copyrighted to NEST Labs

Nest is the “smart” HVAC thermostat that was rolled out with much fanfare earlier this year (or was it late last year). I’ve been watching form a distance but there’s some new updates that are really intriguing. The latest is from TechCrunch, a website for early stage technology discussions and new tech editorial. You can see it here

but also see the 2.0 updates directly from the source here.

I love this stuff. Not only is it bringing our industry some new fresh ideas but also it is letting the manufacturers begins to wee what the advantage of “over the air” technology can provide to keeping consumers up to date with the products they buy.  Here’s a quick overview of what’s new

• Enhanced Energy History that’s available on the Web and Mobile apps.
• Airwave™, an exclusive energy-saving feature available just in time for cooling season.
• Additional info and control of Nest features via the Web and iPhone and Android apps.
• Updated Menu and Settings within the Nest Learning Thermostat.

At AHR this year I had a few coil manufacturers come up to me regarding solutions for cleaning coils with coatings on them. These coatings vary by type and style but generally I’ve found the following.

• Polyurethanes
• Epoxies
• Fluoropolymers
• Silane

Some of these coatings are manufacturer applied, others done in the field. The objective of the coating is to protect the coils from moisture and contaminants that could cause corrosion and pitting and therefore resulting in pinhole leaks. Generally coils are coated when they are in environments where moisture can contain acidic materials. None of these are what you want.

The easy answer is not to clean coils with acidic or highly caustic agents. This is easier said than done because many coil cleaners on the market fit these two categories spot on.

For most coatings however, alkaline coil cleaners like our SpeedFoam will do a great job and not adversely impact the coating.

The trickiness of this answer is that while an alkaline coil cleaner can generally be less harmful to coils because it contains no acids, it can have an impact on the coatings. This will then impact the life of the coatings and therefore expose the specific coils to the environment from which the coating is protecting them.

In particular cases where you are concerned about cleaning coated coils with alkaline coil cleaner, I recommend BBJ Power Coil Clean. This is a powerful coil cleaning agent that is pH neutral yet offers fantastic cleaning power and – it’s completely biodegradable.

This product can be applied using our CoilJet portable coil cleaning system, which makes cleaning coils on the go fast and easy.

Where: Paris Hotel, Las Vegas, NV

When: March 5-8, 2012

SpeedClean will be showcasing a few of our top products at this years ACCA show in Las Vegas, NV.  This show caps a bit of a run for us and squares us away for a good start to the HVAC cleaning season. Come by the booth to see Mike and Tim and get the run down on our HVAC and plumbing maintenance products including:

CoilJet Portable Coil Cleaning System
Condenser Needle Condenser Coil Cleaning Tool
BucketDescaler Portable Descaling System for Tanked and Tankless water heaters.

Come loaded with questions and leave with all the answers you need.

So, AHR we meet again. Yes, it’s that time again when hungry eyed HVAC technicians and distributors descend on a hapless city, (in this case Chicago, January 23-25th. Booth 5331) eager to see what new HVAC/R tools, instruments are coming out. And of course, get free pens, t-shirts and all kinds of other SWAG.

Well just like last year, and the year before that, SpeedClean will be there. I will be joined this year, like last by Mike Hardy, our National account manager and Jessica Sturm, our sales and marketing assistant. We will be armed with new products, good solid information and of course, a wonderful give-away. But more on the give-away later.

First up, what will we be showing this year.

CoilJet Portable Coil Cleaning System

CoilJet is our flagship product. Simply pout, it give you the power of portable coil cleaning in a easy-to-use handheld, rechargeable package. Yep, this little puppy puts out a powerful 100psi of water/coil cleaner by way of a portable 5 gallon water tank and 1/2 gallon coil cleaner tank.  Plenty of power to clean the dirtiest coils. If you have coils in hard-to-reach places, then you need to check out CoilJet. Attics, cell towers, rooftops, trucks, refrigerators, ptac units. It does them all. More info here.

Condenser Needle Condenser Cleaning Tool

We know, that you know, that we know the right way to clean a condenser unit is not with a hose shot straight at the coils. This bends the coils. Runs the airflow and makes the system have to work harder. The BEST way to clean condenser coils is from the back, out – opposite the airflow. So, we’ve develop a tool to do just that. Condenser Needle is a low profile aluminum wand that attaches to any standard garden hose and delivers a patented spray directly to the coil. It’s designed to fit behind the coils, through the top grate of most Condenser units. This saves time by not having to remove the top grate. It also features an integrated coil cleaner siphon hose that you can use with your favorite environmentally friendly coil cleaner – SpeedyFoam – to add more cleaning power. More info here.

SpeedyFoam Alkaline Foaming Coil Cleaner

OK, we know there’s a ton of coil cleaners on the market. Some are foaming. Some are concentrated and some are Alkaline. How about all three? Yep, SpeedyFoam is a super concentrated foaming coil cleaner that is acid-free, won’t burn you or HVAC tools and is environmentally friendly. We recommend it for use in all our coil cleaning products because a gallon can go a long, long way. More info here.

Bucket Descaler Portable Descaling System

Stop the presses if you haven’t seen this thing. It rocks. It’s specifically designed to remove scale buildup from heater elements in tankless units, water heaters, small heat exchangers and more. It attaches to any standard 5 gallon bucket and is designed with the highest quality, acid proof pumps and fittings. Pair it with SpeedyBright, our UL tested potable water descaler and you are minutes away from clean heat exchangers. This isn’t your old pump n bucket solution. No way. It keeps the user safe by enclosing all the cleaning chemicals. It offers and easy and safe way to recirculate and get rid of waste water. And can be capped for safe disposal. Very cool huh. We’ve got a video of this thing at work, plus you can get more info here.

SpeedyBright Water Descaler

Limescale literally disappears before your eyes with our powerful, yet safe UL tested water descaler. SpeedyBright is designed for use with our Bucket Descaler product or other pumping system. It is pre-measured in half gallon “shots” to eliminate the guess work of cleaning tankless water heaters. Simply mix with water and circulate for 20-30 minutes. Scale, rust and other buildup is quickly removed from the system returning efficiency. Learn more.

BucketVac Industrial Wet/Dry Vacuum

Saving one of our best for last is the BucketVac. This is like TNT. Small, but packs a wollop! It delivers industrial grade vacuum performance, 100CFM with 60″ of vertical lift and a wet pickup rate of 30gpm. It’s one of the funnest demo’s we do.  But I think the greatest feature of all is that it fits on any standard 5 gallon bucket. This makes it extremely versatile. Need to switch from wet to dry. Just switch buckets. No need to dump, stop, wipe etc with conventional wet/dry vacs. Need to pick up 30 gallons of water. No problem. Just switch buckets. It’s truly awesome. See more here.

OK, so I’ve made you read through all my good stuff here to get to the give-away. Drum roll please. We will be giving away a brand new iPad 2 at the show!! To get your chance to win it is simple. Come by and talk to us. We’ll get you entered. There’s no need to buy anything and no need to be present to win. But, you will have to come by and say hi.  Booth #5331.