The HVAC Know It All Podcast, hosted by HVAC and Refrigeration tech Gary McCreadie, is an industry leading show that focuses on education within the HVAC and Refrigeration Trade - Such as HVAC Maintenance Tips.
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Cracked Heat Exchanger Testing: Why an Analyzer Alone Is Not Enough with Tyler Nelson - Part 2
vendredi 6 novembre 2026 • Durée 20:14
In this episode of HVAC Know It All, host Gary McCreadie talks with Tyler Nelson, Master HVACR, HVAC Sales Manager & Trainer - Americas at Seitron Americas Inc., about heat exchanger inspections, combustion diagnostics, and personal carbon monoxide monitoring. They explain how visual checks complement analyzer readings, why building changes can disrupt draft, and how technicians can approach CO protection throughout the year.
Tyler conducts training for contractors, distributors, and conference audiences. His work includes helping contractors improve installation, commissioning, and diagnostic practices. He brings that field-training perspective to inspection access, interpreting combustion measurements, and using technology without abandoning hands-on diagnostic skills.
Key Takeaways
How ambient CO monitoring, installation checks, visual inspection, and combustion analysis work together as layers of a diagnostic process.
How borescopes, phone cameras, and planned access panels can help technicians inspect hard-to-reach heat exchangers.
Why a blue flame alone cannot establish safe combustion performance.
How building alterations and exhaust systems can change pressure conditions and interfere with appliance draft.
Why personal CO monitoring remains relevant during summer service calls when other fuel-fired appliances are operating indoors.
Key Timestamps
00:00 - Factory Direct Filters Ad
00:42 - Guest and Episode Introduction
02:09 – Layering ambient CO checks, installation review, and visual inspection
07:43 – Planning inspection access during installation
12:21 – Personal CO monitoring and year-round exposure risks
13:55 – CO safety for customers, technicians, and staff
Combustion Analysis Across Light-Off, Steady State, and Shutdown with Tyler Nelson - Part 1
mercredi 4 novembre 2026 • Durée 21:22
In this episode of HVAC Know It All, host Gary McCreadie talks with Tyler Nelson, Master HVACR, HVAC Sales Manager & Trainer - Americas at Seitron Americas Inc., about testing combustion at light-off, steady state, and shutdown. They examine what each phase can reveal about burner operation, heat exchanger integrity, and fuel delivery. Technicians will learn why steady-state readings alone can miss diagnostic clues and how analyzer protection affects testing practices.
Tyler wrote Combustion Analysis: The Essentials and recently joined a collaborative team of trainers at Seitron Americas Inc. His teaching connects analyzer readings to a diagnostic thought process: what a technician observes, what it might mean, and what to check next. That approach also informs his use of multiple tests when evaluating a suspected heat exchanger breach.
Key Takeaways
How testing at light-off, steady state, and shutdown reveals different operating characteristics that steady-state testing alone can miss.
Why Nelson uses CO air-free readings to evaluate combustion and distinguishes light-off thresholds from steady-state thresholds.
How monitoring oxygen after the blower starts can help identify a suspected heat exchanger breach as part of a broader verification process.
How shutdown readings can reveal clues to a leaking gas valve, residual oil, or a secondary heat exchanger drainage problem.
Why light-off testing requires close attention to analyzer sensor protection, and why temporarily closed supply registers must be reopened after static-pressure testing.
Key Timestamps
00:00 - Factory Direct Filters Ad
00:42 - Guest and Episode Introduction
Is Hiding Cash Costing Your HVAC Business Its Resale Value? with Derek Cormier
mercredi 4 novembre 2026 • Durée 22:33
In this episode of the HVAC Know It All Business Edition Podcast, co-hosts Gary McCreadie and Furman Haynes from WorkHero welcome Derek Cormier, Founder of Escape The One Man Show, and CEO & Founder at Climate Experts Air Plumbing & Electric, to talk about building a company that can operate beyond its owner's field skills. They discuss aligning business partners, recording revenue, protecting business value, making the first office hire, and creating repeatable training systems. Derek explains why developing apprentices around achievable standards helped him move from doing the work himself toward managing the business.
