Category: Customer Service

Sometimes Plans Go Sideways – And That’s Okay

Published on by Brian FarnoLeave a comment

I often write and share personal experiences here. It’s kind of funny—if you had asked me 15 years ago whether I’d be writing regularly, I would have said, “Absolutely not.” That sentiment actually ties in well with today’s message.

Last night, I decided to tackle a maintenance issue on a 2014 Honda Pilot that’d been graciously loaned to us while we saved up for a newer vehicle for my wife. Her van’s transmission failed, and the cost to repair it just didn’t make sense. The Pilot has had a persistent clunking noise whenever it hits a bump. Upon inspection, I found both sway bar links were completely shot—the grease boots were torn, and the sway bar bushings were totally rotted. I had ordered the parts last winter with a few others, and I finally had time in my schedule to take care of them.

If you’ve ever worked on sway bar links, you know they usually don’t come off easily. Still, I kept a positive mindset and tried to remove the nuts holding the links in place—with zero success. So, out came the saw. I was able to cut the driver-side link out, and that’s when I should’ve realized things wouldn’t go smoothly.

My cut on the lower bolt was off and left too much of the stud. So, I grabbed another tool: the angle grinder. I’m not afraid to use the right tool—or to get rough when needed. With the sway bar supported and my hearing protection on, I went to work. It wasn’t a perfect job, but eventually I used a punch and hammer to knock out the remnants and moved on to the top mount. That one backed off halfway, then got cut at the threads and came right out. Thank goodness for sharp saw blades.

With the old link gone, I removed the deteriorated bushing and installed the new one without any trouble. Then came time to install the new sway bar link. These replacements were serviceable with grease fittings—a nice little upgrade for this older vehicle—so I had a good feeling they’d be the last ones it would ever need.

Oddly, the two new links (bought at the same time) came with different styles of lock nuts. One was slightly smashed into an oblong shape. The top nut went on snugly, but just as I was torquing it down, the Allen key recess began to round out. Not a huge deal, since I didn’t anticipate needing to take them apart again.

But the bottom stud and oblong retaining nut didn’t go so well. Halfway on, the nut tightened up severely, and the hex recess rounded out. All I could think was, “It shouldn’t be this hard.” I used the small wrench that came with the new links, and it popped loose—finally. Then I resorted to using vise grips on the flats.

Here’s where I made my mistake: I didn’t slide the grease boot out of the way and kept going. Just as I reached the last thread, the pliers slipped and pinched the brand-new grease boot. I still finished the installation—knowing I’d have to remove it again anyway—and wanted to make sure nothing else was out of alignment. At the time, I felt defeated by a simple task. This really shouldn’t have been so difficult.

In the end, I ordered another new sway bar link. It’s on the way, and I’ll attempt round two in 3–5 business days.

So, what’s the point of this story? Things don’t always go as planned. Sometimes it’s because you miss something or don’t trust your gut when something feels off. Other times, it’s stubborn determination to force something that just isn’t working. You can either dwell on it or take a breath, make a new plan, and keep pushing forward with the same energy.

I’ve seen this play out not just in car repairs, but in travel, my career, and life in general. When something doesn’t go right, it’s okay. Just adjust and move forward. It’s a mindset we bring to our work with customers at EXAIR.

That’s why our 30-day guarantee matters so much. If a recommendation didn’t work out, or testing pointed in one direction, but the results just weren’t there, we’ll help you rework the plan. We’ll back what’s already been done by covering any stock product with our 30-day guarantee and help chart a new path forward.

We’re not perfect, and we never claim to be. My plans don’t always work out either. But a failure doesn’t mean the end—it just means it’s time for a new plan of attack.

Brian Farno, MBA – CCASS
National Business Development Manager

BrianFarno@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_BF

Big shout-out to my youngest daughter for snapping the photo of the passenger side and spraying down the rusted studs with Aero Kroil while I was at work, and she was enjoying summer break. It definitely pays to have your kids pitch in on these projects.

Please Wait For The Automated Attendant….

Published on by Brian FarnoLeave a comment

When you call a company to look for help, do you really want to have to dial a person’s name like you are on your old Nokia phone using the T9 keyboard, or do you want to hear a real person’s voice? (It’s okay if you are googling T9, I did it for you, and the best results are shown in the image below.)

Google results for T9 texting. My favorite part is the Reddit link on the right. r/dumbphones.

My answer is to speak to a real person. This is something I have always appreciated whenever I contact a company, whether it be to try and get information from them or to give information to them about EXAIR products. I understand that in some companies it helps with efficiencies and keeps cold-calling salespeople at bay (at least the ones that take no as the first answer). Yeah, automated systems may help reduce distractions for those who answer the phone, but at the same time, they may hinder someone who is trying to get a quick answer and wants to place an order.

Well, here at EXAIR, you don’t need to know how to spell names on your Nokia phone that you just racked up a high-scoring game of Snake on. Instead, you get a person who is a member of our Order Entry Team. They can actually help you submit orders, give chip estimates, product pricing, and even some lead times on stock products. Then, if you have technical questions or need something outside of that, they can bounce you over to us, the Application Engineering team. There’s a good chance you will hear less of our hold music than a full song or advertisement.

We will help you from there on out, even if it means placing an order. We not only try to be your one-stop shop for industrial compressed air products, but we also strive to be easy to do business with and get you the answers you need when you need them, not suspend you in a loop with our automated phone attendant until you discover the secret code to get to a real human.

If you have questions about EXAIR products or industrial compressed air processes, please contact an Application Engineer today.

