For more than 40 years, Red Dot has been providing custom HVAC units and components for construction, mining, agriculture, forestry, military, commercial freight, and emergency service vehicles. Story angles include operator comfort; cab design; maintenance tips; shop tools; extreme HVAC applications; all-makes parts; and Red Dot’s advanced engineering and test facilities. Media contact: Stephen Petit
Oct 19, 2011 | Categories: Maintenance Shops and A/C technicians should be getting ready now in order to prevent the same types of contamination issues the industry experienced during the transition from R-12 to R-134a.
Jan 19, 2011 | Categories: Maintenance If it’s time to change recirc air filters in your cab, go a little further and check the evaporator for caked-on dirt that can hamper its performance.
During normal operation, the evaporator picks up moisture from the air which condenses on the fins as water droplets before draining out of the system. This dehumidification action helps make the operator feel more comfortable in the cab.
The downside is that moisture on the fins attracts dust. We see this a lot on backhoes, skid steers, and other equipment where the operator runs the A/C with the window open so he can communicate with a coworker on the ground.
Most filters for recirculated air are the low-restriction type. They aren’t designed to remove large amounts of dust from the air before it reaches the evaporator. Next time you change the filter (following recommended inspection intervals), check the evaporator. It may need a good cleaning to make sure the operator is getting the steady stream of cool air he expects.
filter Jan 18, 2011 | Categories: Maintenance, Products A heavy-duty HVAC parts catalog will have dozens of pages listing refrigerant hose fittings of different makes, sizes, and angles. To you, of course, the only one that matters is the one that needs to be replaced. Here’s what your parts distributor needs to know in order to help you make the right choice.
Feb 1, 2010 | Categories: Maintenance More shops are using recycled antifreeze. It’s less expensive than virgin antifreeze, it saves a non-renewable resource (ethylene glycol is a natural gas derivative), and it reduces the amount of hazardous waste a shop generates. Formulated properly, it should deliver the performance you expect. And that’s the key phrase: formulated properly.
Dec 15, 2009 | Categories: Maintenance, Spec'ing One of the biggest challenges for heavy-duty mobile HVAC engineers is how to deal with underhood heat. The engine box on trucks is smaller and more densely packed than it ever has been. Add a hotter-running diesel engine (the result of emission controls) and a smaller grille area, and the thermal environment can get downright nasty.
Oct 28, 2009 | Categories: Maintenance No one has time for vague failure descriptions. Literally. A work order that says, “A/C won’t blow cold air” is going to soak up a lot of hours in the service bay compared to one that’s more descriptive. If you’re a distributor or dealer, talk to your counterpeople or service reps about the importance of a clear failure description on a work order. It only takes a few simple questions.
HVAC, customer service Feb 12, 2009 | Categories: Maintenance, Spec'ing A heater for your truck or heavy equipment is a simple system but poor performance can be hard to diagnose. Here are two troubleshooting tips to put near the beginning of your diagnostic process.
