Componets Archives - HVACTA

HVAC Capacitor: What’s it all about

Danny — Mon, 20 Jul 2026 12:08:51 +0000

An HVAC capacitor is an important component with one mission: provide the necessary torque to kick-start and run your compressor and fan motors.

If your outdoor AC unit hums but won’t start, or if it runs but the air feels lukewarm, a failing capacitor is usually the culprit. Two common capacitor types are start capacitors (for initial power) and run capacitors (for continuous operation).

HVAC Capacitor: What’s it all about

Like anything else, capacitors do not last forever. Signs of failure including humming, failure to start, or short. Having a bad capacitor also causes the air conditioner system to not operate or not operate the way it was meant to. For example, if the outdoor cfm capacitor goes bad, the cfm will not operate, resulting in blowing warm air instead of cool air. Being in Florida, hot air during the summer months is not a positive experience.

Today all received their multi-meter and reviewed capacitor basics, testing, and taking first steps on an exciting journey.

Soon we will be deep diving on the refrigeration cycle as well as getting our hands on stepping into diagnostics and troubleshooting… oh what fun!

If you enjoy daily challenges, working with your hands, and never a dull moment, the HVAC industry may be a good fit for you and HVAC Technical Academy can get you there in under two months.

Danny

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HVACTA: Motor Swap Out

Danny — Fri, 22 May 2026 11:56:49 +0000

There’s a difference between knowing and doing. Here at HVAC Technical Academy, we do both. Mornings are typically dedicated to knowing while in the afternoon we concentrate on the doing.

Another Day of DOING

Becoming prepared to be of immediate value is one of the traits we offer at HVAC Technical Academy. Check out what we have been working on over the past few days… and yes, we are in week two!.

Recognizing the ability to replace motors, condenser fan motors and blower motors, in a timely manner is what makes a technician valuable, all get their hands on quickly… making the best of every day, every moment. In addition to motor replacements, all continued on their brazing ability.

Our next six-week, 210-hour workshop is scheduled for Tuesday, July 14^th. With a maximum of ten participants, you may want to get on the list as soon as possible.

We are a training facility where “Learn by Doing” defines our approach to get YOU on a career path.

Danny

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HVAC Capacitor: An Introduction

Danny — Tue, 19 May 2026 11:58:14 +0000

An HVAC capacitor is an important component with one mission: store and release electrical energy to give motors (like the condenser fan and blower fan) the jolt needed to start and keep running smoothly. Two common capacitor types are start capacitors (for initial power) and run capacitors (for continuous operation).

HVAC Capacitor Function and Failure

HVAC Capacitor: An Introduction

Today was all about capacitors, clamp meters, and getting further introduced to the refrigeration cycle. A strong leap forward as we enter week two of this exciting journey.

If you enjoy daily challenges, working with your hands, and never a dull moment, the HVAC industry may be a good fit for you and HVAC Technical Academy can get you there in under two months.

Danny

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Living the HVAC Way

Danny — Tue, 24 Mar 2026 12:16:02 +0000

Today marks the first day of week three… over the past two weeks all have working hard and riding the HVAC track inside and outside… and it is going to be a steady and progressive ride for the next four weeks.

Over the past couple days all became involved with a completely new system equipment swap. I know, it is hard to imagine that before the conclusion of two weeks the group is ready to work on a system swap.

Living the HVAC Way

Over the week we will tag along this journey. Please join us as we live the HVAC way!

For those following our posts, it’s easy to get the picture of what HVAC Technical Academy is all about… all participants work hard… every day.

To be clear, the HVACTA track is designed for those individuals who learn best by doing. If you are looking for an easy and slow ride, no need to punch your ticket here. In other words, get ready to learn and work from week one.

Looking forward to being part of this journey. For those interested in HVAC as a career, give me a call.

