PEOPLE

Students at Collège Boréal (Sudbury): Chloé Clément (middle) and Owen Fedat-Tellier (right). SANIFLO CANADA OFFERS STUDENT SCHOLARSHIPS Saniflo Canada is offering scholarships to trade school students in plumbing programs attending Ontario colleges, with up to 20 scholarships on offer.

Intended to help cover costs for the 2022-23 academic year, colleges including Collège Boréal, Humber College and La Cité Collegiale are offering two scholarships to eligible apprentices. And Conestoga College and Mohawk College will distribute four scholarships each to qualified candidates. In each case, one of the students selected from each college will identify as female, and students applying for the scholarships must be registered in Level 1 of the 306A Plumber (Apprenticeship) College Certificate Program. saniflo.ca

With great sadness that the White family, owners of Taco Comfort Solutions, announced the sudden passing of John Hazen White III, 35, on Thursday, November 3, 2022. John began his career with Taco during high school, starting in maintenance and working his way through many departments. His experience included a post with a manufacturer’s rep firm in Pennsylvania before returning to Taco, most recently as senior vice president, North American OEM sales. He was well loved by Taco employees and his customers.

White

Barclay Sales has announced two additions. Joshua Ferguson has joined the technical sales team in Alberta, and Cam Giroux is now the mechanical and hydronic specialist based in the B.C. office. Ferguson has over 20 years in the industry and previously owned a plumbing and HVAC business in Calgary for 14 years. Giroux has relocated to the west coast after17 years in the industry most recently owning a hydronics installation company in Toronto for 12 years.

Ferguson Giroux

Hedden Jones Cikaluk Bérubé Huneault

Manufacturer’s representative Equipco celebrates 40 years in business this year and has announced five team members have been elevated to the position of associate partners in the company. Congratulations to: Nick Bérubé in Ottawa; Evan Cikaluk in Calgary; Adam Hedden in London, Ont.; Pierre Huneault and Bryan Jones both in Coquitlam, B.C.

Rolf Fischer has been named Canadian national sales manager for Stern-Williams, Fiat Products and Prier Products. Fischer brings over 30 years of sales experience. He was most recently with Independent Mechanical Supply and previously Fischer held progressive sales roles with OS&B, Aquatherm and Zurn.

Viessmann Canada has announced two appointments in Langley, B.C., where Tarandeep Singh has joined as territory sales manager, and Jeremy Manalo is now logistics coordinator. In addition, Joshua Burns has joined Viessmann as marketBurns ing coordinator. Based in Waterloo, Burns, a recent international business management graduate from Conestoga College, supports Viessmann marketing in North America.

BMI announced that Mike Lavoie, vice-president of business development, is retiring at the end of 2022. Lavoie originally joined BMI in 2005 as its Eastern Canada sales manager and has spent 30 years in the industry. In his role with BMI, he always focused on building long-term relationships with both customers and suppliers.

Lavoie

Ouellet Canada has appointed Mari-Céline Gendron as territory manager for Rive-Sud, Montreal. In her new role Gendron will work with the sales team to grow market share and customer satisfaction.

Gendron

NAVAC has appointed Bryan Schwartz as national training manager. Joining NAVAC in 2020, Schwartz has nearly 25 years of sales and service management experience, most recently as senior national training manager for LG Electronics.

PROBLEM SOLVING SOLUTIONS

To improve your troubleshooting abilities and decision making skills, here are some things you need to understand.

BY STEVE GOLDIE

Decision making and problem solving abilities are very useful and valuable skills to have in all walks of life, and plumbing and heating is no exception. Whether you are a first year apprentice, or a journey person with decades of experience under your belt, chances are each and every day presents you with a multitude of decisions to make, challenges to overcome and problems to solve.

Our brains are very complex and mysterious things, and many factors influence and affect how successful we will be in our decision making. Good decisions solve problems and lead to positive outcomes. Poor decisions, rather than solve problems, more often than not create new problems.

The good news is, problem solving and good decision making, in life generally and in our professional lives, can be a learned skill.

Let’s take a look at some of the ways we can all hone our problem solving skills.

KNOWLEDGE

The first and most obvious ingredient for good problem solving is knowledge. That is why we go to school, to learn and gain the knowledge of how things work.

Every licensed tradesperson has gone to school, spent time studying and learning, written and passed tests to show they have the knowledge to do the job.

In theory, they all come out with the same knowledge, but in practice, not all plumbers are great plumbers.

I am not picking on tradespeople, not all doctors are great doctors, and not all accountants are great accountants. I think one of the things that sets people apart is those who truly excel at their chosen profession don’t simply learn how to, but they learn the why.

