Transition for a residential tech to refrig...

[Chad711]

Hey fellas, I have a very good job offer right now. I have been a residential tech for nearly 7 years now. Toss in maybe 1-2 Commercial rtu calls a month too. I have never worked on a freezer, period. Obviously I am in good understanding with residential work, the refrigeration systems, airflow, superheat/subcool charging methods, etc. BUT, no experiance working with freezers, walkins, etc.

I have explained this to the place looking for a tech, so to keep the pressure off myself if I run into problems.

I guess what Im asking is was it very difficult for you ex res techs in the transition to refer work? I have wanted to get into this side of the field for awhile now.


Thanks in advance, Chad.

[dorrmann]

You'll love it. Forget most of what you know, and you'll be fine. ;) Just kidding of course, as long as you have a good understanding of the refrigeration cycle, and you aren't afraid of doing things the correct way, you'll be able to switch right over.

Good luck,
John

[Chad711]

Thanks John!

[Dad]

Chad,

I have found the difference between a HVAC tech and a Refrigeration tech is...I know I am going to get some heat about this but I am not talking about a tech that does both. OK guys!


An HVAC tech is a good control man while a Refrigeration tech knows the refrigerant cycle utilizing all different refrigerant types and metering devices.

An HVAC tech can sleep in on weekends during the off season while a Refrigeration tech runs 24/7/365 on emergencies.:D

It is not an easy transition but you WILL like it and you can also count on us to help.

[dorrmann]

Originally posted by lusker
a Refrigeration tech runs 24/7/365 on emergencies

You're not kidding about that. People can live without their AC overnight or over a weekend, but get a walk in cooler that is down, and you'll be there at any time, day or night. We've done large semi-hermetic changeouts at 4am before. It comes with the territory.

[baub]

Your customers work the strangest hours in the world. They will expect you to do the same.

[fitter33]

Chad you'll hate the hours....but you'll love the checks.....

I had 7 years Comm. and I managed to last this long..you'll be fine

You still taking charge of this years football pool????

[Chad711]

Thanks guys, Ill let you know if I take this job. Its slow as molasses right now in the residential side here in Minnesota.


Yes Fitter I will start up the football pool again this year. Hopefully that site will be free again this year, it seemed to work well last year.

[NedFlanders]

Do it..make the jump
If they are offering you the job and they know where you come from , what do you have to lose ?

You will definatly be more secure in work....now you will know both.

P.S. there are plenty of controls in refrigeration also....don't believe the hype .

[condenseddave]

"RESIDENTIAL", of which you speak?????:confused::D

[R12rules]

Originally posted by condenseddave
"RESIDENTIAL", of which you speak?????:confused::D


"Residential", noun, names place whare market men sleep when NOT on duty.

Also place of homogenious relationships with family members.
This is the place where communication takes place "face to face" and without the use of personal cell phone inbetween motor rooms. :p

[gbfromsd]

and . . I thought i'd add
A/C's you can be a bit off and they work fine
Reefers you can be a little bit off and they work fine
Freezers have to be just right. So much more to these
units. I've seen the wierdest things in freezers from
warped walls to blown out condensate drains. If they
ain't perfect -

[condenseddave]

Originally posted by R12rules

Originally posted by condenseddave
"RESIDENTIAL", of which you speak?????:confused::D


"Residential", noun, names place whare market men sleep when NOT on duty.

Also place of homogenious relationships with family members.
This is the place where communication takes place "face to face" and without the use of personal cell phone inbetween motor rooms. :p

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Interesting concept.

[Dowadudda]

You will not regret this move at all. By the time you get sick of the hours, you'll have done something to be reckoned with, with your future in whatever you do. This will definately expand and broaden your horizons. Not to mention your income level.

