on the chopping block. 404A. 410A. It's all going out the window, okay and new stuff's coming in so here's my take my general take on new refrigerants.

There are, i would bet to say, over a hundred different flavors of refrigerant that we can use okay. I try not to worry too much about change-outs and phase-outs and different things like that. Okay, because in the end, we're mechanics, we're technicians, we're here to fix things and our job is to deal with the new stuff that comes out. So while it may be inconvenient or frustrating because you've been selling 410a equipment for the last seven eight years and then all of a sudden 410a is on the chopping block and equipment's okay, it is what it is.

I mean we're along for the ride. If, if you're really frustrated with it, you can definitely become part of the decision making process um, you know influencing uh manufacturers and different things like that and government agencies. You can definitely get into that. That's not my jam.

Okay um. So i just learned to deal with a lot of these different things right. I, though, the one of the biggest tips i can give anybody out there with all the different refrigerants we have these days is stop looking at the pressures and start focusing on the temperatures. Okay, because easy as this i'm working on a walk-in, cooler, okay, the walk-in cooler has a 10 degree evaporator td, and what that means is the temperature differential from the space temperature, the return air into that evaporator and the evaporator coil temperature in the middle of the Evaporator in the refrigerant, basically, if i have a 10 degree td, my box temperature, minus 10 degrees is going to be my coil temperature.

So with that being said, doesn't matter what refrigerant i'm working on? Okay, if i know what my td is supposed to be, then my box temperature, i mean my my refrigerant pressures can be predicted right, because if i know that my td is 10 degrees and i want a 35 degree box or it's 35 in the box at The time then, my evaporator temperature theoretically should be 10 degrees below that every refrigerant out there. I couldn't possibly remember all the pressures, so i focus on the temperatures because it's super easy that way. Okay and the same thing goes for your condensing temperatures on the roof too, you can predict your refrigerant pressures if you know your condenser td and your evaporator td, now finding some of those can be kind of tricky, finding an evaporator td on a walk-in cooler. That's already existing.

You can make some assumptions that it was designed at a 10 degree td, but a lot of things go into play with that 10 degree td. Are you actually going to measure a 10 degree td because was it installed right? Were the components sized right? Is there big pressure differentials all different things? Go into sizing of the equipment, okay and uh, but assuming you know that it should be a 10 degree td can give you a pretty good idea of what the pressure should be based on the saturation temperatures again, i'm not so much focused on the pressure. I'm looking at the temperature now there is times in the industry, doing refrigeration work that we do have to pay attention to pressures too okay, but as far as understanding the refrigeration cycle and things like that, it's so much easier. If you look at temperatures rather than pressures okay, because it definitely makes it easier to know and differentiate between all these different flavors of refrigerant and not have to wait, people email me they're like what should the pressure be of this? I don't know.

Let's look at the temperatures, it's so much easier to say that i don't even have to have a pressure chart well when you're working on it. You do, but you know you get the concept um, let's see, how do you check the new hoshi bin eye and how do you adjust the level james windsor james? I haven't worked on a new hoshi bin eye, so i don't know what you're talking about with that one. Yet uh i didn't go to the last. I didn't take the last training seminar, so if they came out with a new model, that's something new.

I haven't seen an eye as of yet but yeah. I couldn't tell you right now: i'll have to do some research, so let me see what else we got in here. How long will the zoom lock o-rings last age-wise until they fail chad um? I don't know. Dude i read a document somewhere, i didn't retain the information, it was in one ear and out the other, but uh it's a ridiculous amount of time like ridiculous.

So i wouldn't worry so much about that um i yes, so i did use the new zoom lock max tool in one of my videos this last week and i've kind of been planning this thinking about this job and i kind of had an idea. I wanted to use the zoom lock max, so i went ahead and went for it. So if those of you guys that don't know, okay sporlin is a sponsor of my channel okay uh but um. I just wanted to disclose that just to be fair but they're not telling me to talk about the zoom lock max or anything like right now.

Okay, so sporelin uh did used to promote the zoom lock tool. Okay, uh. They had a partnership with another company that that partnership ended, the company started doing their own thing and pushing their own fittings more power to them. It's all good, okay, sporlan went ahead and started working with another manufacturer, so they rebranded their tool and they call it.

The zoom lock max okay, same concept, press style, fittings and stuff okay. So i used that in my recent video this week i got a lot of pushback a lot of flack a lot of hate actually, and - and i don't understand that right, because why does it matter? If i want to use a tool, i mean, if you don't agree with me, using the tool, then so be it don't use the tool but to to to have this hate. This visceral hate that some people have because someone's using a zoom, lock max - and i addressed it in my video too - you know it doesn't dumb down the trade. Now.