Derek grew up working on construction sites with his father and spent five years as a police officer before returning to Melbourne, Florida. He studied construction engineering at UCF while working as an HVAC technician, then chose to pursue HVAC. After working for several local companies and starting a branch of his uncle's business, Cold Air, he obtained his own contractor's license and rebranded as Climate Experts. His experience rebuilding the business in 2019 informs his approach to hiring, training, and company culture.
Expect To Learn:
-How communication, technical judgment, and hands-on skills support the transition from technician to owner.
-Why partners need aligned values, shared goals, and clear decision-making authority.
-How unrecorded cash revenue can undermine business valuation and financing opportunities.
-Why faster payment collection gives a business more cash to reinvest.
-How to choose an early office hire around the owner's operational weaknesses.
Timestamps:
Which Testo Analyzer Fits Your Work, the 320 or 330? - Part 2
jeudi 29 octobre 2026 • Durée 17:27
In this episode of HVAC Know It All, host Gary McCreadie talks with Jamie Chadwick, HVAC Product Manager at Testo Instruments - North America, about combustion analysis and technician safety. They discuss the 320 and 330 analyzers, sensor maintenance, digital reporting, and personal carbon monoxide monitoring. Technicians will learn how clean-air zeroing, annual service, and gas path checks support reliable testing.
Jamie teaches combustion analysis across furnaces and boilers using natural gas, propane, and oil. His classroom experience highlights practical mistakes, including zeroing near vehicle exhaust and leaving condensate-trap plugs loose. He connects those examples to equipment checks and the need to consult local codes and manufacturer specifications.
Key Takeaways
How combustion readings provide a reference point for evaluating operation alongside local codes and manufacturer specifications.
Why field-replaceable sensors do not eliminate the need to send an analyzer in annually to verify its operation.
How digital reports preserve dated and timestamped readings and let technicians share test records with customers and the office.
How a wearable CO detector with an earbud option can support personal monitoring in loud mechanical rooms.
Why zeroing an analyzer in clean outdoor air, away from running vehicles and cigarette smoke, helps prevent distorted readings.
How a gas path check helps identify leaks that warrant checking hose connections, filter caps, and the condensate-trap plug.
Key Timestamps
00:00 - Factory Direct Filters Ad
00:42 - Guest and Episode Introduction
The Contractor Experience Behind Amply's HVAC Software
mercredi 28 octobre 2026 • Durée 23:37
In this episode of the HVAC Know It All Business Edition Podcast, co-hosts Gary McCreadie and Furman Haynes from WorkHero continue the conversation with Eric Fitz, Co-founder, Co-CEO, and Chief Technology Officer at Amply Energy, Inc., and Ed Smith, Co-founder, Co-CEO, and Chief Customer Officer at Amply Energy, Inc., about the operational demands of heat pump work. The discussion covers rebate paperwork, cash flow, subcontractor partnerships, and the opportunity to combine HVAC with whole-home performance services. Eric and Ed explain how contractors can pair technical expertise with reliable processes to compete on trust rather than speed, and how design software and human-supervised AI could support that work.
Eric and Ed draw on experience with installations, whole-home electrification services, and software development at amply. Their work connects building-envelope assessment, HVAC design, electrical-load considerations, and customer recommendations. They describe a design-focused approach to software development, with tools intended to support contractors' judgment rather than replace their responsibility for the results.
Expect To Learn:
-How rebate administration and delayed reimbursements can strain staffing, cash flow, and payroll.
-Why electrical and weatherization partnerships need shared standards for quality, communication, and customer service.
-How combining building-envelope improvements with HVAC design supports a whole-home approach to comfort and efficiency.
