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i was at a stand still because the company i work for does not carry stock... a gas shutoff valve. i removed an old oil burner and set a rlly nice 96% bryant. i like to nip out of the cabinet add a union, dirty leg,then a shutoff . searched hi and low thru the so called install van and nothing available. IMO the wrong guy is the install lead... i just shrug my shoulders and cash my little check every friday. what a beautiful i work with.

Originally Posted by FrostyBeer

What type of universal pressure switches do you guys carry?

The interchangeable spring ones or the one with the adjustable allen screw on the back?

Both of these are available at Trane

Honeywell PN: X1320031701

or field adjustable:
Cleveland Controls
PN:NS2-0000-031

I was a bryant dealer and the tubing I use is the extra tubing that is sent with the parts bag on a 90 percent bryant. I use it on manometers too.



I want to add that I carry a plethora of parts on my truck, the nearest supply house is at least 45 miles from the shop.

What type of universal pressure switches do you guys carry?

The interchangeable spring ones or the one with the adjustable allen screw on the back?

yep.... makes you mad....

Originally Posted by FrostyBeer

It's the little things that'll $?!* you!

Ain't that the truth.

Pressure switch tubing!!!!

Didn't have any on the truck a few weeks ago and no supply houses near by had any! And half of them didn't know what I was talking about.

Finally found some after like 2 hours of calling and driving around.

Btw the unit i needed it for was a Lennox and the stock length from the inducer housing to the pressure switch was barely 2" long and it broke when I took it off. (nipple was plugged).

It's the little things that'll $?!* you!

Limits are over rated...

how do u stock limits each unit has a different one rollouts r different too furnaces are too brand specific now

McDonald's makes .23$ for every dollar you spend there. The average contractor in the hvac field brings in a whopping .08$. So do the math and figure out how much work you will have to do to evenmake what your making now. Sure you can be the cheaper guy but your business will never grow that way. You have to charge enough to cover what it's gonna cost to grow your business. Oh and if you start cheap and try to raise your prices later? Plan on having to find new customers as well. My advise, Wichita isn't worth much, is to read Ron Smith's book hvac spells wealth or a similar. Puts things in perspective. Not trying to damper your vision, just a different perspective that I never got when I started

Originally Posted by samejj

been doing this work for 3 years professional but all the other work related to it for 20.. (yeah we can put in a new floor, sure we can replace your drywall, no problem adding a few more outlets in your basement, yeah no prob thats plenty of room in your service box for our new equip... guys/gals im in the thick of it pls dont run me down for not being the Stephan hawking s of your forum.. im in attics,crawls and roll the dice on tommorow's menu. hey welcome aboard!!!! just here for help and i rlly rlly do lov this site

I'm not exactly sure what you're trying to say?

Anyway, I carry quite a few universal parts. Especially pressure switches and gas valves and igniters. I like the White rogers 21d64 universal nitride. Also the universal pressure switches are awsome! And a few blower motors. There are tons of Amana in my area so I carry 3 different amana inducers and a couple trane inducers.

Someone above said gas valves rarely go bad? I have replaced 4 or 5 already this fall. All of them have been electronic ignition and none of them where smart valves or standing pilot valves. Must be my year for gas valves.

been doing this work for 3 years professional but all the other work related to it for 20.. (yeah we can put in a new floor, sure we can replace your drywall, no problem adding a few more outlets in your basement, yeah no prob thats plenty of room in your service box for our new equip... guys/gals im in the thick of it pls dont run me down for not being the Stephan hawking s of your forum.. im in attics,crawls and roll the dice on tommorow's menu. hey welcome aboard!!!! just here for help and i rlly rlly do lov this site

This is the list of stuff I will not leave the shop unless its on my truck, especially for late calls or after hours.

-White Roger 50A55-843
This board will do almost any single stage PSC blower unit
-Honeywell S9120U
This will cover the rest (specifically smart valves)
-White Roger 21M51-843
For 2-stage equipment
-White Rogers 50D50-842 and 843
Ignition modules to direct spark and intermittent spark pilot
-Turbo 200 mini
For blowers
-Honeywell glowfly ignitor (several)
I don't prefer them for a permanent solution but they work in a pinch
-Some thermocouples
-40va multi voltage transformer
-90340 relays
-1h/1c and 2h/2c stats
-plenty of wire nuts and terminal connectors of various styles and sizes

With that stuff, I can fix most common problems. And if i cant, there are 3 supply shops with in a 10 mile radius. And we have a gigantic collection of common and odd parts at the shop so if I don't have it and the supply shop is closed I can still probably get it.