These are my opinions. You guys are free to have your opinions too, okay, but i don't think it's dumbing down the trade. I don't think it's taking the skill out of the trade okay put in the hands of a person that is not skilled. The zoom, lock max is going to cause refrigerant leaks, potentially they're going to have issues they might someone could get hurt different things like that, but that's because they're, a non-trained person, you put the zoom, lock max in a trained person's hands and it might help them Get out of a bind in a weird situation now i did say in my video that the zoom lock max is not the tool that i'm going to use every single day.

It's just not, but it's another tool that i have in case. I do need it and that's the cool thing: okay, but there's a lot of proper practices. You have to follow and again, if i put a torch in an unskilled person's hands, they're going to potentially cause some damage too. Okay, i mean they're gon na cause.

Some serious issues, so you know, if you put a tool in an experienced trade person's hands, that has common sense and i know there's a lot of lack of common sense these days, okay, but you put it in a true tradesman's hand, a new tool that has Common sense and potentially that new tool can help them do their job easier. Okay, so so be it. If someone wants to use it, okay, there's tools out there that i don't want to use. But you know what i don't talk negatively really about them, because i just prefer, if i don't got nothing good to say, i'm gon na keep my mouth shut for the most part, okay, so anyways on that rant um.

I want to go to my list right here and uh. Walter had asked me a question. He had sent me a comment or email, i think, or i can't remember if it was a youtube comment. Walter asked about my go-to leak, detector, uh, he's looking at purchasing a leak detector.

He wanted to know if uh he should go with which insert name of brand leak detector. Okay. So if i was going to recommend two leak detectors out there right now, i would say it would be between the d-tec, either the d-tech three or the d, or the detect stratus or inficon stratus, whatever you want to call it and or the new field piece Leak detectors, okay field piece has two of them: they have an infrared and uh um. What do they call it? A heated.

I can't think of the other one, a heated diode, i think, or i don't remember what it is, but um they got. Two new leak detectors now i use the dr82 leak detector and it is great okay. It is an amazing leak. Detector um! I do want to talk about something because there was a bunch of questions out there and i want to address the fact that on the new field piece dr 82 leak detector.

It does have a numerical readout on that okay, but it is not a parts per million count just so that you guys know: okay, it's just a numerical readout that goes from 1 to 99, based on the severity of the leak, okay um. So someone had commented about the field piece leak, detector and they were saying hey. You know what it doesn't have a parts per million readout. Okay.

So let me explain something: if you guys didn't already know: inficon or dtec has a stratus leak. Detector. There's really too many names, inficon is the parent company right d-tech is the name. I don't know, there's too many names on the thing, but inficon stratus whatever right.

So that's their top of the line. Fancy leak detector that has a color screen on it with a parts per million redo, so the ppm readout to get to the mode that uses the ppm readout. It's the cloud hunting mode on that leak, detector! Okay! So if you actually change it to one of the other modes, i can't remember the name of it: it's actually more sensitive. So if you're using the the stratus leak detector, you typically aren't going to have it on the ppm readout unless you're cloud hunting and what they mean by cloud hunting is, let's say, you're in a supermarket situation and you have to walk into a rack room right, Which is a giant room where all the motors are, and you have to walk into that rack room to do a leak search, but there's a giant leak in there.

Someone has to fix it right. So obviously you want to follow all safety protocols. I don't know if you need a mask up or whatever right, but when you go in there with a leak detector, there could be so much refrigerant gas all in that room that it's really hard to pinpoint where the leak is okay. So that's when cloud hunting comes in with the ppm readout, that's when you would be able to put it on the cloud hunting mode, essentially going into a cloud, and it's going to give you it's going to show you that you have a leak wherever you're at, But then it's going to give you a ppm readout and tell you once you're getting closer, but with that being said, if you want to use the stratus for normal leak searches - typically, you don't want to put it on the cloud hunting mode and you want to Put it on the one where it's just going to be a leak, detector and show, you know just show levels of refrigerant right, so i'm asking most people out there.

Most people out there are probably not going to need a cloud hunting mode. Okay. So when people ask me before the new field piece leak, detector came out, which ones i recommended it was typically either the stratus or the dtec 3. Now the dtek 3 is basically the same thing as the stratus.