-Where design software could connect insulation, electrical-panel assessments, energy forecasts, and phased customer recommendations.
Timestamps:
Skipping the First Combustion Test Costs You a Baseline - Part 1
lundi 26 octobre 2026 • Durée 21:00
In this episode of HVAC Know It All, host Gary McCreadie talks with Jamie Chadwick, HVAC Product Manager at Testo Instruments - North America, about putting safety first during heating service and maintenance. They explain testing before and after repairs, recognizing possible carbon monoxide exposure, preparing an analyzer, and selecting a sampling location. Technicians will learn how these practices support safer testing and help document their work.
Jamie draws on his contracting experience and current training work to connect analyzer procedures with field conditions. His approach emphasizes checking equipment before making changes, verifying operation afterward, and recognizing when emergency services need to make a site safe. He also explains why general training cannot replace checking local codes and manufacturer requirements.
Key Takeaways
How testing before and after service helps document equipment condition and demonstrate the effect of maintenance.
Why reported headaches, lightheadedness, or nausea warrant attention to possible carbon monoxide exposure and personal CO monitoring.
Why suspected hazardous CO conditions call for evacuation and emergency assistance rather than attempts to continue troubleshooting.
How zeroing an analyzer in clean outdoor air and allowing equipment operation to stabilize helps prepare for combustion testing.
Why sampling location matters for flue temperature and efficiency readings, and why an outdoor termination reading may not match a reading near the appliance.
Key Timestamps
00:00 - Factory Direct Filters Ad
00:42 - Guest and Episode Introduction
03:52 - Importance of the safety of the machine
Why Your Furnace Vent Pipe Can Leak Years Later Even When the Joint Looks Finished - Part 2
jeudi 22 octobre 2026 • Durée 15:56
In this episode of HVAC Know It All, host Gary McCreadie talks with Gaetano Altomare, Category Manager - Plumbing at IPEX by Aliaxis, about installing nonmetallic flue gas venting correctly. They cover pipe preparation, solvent welding, inspection, primer requirements, and combustion testing. Listeners will learn how to avoid weak connections and preserve vent integrity during installation and service.
Gaetano brings firsthand knowledge of certified venting products, manufacturer installation guidelines, and the development of dedicated combustion-testing fittings. His manufacturer's perspective connects the mechanics of pipe-and-fitting fusion with practical field decisions, including cutting older pipe, verifying compatible components, and sealing test-access plugs.
Key Takeaways
How square cuts, beveled ends, clean pipe surfaces, and a dry-fit interference check help produce a properly fused vent connection.
Why certified vent systems require components from one manufacturer and how optical brighteners help inspectors verify primer and solvent cement use.
How local requirements, installation temperatures of 32°F and colder, and pipe sizes of six inches and larger determine primer use for the products discussed.
How a dedicated combustion-testing fitting installed within two feet of the appliance provides probe access without drilling the vent pipe.
Why the test-access plug discussed requires two full turns of Teflon tape rather than relying on plastic threads alone to seal.
Key Timestamps
00:00 – Factory Direct Filters Ad
00:42 – Episode Introduction
03:14 – Cost difference between PVC and CPVC
The Contractor Experience Behind Amply's HVAC Software
mercredi 21 octobre 2026 • Durée 20:04
In this episode of the HVAC Know It All Business Edition Podcast, co-hosts Gary McCreadie and Furman Haynes from WorkHero welcome Eric Fitz, Co-founder, Co-CEO, and Chief Technology Officer at Amply Energy, Inc., and Ed Smith, Co-founder, Co-CEO, and Chief Customer Officer at Amply Energy, Inc., to discuss how contractors can adapt their sales and design processes for heat pumps. They explore why accurate load calculations matter, how visual design tools help homeowners understand recommendations, and how to make a longer assessment a clear point of difference. The discussion also covers charging for design work, setting expectations during intake, and matching sales responsibilities to the team's expertise.
