IT'S 120 DEGREES OUTSIDE AND THE AC IS NOT WORKING 

I have never worked in HVAC, have no intention to work in HVAC, but man I find these videos interesting.

I’m 14 and I watch your videos and I can’t wait till I’m older and go in a trade and do this, right now I fix and sell window air conditioners lol

Well Chris, it could always be worse. You could be up here in Winnipeg. In January. “It’s -40 outside with bitter Arctic windchills, twenty service calls for furnaces that quit, and my service van won’t start because I forgot to plug it in last night.”

I am a facility services manager at a hospital. Trust me, your commitment to not only repair, but "FIX" the units are greatly appreciated, because there is a difference. Sometimes it costs a little more, but it saves $$ in the long run for multiple return repairs. Well done. 👍👍

I am a service dispatcher for an HVACR company and use your videos to better understand the terms my technicians use!

Big Picture: first go outside and fix the 120°, replacing the outdoor thermometer with Centigrade, and watch the triple digit number fix itself.

Good advice on shocking your body with temperature extremes. I learned the hard way during a high school band trip to Florida (December 1995). We had been practicing marching technique in a parking lot on a 90-degree day, required to wear long pants and long sleeves to protect us from the sun (which wasn't a problem in similar temperatures during our summer practices, but nobody seemed to figure that out). No matter how many times I alerted drum majors or staff that I was experiencing dizziness, difficulty breathing, coordination issues (I actually tripped over my own feet and fell with my snare drum breaking my fall), I had progressed from sweating profusely to shivering cold with goosebumps, and all my complaints fell on deaf ears. When I complained that the blue sky was orange, the parking lot was burgundy, and people around me looked pale blue in color, they finally took notice. Practice was cut, and we all returned to the charter buses that had been sitting for hours idling with the AC on full blast. The shock to my body was incredible. I had stomach cramps, extremely painful muscle cramps, nausea, and at one point I began complaining about how hot the bus was while returning to a profusely sweating state, until finally my core temperature returned to normal and life went on as "normal." It took three hours before my body would accept any beverage without promptly ejecting said liquid the same way it had been delivered. Good to know you are taking the necessary precautions to prevent/mitigate any heat-related health concerns. I have profound respect for techs that can be up on a roof for hours, not only do you get blasted by the sun, you get the heat radiating off the deck. Also good to see businesses shifting to white roof coatings over the years - once (AND ONLY ONCE) did I re-tar a flat black roof of an auto shop I worked at, and man, it was hell. (Especially when I almost fell through the rusted-out corrugated steel roof from the 1960s that had more leaks than it did intact portions - every time it rained we had to squeegee out the service bays and dodge puddles/drips while working. It's hard to detail a Mercedes E-Class when rusty water keeps dripping onto the paint!)

When we do roof top repairs / structural / in extremely hot conditions we all hydrate from the start.... Not just H2O but a BodyArmor or Gatorade drink... Seems to us as more effective than water. That said, a full day up in 120F is brutal. You get the medal today.

I have a love/hate relationship with your videos. They're very thorough and well made, however, as a former HVAC/R tech the videos brings up past traumas and nightmare calls. Keep up the great work in the field and online.

You're so right, preparation is key. Hydration and shelter is so underrated. I appreciate the fact that you spoke of the importance of that. Too many young guys go to work outdoors in the heat and don't realize that they are literally killing themselves for a paycheck! Thumbs up man!

i only work at nigt when is to hot in the day time :) i have 3 friends that past away (all 3 heart attack, and 2 with children ) in the last 3 years at age 36, 38, and 42 and I am 35 ...

120 in 25% humidity! That is wet bulb over 87, leathal heat, good to see you take care of yourself.

I was sent out on a warranty call. 3 month old ics box, different company installed all equipment. Quick connect line set, had a restriction on liquid line quick connect inside cooler. Recovered unit and cut quick connect’s out and found white powered/ broken beads clogging everything. Emerson drier installed inside condenser at the factory. Manufacturer ended up sending us new equipment and normal line set. They gave us the clear to cut the drier, no filter beads inside of it. One of the other guys had a video of us cutting it open and being empty. Attached that to the WO. Sporlan all the way.

I love how although you’re a great tech, you still say stuff like “hope it doesn’t blow up” after you disassemble and repair a unit. Makes me feel great doing what I do too haha.

