Good Help

[remington]

Is this Everyones problem?? Finding good competent help with Very strong Commercial Refrigeration talent. It seems they all talk big Start out fairly desent. But get scared of Rack systems and controllers... I dont know just wondering if there is any Real Techs left or are we Dying breed.

[thermofridge]

Possibly because you arent explaining the operation of these systems well enough? If you hire a guy that has a pretty good understanding of refrigeration, a rack is really not a big transition. He just needs you to go through everything and explain it. One time if he is good.

[Joe Harper]

Ineptness is everywhere....maybe if we put a playstation controller into a cpc or e2, they could operate it....:D

[smilies]

A lot of us think we are the best and have the best work ethic. I see some guys come in and make it while some crash and burn. One guy that I trained on the mechanicals now leaves me in the dust in controls work.
I'm sure it also has a lot to do with the groups' attitude and pay rate.

[jpsmith1cm]

Possibly because you arent explaining the operation of these systems well enough? If you hire a guy that has a pretty good understanding of refrigeration, a rack is really not a big transition. He just needs you to go through everything and explain it. One time if he is good.

I think that there is merit to this.

Racks LOOK like they are big, complicated systems. Pipes and lines running every which a way, valves that you have never seen hanging off of every available part of the unit.

WTF am I going to do with that????!!!:eek:

I was just talking to one of my techs today about this. He has been with us for about a year and a half and still remembers walking into a room with a dead rack for the first time. It can be a sickening feeling.

Today, he has no problems with racks. He sees them every day and has grown used to them.

Myself, my first day was on a rack, my first service call was on a rack. I actually have more trouble with little stuff. Give me a rack over a self contained cap tube system any day.

[MikeySq]

I think it's a combination of things, basically there's too many what I call dummies out there, not trying to offend anyone but it seems there's a lack of people who can't adapt to different situations and apply knowledge of different areas to what they want to accomplish, i dunno if that makes sense but there are a lot of things that have to come together to make a good Refrigeration mechanic, basically we have to be smart well rounded technicians with good refrigeration knowledge and good basic knowledge in other mechanical areas.

Oh and for what is my latest peave the ability to listen to and understand directions hahaha

Mike

[Super Tech JJ]

I can give you my 2 cents as well on this topic. I have seen alot of guys come and go but if you ask them to go home and study their notes with no follow through, that is a good sign that they won't put forth enough effort to get "good" at refrigeration. I came to this company years ago with a bunch of refrigeration accounts in my pocket, many with racks. The company is a great commercial HVAC company but lacking in the refrigeration arena. Over the next couple years they (my refrigeration accounts) started to fade away to different refrigeration companies because I wasn't the one going on the calls all the time and there were too many mistakes being made. Hinesight is always 20/20 but I guess I missed a great chance at starting my own gig at that point.

Those of us who have paid our dues know that we need to know a great deal of different things to fix refrigeration. And now they throw in DDC that operates the system. If you don't know electronic controls start reading at the controls section here also.

In summary, this feild is very rewarding but you have to have the inititive to grow your own knowledge base to whatever the future leads in the way of racks and refrigeration in general. Superheat and subcooling are still important to know and understand. ;) If a guy won't self study, he might be moving on sooner than later.

JJ

[intellitech]

Is this Everyones problem?? Finding good competent help with Very strong Commercial Refrigeration talent. It seems they all talk big Start out fairly desent. But get scared of Rack systems and controllers... I dont know just wondering if there is any Real Techs left or are we Dying breed.

I am not a rack tech.....but can tell you for sure that us commercial refrigeration techs are certainly a dying breed.

Look around.......who in their right mind wants to get dirty and listen to a customer tell you that this system was supposedly fixed by your company just yesterday :eek:.

People have to have some level of insanity to do this everyday. But for those of us sane techs :D we would not trade it for the world.

The bottom line is this, no one is entering this trade......at least no one who will replace us in the next generation.

At least that is my take on it.

[intellitech]

I think that there is merit to this.

