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THE DUCT-FREE ZONE – May 2019
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THE DUCT-FREE ZONE – March 2019
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THE DUCT-FREE ZONE – February 2019
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THE DUCT-FREE ZONE – January 2019
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THE DUCT-FREE ZONE – December 2018
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THE DUCT-FREE ZONE – November 2018
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THE DUCT-FREE ZONE – October, 2018
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THE DUCT-FREE ZONE – September, 2018
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Q1 2018 ESPCO / GERRY WAGNER NEWSLETTER
Q1 2018 ESPCO / GERRY WAGNER NEWSLETTER
2017 TRAINING ACTIVITY IN REVIEW:
NUMBER OF CLASSES: 60
NUMBER OF STATES: 14
NUMBER OF ATTENDEES: 1164
American Airlines says I spent 164 hours in the sky and traveled the equivalent of 2 ½ times around the globe in 2017!
2018 SPRING GREE PRODUCT TRAINING SCHEDULE:
WEEK OF 2/5/18 HEATING & COOLING SUPPLY (ARIZONA)
WEEK OF 2/12/18 HEATING & COOLING SUPPLY (CALIFORNIA)
WEEK OF 2/26/18 EAST COAST METAL DISTRIBUTORS (NORTH & SOUTH CAROLINA)
WEEK OF 3/5/18 GEMAIRE (FLORIDA)
WEEK OF 3/12/18 BAKER DISTRIBUTING (NORTH & SOUTH CAROLINA)
WEEK OF 3/26/18 HEYDEN STANLEY GROUP (HOUSTON TEXAS)
WEEK OF 4/2/18 GEMAIRE (TEXAS)
WEEK OF 4/9/18 GEMAIRE (TEXAS)
WEEK OF 4/23/18 BAKER DISTRIBUTING (TENNESSEE & ALABAMA)
WEEK OF 4/30/18 BAKER DISTRIBUTING (FLORIDA)
WEEK OF 5/7/18 BAKER DISTRIBUTING (NORTH FLORIDA)
WEEK OF 5/21/18 BAKER DISTRIBUTING (CALIFORNIA)
WEEK OF 6/4/18 BAKER DISTRIBUTING (TEXAS)
WEEK OF 6/11/18 BAKER DISTRIBUTING (UTAH)
WEEK OF 6/18/18 NORTHWAY MARKETERS (NORTHERN NEW YORK)
Seven years ago, when I decided to take my training “on the road” sort of speak and go “national,” I was concerned how an old, broken-down HVAC contractor from New York…with an admittedly strange sense of humor, would be received outside of my home area.
The last seven years have done nothing but reinforce what was my already strong love and appreciation for this GREAT country of ours and the GREAT people of the United States.
I have now conducted HVACR training events in 41 states and I can say that in each state I have been warmly welcomed and ultimately accepted…in fact, I can say that I have friends in 41 states and that is a VERY special feeling…profound and special.
No matter where I go in this great country, I meet people who may look and sound different than me but all have similar needs, hopes and goals. Those who know me and have attended one of my training events know that I don’t avoid the tough subjects if they come up…politics, religion, history…and yes, even football.
What I have found without exception, is that people of different opinions and beliefs CAN converse when each has a respect for the other’s foundation…their background, their intelligence and their experiences. One guy from New York has a different foundation than a guy from Texas, or California, or Georgia…not a better foundation, just a different foundation.
Possibly the greatest joy of my job is how it allows me to meet people all around the country and simply talk with them…obviously my primary mission is to share my experiences within the HVACR world but that platform allows me to meet with, speak with…and so often, become friends with people who in turn share their experiences, beliefs and knowledge with me…and that is what makes my job so powerful in my life.
My platform has allowed me to share the story of the man I call my father, Elwood Weaver, who at the age of fifteen, so infuriated by the attack on Pearl Harbor, ran away from home to join the Marines and ultimately fight in the battle of Guadalcanal. I told Elwood’s story, as I do to virtually every group I’m in front of, in Hopkinsville, KY just this past December. At the end of the class a young man named Ty Heltsley came up to me to tell me how his grandfather was with Elwood in the First Marine Division at Guadalcanal…WOW!
Elwood passed away 17 years ago but in that moment when Ty and I were speaking, Elwood was right there…how powerful!
I would have never met Ty if not for my job. I would have never known about Ty’s grandfather if I didn’t share Elwood’s story.
One young man from Kentucky with seemingly nothing in common with an old guy from New York other than our chosen profession, because we spoke to each other, respected each other’s foundation, we discovered a bond that each of us going into that meeting room in Hopkinsville, KY could have never predicted.