I can't understand for a moment the attraction some guys got for residential. It boggles my mind. I can't stand half of what I do now. I couldn't imagine doing residential. The first *****y homeowner I'd have to deal with and it's over with. Plus with all this fan dangled rocket scientists with this gizomo marketing stunts getting more and more share of the market. No way in hell do I want to rub elbows with guys like this.

I did try to do residential. It lasted all of about 7 service calls.

[selfemployed]

Thats where I started, comm. refrig. & ice makers. Don't have to schedule time for service like resid. just go. If having moisture in a system has never really scared you it will now. P. S. There is a lot more $ at stake when a refrig. unit is down. But jump in and enjoy the ride. You'll have enough extra $ to be a site supporter too.

[condenseddave]

I'm still reeling from all this talk of homo relationships and face-to-face conversations.

I do know that this "residential" thing doesn't sound like my cup of tea.















:D

[R12rules]

Originally posted by condenseddave
I'm still reeling from all this talk of homo relationships and face-to-face conversations.

I do know that this "residential" thing doesn't sound like my cup of tea.
:D

homo relations is where a man and his woman come together to come.
I mean ...face to face .... of course.

It's a place to stretch out your legs and kick back to relax.
How does one relax in a motor room? I cant imagine it.
Oh I guess I could fall asleep in one .... under the right conditiions. But under no circumstances would I ever want to get down in a motor room!

I'm not saying there aint the room in there ... it's just that there's no way a man is ever gonna get his wife up in a motor room and get her in the mood.
Not like in the lving room or in the kitchen or the bedroom.

So ya see Dave ... there IS a place for residence's, hence the word; "residential".


Residential; a noun. A place to get down and be funky at times of great interest. A place to let it all hang out. A place to lay yor cards on the table. A place to lay on the table. A place to get .... on the table.....


Dave.... how long has it been since you been home?
I imagine your tying into the Net thru some store's network link to the Internet... and that's how your online.

But Dave ... how long's it been?

[frozensolid]

R-12 they say home is where the heart is. Will you please choose your words more carefully; you know how sensitive Dave is. You need to homogenize your posts a little.

Ah shoot, I did it now!

[Chad711]

AS much as I wanted to take the job I had to say no. I would have nobody to go to if I had a problem I didnt know how to fix right away. No time to scratch your hear (heh, edit HEAR) in these situations as far as I can see. The job was to Maintain "Grandma's" resturants here in Minnesota. Plus a few other misc stores.

Just didnt seem to be the situation I was looking for, thanks Chad.

[Edited by Chad711 on 07-11-2004 at 09:09 PM]

[Dad]

Chad,

There are plenty of people here to help if you change your mind. If you run into this situation again, email me and I will give you my Nextel DC #

When I said I would help... I meant it.

Lusker

[selfemployed]

Glad to hear you made a decision. Glad to hear it was on your own.

[Chad711]

Originally posted by lusker
Chad,

There are plenty of people here to help if you change your mind. If you run into this situation again, email me and I will give you my Nextel DC #

When I said I would help... I meant it.

Lusker

Thanks Lusker. I appreciate it.

[R12rules]

Hey Chad, I was not entering the field of market refrigeration service due to fear of failure. Fear of not knowing those control systems. Fear of being gone so much my family would move and I wouldnt even know they were gone.


Fear of coming home one night and my son asking; "Hey ... who are you?"


But you know what .... with the encouragement of the market guys here on this site, I got over my fear of the unknown and took a job doing market service.
Then another position opened up and I was exhorted to leave the one and join up with the other. I did so.

And so what if it didnt work out.
I made some great money for awhile there and now I know there is NOTHING to fear.

Plus, I got to do some pretty neat things while I was at work.
I got to play with some equipment I had never played with before.
And you know what else ... it isnt scary to work on stuff you've never worked on before when you have these guys and gals here on HVAC-TALK to give you advice each night.


Sure. You made your decision. And you made it all by yourself.
Great. Fantastic. Wonderful.