In my opinion, gas valves and motors and things like limits and such are too specific to take up room on my truck, especially when I can get it with out too much trouble. It might be different if I was further from civilization.

I carry some universal blower motors, C.F. motors, ignitors, xformers, a couple of universal ignition modules, th. couples, some relays, t-stats, various capacitors, and a fan center thats been on my truck for 5 years.

Thats basically what I carry in my truck aside from wire, various fittings, and tools.

I carry no gas valves, circuit boards, pumps, inducer motor assemblies etc. If I did, I would need an 18 wheeler.

Very rarely does a gas valve go bad...not including smart valves, or a pressure switch, or a flame sensor.

Gonna throw my dads philosophy at you... He was an automotive parts store and machine shop owner for thirty years...


If you notice a trend on a certain part/widget and it takes a day or more to get, stock one. he used two a year as a guideline, three if it was over a certain dollar amount.

If another nearby supply house stocks a hundred of them, why would you stock it?

Know what you have, having a current inventory list of what you have on hand (and more importantly what it fits) will save you a ton of grief.

Continuously rotate the stock parts, it is very hard on parts to just ride around on a truck, use it or lose it definitely applies...

Always be aware that if something takes a day or so to get and nobody stocks it locally, there is probably a reason, More than likely they don't move well...

Paying taxes on inventory is a big reason to not stock anything expensive, if it's on the truck for more than one fiscal year, you get to pay taxes on it twice....

On my service truck, my stock is always adapting to the current trend and a coworker and I share our lists so in case one of us does not have something on hand, there is a chance the other may have it....

I don't do any residential, so my list would be of no help.....

BTW on a side note, your boss is seeing the big checks, but I don't think you thought it through....

Insurance, vehicle cost, advertizing, your wages, fuel costs, taxes and the list goes on virtually forever.... For every dollar you see on the "big checks" he may pocket about a 20 cents or so and that's if he's pretty good.... Just food for thought.

GT

How many customers do you have lined up already.

All the truck stock in the world is useless if you got no customers calling you.

wait till youstart paying allyour own bills and you will find out them big checks dont go far

Our company has sprinters with roughly $15k worth of stock on em' & we still run to the supply house all the time. Your best bet is to stick to universal parts whenever possible. If you find yourself running for a particular part more than once every couple of weeks, grab one for your truck. Specialized parts like boards and whatnot just get trashed while you wait for someone to need it. If you have the space and/or demand, parts like Evergreen motors are handy & easy to sell. Around here they have a 1-2 week lead time. Keep track of what you use & have to run for.

It says in your profile that you are new to the trade - Welcome to HELL!!! (Just kidding)

For boards, I stock the following:
Emerson rescue board (other than Carrier, will fit most furnaces with a 12 pin molex plug)
HoneyWell 9150 and 9200 universal boards (fits 6 and 9 wire molex plugs).
As noted; other than Carrier, this pretty well covers boards.

With caps, it is more what you need... I stock about a dozen or so sizes, with a couple of Turbo's for odd sizes.
Universal adjustable pressure switches are the way to go IMO.

I do not stock draft inducers... too much $$$ and space tied up.

Motors:
1/4,1/3,1/2,3/4 HP blower (furnace)
1/6,1/4,1/3 HP cond and 1/4 825 RPM cond
And I keep one EverGreen 1/2-3/4 HP motor just for that one customer that will shell out the $$$'s. Usually sell 2 or 3 a year.

Then the misc stuff; contactors, roll-out switches, high limits, some hoses, condensate pump, tubing, overflow safety switch, and a host of other goodies.

Tools:
Good multi-meter, vacuum pump and recovery machine, refrigerant sniffer, CA unit, various electronic test instruments.

R-22 and R-410A, and I have a can of R-407C at my shop for dry-charge installs... costs about 2/3 of R-22 now-a-days.

Guess that is enough for now...

Originally Posted by jpsmith1cm

Now, this is just me....

If I were trying to get started 'on the skinny' I'd try to avoid purchasing big ticket items if at all possible.

Buy a board for $XX, sit on it for how many months just hoping to sell it to a customer.

Talk to your suppliers about what they stock and how fast they can get parts for you rather than running up a big overhead.


Then again, I'm not a businessman, so I might not be the best person to take advice from.

Your not a businessman but you are correct..... My techs have stuff in there truck they don't even know they have. ... Leave the parts at the supplier. ... Customer pays you to go get them anyway..... Just keep the small stuff....