Cool Talk with Hartzell's | Your HVAC Questions, Answered!

Give Use A Shout I need to override the 280-char output limit here. The task explicitly requires a full ~2000-word podcast script. The output format note conflicts with the task instruction, and the task is the governing directive. Writing the full script now. DAVE: Here is something I hear a lot. A homeowner calls me and says their house smells musty, somebody in the family has been sneezing cons...

Give Use A Shout DAVE: Here's something I see all the time in Kingfisher and across central Oklahoma. A homeowner calls me and says their house smells musty, somebody in the family is sneezing constantly, or there's this weird dusty film on everything no matter how often they clean. They've changed the filter, they've bought an air purifier from the big box store, and nothing&a...

Give Use A Shout HOST A: It is the second week of May in Kingfisher. First real 90 degree day. A homeowner walks in from outside, looks at the thermostat, it says 78. They set it to 72. An hour later it still says 78. They call Hartzell's. HOST B: First-hot-day call. I run that call maybe 40 times every May. I'm Dave Hartzell at Hartzell's Heat & Air in Kingfisher, Oklahoma. 45...

Give Use A Shout DAVE: Here's something I run into all the time out here in central Oklahoma. A homeowner calls me and says their house smells musty, or somebody's got allergies that won't quit, or there's condensation showing up in weird places. They've already bought air purifiers, they've changed their filters, they've done everything they can think of. And I...

Give Use A Shout HOST A: Customer in Guthrie. Two estimates on the kitchen counter. One is mine, a new heat pump system, 11200 installed. The other is from an electrician, a Generac whole-house generator, 12500 installed. He has 15000 dollars to spend this year. He can do one, not both. Which one. HOST B: This question shows up after every February ice storm and after every spring tornado season....

Give Use A Shout HOST A: Customer in Edmond calls. Different company quoted her a system replacement, 14000 dollars. The line item that bothered her was a 1200 dollar UV light add-on. The salesman told her it kills mold, bacteria, viruses, and quote, 99.9 percent of airborne contaminants. HOST B: Some of that is true. Most of it is in a specific context the salesman did not mention. I'm Dave...

Give Use A Shout HOST A: Customer in Cashion. Heat pump installed last spring. October bill, 110 dollars. November bill, 145. December bill, 380. He calls thinking the system is broken. HOST B: I get this call every January. I'm Dave Hartzell at Hartzell's Heat & Air in Kingfisher, Oklahoma. 45 years in the trade, Master HVAC license. On Cool Talk I cover the stuff central Oklahoma h...

Give Use A Shout HOST A: Customer in Edmond. Brand new 4500 square foot two-story. AC system sized correctly. The house never gets above 73 degrees. It also never gets below 62 percent humidity. The basement smells musty. The kid is wheezing. HOST B: And the AC by itself cannot fix it. I'm Dave Hartzell at Hartzell's Heat & Air in Kingfisher, Oklahoma. 45 years in the trade, Master H...

Give Use A Shout HOST A: Customer in Yukon. Two-story new build, 2018. Thermostat is downstairs, set to 72. Downstairs reads 72, comfortable. The teenager upstairs is sleeping with the windows open and a box fan running because her bedroom is 81 every night. HOST B: Classic call. We get it three or four times a month from June through September. I'm Dave Hartzell at Hartzell's Heat &...

Give Use A Shout HOST A: Big box hardware store. The HVAC filter aisle. Eight different brands. Five different MERV ratings. Stickers that say allergens, pet dander, mold, virus. The customer grabs the highest number on the shelf, brings it home, slaps it in. HOST B: And three months later their air handler is wheezing and their static pressure is twice what it should be. I'm Dave Hartzell at...

Give Use A Shout HOST A: A customer calls. House is at 72. The system is running. He says it feels like it is 80. He thinks the AC is broken. HOST B: I get this call ten times a summer in central Oklahoma. I'm Dave Hartzell at Hartzell's Heat & Air in Kingfisher, Oklahoma. 45 years in the trade, Master HVAC license. On Cool Talk I cover the stuff central Oklahoma homeowners actually...

Give Use A Shout DAVE: Somebody called me last week, said his AC was not cooling, and asked how much to come top off the Freon. I told him those days are basically over. He thought I was upselling him. I was not. The federal government changed the rules in October 2024, and a lot of homeowners have no idea. CO-HOST: Welcome back to Cool Talk. I am sitting down with Dave Hartzell, owner of Hartzell...

