Teachers

Classroom Use

Refrigeration Basics III is used successfully in teaching environments and Trade Colleges. The cleanly designed graphics, animations and full page troubleshooting boards are well suited for use at single work stations or through use of a computer projector, HDMI cable to large screen TV or via a LAN. The interactive troubleshooting boards are always a great hit and have an instant focusing effect to groups of students. The students recognize instantly that this is exactly what they want to know; "How do you diagnose refrigeration and air conditioning systems?"

One method of utilizing the boards is to rotate around the room allowing each student to select a test instrument and take a diagnostic reading. (and if ready, submit a diagnosis) The choices that the students make when selecting test instruments and test points provides insight to the classes troubleshooting ability and their progress to date in grasping important concepts. It also allows the class as a whole to witness troubleshooting techniques and methods which lead to a correct diagnosis with the least amount of effort and delay. A rivalry develops instantly. Everyone wants to be capable of solving the problems and no one wants to look foolish when it becomes their turn. Just as important is that it is a heck of a lot of fun. Troubleshooting can be fun and at the very least should be interesting. The faults on the boards are a mixture of easy to difficult to very difficult. You never know what is coming next just as in real life troubleshooting. The large number of boards allows students to actually start developing real world troubleshooting skills. Once the class as a whole becomes familiar with the layouts and procedures in the boards, another method that can be used is to ask a single student to troubleshoot a problem from beginning to end in front of the rest of the class. To be fair, each student must be asked to do this in turn. This is not like asking someone to do stand up public speaking. It is however an excellent opportunity to put a student under a little bit of pressure which simulates the real world. When a customer has a warehouse or a walk in freezer full of frozen product that is starting to thaw and is staring over your shoulder you must be able to think under pressure and calmly progress in a logical troubleshooting manner which leads to a correct diagnosis. Selecting which test instrument to use next is the onus of the student. The student must also decide which test point to measure on the piping layout or electrical schematic They can jump from pillar to post and perhaps luck out or perhaps go in circles. They can try a logical sequence of measurements which lead very quickly to a correct diagnosis or perhaps once again start going in circles. Just as in real world troubleshooting, one must be able to exit from vicious circles and find whatever approach is required to get to the root of the problem. I have not seen a faster way of accomplishing this than to actually immerse the student in a virtual troubleshooting world and making them fend for themselves. The 100 troubleshooting boards cover various HVAC/R equipment, refrigerants and faults. It quickly becomes apparent that the commonality between all the various systems is what must be used to troubleshoot faults. Operating pressures and electrical readings used in combination with Superheat, Subcooling, Temperature Rise and Temperature Drop will almost always lead to a definitive diagnosis. There is no more convincing way of demonstrating this than letting a student try to diagnose a faulty system themselves. When students see others finding problems quickly and easily over and over again they learn that the chosen sequence of test measurements is based on the results from the previous measurements. It is easier to gain the ability to use this iterative process effectively when one sees it being used by others, especially one's peers. Experience gained with the Refrigeration Basics troubleshooting boards will provide invaluable help to the refrigeration mechanic once he or she is in the field.

Linked Index & Chapters

The entire e-book is organized in an easy to navigate manner. When a question or topic comes up it is great to be able to make a couple of mouse clicks and have at one's disposal a graphic or animation that can be used to illustrate a point or answer a question. It is very easy for a teacher to find appropriate sections or graphics after a short familiarization with the layout of the e-book. One can also use the chapter headings or the index to find active links to the point on a page where the information is located. Refrigeration training becomes much easier when contents are so readily available. The course can be used as a stand alone introduction to refrigeration or as a compliment to your existing course outline. Some refrigeration training schools use the product as a primer for students before entering their course.

Site License

You must acquire a site license before making Refrigeration Basics available to multiple users on a LAN or using it in a commercial teaching environment. Pricing for site licensing is located on the drop down list on the order form.

Bulk Disc Purchases

Discounts are available for bulk purchases. Pricing for multiple disc purchasing is located on the drop down list on the order form