School started up again. Different teacher this year and he started plugging your show! So i showed him my shirt, couple people inquired about them.

Chris considers 30-40 percent " humid ". Now that's some funny shit. I would love to see chris do work somewhere like florida. Up here in the midwest it's been 50-60 percent humidity with low to mid 80 degree outdoor temps.

I used to skip meals to work too. Now I have diabetes without being obese. According to the doctor I trained my pancreas to NOT produce insulin.

I had flashbacks!! I moved to Phoenix AZ from Washington State and the first job I did was to replace both compressors on Trane 10ton pack HP on metel tin roof and temps peaked out in the 120s. This repair hits home for me!! I got really sick that day!!

Instead of using washers to line up the fan motor maybe use panel spacers. They use them when spacing fenders in cars C shaped so you don't have to remove the bolt and come in kit with bunch of thickness.

As gardener I can attest that any shade is good shade -take precautions, wear sun lotion with a high factor -long sleeved shirts -sunglasses -drink water and a have a source of electrolytes if you're sweating buckets -take short breaks and do a sanity check. -remember to eat something in advance if you know lunch won't be anytime soon. (I recommend homemade sandwiches in a cooler, cuz cheap and quick, can even be eaten one handed) -HEARING PROTECTION! I can't tell say this enough, have a set on you at all times. Your hearing will only get worse, never better. -Vibration protection, (gloves). -Breathing protection, a dust mask at least. (fine Silica dust stays in your lungs, also known as cystic fibrosis) - First aid and CPR course in case somebody goes down and needs help.

I remember asking a couple of months ago about where to start in hvac I graduated this past December and now I landed a good job with refrigeration & hvac and it’s pretty cool i get paid pretty good also and these videos help me when I’m stuck on some jobs.

Man...I feel you on the heat. It has been way too hot. I was wondering why my mini-split wasn't keeping up with the heat this last week.......and it helped to actually clean off the condenser and evap. Whoops lol.

Between my pop up tent and the umbrella with the magnet on the bottom I got from TruTech I never work in direct sun anymore. It’s well worth the extra time to set it up to keep the sun from beating down on you lol.

So cool that you explain each thought process it makes it so interesting.

If you're gonna be working somewhere for more than a couple of hours, it's always worth it to bring stuff that makes you more comfortable. If you're constantly thinking "jeez it's hot, I wanna get out of here", you're way more likely to make mistakes, or to ignore something small (like: It's too hot to worry about that wire not being perfect). Those things will always come back to bite you in the ass. Morale is one of the most important things when working.

Hi Chris, That's impressive how you handled that day's work, and how planning pays off. I will often stop and eat if on the way to site later in the day, because once on site, one does not know when one will see food again. The EZ up is a game changer, and it's not bad to take it with and putting it up. Any extra comfort makes it easier to concentrate on the job and do quality work. I was up on my dad's roof sealing roof nails today as all the seals have failed, it's a flat metal roof. Had the right sealer and brush to apply, so it went well but man was it windy up there as we are not done with the snow for the season here, so it blows up a gale the few days before it snows to the south and we get what's left over as rain here in the central parts of South Africa. Nice one, I enjoyed the show. Best regards, Duncan

I was a bit surprised to see you put that hot dryer in the back where it was basically inaccessible. I though you would have done some pipe rerouting to get both of them out in front where they would be easy to replace later.

wonder why i'm watching this on my day off work

AZ in the summer, being a commercial hvac repair who has to go on the roofs.. think you would have to bring a portable ac and a enclosed tent around the hvac equipment. Its dangerous work head stroke heat exhaustion. Hopefully its good money. AC in AZ in the summer time is as important as Heat in the arctic.

Panama City Florida I had to work on a couple R22 condenser units in a small room with 8 two ton condenser units and no forced circulation, just a couple of louvres. the temp in the room was 134 f. The worst part was having to wear gloves because my metal tools also became 134 degrees after awhile and we too hot to pick up barehanded. And they love putting the fancoil units in the attics there. A roof in the valley on a hot day is just as bad.

Great video! I really appreciate your follow-up discussion and review of strategy -- in planning the job ahead, rounding up the materials in advance, and the way you go about executing the plan in such extreme heat. Without that kind of prep, a tech could reach his limit early in the job and then start taking shortcuts to wrap up and get off the roof as soon as he could. And the quality of the repair would be compromised. Thanks for all the good advice.