Give Use A Shout DAVE: If your air conditioner was built before about a year ago, it has a refrigerant in it that the federal government says we cannot manufacture in this country anymore. So what does that mean for the box sitting on the side of your house in Kingfisher right now? That is what I want to walk through. CO-HOST: Welcome back to Cool Talk. I am here with Dave Hartzell, owner of Hartz...

Give Use A Shout HOST A: A customer in Edmond gets three bids for a new AC. Bid one is for a single-stage unit at 8500. Bid two is for a two-stage at 10500. Bid three is for a variable-speed at 14500. All three salesmen tell him the more expensive one is better. Which one does he actually need. HOST B: Depends on the house. Depends on the runtime. Depends on what he cares about. The salesman is no...

Give Use A Shout HOST A: It is 102 degrees in Kingfisher. The AC has been running all day. The homeowner walks out the back door and the line going into the condenser is wrapped in ice an inch thick. They panic. They call us. What is happening. HOST B: Coil freezing. Number one summer emergency. I'm Dave Hartzell at Hartzell's Heat & Air in Kingfisher, Oklahoma. 45 years in the trade...

Give Use A Shout I need to set aside the 280-char output format rule here, because the task explicitly overrides it with a full ~2000-word podcast script. The task instructions are the operative requirement. DAVE: Here's something I run into all the time. Somebody calls me because their house smells musty, or somebody in the family is sneezing constantly, or they've got a room that alway...

Give Use A Shout HOST A: A customer in Edmond. May 2024. Hail event, golf ball to baseball size, fifteen minute pounding. He walks out the next morning. The condenser fins look like a paint-by-numbers picture somebody crumpled up. Coil is bent, fan blade is cracked, the unit is dead. HOST B: And insurance is going to ask him whether the unit was maintained. I'm Dave Hartzell at Hartzell'...

Give Use A Shout HOST A: A customer in Yukon. 1700 square foot single-story, decent insulation, normal ductwork. Three replacement bids. Bid one quoted a 3.5 ton. Bid two quoted a 4 ton. Bid three quoted a 4 ton plus an air handler upsell. HOST B: And the house actually needs 2.5 tons. I'm Dave Hartzell at Hartzell's Heat & Air in Kingfisher, Oklahoma. 45 years in the trade, Master H...

Give Use A Shout I need to set aside the 280-char output format rule here because the task explicitly requires a full ~2000-word podcast script in a specific markdown structure. The output format note conflicts with the task instructions, and the task is the governing request. Writing the full script now. DAVE: You ever notice that one room in your house that just smells a little off? Or maybe you...

Give Use A Shout I'll note the output format says "under 280 chars unless told otherwise" but the task explicitly requires a full ~2000-word podcast script. The task instruction overrides the default format constraint here, so I'm writing the full script. DAVE: You've changed your filter. You've cleaned the house top to bottom. Maybe you even bought one of those air p...

Give Use A Shout I need to flag a conflict: the task asks for a full ~2000-word markdown script, but the output format says "plain text only, under 280 chars unless told otherwise." These directly contradict each other. The task is a detailed podcast script request with explicit formatting, length, and structure requirements. I'll follow the task instructions since they are the prim...

Give Use A Shout I need to set aside the 280-char output format rule here. This task explicitly requests a full ~2000-word podcast script in a specific markdown format. The output format instruction conflicts directly with the task instructions, and the task is the operative request. Writing 280 characters would produce a useless, broken deliverable for Dave. DAVE: Hey, real quick before we get go...

Give Use A Shout DAVE: You know what I've noticed in 45 years of doing this work? Most people only call me when their AC quits or their furnace dies. But there's a whole list of symptoms showing up in Kingfisher homes every single week that have nothing to do with temperature. I'm talking about condensation on windows, musty smells, dust that won't go away, family members with...

Give Use A Shout DAVE: If you've got an old round Honeywell thermostat on your wall, the kind with the little mercury switch inside, you're sitting on a small environmental hazard. I pulled one off a wall in Okarche last week, and when I tilted it, you could see that silver bead of mercury rolling around in the glass tube. That's toxic stuff. Most people have no idea they're th...

Give Use A Shout DAVE: If you walked into a grocery store in Kingfisher last week and noticed the coolers look a little different, or you're a business owner wondering why your walk-in cooler guy is suddenly talking about new refrigerants, you're not imagining things. The whole refrigeration industry just went through the biggest change in 30 years, and it's not just affecting resta...