But if you get out there and have two or three of our cell phone numbers in your speed dial ... and you encounter an issue your not sure how to proceed with ... you got nothing to fear but fear itself.

Maybe you cant trust you employer to back you up cause they are administrative types.
Maybe your Moma cant come out and help you with a diagnosis.
And maybe your best friend is too busy to help you.

But when one of us here committs to helping you get off the ground, they by God we are are going to keep our promise to you!
And if you cant trust us, your in "deep dupont"!!!


You go and look up in the Johnstone catalog for training materials on Electric ranges and Gas ranges and cooking equipment for commercial stuff.
There are two books, if not more, which will give you the basics to figure them all out.

We can make you a list of the meters and hand tools you'll need to get started.

Fluke 16
Amp clamp, anything small. NOT uei... :(
Infrared temperature meter.
Anemometor, analog or digital or water.
GLOVES ... all kinds of gloves!
Safety glasses
a great comfortable hat for the long times spent on the roof.
Set of 3/8" sockets and a ton of box wrenches.
Pipe wrenches, all sorts and styles.
Pliers, everything you can get your hands on. Heck, just buy one of each at Sears ... that'll be a good start.
Two Dremel tool sets. One is for backup. Lots of bits!
A 4" gringer, angle grinder type.
Dewalt cordless 18volt drill, 3 speed transmission, with extra battery and flashlight accessory.
A couple of good gear pullers. One of themis in the Johnstone catalog and cost a bit. But it has a clamp ring which prevents it from slipping off the shaft.
That's for big blowers. And you wont need it all the time. Next is a Ultimate Puller. Same goes for that one. You dont use it every time.
A selection of pry bars. A LARGE selection!
Extension cords.
100 foot/ 16gage. This one's for lights.
100 foot/ 12gage, this one's for heavy stuff.
25 foot/ 14 gage, with three outlet head.


3CFM vacuum pump.
Great micron gage.
Electronic weight scale.
Leak detector, your choice.
Oxy/acct torch set up, with cutting head.
Turbo torch, insta light, mapp gas
two nitrogen cylinders, not too big but also ... not too small either. With kit for blowing out drains. Must use regulator.

four set of gage manifolds. One set of short hoses. One gage set should be four valve manifold for evac and charging. I prefer the Brutes.

two pump sprayers, one gal/three gal

150 ft great garden hose, with great nozel, with key wrench.

three fifty foot ropes. 3/4" thick. Hook on one end.
24foot fiberglass ext ladder
4 ft fiberglass step ladder, for ice maker work in tite spots, (like restaurants).

PB blaster, ductape, metal tape, Brake Clean spray

Selection of hammers, drive punches, drill bits and files.



Have then set you up to use either a company credit card for incidential purchases and or give you petty cash. Like $300 to begin with.

Do NOT ever under any circumstances ever NEVER volunteer to use your own cash monies and allow them to reimburse you.
THEY are in business and you are NOT their business partner!!! You are their employee and it is NOT part of your job description to use your own hard earned funds to finance their enterprise! Period!!!




Oops ... I'm sorry .... I forgot .... you already said your not taking the position.

Oh well ....

[Dad]

I think you just scared the crap out of everyone that wanted to start their own business! :D




P.S. you forgot the handtruck

[Chad711]

Well things have worked out great. After I turned that job down, working for Grandmas rasturant chain, I found the job I have been looking for. No more residential, well Im sure Ill do a few but you get my point. 95% Commercial. I am now working with a great crew, 7 techs in the shop and 6 of them have been there for over 10 years each. I hadnt worked "with" someone for years, it was nice to do that for once. Changed out a condensing unit that was acidic as heck, and changed out a Carrier RTU Compressor and added a Potential relay. I did all the wiring so at least they now know I have some skill I guess. The guy I worked with said if I could wire that in Ill be just fine.

We are remodeling a huge supermarket moving like 7 racks so that will keep me busy until Winter. Im going to have the chance to work on the kind of equipment Ive wanted to for awhile now. After 7 years in residential I think it was time!