Racks LOOK like they are big, complicated systems. Pipes and lines running every which a way, valves that you have never seen hanging off of every available part of the unit.

WTF am I going to do with that????!!!:eek:

I was just talking to one of my techs today about this. He has been with us for about a year and a half and still remembers walking into a room with a dead rack for the first time. It can be a sickening feeling.

Today, he has no problems with racks. He sees them every day and has grown used to them.

Myself, my first day was on a rack, my first service call was on a rack. I actually have more trouble with little stuff. Give me a rack over a self contained cap tube system any day.


Dude you are absolutely correct about small systems.....I spend more time (not just me but many techs will agree) with small systems than on a WIC or WIF any day.

Yesterday my first call was to a Burger King with the walk-in freezer at 30 degrees and out of gas and the walk-in cooler not holding temp due to a bad condenser fan motor. No big deal, the dual pressure control on the freezer had a control line break and the condensor motor was changed easily.....

The day before I found a Delfield salad prep table low on gas. ABSOLUTELY REDICULOUS trying to get at that evaporator to verify the leak.

So if I become a rack tech someday I look forward to large systems BELIEVE me :D.

[intellitech]

I can give you my 2 cents as well on this topic. I have seen alot of guys come and go but if you ask them to go home and study their notes with no follow through, that is a good sign that they won't put forth enough effort to get "good" at refrigeration. I came to this company years ago with a bunch of refrigeration accounts in my pocket, many with racks. The company is a great commercial HVAC company but lacking in the refrigeration arena. Over the next couple years they (my refrigeration accounts) started to fade away to different refrigeration companies because I wasn't the one going on the calls all the time and there were too many mistakes being made. Hinesight is always 20/20 but I guess I missed a great chance at starting my own gig at that point.

Those of us who have paid our dues know that we need to know a great deal of different things to fix refrigeration. And now they throw in DDC that operates the system. If you don't know electronic controls start reading at the controls section here also.

In summary, this feild is very rewarding but you have to have the inititive to grow your own knowledge base to whatever the future leads in the way of racks and refrigeration in general. Superheat and subcooling are still important to know and understand. ;) If a guy won't self study, he might be moving on sooner than later.

JJ


I do not mean to hate.....my fellow techs have no clue what self study means and it would make all the difference in the world if they did so.

[remington]

Everyone of you made sense. We have held our own schooling. Taken the younger and newer guys around to stores and showing/hands on training and/or question answer sessions. But it still comes down to the fact that some guys just dont get it. But they definitly know when its time for the pay scale to raise. Nobody wants to start at the bottom these days. there are tech schools out there telling these guys they are going to make 75000 right out of school. Some days I cant believe I got into this trade. People ask me what I do. And sometimes its easier to tell them your a doctor. Up all hours of the night. On call. and fixing peoples problems. But it has been rewarding.
Money is good. So if you have a STRONG mechanical ability Love to get dirty,
Hot,cold,and not a big fan of sleep. then I recommend it. Oh Ya any good techs need a job in IL???

[sebastian haff]

I've managed to make it five years and counting, and I definitely feel like I'm insane to be doing this a lot of the time. The refrigeration company I work for services pretty much everything except microwaves. We do big racks, small racks, ice machines, tiny self-contained units (whoever designs for True better not ever meet me in a dark alley! haha kidding) refrigerated warehouses, and all manner of fryers, steamers, grills and ovens etc. The first few years we also were doing A/C at these stores and restaurants too but we've thankfully gotten away from that for the most part.

I guess I've managed to hold my own so far, always get good performance reviews, etc., but it just is overwhelming so much of the time. Just when I think I've really got the hang of it some machine will make me feel like a fool and remind me I've STILL got so much to learn. And its not any easier when its 5 or 6 PM (or later) and you just want to GO HOME like a normal person!

I don't know what the answer is, I guess you really just have to be a bit crazy to hack it in this trade like some people said. It's definitely caused me to build up a thick skin and made me a lot more focused under pressure. I'd have a hard time recommending a young person to get into this field, though.