It says the same sensor basically, but it doesn't have the ppm readout and the cloud hunting. Okay, so most of the people can do with the dtek3, which is the exact comparison for the dr82, with the new field. Piece leak, detector, okay, so i'd been using the stratus. For i don't know six months or something like that now and then i got the new field piece.

Dr 82 leak detector and i got ta say i mean they're pretty neck and neck um i'll say the field piece has something that i really like about it, that the stratus doesn't have and that's the lighted tip on the end of the leak detector. It lights up when it sees a leak, and that actually comes in really handy, because if you're in a weird situation you know and uh, you can't see your leak detector, but you can only see where the tip is or you can't hear it or something that Would that it comes in really handy, so i really like the dr82, i'm still going to keep the stratus on my van because i like to have redundant tools, but i've been reaching for that new field piece leak, detector more so than ever. I also have a new video coming out this week this thursday, using the field piece leak, detector, 2.. So so be it all right, let's get to the uh the chat for a minute um.

What do we have? What am i missing? Have i had any new compressor? Have i had a new compressor already go bad? Have i had a new i've? Had new compressors go bad? Yes, but i don't know the story right now. H10 pro only dtek is for zoom, lock, users, okay, alaska, all right um. Let me see what else we got in here. Press fittings on boilers is asking for a leak.

Ask me how you know hey. You know what fair enough and i don't know anything about boilers. So i don't know the tolerance of the o-rings and different things like that. So i'm not going to agree with you or disagree with you, because you clearly have more experience than boilers than i do.

So i'm going to go ahead and you know and say that i don't know the answer to that. But if i was going to say that you know, if someone told me that there was you know refrigerator water leaks, you know on on press fittings on boilers. Then i'd start asking was it hot water lines? Was it improperly installed, whether it be whatever press fitting? There is there's a procedure you have to follow and i would almost wonder if more on the plumbing side, they have issues messing up the o-rings than on the refrigeration side. Just because you know leaks probably don't happen as much like what i'm trying to say is refrigerant leaks out a lot easier, so i think we're more critically worried about it.

But i would imagine that you know if people don't follow installation instructions and different things like that. You're gon na run into leaks when it comes to putting fittings on a boiler or something like that. But again i don't have experience with that. So i'm not going to say i'm you know pretend to know what i'm talking about um clint.

Thank you so very much for that super chat, but again everybody that has donated to the channel. Thank you so much. Okay, um, if you guys haven't already i'll, give a shameful plug right now too, go to my website, please: okay, uh hvacrvideos.com and if you're interested, there's some merchandise and stuff like that available that you can help to support the channel with okay, all right uh, and I can't promise i'll do another shameful plug again or i won't because i probably will so have i seen i already answered that question: um: okay, so robbie poiner poiner! Forgive me if i'm butchering your name but so you're asking about viper's, wet rag and you're saying what should you keep the consistency at how much water should you be adding after each use? That's a good question um. I don't know the answer to that.

One uh, but i would say that you want the consistency to stay like the very first day when you open up a viper, wet rag thing: it's it's basically mush you know. So if it comes that way, i'd imagine you want to keep the consistency that way, but you want to make sure you always mix it and add water as need be. So, while we're talking about that, let me mark some questions off my list and uh. We'll cover that one real, quick, okay, so those are good um.

Let's talk about expansion, valves, okay, so, first and foremost in my recent video, where i changed the evaporator coil, i got a bunch of questions, a bunch of people asking about overheating: the expansion valve okay. So when i was brazing in that coil, why did i not have a physical wet towel or any of the viper wet rag heat blocking compound on the expansion valve protecting it when i was brazing it in and the simple answer is well, there's two answers. Two parts to that answer: number one. I was too lazy to go to my van and get it okay, but i also didn't want to have to deal with it being in that tight location.

There wasn't a lot of room inside of there. Okay, so when it comes to using heat blocking compounds, it's always best to put them on there, but sometimes you just can't get it in there like, for instance, if you're working upside down and there's something vertical, you don't want that stuff to fall down into your Brace joint, so maybe you don't put anything on there. Okay, of course, you always want to try to protect sensitive components, but sometimes you got to do what you got to do to get operational. Okay, now i take uh kind of an educated risk right whenever i do braze on an expansion valve without protecting it.

Somehow and of course i always try to but there's times that you just can't right. So you know i also feel like i have like. I said you know enough knowledge to know when i'm overheating an expansion valve and again i'm taking an educated risk, because i let it get to a certain point and i cool it off at a certain point. But that's also one of the reasons why i will constantly say when i show brazing clips and stuff like that, when i'm typically done.