As I say at the end of Elwood’s story when I tell it…that was America in 1945 and that is America in 2018!
God Bless America!
IT’S A GREE THING! The algorithm of the GREE inverter compressor feature for Compressor Discharge Protection was developed so as NOT to cause or allow repetitive, nuisance callbacks…this is music to the ears of HVAC business owners!
Let me explain…
I always say in my GREE Mini Split Troubleshooting class that when we have to go back repeatedly to Mrs. Gillacuddy’s house because of a repetitive error code, such as E4 COMPRESSOR EXHAUST, (DISCHARGE) HIGH TEMPERATURE PROTECTION…and we can’t charge Mrs Gillacuddy because this is an ongoing issue with no resolution in sight…well my friends, that’s is the devil’s work!
Repetitive, nuisance callbacks make the installing company’s profit evaporate and also makes them, and Mrs Gillacuddy lose faith and confidence in the product.
The title of this article is, “IT’S A GREE THING”…it’s also a man thing to not read the installation or service manual…and that’s a shame because there are so many hidden gems in the GREE product manuals…here is an example.
On page #13 of the service manual for the Multi21+ 18 & 24K systems, it states the following…
What the above is saying is…because this system utilizes an inverter compressor, the compressor can adjust it’s speed, (RPM) accordingly when the compressor discharge temperature is too low or too high, (too low, it speeds up / too high, it slows down).
The real gem here is the last sentence… “if the running time of the compressor is longer than 7 minutes, the protection record will be cleared.”
WOW! That is music to my ears and the ears of any installing contractor and / or service company!
What that sentence is saying is…after an initial E4 error, should the compressor then run for 7 minutes without another E4 error, the system has the ability to essentially say to itself… “well, we have run for 7 minutes without another E4 error so it appears whatever caused that initial error was resolved internally to the system so lets wipe the fault record clean and simply move on…”
Again…WOW!
Instead of repeating the E4 error, ultimately causing us to return to Mrs. Gillacuddy’s home, the system resolved the issue itself and determined it not significant enough to inform us via another E4 error.
People, I can’t stress enough the significance of this…
The dictionary states the definition of algorithm as the following…
We always need to be conscious of the fact that inverter based equipment is indeed “computer based” equipment…I stress this in Section X of my troubleshooting curriculum where I speak to the need to check for proper ground in the electrical service of the home / building where we are installing a GREE mini split.
In the 1980’s when computer logic was first being introduced into HVACR equipment, it was scary for us to think the equipment we would be installing and ultimately repairing had micro processing ability. Today, we all have a microprocessor in our pocket with more power than many of the computers that landed man on the moon in 1969…its our smartphone!
GREE uses the computer logic of their systems in ways that are unmatched in the HVACR industry…the example I gave of the COMPRESSOR EXHAUST, (DISCHARGE) HIGH TEMPERATURE PROTECTION is just one example.
Keep an eye out for an upcoming “IT’S A GREE THING” article going into more detail about the unmatched onboard diagnostic capability of the GREE inverter mini split.
See you soon!
The views and opinions expressed in this newsletter are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of ESPCO’s sponsors and training partners.
Q4 2017 ESPCO Newsletter
IT’S A GREE THING! If you have attended one of my GREE product training events you have heard me say those words when I come to a feature and / or component that is unique to the GREE mini split product. One of those unique components is the second accumulator…yes, that’s right, a SECOND accumulator, in the multi-zone ODUs.
The fact that the GREE multi-zone ODU has a second accumulator gives it several unique characteristics when it comes to installation and performance.
First let me show you what I’m talking about…
Here we have the exploded view of the MULTI24HP230V1BO from page #6 of its parts manual…
Part #7 is listed as the “gas- liquid separator”, (accumulator) and part #8 as the “compressor and fittings.”
Here is an actual GREE 24K compressor for a 2 ton multi-zone ODU…
I cut the window in the suction accumulator with a Dremel tool…got to love the Dremel tool!
Now, the secondary accumulator is equal, or even larger, as you can see next…
The use of the secondary accumulator is what allows an installer to install the minimum allowable lineset per evaporator (10’), and not have to remove refrigerant from a system which came pre-charged for 98’ of lineset…BRILLIANT!
One less thing an installer has to worry about when commissioning a new system!
Another very interesting effect of having the second accumulator is what I demonstrate in Section XII of my troubleshooting curriculum.
Even when grossly overcharged, the GREE multi-zone system sees very little increase in pressure when in the cooling mode…and I’m talking GROSSLY OVERCHARGED!
