ua members in nj

[fireye03]

just wondering if there's any ua members in nj that just do cfs equipment.
i know some contractors in this state have cfs divisions

[cybercontadino]

Just curious.

[fireye03]

united association is a union for hvac/r service techs,plumbers and fitters.
there's several union service contractors that have cfs divisions.
i've worked on the cold side(ice machines,walk ins)but nothing on the hot side
i have an intrest in the hot side.
could a commercial hvac/r service tech easily adapt to the hot side of cfs equipment?
love learning new things

[cybercontadino]

I went to school for HVAC and found that the basics also helped with gas and electric cfs equipment work. There should be no trouble for an HVAC tech to learn cfs. Most equip is equal to or less complex than rooftop package units. I do miss the solitude of the rooftops sometimes.
The hardest part for me has always been getting the covers back on
I preferr the hot side stuff. As I've aged ,the roofs in summer and winter take more out of me physically. The dust in hvac work is worse than any grease IMHO.

[bustawrench1]

Yes, I've worked for several contractors who have CFS contracts in the past few years. I've worked on everything from hot dog carts to bakery ovens to mixers and dishwashers and even process boilers for a candy plant. It's just another, albeit small part of the business.

Some of the guys cop an attitude about it, but I've allways looked at it as something different. I mean really, after almost two decades of boilers, chillers, VAV's and RTU's I'll take just about anything that breaks up the routine!

[fireye03]

bustawrench,
did you find the transition easy?
i guess it would be like anything else,learning the sequence of operation.
i'm just curious,i think it's something i would like to learn.
also why do guys look down on it?
if anything it's more work to keep busy.

[icehouse]

Check out Johnstone Supply they have two manuals on Commercial Cooking, just ordered them as I want to include "Hot Side"

[fireye03]

yeah i saw them,
i was thinking about getting them.

[comfortdoc]

bustawrench,
did you find the transition easy?
i guess it would be like anything else,learning the sequence of operation.
i'm just curious,i think it's something i would like to learn.
also why do guys look down on it?
if anything it's more work to keep busy.

It is not a difficult transition if you can think out of the box. Component arrangment is different. A standard gas fired fryer is no different than a standard gas fired furnace. Some (MCd's for one) have proprietary electronic controls, but manuals are available to service that part of it.

Some techs look down on it due to the conditions. Hot kitchen, people all over the place sometimes in your way as much as you are theirs, equipment is typically greasy, etc. I did not mind it much when i was doing it and now that I have some cash flow I'm going to start working my way back into it.

Goodluck.