If i'm working on a sensitive component, i have a wet towel, dripping wet towel and right when i'm done brazing i'll rapidly cool that valve down. Okay, now you're not supposed to do that when you're brazing, because that can cause problems right. That can cause stress and unneeded stuff on the solder that you put on there cause things to crack, but there's a fine line there you know just. I will cautiously cool my valves rapidly because they're a sensitive component.

Okay, sometimes you got to do what you got to do again now. Let's also talk about in my recent video, where i was changing the evaporative coil, why i was not purging with nitrogen, okay and that's a really easy answer, because it was almost impossible to properly access the system without adding more service taps into it. When you pump a system down you close off the king valve coming out of the receiver. Okay, when you close the king valve the refrigerant, stops at that king valve and backs up in the system all the way up to the high side service valve and the compressor high side valve and the compressor right it.

It stops at the valve and that refrigerant is always sitting in there and on most of my refrigeration systems, the the service port that you would access to blow the refrigerant through the system is now on the wrong side of that valve, and it's got refrigerant in It all the time so unfortunately there's certain times that you can't braze with nitrogen again. Sometimes it's because i'm lazy. Sometimes it's because you physically can't do it and if you can get on a system that is pumped down that has nitrogen in it. You need to be so careful and the reason why you need to be careful is because the same reason why i always say that you'll never get a perfect vacuum on a pump-down system.

Everything in our system leaks at one point or another, even braze joints at some point: they'll leak to a very minute level, okay, but everything leaks inside that compressor. The valves are not a hundred percent vacuum rated okay and the service valves of the king valve is not 100 vacuum rated either. So there's always going to be potential very small, refrigerant leaks and, if you're ever trying to pull a perfect vacuum, you end up sucking all the refrigerant. That's in the pump downside, eventually right, but on the flip side, if you're purging with nitrogen - and you happen to do a pressure test with nitrogen, there's, also potential to mix nitrogen with the refrigerant which you don't really want to do.

Okay, so especially if you go over the said pressure that it is on the high side in the system, while it's pumped down because then theoretically, the other side of the system has more refrigerant pressure. So it's going to try to push that refrigerant in so purging with nitrogen, on a pump down system. You got to be very careful and really think about what you're doing uh before you cause some problems. So let me cross those questions off the list, real, quick.

So that way, we knock that one out um, dumb and down, and just i don't even know where that question is but anyways all right. Let's go ahead and get to the chat cool. My valves with r22 works a hundred percent of the time. Eighty percent of the time - that's pretty funny all right, uh uh laska.

I i've said it before pre-1992. You know all that crap i was taught coming up in the industry that you would blow out. We would blow out drains and condensers, sometimes like self-contained condensers with r22 again before it was illegal right um, but uh yeah. I came up being taught some things you probably shouldn't do, but i mean that was common practice.

It was cheap, you know, so all right. Let me see what do we got? Uh you tell lead techs if you should purge with nitro and they look at them. Oh yeah well uh, mr green, but i'm gon na say that majority of the industry doesn't purge with nycha or do anything like that and i'm not going to stand up on a high horse. I don't do it all the time either there's times that i'm lazy um, but unfortunately, we've kind of gotten in the trade a little bit lazy.

All of us have uh, you know over the years um and i i shouldn't even say it's it's i i said there's always been a bit of laziness in the trade and uh. It is what it is again. I it happens to me too, but um. Sorry.

I lost my train of thought, but um. I don't know where i was going with that one. So that was a rant that i lost my train of thought on. Okay.

So, oh, i remember that one per okay, when the lead text looked at you like you're, crazy yeah, but you know i mean we just got to try to be better okay, but you also got to know when to keep your mouth shut because you don't want To call out your boss or your supervisor and make them feel silly. Okay, it's okay, to ask questions, but you don't want to ridicule or pretend, like you know more than they do so. Let me see here, uh see what i'm missing here. Uh rich.

Let me see you believe you can get. Oh okay, rich is just saying the press fittings um, all right, so i'm gon na get to my list. So pedro asked me a question and i get this one. Quite often pedro asked me um.

If i would vote for him, you know no, i'm just kidding um, but that's a napoleon dynamite joke, but um pedro had asked me about tool bags. You know whether or not he should buy he's just getting into the trade. If i remember right - and he wanted to know whether or not he should buy a meter bag and or a full-fledged backpack pedro, it really depends on your needs. Okay, what i would suggest, if you're, just starting in the trade and you're going to work for a company, give them a call and make sure that they don't expect you to walk in the door.