One of the wonderful, and sometimes exasperating traits of young children is their seeming infinite ability to ask the question “Why?”

We need to encourage ourselves, even demand of ourselves, that we continually nurture that desire to know why.

COMPREHENSION

When we truly understand why things work the way they do, not only can we do great work in the first place, but we can much more easily figure out the solutions when something goes wrong.

It’s the difference between learning enough answers to pass a test, and truly learning and understanding the material so you can answer whatever questions are asked, and explain the reasons why.

As a wholesale distributor we see the difference when one contractor calls to complain that a boiler or water heater “doesn’t work,” and another calls in to tell us their boiler needs a new pressure switch or ignitor.

The second caller has understood how it works, taken the time to go through the manual and diagnosed the cause of the problem. As a wholesaler, we are going to work with both customers to rectify the situation either way, but as a consumer which contractor would you prefer to hire?

STATE OF MIND

As I said earlier, there are many factors that can impact decision making, and Continued on p46

even the most knowledgeable, most experienced, worker can make a poor decision under certain circumstances.

I know for myself, if I don’t eat lunch, I get irritable in the afternoons. Yes, hangry really is a thing!

I am guilty I know, and people close to me know even better, if it gets too late in the day and I have not had lunch, I need to stop whatever it is I am doing and get some food.

I know of at least one contractor who claims he keeps Snickers bars handy in his truck just in case he encounters hangry Goldie.

I am sure I do not make my best decisions when I let myself get there. Hunger, fatigue, poor health—all of these factors can negatively impact our ability to make good decisions. So the bottom line is we need to take care of ourselves and understand our limitations.

Sometimes the best decision you can make is to step away, remove yourself from the situation until you are in a better frame of mind.

CREATIVELY SIMPLE

Sometimes when you have a particularly challenging situation a bit of outside the box or creative thinking can be very helpful.

I know that as hydronics gets more popular, especially in the custom housing sector, systems are getting more and more complex. Customers want floor heating, snowmelt, spa and pool heating and such.

More is expected, and at the same time, often less and less space is allocated in the mechanical room. Creative piping solutions are sometimes required. Often boiler rooms do not resemble the piping schematic drawings provided.

Only a skilled installer who truly understands how things work can fit everything in creatively and still meet the requirements of the system. Creativity can go too far as well, which reminds me of another helpful tip when it comes to good decision making, don’t overthink things. Keep it simple stupid (the KISS philosophy) is still often great advice. If you can simplify and still achieve the desired result, it is probably a good idea to do so.

“We need to encourage ourselves, even demand of ourselves, that we continually nurture that desire to know why.”

PHONE A FRIEND

Another good exercise that can be helpful is playing devil’s advocate. Looking at a problem from a different angle can often reveal a solution you might otherwise have missed.

It may mean taking almost the exact opposite approach from what you would normally do. Getting another set of eyes on the problem can go hand in hand with this approach, so do not be afraid to ask someone else’s opinion.

If we let our egos get in the way, we can miss out on learning.

We may simply confirm what we already knew, or we may gain some new knowledge or insight, either way it is worth the effort.

The other set of eyes you need may also be our own. How often have you been stumped, walked away to do something else, and upon returning to the problem the solution seems so obvious you hardly believe you missed it before?

LIGHT BULB MOMENTS

I had one of these moments myself recently when I had to clean up some water that had leaked into my crawlspace. I know, I know, I’ve written about floods in my home before, not a good look for a plumber and plumbing columnist.

To be fair though, this flood was not a result of a plumbing disaster, this time a cracked foundation was the culprit.

Regardless of the cause, water in the basement is never fun, and mopping it out of a crawlspace with limited headroom is even less fun.

Now I hear some of you asking, “You buffoon, why wouldn’t you use a shop vacuum rather than a mop?”

And you would certainly have a point, however, like I said earlier, the brain is a mysterious thing (or is it just my brain).

After hours bent over, back aching, mopping and wringing, my brain finally woke up, or switched gears or whatever you want to call it, and the light bulb went on. I slapped myself upside the head, went to the garage, got the shop vacuum and made short work of the remaining water in the crawlspace.

LIFELONG JOURNEY

The experience of the old veteran tradespeople will definitely give them an advantage over the rookie apprentice, most of the time, but experience alone will not always lead to the best decision making.

Whether you are the cagey old veteran, or the fresh new apprentice, learning, and specifically learning to make good decisions, should be a lifelong pursuit.