So when can I put you guys on speed dial :)

Oh yeah after my 4th check I am going to be a "monetarty" site supported, always been a site supporter but after 20 hour weeks for the last 4 months in residential (Mild Climate) I simply could not afford it.




Chad

Naylors Refrigeration
Bemidji, Mn
218-444-COOL
218-444-HEAT

[selfemployed]

Good Deal!!!

[Dad]

Way to go Chad!

I made a promise and if you need a little push I,like all of us here, will be there for ya.

If I can be of help go to my site and grab my phone #. I am the only one that answers it. If you have Nextel I will give you my DC#. I am not a market or chiller guy but I will make you burn your brain cells! :D



Best of luck always.

Lusker

[Dowadudda]

Sounds great. All the luck in the world to you. You'll do fine. Quit worrying. Go Home and relax, take the kids and wife out to dinner. You found a home for awhile..

[Chad711]

This place is great. Actually liking going to work. I did have a little problem today though, working with another tech, I was replacing a compressor on a Sanyo split, and he was doing the same on one next to me. Old folks home with 50 of these things. Well everything went perfect, I weighed in my charge, went inside to fire it up, no compressor. She was a little, well alot hot. Shoot...


Pulled the cover off and rechecked my wiring, dammit. This critter has red as common, white as run and black as start??? I switched run/start around. Ohmed out compressor, it is out on internal limit. The guy working with me was telling me dont worry it will reset in a few hours. I expected a flambayfest but he was real cool, crap happens. Told me of a few of his late mess ups heh. Im just hoping that thing does reset, Im sure it would...

[Dowadudda]

You start moving up in the ranks as a mechanic, you simply chill out and are not uptight about mistakes you make or your coworkers make. Everyone makes mistakes. Even them dudes doing this for many many years. Some are just plain brain farts, some are simply getting a little lazy at the end of the day, and a small share come by way of pure and simple carelesness. The important thing to remember is to not only learn from those mistakes you make but also, when you make that mistake again, a year from now, you'll be right on the money and know exactly whats wrong and get er online.

Judging by the way you are here and your likes and hobbies, I bet the crew you have worked with has already made their mind up that your a decent guy and you will learn whatever you don't know from them and through your own determination.

Chad, nothing about you I have learned to know would make me beleive you will not do well with this new job and the bigger equipment. It will become old hat to you before you know it.

Relax. Serious. Your going to do just fine.

As you will become more aware of things and get aquainted with larger systems, you will learn the personality of systems as well. I will give you one example.

I have two office buildings. Built exactly alike, with close to exactly the same HVAC systems in them. VAV 100 ton Mammoths, with Johnson Controls. My parameters for Building static, duct staic, staging, (heat or cool) enthalpy. There are simply differences with each system.

Now. The point. I just didn't walk into either one of these buildings and snap my fingers and go "I got it". It took me time to understand the use and application, the uniquesness of each area and it's load, the fact one faces west and the other east. Building warm up parameters are even different. Just because the last ten contractors felt there way was right or whatever, I snuck up on these systems. I watched them. I tweaked and tuned. I fixed my problems gradually. It's a process. It's not a one "quickie" call and your the hero from then on out. It never works that way.

You need to understand that you no longer are attempting to knock out ten calls a day with little wife panties rotten crotch and her home a/c is down and your the man. Your not in a race. Your going to be gradually expected to know more, handle more. And with that a commensurate paycheck. Take as much time as you need, in reason to feel generally comfortable your system your working on is online and running. Running the way it either has the ability to, or what it can do with out killing itself. Really dive in to your career and look at it as such.

None the less. I am very happy for you.

[Chad711]

Thank you Dow, I appreciate the works of wisdom. One very positive thing I was told when I started, which makes me look at things differant, is you do not work for us, you work for each individual building. They are your customers, we want them to respect you, and call you. When they need a $6,000 repair job, they say do it. Very true.