The first day with your tools and if they don't or if they do, then just ask them ahead of time. You know what are you guys, favorite brands? What do you guys suggest for a size of a bag and different things like that? Okay, um i'm currently going through a weird phase right now, where i keep changing my bags because um i i still have a pinched nerve and i don't want to aggravate it. So i'm constantly going lighter and lighter trying to find better ways, but it's going to change for every single person right and the company that you're working for it really depends. Okay, i have several different bags that i do use and you know i keep different things in them for different types of jobs.

So it's hard for me to tell you which one to go for from for most techs, i'm going to say, go with the smaller veto, backpack, the the tech pack mc. That's a really nice mid-sized bag. You can't really overload it too much and it's pretty pretty nice back, but i mean again, it just depends on what kind of work you're going in to do so all right, um. Let me see what else we got in here.

Uh, you caught a tech today, pressurizing a system with an air compressor yeah that can be dangerous. That could be very dangerous. Well, i would say so much with an air compressor, but if someone did it with oxygen is kind of where i was going, but yeah air compressors can cause all kinds of issues because there's a lot of moisture in air. So that's going to cause moisture issues inside the system for sure so worked on your first cook straws today and i bet you - it was dirty inside huh, matt, all right, so um all right have.

I ever had any major issues on a recently installed compressor that already needs replacement um, not really not that i've never talked about before so um pack out backpack, yeah, uh. So, okay, i already got that one. I'm gon na go to my list real, quick uh. Please guys we got a lot of people in here.

Right now smash the like button or the thumbs up button. Okay, we got what i see 252 people in here right now and 119 likes. So please get that number up. It helps the channel to grow.

Okay - and i said it a minute ago, but i'll say it again - check out my website - hvacrvideos.com, okay, um, all right and i'm gon na get to my list right here, okay, so this is a really cool question, so susan is a homeowner okay and she emailed Me a question and she wanted to know my opinion, and i thought this was a great place to address this question again. I'm totally cool with people that are not in the trade watching these or homeowners. Asking me questions, i'm i'm i'm. This is awesome and very humbling, so please feel free to send me messages.

If you have them, i try to get to them, but sometimes i don't, but i mean you know so. Anyways susan is a homeowner, and susan has really bad sinus infections and allergy issues, and she feels like her. Air conditioning system is not filtering the air enough. Okay and she wanted to know, you know she's looking at the filter and she just doesn't feel like the filter is working properly and she feels like it has to do with the filter, cavity and, and she wants to know what she should do, what she should Ask her contractor that helps her okay, susan.

The first thing i want to ask you: where is the dust and stuff coming from okay? First and foremost, if we have a perfectly designed system, it's gon na filter, the air and all that good stuff, but there's always infiltration, there's always outside coming into your house. Okay, houses can be leaky, meaning through windows, cracks doors, different things like that. But there's some things you can do to help those houses and if you have a lot of dust and issues in your house, the first thing i'm going to say is reflect on your house first. Where is that dust coming from and let's solve that problem? Okay! Next, you do need a good air filtration system on your air conditioning system.

Okay, i'm gon na tell you right now that there's no air filtration system out there, that is perfect they're all gon na, have some flaws in one way or the other would be different from each other. Okay, some are bigger. Some are smaller susan in your email. You mentioned some things about looking for april air products, different things like that, but, first and foremost before you go down that route is fix.

The problem as to where the dust and the whatever is coming from. Okay fix the leaky parts of your house. There's. Actually, people that can really come in and do professional leak.

You know fixing of the house remediation whatever, where they fix air gaps and different things like that. But there's really simple things that the average person can do too. Like look at the sills, underneath your doors is the rubber thing attached to the bottom of the door, keeping crap out. There should be a rubber gasket, all the way around your door frame, your windows there's so much that we can all do.

Okay. So, look at that first and then susan. What i want you to do is contact local contractors in your area and i want you to look for people that get good recommendations that are qualified and know how to deal with indoor air quality. Okay.

So that's going to be. Your first bet is to figure out where the dust is coming from. The next bet fix any air leaks in your house and then you're going to want to get a hold of someone that specializes in indoor air quality okay feel free to. If, if you need any more help, feel free to ask me another question: send me an email, susan, okay, all right.

So next thing we're going to get to the list right here, um and what is going on. Why is my mouse doing that? Okay, mouse is being a little trippy right now. Um, i'm going back up here, see what i'm missing. What is the x in rx11? Rx11? I don't know what the x is.