[Joe Harper]

(whoever designs for True better not ever meet me in a dark alley! haha kidding)

Dont worry, these guys know we are looking for them..:eek::eek::)

[cletus31]

I was taught that i was a mechanic if you fixed it and a tech if you tried to fix it , but i was also taught how to rebuild a 5h120 carrier in place because that blast freezer couldnt be down two days to get a new one and dial it in if you know how much fun that is on a direct drive with a stainless lovejoy maybe i was taught wong but this is what i belive

[gatorfan9606]

i think their is two types of techs one that sits all!day at a call and those that can multi task and move from call to call and help other at the same time the guys that we been getting just dont get it they want to get payed now they want weekends off no on-call
hate over-night work and this is the best part NO-TOOLS and am just talking simple tools
some guys love to sit at supply houses till 9am when first call is 7am some people just dont get it we have better results with apprentices than guys with alot of experience
they are just so open minded,hungry,and never afraid to ask for help even on the simple things attitude does play a roll..........

[meoberry]

We get the older techs. that will milk a call. Then there is the young kids who don't want to work overtime or regular time come to think about it.
Then you get a good tech and he gets hired away out of state.
What can you do? Heck. Maybe 1 out of ten applicants can pass a drug test here. The last one that did pass test didn't last 30 days. Did not seem to understand that GPS told us where he was all day and where the van was at night. Kid could go through four tanks of gas a week and never leave town.


It seems the younger generation have no work ethics. And expect to start at what I make. Most of them where still in diapers when I was getting scars from 502 discharge lines.:confused:

[phxhvac]

I can give you my 2 cents as well on this topic. I have seen alot of guys come and go but if you ask them to go home and study their notes with no follow through, that is a good sign that they won't put forth enough effort to get "good" at refrigeration. I came to this company years ago with a bunch of refrigeration accounts in my pocket, many with racks. The company is a great commercial HVAC company but lacking in the refrigeration arena. Over the next couple years they (my refrigeration accounts) started to fade away to different refrigeration companies because I wasn't the one going on the calls all the time and there were too many mistakes being made. Hinesight is always 20/20 but I guess I missed a great chance at starting my own gig at that point.

Those of us who have paid our dues know that we need to know a great deal of different things to fix refrigeration. And now they throw in DDC that operates the system. If you don't know electronic controls start reading at the controls section here also.

In summary, this feild is very rewarding but you have to have the inititive to grow your own knowledge base to whatever the future leads in the way of racks and refrigeration in general. Superheat and subcooling are still important to know and understand. ;) If a guy won't self study, he might be moving on sooner than later.

JJ

Wow! thanks for that awesome piece of advice! I wish someone would have explained that to me when I started out. I had a hard time because I didn't know anyone in the field and have never done it before I went to school. Once I finished with school, I didn't have the motivation to self-study. Now I am focusing on it more. I have joined RSES and seem to be picking it up slowly, but surely.:D

[intellitech]

i think their is two types of techs one that sits all!day at a call and those that can multi task and move from call to call and help other at the same time the guys that we been getting just dont get it they want to get payed now they want weekends off no on-call
hate over-night work and this is the best part NO-TOOLS and am just talking simple tools
some guys love to sit at supply houses till 9am when first call is 7am some people just dont get it we have better results with apprentices than guys with alot of experience
they are just so open minded,hungry,and never afraid to ask for help even on the simple things attitude does play a roll..........


Attitude truly is everything......

[phastcall]

The trade schools and tech schools were all training Computer geeks for the I.T. field between the years 2000-2007. All other trades suffered too. Ask an electrician or plumber, they seem to be saying the same thing. When I started in HVAC the older techs wouldn't tell you if your shirt was on fire. I had to jump in alone...

[Dowadudda]

You got to really have passion for this and want it bad, to become really good at it. And that motivation is just not there for most in the business. So, us real fuggen studs, will always have work. It's that simple.