Stone-cold crazy

Stone-cold crazy

Liars never win; and cheaters never prosper. Way back in 1972, I was working high steel, and we were laying out new Butler steel roof panels. Craig and I had started the same week and worked well together. Walking 2-inch tops of the bar joists did not come easy, but...
Troubleshooting an electric water heater

Troubleshooting an electric water heater

Tips and tricks of the trade. Troubleshooting tank-style two-element electric water heaters is relatively simple once the operation is understood. When newly installed, or heavy usage outpaces storage, the tank is full of cold water. The upper element will be...
Inverter air-to-water heat pumps

Inverter air-to-water heat pumps

Tips and tricks for adopting this increasingly popular technology. Yates joins elite team of columnists and icons for industry-leading Plumbing & Mechanical, Supply House Times and PM Engineer titles. By now, most of you have either...
Troubleshooting an electric water heater

Immersed in your job

A leak detection investigation. I knew my day was going sideways when it was going to be necessary to change into a bathing suit and get wet in the customer’s master bath in order to find out what was causing a leak into the basement. Did I mention the owner was an...
Heroes and zeros

Heroes and zeros

Texas PHVAC contractors face unprecedented challenge. BanksPhotos/iStock / Getty Images Plus via Getty Images As Texas settled into a deadly-serious Polar Vortex, you could predict the pattern emerging based on your own past experiences with bitter-cold sustained...