Danny

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Trong Son Huynh HVAC Training Video | Jan 2026 Workshop

Thomas Vaughn — Tue, 03 Feb 2026 16:05:39 +0000

Workshop Status:

In Progress

EPA Certification:

Not Texted

Employment Status:

Trong Son Huynh at HVAC Technical Academy

Trong Son Huynh video - Defrost Board

Trong Son Huynh - (Training video Transcript) - Defrost Board

Hi Mrs. Smith, my name is Trong Son Huynh from HVAC Technical Academy. Today, I’d like to talk about the defrost board.

The defrost board is located in the outdoor unit. Its main function is to monitor the temperature of the outdoor coil.

When the temperature sensor on the coil detects that the coil has frozen and ice has formed, the defrost board will switch the reversing valve to cooling mode. This allows hot refrigerant to flow through the outdoor coil to melt the ice.

At the same time, the system temporarily shuts off the outdoor fan so the condenser coil can heat up more quickly. The defrost board also sends a signal to activate the heat strip in the indoor unit to maintain indoor comfort during the defrost cycle.

This cycle continues until the temperature sensor detects that the ice has melted. Once the coil is clear, the system switches back to normal heating mode.

When the defrost board goes bad, the heat pump system may fail to remove ice from the outdoor coil. This can lead to poor heating performance and excessive ice buildup.

Some common causes of defrost board failure include extreme temperature fluctuations and dust buildup. Dust and debris can affect the board and potentially cause electrical issues within the circuit.

That’s an overview of the defrost board and how it operates.

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HVACTA: Condenser Fan Motor Replacement

Danny Huffman — Thu, 22 Jan 2026 18:57:02 +0000

Nothing like spending an afternoon working on condenser fan motors… today all were tasked to perform full condenser fan motor (CFM) replacements, check capacitors, and, as Mrs. Smith has a hair appointment, all must be completed within 45 minutes. At the end of the day, the resident was happy and had a nice new look.

HVACTA: Condenser Fan Motor Replacement

As the name infers, the condenser fan motor is in your outside condenser. Though not too often, motors do require replacement and are not repaired.

How do you know when it is time to replace the condenser fan motor? So glad you asked… this could be an indication:

You can tell if a condenser fan motor is bad by observing symptoms like the fan spinning slowly, making loud noises (humming, grinding, rattling), failing to spin at all, or the unit is tripping the breaker. To gain clarity, visually check for obstructions, try spinning the blades by hand to see if they’re stiff (make sure the system is off first), and inspect the capacitor for swelling. A buzzing noise with no fan movement often points to a failing motor or capacitor.

Interested in HVAC, our learning by doing approach may be the right for you.

If you enjoy daily challenges, working with your hands, and never a dull moment, the HVAC industry may be a good fit for you and HVAC Technical can help you get there quickly, we are talking six weeks.

Danny

The post HVACTA: Condenser Fan Motor Replacement appeared first on HVACTA.

HVAC Capacitor: What about it?

Danny Huffman — Fri, 16 Jan 2026 20:57:56 +0000

HVAC Capacitor Function and Failure

Today we reviewed capacitor basics, testing, and taking first steps on an exciting journey.

Next week we will be deep diving on the refrigeration cycle as well as getting our hands on stepping into diagnostics and troubleshooting… oh what fun!

If you enjoy daily challenges, working with your hands, and never a dull moment, the HVAC industry may be a good fit for you and HVAC Technical Academy can get you there in under two months.

Danny

The post HVAC Capacitor: What about it? appeared first on HVACTA.

James Samuels – HVAC Training Video | Sanford Workshop Sept 2025

Thomas Vaughn — Tue, 21 Oct 2025 21:15:59 +0000

Workshop Status:

Completed

EPA Certification Status:

Not Certified

Employment Status:

James Samuels at HVAC Technical Academy

James Samuels video - Heat Strip Operation in a Straight Cool System (Training Transcript)

James Samuels video transcript - Heat Strip Operation in a Straight Cool System (Training Transcript)

Speaker: James Samuels

Good afternoon. This is James Samuels and I am here at HVAC Technical Academy and I am doing a demonstration on the heat strip and how it operates in a straight pool system. It is the primary source of your heat and in the heat pump it would be your secondary source of heat. and it would be your emergency.

