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Originally Posted by moon_shadow

Yes, commercial refrigeration is all I do, or have ever done, and I started in this field not even knowing what a contactor was. I was trained only in refrigeration and still do not work on HVAC. Even in homes, I don't touch HVAC, it's just not my market. I have worked on a few window air conditioners, but I don't count that as HVAC.

Man, it sure would be nice to be able to specialize. Every company I ever worked for expected you to do it all.

Yes, commercial refrigeration is all I do, or have ever done, and I started in this field not even knowing what a contactor was. I was trained only in refrigeration and still do not work on HVAC. Even in homes, I don't touch HVAC, it's just not my market. I have worked on a few window air conditioners, but I don't count that as HVAC.

even though, I do mostly refrigeration, I am EXPECTED to be just as proficient with a/c, heat, CA, hydronics, etc.

Since others are saying they only work on refrigeration, I suppose it is possible, but everyone that has me doing their refrigeration, expects me to also work on their A/C. They all are the same package units with gas packs, located on their roofs. I don't seek customers for just A/C, but, everyone I do refrigeration and maintain their cooking gear, expects me to also keep their A/C's and heat working, and some expect me to also service their home A/C's. It's my experience since beginning civilian work, and even in the service, if you're going to work on refrigeration, you really need to know the basics about the the common A/C's used by your customers. The Irony is that I know a lot techs who never work in refrigeration, but I don't know a single tech who never has to work on an A/C unit. A/C techs don't have to know refrigeration, yet refrigeration techs generally (those on here who claim to not have to work on A/C's notwithstanding) need to know both, at least to some degree. I am not challenging those who have made the claim that the customers don't also expect them to work on their A/C's. If you got it that way, great. I don't find it to be common, however.

Volunteer to be somebodies shop boy.

Yes.

I did my apprenticeship straight industrial/commercial HVACR

Yes. Find a shop that does resturant work or like legend says. A shop that doesn't want guys who already have bad habits.

Yes, if you have the refrigeration cycle and basic electrical theory down and find an employer willing to train. We do nothing but supermarket refrigeration and have been training all of our new employees for years. I believe that the attitude to want to learn is most important.

HVAC to Refrigeration

Is it possible to go into commercial refrigeration without going through residential HVAC or Commercial HVAC service in the field?