Eric and Ed began with whole-home electrification projects across New England, combining weatherization, HVAC, heat pump water heaters, EV charging, solar, and batteries. Eric brought modeling and HVAC design experience, while Ed's learning process helped them identify where software needed to make that expertise easier to apply. Their work alongside installation partners exposed challenges in design and business operations, leading them to shift toward software that supports HVAC contractors.
Expect To Learn:
-Why Amply shifted from whole-home electrification projects to supporting HVAC contractors with design software.
-How Manual J defines a home's loads before equipment selection, regardless of the system being installed.
-How visual design information helps homeowners understand recommendations and share them with another decision-maker.
Timestamps:
Why Ordinary Drain Pipe Isn't Built to Handle Your Furnace's Heat Over Time - Part 1
lundi 19 octobre 2026 • Durée 21:49
In this episode of HVAC Know It All, host Gary McCreadie talks with Gaetano Altomare, Category Manager - Plumbing at IPEX by Aliaxis, who describes his team's work developing certified flue gas venting products. They examine System 1738, its differences from System 636, and the risks of using generic drain, waste, and vent pipe on gas-fired appliances. Installers will learn how certification, product markings, and appliance instructions inform material selection.
Gaetano explains how advances in engineered plastics helped his team develop compounds capable of meeting UL 1738 requirements. Drawing on that development experience, he connects mechanical and material testing to long-term exposure to heat and condensate, then explains the temperature limits and applications of PVC and CPVC venting.
Key Takeaways
Why generic drain, waste, and vent materials are not designed for flue gas exposure, including the conditions that can cause ABS to become brittle and crack.
How System 636 and System 1738 serve Canadian and US certification requirements, respectively, rather than different appliance operating conditions.
How UL 1738 combines mechanical performance and material testing to evaluate suitability for flue gas venting over time.
How product labels and print lines identify venting material, certification, manufacturer, and maximum temperature rating.
Why the appliance manufacturer's installation manual must guide material selection, including when higher-temperature applications call for CPVC.
Key Timestamps
00:00 – Factory Direct Filters Ad
00:42 – Guest and Episode Introduction
01:13 – Why generic ABS and PVC are not intended for flue gas venting
Stop Using AI Like a Chatbot with Vern Crawford
mercredi 14 octobre 2026 • Durée 22:39
In this episode of the HVAC Know It All Business Edition Podcast, co-hosts Gary McCreadie and Furman Haynes from WorkHero continue their conversation with Vern Crawford, founder of Flow Logic Automation, about deploying AI in HVAC businesses. Vern demonstrates how automation can move home warranty work orders from email into Housecall Pro, explains the progression from chat to connected business context to code, and outlines options for connecting AI tools to field service data. The discussion also covers debugging workflows, MCP connections, data integrity, and preparing business systems for reliable automation.
Vern Crawford works with businesses to build AI-enabled automations and system connections. In this conversation, he shares an example of a Make scenario that processes plumbing work orders and describes building and using MCP connections for Housecall Pro.
Expect To Learn:
How a Make scenario can route incoming work orders into Housecall Pro.
Why workflow branches handle different customer, address, and job outcomes.
How Slack messages can help debug automation decision points.
When to use no-code automation tools instead of custom coding.
How AI use can progress from chat to connected business context and code.
Three approaches to connecting AI tools with Housecall Pro through MCP.
Why data integrity and cleanup must come before large automation projects.
Timestamps:
00:00 – Introduction to AI deployment in HVAC businesses
01:28 – Building a Make scenario for warranty work orders
04:23 – Using Slack messages for debugging
02:24 – Defining light-off, steady state, and shutdown
09:20 – CO air-free readings and combustion evaluation thresholds
15:58 – Analyzer protection and focused attention during light-off testing
17:48 – Static-pressure testing within a multi-step heat exchanger evaluation
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