Top 10 Tips For Measuring HVAC Coils

1. When measuring HVAC coils, performance has very little to do with accurately measuring for replacement coils. Fitting the coil in the existing space with the least amount of labor has everything to do with measuring a coil.  If you duplicate the coil in almost every respect, the performance will match and take care of itself.  New is always more efficient than old.

2.  If you’re ever in doubt about a dimension, smaller is always better than bigger. You can always “safe off” around any coil as long as you can fit it in the space.  If a coil is too big, it makes a really ugly coffee table in your shop.  Too big is the enemy of measuring coils.

Chilled Water Coil

3.  The fin height and fin length are not the determining factors in measuring a coil. The overall casing dimensions are the most important, and you work backwards to determine fin dimensions.

4.  The depth of any coil is the total casing depth in the direction of airflow. The height is the number of tubes high in any row.  Depth is a function of rows deep and height is a function of tubes in a row.

5.  Overall length (OAL) is not the fin length and it’s not the casing length. It is the length from the return bends to include the headers that are inside the unit.  Again, it is necessary to work backwards to get the other dimensions once you know this critical dimension.

6.  Circuiting is the number of tubes connected to the supply header. Generally, you just want to count the number of tubes connected to the header and that will tell you whether it’s full, half, or even a double circuit.  It does not matter how the return bends are configured.  Your goal is to count the number of supply tubes and all performance is based on that.

7.  Fins are measured in fins per inch. Hold a tape measure up to the coils and count the number of fins in one inch.  If you can’t get in to take the measurement, a safe rule of thumb is 10-12 fins/inch.  That will work on almost every coil.  The exception to that rule is a condenser coil.  14-16 fins/inch on a condenser coil is usually pretty safe.

8.  Connection locations are difficult only if you are using the existing piping in the system (which are welded). Copper piping is brazed and can be changed easily.  If a system is old and the piping is being replaced as well as the coil, the connection location is not a major deal.  It’s very easy to match up!

9.  With replacement coils, the concept of “left hand vs. right hand” doesn’t actually exist. Connections are “top left-bottom right” or vice versa.  Ideally, all coils should be counter-flow which means that the water and air flow in opposite directions.  The air hits row one first and the water is piped into row eight first.  However, there are lots of installations that are piped backwards, and they work just fine.  Just match them up, and the coil’s performance will be equal to the old coil.

10.  Connections are not measured from the top of the header! They are measured from the top of the casing to the centerline of the connection.  Or the bottom of the casing to the centerline.  You need a point of reference, and the header height can be anything just as long as it doesn’t stick above or below the casing height.

 

All of the above “suggestions” or “secrets” are in no particular order.  They are just things that you should know to ensure that you are selecting the correct replacement coil. While most seem like common sense, your best bet is to talk with the sales team at Capital Coil & Air, who can walk your through the entire process and help you to fill out coil drawings when trying to measure the dimensions.

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Large enough to service all of your commercial replacement coils, but small enough to care about what you think

With replacement coils, as a customer, you have more choices than ever. But don’t you ever get tired of dealing with largely nameless corporations with high staff turn-over? As you’ve probably Replacement coilsexperienced first-hand, there are plenty of companies in the HVAC industry that fit this description. You are simply a number or a project instead of a customer/partner with a name and face. If given the alternative, would you rather deal with a company who knows you and is interested in your success, or a company who’s sole interest is finding out when your check is in the mail? Don’t you want somebody that values your business, regardless of the $ amount, and will go the “extra mile” for you when you need it? Capital Coil & Air places a great emphasis on those attributes in our business relationships, and common sense tells us that you probably do as well.

Capital Coil & Air was created as a family-owned business, with Matt and Dan Jacobs as joint owners and partners. What differentiates Capital Coil & Air from our competition is that we are big enough to handle all of your coil requirements, but still small enough to know who our customers are and what they need. We have decades worth of knowledge and expertise, and because of that, we have learned to not try to be all things to all customers. Capital Coil’s knowledge and experience is in the replacement and design/build market, and we are very disciplined at “staying in our lane”. Additionally, we’d much prefer to have customers and relationships that last years instead of one-off transactions. Working with Capital Coil is as simple and easy as it gets, and here are some examples:

  • When requesting a quote, we almost always respond within the same hour, or within 24 hours at the latest.  We recognize that there is an urgency to almost every coil order, and your time is valuable. In the end, a 3 day delay for a quote and/or revisions to said quote, is the same as if the manufacturer shipped your coil 3 days late.
  • When you place an order with us, we’ll send you an order acknowledgment within 24 hours detailing what you ordered, overall costs, and when it is going to ship.
  • We understand the value and necessity of clear communication. To minimize mistakes, we attach submittal drawings for every quote and order. We want to communicate with you throughout the entire buying process to make sure we are building exactly what you need.  More communication leads to less mistakes and wasted time.
  • We follow up on our shipments very carefully. We’ll work with both you and the carrier to help track your shipments to ensure your order gets to you the fastest way possible.
  • We will not ignore you simply because a sale is complete. Before, during and/or after installation, we’re here to answer your questions and help in any way possible.
  • If you need some help on pricing, we’ll do our best to work with you. While every job is unique, we want to work with you for the next 20 years, rather that a one and done purchase.

You now have some insight into our values and who we are at Capital Coil & Air. Please contact us for any future coil requirements. We greatly value your business and look forward to be your coil replacement partners on your next project!

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How Did The HVAC Commercial Coil Replacement Market Originate???

How in the world did the commercial coil replacement market start? This specific newsletter is more of a story than anything technical that we have covered in most of our previous emails or blogs. Rather, this is the story of how one manufacturer’s representative, Robert Jacobs, almost by accident, stumbled upon the concept of the coil replacement market back at a time when the only way one could get a replacement coil was to go through the original equipment manufacturer – (OEM). In full disclosure, Bob Jacobs is the VP of Business Development with Capital Coil & Air.

Way back in the day – (1970’s) – HVAC coils were not stand-alone pieces of equipment as they are considered by some now. Coils were nothing more than a single part in an Air Handling Unit (AHU) or a bank of coils. Like a bearing, a drive, or fan wheel, coils were simply part #’s that one needed to reference with the OEM in order to get a replacement built. This situation was a very good deal for the OEM’s because much like car parts, they could charge upwards of 3x’s the original cost of the coil or “part”. And, it was built according to their schedule/timeline, not yours’.

In the 1970’s, Bob Jacobs was a manufacturer’s rep in the Philadelphia-area, and his main line of equipment was Bohn Aluminum & Brass. Bohn was a division of Gulf & Western and competed against many of the top manufacturers, such as Trane & Carrier. For comparison-sake, Bohn was very similar to what Dunham-Bush is today.Commercial Coil Replacement

During this period, Bob Jacobs was asked by numerous local contractors to replace old and/or broken coils. Due to the lack of a quality alternative, he initially used Bohn for coil replacement projects, but replacing coils was not exactly Bohn’s “sweet spot”. It should be mentioned that during this period, replacement coils were not really on any manufacturer’s radar as a separate product – hence the point of this story. Regardless of the OEM, standard lead-times were upwards of (12) – (14) weeks, and those “replacement parts” were very expensive. It was during this period that he realized that there was serious potential for some kind of HVAC coil replacement market. To test this theory, he initially spent $75.00 on an ad deep within the classified section of “Air Conditioning & Refrigeration News”. It was the old type where one had to “circle the bingo card” to request additional information, and this single ad received over 525 inquiries from across the country!! This eye-opening initial response to his idea made him realize that he had come across something good, but now the challenge was how to satisfy this new market. Bob Jacobs initially contacted Bohn to see if there was any interest in building replacement coils, as well as marketing the idea across the United States. Bohn essentially laughed at the idea and countered that he’d be violating his sales rep agreement by going into the territories of other reps. This was very flawed reasoning as none of the other reps were engineering or selling replacement coils in the first place! Within a week, he had canceled his agreement with Bohn and was looking for alternative vendors. He also decided to run a second ad that received another 450 inquiries; furthering his idea of the need for a coil replacement market.

The next step was to reach out to Singer Coils (yes, like the sewing machine), who was located in North Carolina. Because they had built coils for other manufacturers, he pitched his idea to them along with the request that they build his special or “custom” coils. While initially skeptical of the concept, the doubters were proved wrong as his firm gave Singer over $3,500,000 in business in that first year alone. Admittedly, that $ amount in the first year in a brand new market is impressive whether it’s 1971 or 2021!!

One must also remember that these were the days before fax machines and most certainly before email and the internet. Quote requests for coils were received via USPS and were hand-drawn sketches written on things, such as legal pads, envelopes and pretty much every way imaginable compared with today. Because everything was starting from scratch at this time, there were no coil model libraries or other materials to cross-reference, so going through a random building trying to locate the correct coil to replace could be torturous. However, over the next 6-8 years, his business grew quite rapidly, and he was able to collect and build a substantial reference library of coil drawings and other relevant information. The experiences of the prior 8 years, coupled with his firm’s knowledge of commercial coils, eventually allowed his company to begin building their own replacement coils for the 1st time, rather than relying on a 3rd party manufacturer.