I don't know good idea, you know. Rx11 is actually just a replacement for r11 because r11 we used to use that to clean stuff and they would vent it and rx 11 was a solution to solve that um. All right so have i ever had. I already answered that one all right: um, let's see portal portal pay on overtime service calls.

I don't know what that is in reference to metal 244 for english. But yes, on overtime service calls. I do charge from the time we leave our shop till the time we get back to our shop. That is what the customer is charged, and that is what the service technicians are paid.

So um. Let me see what else in here. What brand would i go with for a natural gas three-ton rooftop unit um, i mean that's an interesting question: natural gas, 3 ton rooftop unit depending on, if it's residential or commercial, if it's commercial, i really like linux equipment residential i'd, probably personally, i'm not a residential Guy um, i would, i think i might go with an icp brand uh, so a carrier knockoff or whatever carrier offshoot any of the icp companies is probably what i would go for. So that's just my thing.

Uh rheem has some nice stuff too, that i see. But again i don't work on that stuff guys. So i'm not a rezzy guy, so um, but i some of the new rheem stuff is pretty nice. So um rod had asked me about my digital manifold setup and what platform i am using so uh, as most of you guys know that watch my videos, i'm a huge field, piece pan fan and i use a lot of their products.

So lately i have been using the software called measure, quick, okay, it's a software. You can look it up on any of the app stores. It's an amazing diagnostic software, but measure quick works with several the manufacturers of tools, and it just so happens that measure quick works with field piece products which i really do dig the field piece products. So whenever i am troubleshooting, i will typically use the field piece: job link, probes and or the field piece uh manifold.

I have the s man 480v. Now. Why do i still have a manifold in probes, because there's times that i get to use both and there's times that certain ones work better in other situations? Okay, for instance, if i'm working on a you, know, refrigeration system and i've got my high side and low side gauges on the system, and i want to do a leak check and the system is, is pumped down. Well, i can open up the valves on my gauges and purge for equalize the pressures out to do leak, searches and different things like that.

So um yeah, i really like probes and a manifold, but i'm really digging the field piece stuff. So the field piece, joblink probes or the field piece uh s-man 480v manifold - is what i use. The 380 is perfectly good too so um, hopefully that answers that one francisco had brought up a good point in my chat and he was making a conversation that in the comments um about customers and asking them questions that can lead you to a diagnosis. And that is a great great point, and i've talked about that.

Actually many times is there's ways that we can walk up to our customers as service technicians, right, commercial service, tech going to work at a restaurant. You walk up to the restaurant and you want to know what's going on, you know, and sometimes you can go up and ask the customer questions, and sometimes they won't truthfully answer you right, and this is going to be something you're going to have to learn. You have to learn how to manipulate them into the answers that you want. Okay and what i mean by that and if the government's listening right now, we don't want them doing that kind of stuff: okay, no manipulation but um.

Sorry i have to get a crappy joke in there, but um with uh. You know if you ask the customer the right questions right and you know you can lead them to certain answers, and you know it can help you to come up with the you know. An idea what the problem might be right and it's easier to find the problem. If you know what the real you know, complaints are from the customer right um because you know work.

Orders can be sent through emails these days. So you don't have a lot of communication uh i get most of my work. Orders come through email form and i don't have very much contact with the on-site customer. So i show up, and it just says, reach and cooler down so got ta.

Go talk to the customer and when i make that point of contact i'll start asking them, how long has it been broken? That's a really common question. Did it make any funny sounds? Did you notice anything? You know different things. Did you check to see if fans are running you know, so you you really want to learn how to ask them the right questions, so they can help you to make sure because there's nothing worse than getting a work order and then working on a region. You can't find anything wrong.

You've worked on it for three hours and then you find out. Oh it's the wrong one. You know, so you always want to communicate and that's something you you know that would be simple, but you'd be surprised. So it's really important to learn how to ask the right questions.

They definitely lead you down a path of least resistance and trying to solve problems. So let me see what just came in right here: the 98 deville dude. Thank you. So very much for that.

Super chat and please guys, smash the like button, okay, so um. I wanted to talk about the zoom lock max right, because i talked about that a few minutes ago a little bit and i wanted to kind of cover. It again remember guys tools. The definition of tool is something that helps you to do a task.

Okay, so tools, plural right, so we don't just get one tool and that's the only tool we have the rest of our lives right, because every time a technician picks up a hammer and he goes to use it. You know he might think hey. This would be better if this happens and the next hammer comes out and it's better and it's better and it's better and it's better okay, sometimes they're worse, but sometimes they're better, and they help a person do a new job.