Hi, I’m just a flatfooted MIT EE ('57), but I’ve been around the block enough times to recognize shoddy work when I see it. Here"s what I recently found inside of a fused disconnect switch on an outside wall of our home adjacent to the heat pump AC compressor-coil unit it services.
![[Linked Image from home.comcast.net]](http://home.comcast.net/~jwisnia18/temp/box1.jpg)
![[Linked Image from home.comcast.net]](http://home.comcast.net/~jwisnia18/temp/box2.jpg)
When that heat pump was replaced last month with a new one, the low voltage control cable wasn’t long enough to reach its connection terminals in the new unit. The HVAC installer (not a licensed electrician.) routed the old control cable and a piece of new cable into the disconnect switch by punching out a knockout in its back, spliced the conductors with wirenuts, finished up and said. "All done sir!" Putting 230 volts and low voltage control wiring in the same box is against code here in sunny Winchester, Taxachusetts, as confirmed to me by our town’s electrical inspector before I shot my mouth off.
This genius also used wirenuts to connect the new 230 volt wires he ran to the unit to the cut off stubs of the old wires he left in the terminals of the switch. Maybe he couldn’t find his screwdriver to use the terminal screws? I made the HVAC company come back and do the job properly before I paid them.
By the way, that company is listed by the HVAC manufacturer as a "Trane Comfort Specialist". Trane proudly describes those specialists this way:
************ All dealers are not created equal. Which is why you must be thorough when selecting one. But, here’s something that will make your search a little easier. Just look for the Trane Comfort Specialist badge. It will indicate a Trane dealer of the highest standing a dealer that is committed to excellence in every aspect of his business, from installation and service, to customer care and employee training. The Trane Comfort Specialist designation is not easy to come by. Dealers qualify for this honor on a yearly basis by meeting Trane's stringent standards for professionalism and technological expertise. When it’s time to purchase a heating and air conditioning system put your comfort in the hands of an Independent Trane Comfort Specialist dealer. ***********
After my experience with them, I'd hate to meet the guys who couldn’t make that cut.
Best Regards, Jeff -- Jeffry Wisnia (W1BSV + Brass Rat ('57 EE)