I can't believe these units don't burn through compressors in that crazy hot climate. 312psi head on an R22 system? Holy crap!

I understand the drier preference, have used sporlan for years,also their sight glasses are tops.When I use other sightglasses,or seems the minister indicator,always turns black.I just finished a 407c retro from 22 on a 30 ton Liebert crac unit,one glass was Sporlan and the other a close relative,and sure enough the non doorman went black,makes me crazy,that I used the same exact process and both went black,the Sporlans beautiful green!

had a guy install a dryer where the muffler was... on a compressor replacement.... if you want to talk about a nightmare heading back week after week to keep recovering and flushing the contents of the dryer as it destroyed itself in the hot gas and distributed its contents throughout the system flushing nitrogen blasting etc... until all the garbage stopped plugging... good times....

A: why isnt the cabling in ribbed conduit ? B : do you have a H&S safety keep in touch procedure ? We had a call centre that would monitor us in remote areas and contact us regularly for finish and travel home eta's . Kudo's for working in heat . You do need to learn first aid and understand Heat stroke . We have 45 c days here in our summer as well . Lunch can be just diced watermelon , grapes , peaches , kiwi fruit

Also, I wanted to say, your big picture approach has helped me in areas I work in. It can be applied to any problem solving situation. Thank you for sharing your knowledge, always room to learn!

I saw one video. And man I got hooked. Today that I didn't have work I've just been watching your videos all day. I think I've watched like 8 or 9 videos today. Keep up the good work!

It's very easy to get heatstroke in such conditions and pass out. Quite dangerous if you're working solo.

Thank you, CHRIS for your informative video. I moved to the desert from beach cities. The a/c broke down last June at 115° and again this year as temp reached 108 degrees indoor temps no lower than 80, HVAC repair is coming tomorrow and I am ready because of your detailed explanations I am now savvy. Many many thanks~ you’re wonderful.

Is there a video of you replacing a unit and doing the best practices? Love your videos

Unsolicited suggestion: if there's a section where a wire has arced through to the metal frame, use a paint marker to circle the arc mark - that way the next guy knows someone has already found that, it's not new news. Indelible paint markers in bright colors are available just about everywhere, Walmart has them for around $1.25. It can save some time for the next guy.

heat cramps, heat exhaustion, heat stroke. very serious conditions and you're right; it's easy to forget to check yourself. I was in the army for ten years, and they take it very seriously!

Great plan to start real early, I do that to get my body acclimated to the Texas heat. Excellent Video.

I love how you have an "after action report" kind of segment to your shows, and take the time to explain the importance of safety. Made me subscribe!

I also bring 6 bananas & a utility fan to keep air blowing on me. It's a little more to bring, but well worth the effort.

Shiiiit i could NOT work in 120 degrees at all, 90 degrees is my draw point as humid as it gets here 70 degrees can feel like 90, idk how you do it bro, these hvac videos are awesome! Keep it up and take care of yourself out there!

Last winter it was single digits and I spent 30ish minutes outside then went straight in to put belts on a main blower (8' blower) while it was 145 in there. I felt bad for the rest of the day and my skin was dry. Wouldn't recommend doing that.

Good job and being prepared goes along way towards getting the job done faster and better! You should eat and take proper breaks at strategic times like right after you hook up the vaccum pump! So you have a good healthy job flow! With that unit being exposed to air for that long I would have added a little acid away to that system! Thanks for another awesome video!

Noticed that we have a few of the same tools and equipment!!!! Which is awesome! It's like Seeing a player on your favorite team and having the same cleats. Lmao!!!

Keep those R22 units going. Nice work 👌

Nice! Sometimes it's best to pull stuff out of the way like that. Good tip on the ball valves in the vacuum set up. I've found cycling them once under a deep vacuum seems to clear any air/refer bubble that may be trapped. Magnetic core removers are sweet, too. That's a great idea; I'm always trying to do a balancing act with mine

Greetings from germany. Its so nice to see these videos because we dont have that type of ac`s in Germany

Crazy heat, over here on the east coast u get the humidity that sucks the motivation right out of u. I took my name off this account and I'm going to start my own soon. Used to be miles and nina... thx for the great video guy.

I have had a lot of trouble with those black valve core removal tools that you used. They tend to leak at the ball valve stem making pulling a deep vacuum/passing a decay test challenging. I like using the brass gate valve ones whenever possible, the only problem is they don't have a micron gauge port.