Brian Farno, MBA – CCASS
National Business Development Manager

BrianFarno@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_BF

Air Cooling Maintenance?

Published on by Brian FarnoLeave a comment

The time has finally come, and spring is here! The Cincinnati Reds are playing, Spring Soccer is happening early on Saturday mornings, and the FC Cincinnati Stadium is bustling here in Cincy. With that, temperatures are climbing, the grass and weeds are growing, and more and more families are out walking around and doing outdoor activities. With this, also comes warmer temps, and lots of spring allergies in the Farno household. As a dad, I have stepped into my role pretty well by trying to delay turning on the air conditioner until everyone else in the house is plotting my demise. This year, I achieved it by putting off the routine maintenance of the condensing coils.

In case you weren’t aware, here in the Midwest, where pollen runs rampant and the winds have been strong this year, it is a great idea to clean out the condensing coils on your home’s A/C system before turning it on for the year. Unfortunately, your home A/C system is not maintenance-free like the Cabinet Cooler Systems EXAIR offers; at the same time, your home needs a lot more than a few thousand BTU/hr of cooling capacity. When we first bought the home, I didn’t know this was a thing, as the home I grew up in didn’t have central air. We rocked Window A/Cs, and my parents still do. So, cleaning the outdoor unit was not part of my knowledge base. This is something I learned once the air conditioner wasn’t working, and I started to troubleshoot.

The main purpose of the condensing coils is to strip all the heat out of the refrigerant and get it to “condense” back into its liquid state to be pushed back through the orifice and continue to cool the air that is being passed over the A Coils inside the house. These coils are covered in fins that are very tightly spaced. The outside unit has a large fan that pulls the surrounding air in through the coils and exhausts the hot air up out of the top. There is no filter on that incoming ambient air, though, so all the leaves, cobwebs, pet hair, pollen, dirt, mulch, you name it, get pulled up into these fins. Over time, this starts to get a buildup, and the cooling fins will start to lose their efficiency. The fan won’t be able to pull as much air through, and eventually, the gas doesn’t get condensed, which then reduces the cooling and can cause other bigger issues. This is just like a refrigerant-based A/C panel cooler in a facility. Most of the time, they have at least a small filter on the air intake to try and reduce the contamination of the condensing coils. So I clean the A/C condenser at my house using a coil cleaning solution diluted down, a pump sprayer, and a regular garden hose.

The main thing to remember when cleaning this is that the majority of the dirt is from the air being pulled into the center by the fan. So I rinse the coils from the inside out and make sure I have free passage all the way through. The water doesn’t need to be a high-pressure rinse like an OmniStream nozzle or one of BETE’s NF Nozzles, just a simple low-pressure stream of water to get between the fins and push all contaminants as well as rinse the solution away. Remove any leaves or other unwanted debris from inside the unit and then bolt the fan and cage back down. Then let the family enjoy some cold air inside the house.

This type of maintenance is something that easily gets overlooked when looking at refrigerant-based electrical panel coolers. That is where EXAIR Cabinet Cooler Systems shine. The only filter you have to worry about is a redundant point-of-use compressed air filter that is included with the Cabinet Cooler Systems. No chemicals needed for cleaning, no water, no mess to change out a compressed air filter, just long-lasting performance. If you want to talk about how to change your control panels over to Cabinet Cooler Systems, contact an Application Engineer today.

Brian Farno, MBA – CCASS
National Business Development Manager

BrianFarno@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_BF

A Journey of Learning: Passing the CCASS Certification Test

Published on by Jordan T ShouseLeave a comment

Hey everyone! I’m beyond excited to share some big news with you—I recently passed the Certified Compressed Air System Specialist (CCASS) certification test! It’s been a wild ride getting here, and I want to take you through my journey, to show what this certificate means to me.

Why CCASS? Six and a half years ago, I started my fascination with compressed air products and systems—how they power so much of modern industry, from manufacturing to automation. But I’ll be honest: there’s a lot to learn, and I wanted a way to prove I really get it. That’s where the CCASS certification came in. Offered by CAGI, it’s a credential that shows you’ve mastered the ins and outs of compressed air systems—think system design, energy efficiency, and all the components that make it tick. For me, it was about more than just a title; it was a chance to level up my skills and help customers optimize their systems.

The CCASS exam isn’t a walk in the park—it’s 80 multiple-choice questions in just 1.5 hours, testing your applied knowledge, skills, and abilities. CAGI doesn’t hand you a study guide, but they do point you to some resources. Their “Body of Knowledge” list was my starting point, packed with references like the Compressed Air & Gas Handbook and standards like ASME EA-4 for energy assessments. I dove into those, soaking up everything from compressor basics to sustainability tips.

What does this mean? Well, I’m the 6th person on the application engineering team to become certified. Our team of Application Engineers are dedicated to continuous self-improvement and actively seek ways to assure our readers, clients, and prospective customers that we are the foremost authorities in engineered solutions for point-of-use compressed air. We prioritize ongoing education and share our expertise through various platforms. This includes informative blogs like this one, casual videos available on our YouTube Channel and website, articles in different publications, and our webinars.

The subjects we cover range from strategies to reduce waste associated with one of the most costly utilities to system designs that mitigate pressure drops and ensure adequate supply for point-of-use applications. We can provide both in-depth analysis and high-level overviews to cater to different levels of understanding.

If you wish to evaluate our expertise or learn more about how we can assist with your facility’s compressed air needs, please reach out to an Application Engineer today.

Jordan Shouse, CCASS

Application Engineer

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