If you are an HVAC contractor share your thoughts on who makes the best retrofit kit. Is it the White Rogers 21D64-2 or another brand?
Leave your answer in the comments section. The most compelling arguments will win a $25 gift card to the store of your choice. Winners will be announced January 2, 2012.

Be sure to share your companies website and or your company Facebook page ( this is a chance for some free advertising). The Controltrends community is worldwide: you never know who will find you on Controltrends.com.

In that it is starting to get cold we are going to be running into situations when we call for heat and nothing happens. Thanks to our friend Mike, a great HVAC tech from Dallas, our contractor friends can get a quick reminder on how to troubleshoot a fan control board when the HVAC blower motor does not run.

Remember that this type of repair and troubleshooting should only be done by a license HVAC contractor. For more information on the White Rogers 50A55 843 contact one of the control pros at Stromquist & Company if you are in Georgia or Florida, if you are located in another part of the country one of our affiliates at Controls Group North America has you covered,

You can’t get heat and your troubleshooting skills (hopefully learned at a Stromquist & Company training class) have lead you to the conclusion that your gas valve will have to be replaced. Being the great technician that you are, you write down all the information and part numbers of the furnace or heater you are working on and head off to see Bob, Jerry, or Mark at the Stromquist counter to get a new valve.

After driving across town you are less than happy when you are told that the replacement gas valve cannot be determined by the furnace or heater number. Although there are hundreds of gas heater and furnace manufacturers, there are only three major controls companies that make gas valves for these companies: Honeywell, White Rodgers, and Robertshaw. What makes it tricky is that these three companies will make and sell these valves as OEM (original equipment manufacturer) parts for all these different heater companies and will put different part numbers on them. In some cases, the valves even function differently.

Why would a manufacturer want a different part number? For one thing it makes it very difficult for you to get a replacement valve at your local distributor. Think about it, these companies are in business to make money and if you have to come back to them for your replacement parts, they are able to sell more products. The problem with this is that very few of them have local inventory, and since they are manufacturers instead of wholesalers, quick shipping is usually not one of their skill sets. So you have to wait, which is usually not an option when your heat is not working. In a few cases the valve is built differently and you have no choice but to go back to the manufacturer, which usually results in you paying higher prices and dealing with longer lead times.

The good news is that with the right information, your local distributors like Stromquist & Company can provide you with the right gas valve at the right price. To make sure you get the right valve, either take the bad valve out and bring it into your local distributor or use your camera and take pictures of the valve, making sure to get the part numbers in the picture. Make sure to watch Mark’s video, Replacing Gas Valves On Furnances and Hot Water Heaters.

There are hundreds of furnace and heater manufacturers out there, yet there are only three main companies that make the gas valves for all these heaters. The companies that make the gas valves usually put a different part number on the valves for each of these heater companies. This makes finding the right replacement valve tricky.
Although you can go back to the manufacturer to buy replacement parts using the part number of the heater, you usually wind up paying a lot more for the valve and will have a hard time getting the valve shipped quickly.
The best choice is going to a local wholesaler like Stromquist & Company, or another company within CGNA ( Controls Group North America).
When you go to the local wholesaler don’t make the same mistake most people do. Most people take the part number off of the furnace, but we need the number off of the gas valve itself. In this video, Mark from Stromquist & Company will show you where it is.