When you think you have seen it all, or know it all, get ready to be slapped upside the head with something new. <>

Steve Goldie learned his trade from his father while working as a plumber in the family business. After 21 years in the field, he joined the wholesale side of the business in 2002. His expertise is frequently called on to troubleshoot systems and advise contractors. He can be reached at sgoldie@nextsupply.ca.

HEAT PUMP TROUBLESHOOTING TIPS

If you’re familiar with servicing AC units, the heat pump has just a couple more items that may need to be addressed. BY DAVE DEMMA

In the previous issue of HPAC (October 2022) I outlined some the of the basic principles of heat pump technology. For the purposes of a quick review, you may remember, like an air conditioner a heat pump transfers heat from the conditioned space, but in a heat pump application the conditioned space can be the outdoors. So, the evaporator is now located outdoors.

The heat transferred to the refrigerant in that process, plus the heat added to the refrigerant during the compression process is transferred to air in the conditioned space via the condenser.

So, the heat pump is nothing more than the basic vapour compression cycle utilized in an air conditioning system, with added controls and valving to allow the system to either remove heat from the conditioned space (and transfer it to the outdoors), or remove heat from the outdoors (and transfer it to the conditioned space). As such, rather than a distinct evaporator and condenser, in a heat pump we now have two dual purpose coils, an “indoor” coil and an “outdoor” coil.

Like any mechanical system, the heat pump will experience periodic performance issues, some due to lack of maintenance, and some due to mechanical/electrical components failing.

When called upon for service, there are several things that can cause a heat pump’s inability to provide adequate heat to the conditioned space: • Voltage issues (low voltage, tripped breaker, blown fuses): This type of failure is typically the manifestation

of some other issue: a seized compressor motor or grounded compressor motor will draw excessive amperage and cause a breaker to trip (or fuses to blow). Finding the source of the excessive amperage draw will solve this issue. • Thermostat issues: A defective thermostat, or a thermostat that is wired incorrectly, can prevent the unit from starting when heat is required.

Checking the thermostat for proper operation, checking the thermostat settings and wiring will confirm whether any of these are the problem. • Plugged air filters or dirty indoor coil restricting the air supply: This is a simple maintenance issue, but it will certainly result in the inability to heat the conditioned space. Simple remedy here, replace the filters and/or clean the indoor coil. • Dirty outdoor coil: This is preventing the ability to transfer heat from the ambient to the refrigerant, resulting in a loss of heating capacity. Again, a simple remedy here, clean the outdoor coil.

Figure 1. Outdoor heat pump condensing unit.

• A system leak resulting in the loss of refrigerant: Since the refrigerant is the medium which facilitates the transfer of heat from one place to another, a loss of refrigerant results in a loss of heating capacity. Another simple remedy, locate the leak, repair it, evacuate the system and properly recharge. • Plugged flow controls (solenoid valves, thermostatic expansion valve, filter drier): This will result in the reduced flow of refrigerant, again reducing the unit’s capacity for heat.

Since plugged flow controls are typically the result of system contamination, simply replacing controls, or cleaning (in the case of a solenoid valve or thermostatic expansion valve) doesn’t solve the contaminant problem. Contaminants are typically the result of excessive discharge temperature (which might be caused by a dirty outdoor coil). If the contaminated system isn’t cleaned up (filterdrier replacement along with oil replacement if necessary), and if the issue which caused the contamination has not been resolved, it will likely manifest itself again. • Contactor, relay and capacitor failures: More often than not, the failure of these components is simply due to age.

All of the above-mentioned potential problems are not unique to heat pumps only. These are common problems that could be experienced in any system using a standard vapour compression air conditioning (AC) system.

So, what would qualify as a system malfunction that is completely unique to the heat pump? This question can be best answered by quantifying the component differences between a standard AC system and a heat pump.

REVERSING VALVE

Again, you may recall from the previous article that in a heat pump, the reversing valve is located in the discharge line between the compressor outlet and the outdoor coil inlet. A solenoid coil, when energized, allows the valve to “shift” from one position to another.

In the de-energized mode, the refrigerant flows from the compressor discharge port to the inlet of the outdoor coil. The other two ports allow the refrigerant vapour from the indoor coil to flow to the compressor suction port.

Figure 1 is a photo of an outdoor condensing unit, showing the various flow components (including the fourway reversing valve). There are two common ports on the four-way reversing valve: (1) common discharge port, which is connected to the compressor discharge port, and (2) common suction port, which is connected to the compressor suction port.

The energizing/de-energizing of the pilot solenoid coil will cause the other two ports to interchange between supply to the outdoor coil/return from the indoor coil, and supply to the indoor coil/return from the outdoor coil, thus allowing the compressor to supply its discharge gas to either the outdoor coil or indoor coil.