So now I will show you how to get the continuity. I got to test it. We switch our gauge over here, our compact meter to microfarads MFD. There we have somewhat of a reading. There we have more of a reading. And now since we have that, I got to show you how to take it out of here. And once you need to replace it.

So now I’m going to disconnect these wires here so you can get right to your heat strip. take it out for you and show how we replace that in case anything goes wrong with it. We’ll switch it out and get you a new one, bring it right back to you so you can have what you need. And we’ll just insert that back in there as fast as possible. And then we will reconnect these wires. And then there you are. You’re all set. Have a good one.

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Jantz Lee – HVAC Training Video | Sanford Workshop Sept 2025

Thomas Vaughn — Tue, 21 Oct 2025 20:15:29 +0000

Workshop Status:

Completed

EPA Certification:

Universal

Employment Status:

Jantz Lee at HVAC Technical Academy

Jantz Lee video - Condenser Fan Motor Demonstration

Jantz Lee video transcript - Condenser Fan Motor Demonstration (Training Transcript)

Speaker: Jantz Lee

I’m J. I’m here at the HVAC Institute. I’m showing you the condenser fan motor. This is a condenser fan motor. It’s a motor that runs the fan out and your outdoor condenser unit. It gets rid of heat from your condenser coils that have the refrigerant in it. The refrigerant flows through your inside of your house and um absorbs heat from inside your house. and we move it to the outside and we get rid of it. That’s how we cool your house down.

So, this comes out. There’s screws that go around the top of here. You pull this out. The the fan is attached here. It’s got three wires and they go they go through and they come out. They come out here. Two of them go to your capacitor. One of them goes to your contactor. And it’s pretty easy to take out. You take these screws out. You get this out. This goes Well, first your wires. The wires go through here like this. Put your wires through here. Get the wires. [Music] Like that.

And it’s got these studs on it. They go go here. And then I got the hardware. I got the hardware right here. I need a screw on like that. There we go. There we go. Got two more. There we go.

So, usually when you take the motor out, you take the the blades off. And I had to use this blade pulling tool and it’s pretty difficult. And um I did that earlier. I put it back on for this video. So this goes on here. [Music] The wires run through your hole. that. I got that back on. I can put my screws back in. I can connect my two wires to my capacitor and other one to the contactctor. And that’s it. Thank you for watching my video.

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Jason Manning – HVAC Training Video | Sanford Workshop Sept 2025

Thomas Vaughn — Tue, 21 Oct 2025 19:15:51 +0000

Workshop Status:

Completed

EPA Certification:

Type I II

Employment Status:

Jason Manning at HVAC Technical Academy

Jason Manning video - Filter Dryer Replacement

Jason Manning video transcript - Filter Dryer Replacement (Training Transcript)

Speaker: Jason Manning

Hi, I’m Jason from HVAC Technical Academy. Today we’re talking about a filter dryer and how to replace it, when to replace it. First, you got to figure out when it’s bad. Sometimes it’s obvious a lawn mower runs over it, something. If you if you ch have to change out a compressor, you have to change out that filter dryer. The filter dryer, it filters dirt, moisture, so it does not damage the compressor.

You can, one way to test if a filter dryer is clogged is to get your manifold out and look at your subcool and super heat. If that temperature is a 3° difference, that means this filter dryer is clogged. Something’s going on. Let’s take that off. Okay, we got our acetylene and our oxygen. All right. We got it off. Now we got our new one. We’re going to put it back on. Let’s put that there. [Music] [Music] You got to get that on first. Okay, I got to heat up a little more. [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] That’s it. Turn off our tanks. That’s it. I’m Jason. Thanks for joining us. You have a good day.

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