Life At Work, Post Semi-retirement

I have rarely in the course of my life gotten away with a single thing, deserved or otherwise.

I was so reminded just last week, when an air conditioner I had worked on a number of years prior gave some problems. Now, it is my way to acknowledge a past mistake, rectify it, then move on. Not so, apparently, with my lead man. He took over my job about a year ago. We sometimes come upon shoddy work that I was responsible for, being lead maintenance. But I sometimes don’t know who, how or why. After more than seventeen years on the job, it is impossible to recall every single such screw up, or even to have been aware of all of them when they occurred. A lead man delegates, as well as performs.

The A/C in question seemed to be working well, but the outside low side line would get no colder than 48.5 degrees. Consequently, the apartment could cool to no lower than seventy eight degrees.
After exhausting every other option, we were left to consider: Should the condenser be replaced? Or the evaporator coil?

Lead man asked if the piston had been changed to accommodate the smaller condenser. I replied it was entirely possible that it had not.

I went home, then, because I get off at noon.

He examined the coil and discovered that it was of a design that had no changeable piston. So it was permanently set for two ton usage in a ton and a half system. Let me explain to you why.

I had found it necessary to use the larger coil, because the available ton and a half coils were too short for the cabinet space. Sure, we could have rigged some kind of blocks under the drain pan to raise it to meet the coil, but I did not like the awkwardness of that setup. So, I experimented, and the switch appeared to work. Nobody who used them complained about their A/Cs and no one questioned my methods.

Well, the lead guy called me at home to inform me he had ordered a new coil. Then proceeded to put me through the wringer why I did such a thing.
I cut him off.

“Nobody taught me how to do this stuff,” I said. “I had to learn it by myself. When I began changing out coils, I did not know about pistons. Our A/Cs did not have pistons.”

True. Our old units had no provision for exchanging a piston.

So yesterday he replaced the coil with another two ton piece, then replaced the piston in it with a ton and a half piston. He stayed with the unit long enough for it to cool to 78 degrees, then walked away.

Well, when somebody moves in there, they may be complaining that the A/C never shuts off and never cools below seventy eight, since it was already cooling to seventy eight before he worked on it.

But I have him covered. I will get there before him on Monday and start it up. Then, after I get the pool cleaned, I will go up and see what we have. I am very curious about the outcome.