Yep ive done alot of hot ass days on roofs. Keep hydrated and keep your wits about you. Seen a few men get hurt because they wanted to cut corners.

Getting a bit older and I almost can't work in direct sunlight above 90. The Easyup was totally worth the effort to set up. Smart.

What i do to prevent rubouts is to use 5/8" minisplit flexible drainline hose to protect the wires or tubing. If you dont want to snake the wires you just split the drain line tuck em in and use zip ties...works great...

Chris, I'm glad you respect the heat and are taking care of yourself. Even with the cautions you were taking, I could hear the heat getting to you during the latter part of the repair. We don't have insane 120F heat waves here in NWFL, but we do have humidity, which allows heat indexes to get nearly that high. (The calculator I used to run the numbers gave me an "EXTREME DANGER: Heat stroke imminent!" when I entered your conditions.....)

I've spent a lot of time in steel mills - specifically, the meltshops where the furnaces turn scrap into liquid steel. Heat stress and dehydration are extremely serious problems, and you need to be drinking a half-liter of electrolyte drink (Gatorade, etc) no less often than every third half-liter of fluids - i.e. 2x half-liters of cool water followed by a liter of electrolyte drink. At 120 F [49 C], alternating every other bottle is a better idea, and some of my clients insisted on that. Food helps control nausea from pushing so much liquid through your gut. But, you also need to be careful... Blood sugar management is also an issue, especially as we age and some of us develop Type II diabetes. You'll be getting sugar with your electrolyte drink, and you'll be burning some as you are working, You have to balance that against your food intake, and lean protein and vegetables, some fats & oils, and light on the carbs is the way to go. Work slow and at a steady pace, and take lots of breaks - 5 minutes every half-hour is not a bad starting point,,, the Dept. of Labor's minimum of 15 minutes ever other hour is not suited to working in the heat... If you feel tired, dizzy, or even unfocused, you are already in the yellow zone, and need to pause and catch your breath. Watch your hydration - you should be drinking enough fluids to be urinating not less than every other hour. Check the color of your urine - there are color charts out there on the 'Net... pale yellow is good, too dark is bad = dehydrating, white to clear might be a warning of too low of an uptake of carbs & electrolytes, so think about what you are doing. All of this goes double in a humid environment. You do not want to be feeling ill and lethargic, and there isn't all that much reserve left from there to needing hospitalization - which sucks big time... And, every year, we lose a few people to heat stroke - usually guys who tried to tough it out, where this time their bodies just couldn't bounce as well as before...

I give u credit for putting 2 driers in. I usually remove the strainer and straight pipe it, replace the check valves, and throw a 163S filter drier in the location that's easiest to replace. Just if it ever needed to be changed in the future. That other drier is gonna be a bitch to remove if it ever gets clogged... But good job!!! It gets humid here in N. Carolina but damn!!! 115 in the shade...

bro good for you, im from Australia so i had to convert fahrenhiet but damn 120 thats hard, respect to you man, solidered on!

Good advice about not shocking your body

Man take care of yourself out in that heat ! Great video !!

Lmafo hahahaha I feel you bro .... Im in Phoenix its been 115 in the shade for 3 weeks straight on a roof surface temps are 135-140 in an attic its 160.. 120 is a cool day in Phx

Its Amazing you guys can still get fresh R22. Fresh R22 has been banned since 2010 here in Germany.

If I had to do your job, in 115 heat, I would fall over dead! I think your videos are a great help to people who are new to the business. Especially how you instruct the viewers with out talking down to people or assuming they are stupid. No one likes that, and it really does not help people to learn what you are teaching. We have all had instructors who taught like that !

enjoy the video's i like watching people describe working and their jobs. I have no idea what most of what you are talking about except in the most general sense. I have no idea how hvac systems work so watching you fix them is fun. I mostly just know computers and you make watching random video's about walk in freezers a daily event for me :)

22:49 - same thing applies when performing/working in costume, thick workwear, protective clothing, etc. for a good while, and then when it's time to get out, do it slowly, as not to shock your body with the cold.

Try using an alarm clock for lunch time. Your best bet is to set it up with one or two permissions to extend it by 15 minutes. Since this is a reminder, and not something urgent, it is better to put on a calm melody. This way it won't be too distracting if your hands are full.