[Chad711]

Ugggh, I stopped by tonight, internal overload was closed again..Whew, so I think. Go to start it up, goes out on locked rotor. Dammit, I smoked it. Way to go...


Live and learn. Worse part is I did check that wiring carefully, so I though. Wires were really faded, dammit now Im making excuses..

[condenseddave]

Did one of you call me a Homo while I was away???:mad:


























:D

[NedFlanders]

Wow summer is here...I haven't been here in a while

Chad turned down a job , got another ,and is already in refrigeration counsiling :D

This is the season that makes men out of new refrigeration guys.....I hope I make it this time.

CONGRATS CHAD!!...NOW GET TO GETTIN"!! THERE"S CALLS HOLDING :p

seriously , good job

[frozensolid]

Come on Dave, everyone knows your a real man, and a market man at that.

[Chad711]

Thought I would update my situation.






Love it. Learning everyday, some said that there is really no differance being a residential guy verses Commercial, but I dont know. Alot of things are differant if you ask me. So far Ive worked on all the local supermarket/Walmart.Liquer Stores, etc. The first time I walked into a Compressor room with 50 lines running out i was a little overwhelmed. Terminoligy is differant, finding that out. Alot of computerized controls ( which I like) .The days are longer, moving racks = alot of brazing...Moving a walkin cooler isnt as hard as it looks. The doors are NOT light...



Last and not least, the checks are better :)

[selfemployed]

Glad to hear your having fun!!!

[condenseddave]

And more than a year has passed...

What's happenin' Chad?

[Dowadudda]

he's probably out on a call right now. :D

[Chad711]

Top :0}

Things are great. Not doing as much commercial as I had expected but thats fine. Im doing tons of Boiler work, installs too which I actually enjoy. As long as its not sheetmetal !

I do get a few calls on the Commercial side but not much, hhope to get more but its okay for now.

Learned something the other day, no matter how crappy of an install you find from another company, do NOT say anything bad to the homeowner, ie "This was a very bad install". Sometimes I am too much to the point I guess. If you guys would have seen this install you would have agreed. maybe Ill talk more about it later, off to sleep!

[thegoodhumorman]

took me a while to learn
you don't stand any taller stepping on top of the last guy/company.

Just fix the problem that their brother in law (whoops!)
created without pointing out he was colorblind.
Thats a lose-lose there.
...and don't let Walmart make you callous. Somebody at that company really does care. Really.
Welcome to Comm.- betcha miss John Q Homeowner hanging over yer shoulder while hes looking at his watch....

[condenseddave]

Originally posted by thegoodhumorman

...and don't let Walmart make you callous. Somebody at that company really does care. Really.


Yeah, the greeter in the wheelchair. He's the ONLY one, though.:p

[Chad711]

There is a guy in a wheelchair here actually!

I get sick of that place, getting checked going through makes me never wanna go back...

[thegoodhumorman]

Originally posted by condenseddave

Originally posted by thegoodhumorman

...and don't let Walmart make you callous. Somebody at that company really does care. Really.


Yeah, the greeter in the wheelchair. He's the ONLY one, though.:p



So it is true- all these years I have just gotten by on faith alone- I thought I encountered that one greeter oh back in '96 but I later found out that I had mistakenly thought it was a wave as I approached and a smile.....
only to hear him screech "MAIL CALL!" as he tackled a family of four to the floor. I turned and saw the postman carrying a long bag to customer service, and when I saw the barrel of the rifle I flew out of there-no matter how good his mood, Walmart customer noservice was a recipe for a
bloodbath.
Take a photo if it is him- Nat'l Enquirer will publish.....!

I should point out that this is a fictional account and meant no slander to either of these institutions of efficiency and caring ....



[Edited by thegoodhumorman on 12-07-2005 at 10:15 PM]