Arkansas HVACR NewsMagazine June 2018

HVACR NewsMagazine June 2018 Tech News

tools an efficient and effective tech builds over time to alert themselves of slipping belts, a vacuum pump that isn’t operating properly, a burned board or transformer, a bad bearing or even… an underfeeding or overfeeding evaporator. This is where “Beer can cold” (grabbing the suction line to get an approximate temperature) isn’t always a bad thing… but only when used as an initial qualitative test. #2 – Senses Should Lead to Measurement A good diagnostic technician finds THE problem first. Whatever is primarily causing the problem is the first order of business. Once that primary problem is identified, THEN a good tech moves on to inspecting the entire system and making more measurements as possible to identify additional

Bryan Orr, May 18, 2018 Newsletter HVAC School for Techs by Techs First off, if you’ve never heard the term “beer can cold” you are either not in the trade, or you have been living a pretty sheltered existence. I started as a tech apprentice when I was 17 years old and on my first day in the truck my trainer grabbed the suction line of a running split system and said “She’s running good! Beer can cold”. Now before you freak out, my trainers were primarily a couple would JOKE about beer can cold and then they would proceed to connect their gauges and properly check superheat and subcooling. There are two things to know about old sayings like “beer can cold” or listening to your vacuum pump or feeling the air velocity out of a register. #1 – They Can Be Useful Tools of An Experienced Tech When I was in trade school my instructor taught me to “feel my way” through the refrigerant circuit to identify the liquid line, suction line and discharge line by touch. This resulted in some minor burns and a perspective on the “qualitative” or intuitive understanding of the refrigerant circuit. Using your senses to hear, feel and smell the system are really important WHAT’S SO WRONG WITH “BEER CAN COLD”? of guys named Jimmy Wells and Dave Barefoot and these old school techs

issues. Once the initial set of known issues have been rectified, a good technician will always verify proper system performance using real measurements that PROVE that the system is operating properly.

So let’s be 100% clear You cannot charge a system by “ Beer Can Cold “. It is nothing more than a long running inside joke that refers to grabbing the suction line and it feeling cold like a cold beer on a functioning A/C system. But….. (Warning, I’m about to take this WAY TOO FAR) Depending on the type of beer and the preference of the drinker, beer can be anywhere from 36 °F (2.22°C) for a good old can of American Lager all the way to about 55°F (12.77°C) for a British stout