Good stuff Chris. Thanks for sharing.. stay safe have a great rest of the night

Yet another great video, fully informative and educational, stay hydrated Chris and be safe buddy , you teach me alot by your videos

115 degrees... 115 degrees!? What are you fucking crazy!? I’ll take working in 0 degrees in Michigan winter vs 115 degrees. Good gawd.

The only issue that I've seen with the desiccant breaking up into the system is green techs replacing a muffler (compressor discharge vapor) with a drier. I do prefer the Sporlan Catch-All driers but nothing will survive on the discharge line. Mistakes happen (great learning expense), glad they were at least thinking to replace the drier on a refrigeration repair. 👍

Nice video and important point in maintaining yourself in the conditions.

One thing that helped me with my welds, I use a 0 tip and then turn up the pressure on my regulators. It gives me a more controllable flame without torching more area than what I want. At least that seems to work for me.

The only thing you are missing from your hot day roof kit is the cooling mister kit for the ez up. Or one of the ones on a stand you put right next to you.

You could look into getting K-Flex Insulation to put in between the vibration of piping it comes in .5 or 1inch thickness. Sheets or rolls. Plus incase the wires in Sealtight if worried about the wires cutting. Just IMO. Those motors always have problems braket cracks and breaks or rubber grommets wear out. As a pass Bryant dealer it was one of my biggest complaints. Always have to be aware of the weather. Great video on the importance of to be sure you have the correct parts. Thank you.

The heat is no joke for sure. Ive gotten sick from it before 106 degrees high humidity, south carolina, out in a salvage yard. Even though I kept hydrated it had me sick for almost a week. I thought I can keep going.... yea then the vision goes blurry..... not good.

Looks like you are good boss,is very important to take breaks periodically cause in this job time goes fast.

Vaccuum R-22 and replace with R-422D I saw a video that gains longevity and reliability for a few more years.

You made it work got it done and did a perfect job 👏 nice work my friend.

New equipment must be super-expensive to make all this work worth it... I feel like I'm watching someone restore a classic car!

We had an old Bryant RTU similar this one at my school, just as dirty and rusty. It just sat there on the floor in the corner of the shop being used as a storage table.

You got a great sponsor in Sporlan ... I wish T W Samuels would sponsor me ... Lol ... Great vid ...

I watched everyone your video i work in IT find so cool love finding out how it all works

Great video. I work In facility maintenance the only thing I would do different is put something on the feet of the tent to protect the roof. Maybe I couldn’t see something. Enjoy the videos keep up the great work.

The other reason to open the gas ballast is to allow the vacuum pump to reach a deep vacuum faster. The CFM rating of a vacuum pump is "free air." As the air/moisture is being removed from the piping, the "free air" is obviously leaving causing the pumping process to slow down. Large hoses help to mitigate the slow down, but nothing like opening the gas ballast.

I'm surprised you didn't add a sight glass when you were putting in the dryers... You usually put a glass in if the system doesn't already have one...

😥😥 it was 57f here where I live in Ontario Canada, 3.5 hour drive away it was 97F

God, I don't know how you guys work in that heat. Around here 95ish is usually the most we get and that is bad enough. Yeah, I only saw a drier break down 1 time an Alco, filled the liquid line with pellets. Good job Chris!!

I already have a binnie and ordered a hoodie, now, if that shirt you are wearing you make it with a "V" shape collar then YOU GOT A SALE!!!!!!!!!!

ive used the stay silv rods to build support braces an welded to copper for support. works pretty slick when you have to improvise.

The cabling in those things is horrendous.

I’ve got a pair of the Supco umbrellas. They’re a life saver over here in Florida.

You've got to try Heat Shrinks, looks better then Black Tape.

Great video as always bro. Head pressure was high but I guess load and ambient temp. Those check valves are a pain been there. I watch a bunch of your videos and You remind me of me love and it. I’ll be in touch

I live and work here in Phoenix Arizona. I feel the struggle! We have been doing a lot of split system change outs.

Hey cris nice to see you came down to the valley, hopefully this was the last week of high temps stay cool bro!!!!

P.S. you would make an awesome teacher or an instructor. You really do a great job. 😀👍

I had one of those beads on the filter dryer to clog the Condenser and it also blew the valves on the compressor It took some work to get the jammed beads cleared!!! Only once I seen that on 16Years in the trade!!!