CTC Heating and Cooling

01/24/2025

Fridays From the Field: Here is a pic of a refrigerant burn. You are welcome.

01/18/2025

We have some very frigid temps forecasted in the next couple days. Here are some helpful tips
1) keep your stat set at a constant temp. Now isn’t the time for dropping temps in order to save a few cents on your gas bill
2) make sure your filters are clean! Your furnace will be working overtime the next few days and air flow is critical…….which brings me to tip #3
3) make sure your vents are all open and free from obstruction. I see all the time where people locate furniture over supply vents…my home included;)
4) if you have a high efficient furnace that vents out the side of the house with PVC piping, make sure they are free of snow and ice. This will shut your furnace down. See pic
5) lastly, if you feel your furnace isn’t operating properly, have it checked out by a professional, not your brother in law or a neighbor who is “handy with these kind of things” but someone with the right diagnostic tools and the knowledge on how to use them!

01/17/2025

From the Field Fridays: we scheduled a time to come and do a furnace inspection for this particular customer. We text Don our way with a message that says “Josh is on his way, please ensure are being worked on is free from obstacles”……..they confirmed it was and this is what I showed up to!

01/10/2025

Fridays from the Field: this was a system change out I did the other week. This was a tough one for sure! Pics don’t do it justice but I had little to no room for a new system. It was like trying to cram 30lbs of butt into 15lb jeans. Previous contractor didn’t have room for a line set so they decided to just hack apart the ductwork and run it through the middle. Looks like they used garden shears.

01/03/2025

From the Field Fridays:
We’ve got a bleeder!

12/28/2024

From the Field Fridays (but on a Saturday)…..I found this in the wild
What do you do when you install the incorrect part and it doesn’t fit????
You cram it in with a rock!

12/20/2024

From the Field Fridays
This was a pic of my refrigerant scale. I was weighing the amount of refrigerant a maintenance tech charged into an ac unit that I was there to replace. 18Lbs out of a little ac that only held 4.5lbs……no wonder the compressor blew! Next week I’ll show you how this guy replaces capacitors, lol!

12/14/2024

Beware of "Too Good to Be True" Furnace Inspections!
I recently had a new customer call us out for a second opinion after responding to one of those $49 “thorough” furnace inspections. It’s a common ploy that many companies use to get technicians into your home, but all too often, the outcome is a recommendation for an expensive repair or replacement.
Here’s what happened: The technician who visited the homeowner found a “failed heat exchanger” and claimed that the furnace needed to be replaced immediately, citing “holes and cracks” that were allegedly letting harmful carbon monoxide into the home. The technician even had photos to back up the claim. He gave the homeowner two options: 1) Replace the heat exchanger for $3,000 (under warranty) or 2) Replace the entire furnace for $10,000. When the homeowner hesitated, the technician even asked, “Well, how much would you pay for a furnace?” — a tactic clearly aimed at inflating the perceived value of the replacement.
But when I came out for the second opinion, I knew something didn’t add up. I performed a combustion analysis — a standard test that checks the safety and efficiency of the furnace. And guess what? The furnace was perfectly fine. There was no carbon monoxide leakage, and the heat exchanger was working as it should.
What the customer didn’t realize was that this $49 furnace inspection was a sales tactic, designed to get the technician in the door to push unnecessary repairs or replacements.
This brings me to a crucial point: Every technician working on a gas appliance should be performing a combustion analysis. It’s an essential part of ensuring that your furnace is operating safely. If I’ve worked on your furnace and haven’t performed a combustion analysis, call me — I’ll come out and test it for free. And starting in the new year, I’m offering free combustion analysis to new local customers. The only thing I ask is that you stay with me and watch the test, so I can answer any questions you may have. It only takes 10-15 minutes, and it’s a no-cost service for you.
I believe in transparency and honesty. You should never feel pressured into a costly repair or replacement without understanding the full picture of your furnace’s condition.
Thank you for trusting me with your home’s heating needs. Stay safe, stay warm, and know that I’m always here to give you an honest, reliable second opinion.

12/14/2024

12/13/2024

Fridays from the Field. I spent 30 minutes standing in front of this thing trying to to get the heat to kick on. No matter how many times I said “Hey Alexa, turn up the heat” it never worked. How are these people gonna survive with a thermostat that won’t connect to Wi-Fi?

12/07/2024

From The Field Fridays…….a chance for me to share my experiences as an hvac technician. I will try and post interesting photos from my photo albums for you all to enjoy;). Side note: if you call someone out to look at your furnace, feel free to pick up before we show up. This person left a bouncy ball and some kind of cat toy for me.