HVAC School

When I started in the trade in 1999, there were still many oilable blower motors in service. As part of the maintenance, we would remove the housing and oil the motor. We would also vacuum the motor and wipe it down.

Before you pull t...

I've always opposed the practice of grabbing a hub puller as the first method of removing a blower.

The video below by Brad Hicks with HVAC in SC on YouTube demonstrates the exact method I use to safely remove a blower wheel without damaging anything. Thanks, Brad!

Put three good tradespeople in front of the same problem, and you may see three different kinds of enthusiasm. One wants to understand why the system behaves that way. Another wants to get the failed part out and make the repair. The third is already thinking about the layout, access, and details that will make the finished job work well.

We need all of that.

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One conductor per lug. The strand bundle sits flat on the pad, and the screw bears evenly across it.

Connecting more than one wire on or under a single lug or connection point is called “double lugging,” and it is ONLY allowed in line voltage wiring under one condition, according to NEC 110.14:

If the terminal, lug, or connector is specifically rat...

Most techs and installers know that drains need to be pitched. I use the rule of thumb that drain lines should generally be pitched 1/4″ per foot of horizontal run. One thing that can easily be forgotten is pitching wall penetrations when drilling.

The outdoor end of the hole sits lower than the indoor end. The indoor head covers the hole from insid...