In my curriculum I show that even with twice the system pre-charge (154 oz), and only 20’ of total lineset the system only gains 15 PSI from the factory charge (77 oz.), or what I call the baseline (130 PSI).
Now the heating mode is a different story! Again, as I demonstrate in the troubleshooting class, when I place the double charged system (154 oz.), into the heat mode the pressure jumps to 615 PSI…just 23 PSI from opening the high pressure switch…but then something magical happens! The inverter kicks in, slows down the compressor in turn lowering the pressure to 415 PSI and the system runs…and runs…and RUNS!
This my friends is a GREE thing!
DO NOT consider this an endorsement of over-charging GREE multi-zone systems…IT IS NOT! Purposely over-charging a system for ANYTHING other than experimental reasons is just plain stupid…yeah, STUPID!
Refrigerant ain’t cheap…don’t use any more than you need too.
Yeah, my little experiment worked great in a very specific environment, (approximately 70°F ODAT)…at 30°F ODAT the results may be VERY different!
Yeah, the inverter saved the compressor from catastrophic failure by slowing it down, thus dropping the pressure BUT, in doing so, the system lost approximately 1/3 of it’s capacity…again, on a 30°F ODAT day, that can be VERY significant!
Re-visit an article from October 2013: I thought with North Korea in the news of late, it might be interesting to re-visit an article I wrote four years ago about the USS Pueblo which remains hostage in North Korea to this day…
Bring the USS Pueblo home: I was seven years old on January 23, 1968 when the USS Pueblo came under attack by North Korean forces in international waters. The crew of the Pueblo staved off the attack for two hours as she was pursued by no less than four North Korean torpedo boats, two sub chasers and two MiG-21 fighters. The Pueblo was an ‘intelligence gathering ship’ and as a result she was armed with only a single .50 caliber machine gun and only one crew member was trained in its operation.
One of the sub chasers opened fire with a 57 mm cannon killing 21 year old Petty Officer Duane Hodges from Creswell, Oregon.
The USS Pueblo was boarded by North Korean forces and the crew would serve 335 days as prisoners, enduring brutal physical abuse and mental torture.
Why am I writing about this in my newsletter? Well, for the following reasons…
If you are younger than me, (and everyone is younger than me), chances are good you aren’t aware of what has become known as the ‘Pueblo Incident’. Although I was seven years old, I do have a vivid memory of the news reports and the images of the crew when they were freed on December 23, 1968.
The images and later interviews with the Captain of the USS Pueblo, Commander Lloyd Mark ‘Pete’ Bucher, affected me…I just had a sense that this man was a true hero…it turns out I was right. Cmdr. Bucher is credited, (by his 81 crewmembers), for leading his crew through the 11 months of captivity…leading by example, displaying courage and giving hope as they endured unimaginable brutality.
This is just one example of the brutality Cmdr. Bucher endured;
Cmdr. Bucher describes how he was about to be executed by his North Korean captives when a gun was placed at his head…he wanted his last words…his last thought…to be that of his wife Rose. He shouted out her name just as he heard the click of the gun’s trigger…the gun was not loaded. You can hear Cmdr. Bucher recount this experience in his own words in an interview at this address:
ABC 1968 30th Anniversary Interview with Pete Bucher by Diane Sawyer
Cmdr. Bucher died on January 28, 2004 at the age of 76. His death was partly attributed to injuries he sustained while a prisoner in North Korea 36 years earlier. Rose Bucher passed away just weeks ago on September 4, 2013.
The main reason for this article is this…the USS Pueblo remains to this day, a prisoner of North Korea. I find this both disgusting and unacceptable. The USS Pueblo is the second oldest still commissioned ship in the US Navy fleet…second only to the USS Constitution which was commissioned in 1797 and moored in Charlestown, MA today. Think about that…the second oldest actively commissioned US Naval ship sits in captivity today in the waters of North Korea’s Botong River in Pyongyang as an exhibit of the ‘Fatherland Liberation War Museum’. ..are you kidding me? This is an outrage!
Here’s what we all can do…write to our representatives in Washington DC and let them know we haven’t forgotten the USS Pueblo. BRING THE PUEBLO HOME!
Look, I know this is not the most pressing issue in today’s international political scene but 45 years have passed and if something is not done soon, the remaining surviving crew members will go to their graves with their ship…our ship…still in captivity.
Please go to the following address for a comprehensive history of everything related to the USS Pueblo and the brave men who served her and their nation.
May I suggest when at the above website, go to the ‘Ships Store’ and purchase a ‘Return the Pueblo’ bumper sticker and put one on each of your trucks.
See you soon!
The views and opinions expressed in this newsletter are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of ESPCO’s sponsors and training partners.