The photos in Figure 2 show a closeup of the four-way reversing valve, and a cut-away photo of the reversing valve. This shows the pilot solenoid valve (less coil) and the various pilot lines.

In the de-energized mode, the pilot solenoid will vent any high pressure from the left end of the valve body while simultaneously supplying high pressure vapour to right end of the valve body, forcing the slide piston to move to the right.

This will cause the two ports at the bottom left to align, allowing flow from the indoor coil outlet (bottom left port) to continue to the compressor suction (center port), and cause the top port and bottom right port to align, allowing flow from the compressor outlet to the outdoor coil inlet.

When the pilot solenoid coil is energized, the pilot valve shifts and vents any high pressure from the right end of the valve body while simultaneously supplying high pressure to the left end of the valve, forcing the slide piston to move to the left. This reverses the indoor and outdoor connections, and allowing the discharge vapour to flow to the inlet of the indoor coil, and connects the outlet of the outdoor coil to the compressor suction.

Figure 2. Close up photos of a reversing valve and a cutaway of a reversing valve.

“Four-way reversing valves are high production and relatively low cost … they are not built for accessibility … [in some cases] a valve replacement will be required.”

FOUR WAY STOP

There are a number of scenarios that can develop in relation to the four-way reversing valve which will result in system malfunctions.

Four-way valve not shifting to the heat mode: 1. Defective thermostat, not supplying voltage to the pilot solenoid valve coil. 2. Wiring issue, resulting in no voltage to the pilot solenoid valve coil. 3. Contaminants plugging the tiny passageways in the pilot solenoid valve, Continued on p50

which will result in the valve not properly shifting to either the heating or cooling position. 4. Heavy contamination resulting in the slide valve sticking.

Four-way reversing valves are high production and relatively low cost. As such, they are not built for accessibility. In either of the two failure modes described in 3 and 4, a valve replacement will be required.

Four-way valve partially stuck in one mode or the other: 1. When a heat pump system shifts from the cooling mode to the heating mode, you will hear a pressure surge from the four-way reversion valve. If this sound is not heard, it might be indicative of a valve that is stuck. But further analysis should be done. 2. Manufacturers recommend that the typical temperature difference between the compressor discharge and the outlet port connected to the outdoor coil inlet (in cooling mode), or the indoor coil inlet (in heating mode) should be approximately 3F to 6F.

This would suggest that if the temperature drop is in this range, the entire discharge mass flow is flowing from the compressor discharge port to inlet of the respective coil that is serving as the condenser. If the temperature difference is higher than the range above, it would suggest that valve’s slide piston is stuck in between the cooling position and heating position, resulting in only a portion of the discharge mass flow from the compressor is flowing through valve’s port connected to the inlet of the coil serving as the condenser in whichever mode the unit is operating in. 3. In addition to the above temperature condition, an abnormally high discharge pressure combined with an abnormally high suction temperature would also suggest that the valve is stuck somewhere between the cooling position and heating position. 4. Finally, when the compressor is powered off, there should only be a gradual equalizing between the high an low side system pressures. A rapid equalization would also suggest that the four-way reversing valve is stuck in between the heating and cooling position.

Reversing valve diagram (illustration source: www.gunt.de).

AUTO DEFROST

Given that the heat pump produces heat by “cooling” the outdoor ambient condition, it is reasonable to understand that there will be times when the outdoor coil will be operating at a saturated temperature below 32F (0C).

When this happens, frost will build up on the fin and tube surfaces of the coil, eventually restricting airflow through the coil. This will not only result in a reduction in heat capacity, if the frost buildup is severe enough it will allow liquid refrigerant to flow to the compressor inlet resulting in compressor damage.

As such, a defrost cycle is initiated when the coil temperature falls to 32F (0C). Rather than an elaborate set of defrost controls, when defrost is required the unit simply reverses to the cooling mode.

This might seem a little counter intuitive, but this allows the outdoor coil to function as a condenser for several minutes, melting the frost buildup.

In some scenarios, the indoor fan motor will continue, and the addition of electric strip heat will negate the effect of the system being in cooling mode.

Outdoor coils that become severely frosted/iced-up are likely the result of a defective defrost temperature sensor.

QUICK STUDY

Like most systems that a technician may be unfamiliar with, heat pumps might be a source of mystery and confusion. But a quick study of the system, its components, and the design behind the inclusion of those components, should result in the heat pump being just “another” easy system to troubleshoot. <>

Dave Demma holds a degree in refrigeration engineering and worked as a journeyman refrigeration technician before moving into the manufacturing sector where he regularly trains contractor groups. Contact Dave at ddemma@uri.com.