Van Inventory List

[mrswitch]

Hi Guys
I am looking to get a list of what items , equiment and inventory items we should have a our vansto do residential service work for gas heat and central a/c ,,,can anyone help

[Phase Loss]

i would think common items.
refrigerant,nitrogen,relays,contactors,wire,fuses, transformers,motors. lord knows there is thousands of brands of equipment and we cant stock every part for every unit no matter what the customer says:p

i dont do resi, but i assume basics will get you by. and as time goes on you will see what you use and what you dont and stock accordingly.

[beachtech]

a variety of capacitors. i keep only 2 pole 40amp contactors on the truck to save space. commonly known to fail parts for the brand that you are selling. if you run into something twice, stock that part. :) 1075 universal indoor motor. 1075 universal outdoor motor. 825 universal outdoor motor. acid test kit. some copper of all sizes to make repairs, especially 3/8 to replace sections in sides units where you should be removing the old filter driers. copper couplings of all sizes. 3/4 PVC pipes and all associated fittings, glue and primer. traps, float switches, condensate pump. coil cleaner, sprayer and some cleaning brushes. wet dry shop vacuum, min 2.5 gal (inless you like walking) compressor start kit (i.e. supco spp6) some relays and sequencers. couple different defrost sensors and boards (again depending on the brands in your area) some peices of sheet metal. i keep a box of 6" flex on my truck and some 6" damper collars. various breakers, depending on the popular breaker in your area. but i keep the homeline, GE and QO breakers on the truck. a couple bi-flow filter driers, a couple suction line driers. some schrader access stubs to solder into a system if need be. schrader cores (i change these out everytime i open a system) at least 50ft water hose. a 50ft and 100ft drop cords. a couple different no fused disconnects. a circuit breaker type disconnect. compressor terminal wire kit. a couple pre-made whips for disconnects. some wire, and liquid tight, and various fittings for high voltage eletrical connections. electrical connectors, sta-cons etc. and much much more, but i am tired of typing!!!

[beachtech]

thermostats, transformers, thermostat wire.

[need more time]

12v coffee maker! :)

[acmanhoney]

beach, are you also on installs?

[t527ed]

1 of everything, 2 or 3 of the things you use a lot of.......:cool:


still probably would not be enough.......:rolleyes:

[tarheel_tech]

beach, are you also on installs?

No,Beach is like most of the Techs in Eastern NC we have to pick up the installers slack.:(Usually installers favorite saying is-That a service's mans job,which is anything that they don't feel like getting off their butt and doing.

[beachtech]

i do whatever pays me :) i prefer service, but if there is no service and the boss says... well we got this install job, i'll go help those guys out :) i don't install as fast as those guys, but at least i know when i leave i won't have to go back and straighten a bunch of crap out.

the salt air is pretty darn corrosive, so disconnnects and whips are a easy money making job around here :) even in attics and crawl spaces :)

one of our techs has an electrical license, so we do our own hook ups on change outs.

if i am at a HO house and they have a branch line down (usually its a 6" duct that the exterminator dude knocked down) i will just replace the whole thing and be done with it :) 90% of the new constuction jobs in my area are installed without dampers. so i keep a few on the truck to adjust airflow on some of these very poorly thought out duct systems!!!

my take on things and van stock, if i have the room and i am running into a something very often i will do it. i don't want to have to drive to the shop or supply house for somethig i can keep on the truck, finish the job while i am there, and be done with it!!

most importantly i am a service technician... i should be able to do install, and more importantly i should be able to install better than the so called installers!!

[acmanhoney]

install is nowhere near my job description, i havent installed anything in 7 years but i do my thing in service n sales:D

[nubbin]

I agree, with the price of gas for an install crew to replace an emergency drain pan or fix a duct falling off ...Plus the labor cost of two guys to spend more time driving than repairing can hit the bonus fund hard!

[refer guy]

Hi Guys
I am looking to get a list of what items , equiment and inventory items we should have a our vansto do residential service work for gas heat and central a/c ,,,can anyone help

This is a whacked question, you sound like someone who barely got himself the epa card or a hvac certificate and are already thinking about starting your own business, anyone with a little experience in the field knows what truck stock you need.

[mrswitch]

Its not a whacked question when there are so many parts and we also do electical, so t fit everything is hard, i was just getting ideas, refer guy you seem like the type that is threaten, you shoudnt be , uys that do it right make the trade stronger, so it is not a whack? question,

[papa_jo]

mrswitch nice web page you got there for your company

[mrswitch]

Papa dont understand

[TCreacy]

Considering Mr. Switch has already got a company it may be a dumb question. But, I am study for my TACL, and hopefuly soon will have my HVAC co up and running. I worked in the commercial field and while I did residential for architects and engineers we never stocked ANYThing on our trucks. We charged by the hour and the boss's theory was we can make more money by driving back and forth from the supply house. So while I have a basc idea of common items to keep. The different general purpose motors is what throws me off. But, I figured once I get my TACL the supply house would help me figure out what I need. But, there has been lots of topics here the I saved to help me down the road.

[beenthere]

Some supply houses will put a package together for you.
But, some times you'll find a part or 2 or 3, that you won't need for 5 years.

As you do calls, write down what parts you used. And track how often, that will give you a good idea of what parts, and how many to carry. It will slowly build up your truck inventory.

[pilotlight]

Some supply houses will put a package together for you.
But, some times you'll find a part or 2 or 3, that you won't need for 5 years.

As you do calls, write down what parts you used. And track how often, that will give you a good idea of what parts, and how many to carry. It will slowly build up your truck inventory.


TRUE. I started with just the bare minimum and kept tract of what ever else i used and than stocked 2 or 3 of them. no matter how well stocked your service vehicle is you will always run into a situation where you don't have the right stock and have to go to the supply house

[River_Rat]

TRUE. I started with just the bare minimum and kept tract of what ever else i used and than stocked 2 or 3 of them. no matter how well stocked your service vehicle is you will always run into a situation where you don't have the right stock and have to go to the supply house


And don't forget universal parts either. We use universal motors and capacitors (they are marketed to use so we know about them:)) but there are also other parts that we can use universally as well. Like TXV/TEVs. I carry a TXV valve body and power head (one each for R-22 and R-410A) with a wide range of orifices to fit each body.

I don't use them very often, but on Friday @ 5:30 it is nice to be able to tell your customer "I can fix it right now", instead of, "Sorry, your gonna hafta wait through a 90 degree weekend until I get to the supply house on Monday."

A good supply house with knowledgable counter people is worth their weight in gold.