Q&A with Richard, Ross, and Evan Trethewey
HVAC School - For Techs, By Techs
Bryan Orr
4.9 • 1K Ratings
🗓️ 19 April 2020
⏱️ 53 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In this free-flowing conversation, the Trethewey family talks about growing up with This Old House, what the show is like behind the scenes, what Rich misses about the past, what the future holds for the trade, and some nerdy specifics between Bryan and Ross.
The show business is a collaborative effort between the producers and talent (even though they're real people, not actors), and the Trethewey boys find the end result almost cathartic. This Old House was never scripted; there were beats and predictions about the content, but the content is all authentic.
As the trade moves forward, Richard worries about weakening connections and producing leaks in the race to improve technology. He's glad that we work with far fewer deadly chemicals and materials nowadays, though. Many technicians are artisans at heart, and the future is bright because of techs who make ethical choices and do good, aesthetically pleasing work. (However, we can expect controls and ventilation to become increasingly important in coming years.)
Bryan and Ross also brainstorm some innovative solutions for residential applications by looking at commercial equipment. Bryan enjoys thinking about using R-290 chillers and buffer tanks for residential applications. Ross anticipates a future focus on CO2 as a residential refrigerant; he thinks the future "magic box" solution is a CO2 split system for heating and cooling.
Richard, Ross, Evan, and Bryan also discuss:
- Exposure to media
- Propane refrigerant
- Heat pumps vs. natural gas
- Hydronics
- Staying organized
- Pit corrosion on copper pipes
- What it means to be an "expert" at something and how it feels
- Core traits of successful skilled tradespeople
- Passive makeup air solutions
- New control strategies
- Getting new people into the trades
Thanks to Richard, Ross & Evan for making this happen. Check out the This Old House podcast "ClearStory" on your favorite podcast player. You can also learn more about the Trethewey boys' work at TE2 Engineering and RST Thermal.
Learn more about Refrigeration Technologies HERE.
If you have an iPhone, subscribe to the podcast HERE, and if you have an Android phone, subscribe HERE.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This episode of the HVAC School Podcast is made possible by our sponsors. |
| 0:09.4 | Our sponsors are carrier and carrier.com. makeers of recovery machines, vacuum pumps and many great products |
| 0:18.4 | for working with refrigerant tubing, Navac Global.com, Field Piece, and Field Piece.com, with the new |
| 0:27.0 | SC 680 power meter, you can measure wattage directly with the new SC 680680 from Field Piece. Find out more at |
| 0:35.0 | Field Piece.com. Also refrigeration technologies and the new venom packs from |
| 0:40.2 | the Viper series concentrated cleaners Concentrated chemicals in a new form factor that makes it easier to store in a van, |
| 0:48.9 | also easier to fill your bottles and to get to the roof when you need to that is the venom |
| 0:54.0 | packs from refrigeration technologies find more at refriggedec.com also |
| 0:59.7 | speed clean and speed clean dot com they make coil, coil shot and the mini split bib kit. |
| 1:04.9 | You can find all of these at speed clean.com or by going to TrueTech Tools.com and use the offer code get schooled at check out. And finally blue on and blue on energy |
| 1:17.0 | dot com download the blue on app to find out more about what you can do with the innovative |
| 1:22.1 | blue on refrigerant as a replacement for R-22, |
| 1:25.3 | as well as their great training application that will help you retrofit a system with Blue |
| 1:30.0 | on as well as contain some great education material for equipment across the |
| 1:35.0 | industry that is Blue on Energy.com. |
| 1:40.0 | And now the guy who thinks Thermodynamics makes for good dinner conversation, and also wonders why he has no friends. |
| 1:50.0 | Brian Orr. |
| 1:51.0 | Hey, this is the HVAC School Podcast. I am Brian and this is going to be a wicked smart |
| 1:57.0 | episode. |
| 1:58.0 | That was terrible of the HVAC School Podcast |
| 2:01.0 | and this is the podcast that helps you remember some things you might have |
| 2:03.9 | forgotten along the way as well as helps you remember some things you forgot to know in the first place. |
... |
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