Bob Jacobs’ original coil replacement company developed relationships with literally thousands of customers and laid out the initial blueprint for success in the coil replacement business. Due to that success, you now have approximately (10) alternatives that have attempted to copy his model as it’s become obvious that this is a lucrative market. Even OEM’s have recognized that they need to have a piece of the replacement market. But an important point to remember is that just because a company says or even advertises that they are in the coil replacement business does not mean that they are any good or even fully understand how the replacement market operates. For example, most coil manufacturers today are still more interested in the production of larger quantities, so replacement coils are “special” to them. In other words, sometimes these manufacturers want to be in the coil replacement business, and other times, without telling you, they do not. And not knowing where a company’s focus or priorities lie makes it extremely difficult to work with them under emergency conditions.

Bob Jacobs was there at the beginning and is still quite active within Capital Coil. Having daily access to a resource that literally invented the coil replacement market is what separates Capital Coil from all other competitors. Capital Coil will continue to be your coil replacement experts, and we greatly look forward to the chance to work with you on future projects.

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Direct Expansion & Chilled Water Cabinet Coils

There are lots of ducted cooling applications with chilled water and/or DX (Evaporator) coils where you need to add incremental cooling to an existing system. However, there is an important difference when using heating coils. Because it’s a Cabinet Coilheating coil, there is no humidification occurring or water/condensate to draw. Due to these factors, cooling coils require a little more creativity and labor to install.

At Capital Coil & Air, we have removed all of the guesswork out of the application. Capital Coil manufactures Custom Coil Cabinet sections from as small as 12” x 12” sections to as large as 54” x 90” sections. We manufacture these units in both Chilled Water and DX (Expansion), as well as in 1/2” & 5/8” copper tube coils. You have the option to select anything from (3) rows to (8) rows. Additionally, we will custom-design the Cabinet around whichever site you select. Cabinet units include both insulation & drain pans, while the supports and casing allow you to connect directly to the ductwork. We can also add a Heating Coil inside the unit for more dehumidification if needed. Cabinet Coils are perfect for either heavy or light-duty installations.

All Cabinet Coils are available on Capital Coil’s Quick-Ship Program as well. As you are probably all-too-familiar, trying to custom design coils in the field is a pain. Using Cabinet Coils will greatly ease the whole installation process. Please see our Insulated Cabinet Coil Brochure for more details on available custom sizes.

Capital Coil & Air looks forward to the chance to your coil replacement specialists. Please give us a try on your next project!

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HVAC coil replacement does not have to be cost prohibitive. As you are all aware, money is tight these days, and budgets for maintenance and upkeep are constantly being cut. People are asked to do more with less, so every dollar spent must be spent wisely. In our previous newsletters, we have outlined various reasons about why you should do business with Capital Coil & Air. However, one of the most compelling reasons is cost and how you spend your money.

We now live in an age where you can skip “middle men” and buy direct from a manufacturer or supplier. Think about your own life and how your own personal shopping habits have changed over the years. When was the last time you used a travel agent to book a trip? In 2020, you’re much more likely to go to Tripadvisor or an airline’s website and make travel reservations yourself. Greater access to more choices gives you the opportunity to save money in the process.

Spending money in business these days is no different. Consumers have access to more information than ever before. Consumer studies show buyers get 60% of their product information from a firm’s website before ever speaking with a sales rep. The days of an account manager or manufacturer’s representative being the sole source of information are over. Right now, you can access Capital Coil’s website and see our entire HVAC product offering, including dimensions, quick-ship programs, and our Coil Selection Program. With information at the press of a button, Capital Coil’s expert customer service will consult with you to ensure that you’re getting exactly what you need, when you need it. Working with Capital Coil & Air directly cuts out that “middle man’s” costly mark-up and saves you money without sacrificing quality. Avoiding the “middle man” and having a direct line to the manufacturer also ensures quick response times, and helps to make sure that no information gets lost in translation.

Capital Coil & Air does have a select number of exceptional representatives in a few areas, and because they are valuable assets in the HVAC industry, we are comfortable passing your project information along to those representatives. But if not in one of those areas, you are free to work with us directly.

At the end of the day, technology has allowed you as the consumer to buy smarter, faster, and cheaper. Aside from those previously mentioned “middle men” who does not want faster and cheaper? Capital Coil & Air would like the opportunity to be your “direct supplier” on present and future projects. Give us a call and test us out!

 

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