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Hey guys,
I get asked frequently by aspiring HVAC technicians and installers where they should go or what they should do to learn about electricity as it relates to HVAC equipment and controls. I've found that most books about wiring and electricity in general are a lot broader than what a beginning HVAC technician would need.
What would you guys recommend as far as books, science kits, tutorials, interactive CD-Roms etc? How did you learn it?
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One rule that you won't find in the books, but just might find on this site is that never, ever, no matter what the circumstance, let the smoke out of one of those 120/24v transformers!!!!Originally Posted by 4inchCrescent
It would depend a lot on your locality if you're able to wire the high voltage side or just the control (low voltage) side. A lot of the books on wiring probably won't deal much with low voltage wiring.
If you can't fix it with a hammer, you've got an electrical problem.
Professional Member*
Does anybody have any suggestions?
I get one guy making a lame joke and that's it?
I'm not surprised...
Professional Member*
I think the point was sometimes a guy can get a 24 v t former and hook it up put some contactors and relays on it, some switches and tack em to some plywood and have at it, with a little coaching this can probably put him ahead of half the competition believe it or not.
Banned
School, school and even more school!!!
After ten years in this trade as an installer I'm finally slated to soon begin hvacr school which includes electrical controls/principles. 18 weeks, four classes, two semesters.
I have trouble with electricity and controls myself so I'm looking forward to that class specificaly.
Last edited by Roadhouse; 12-14-2010 at 11:32 AM.
Regular Guest
The gas utility that trained me used a variety of methods.
1. Some training on circuit diagrams and how to interpret them.
2. Wiring boards where students connected up components to create various conditions and effects --- connecting up relays to turn circuits on and off for example.
3. wiring up furnaces based on the circuit diagrams when much or all the wiring had been removed.
4. diagnosing furnace symptoms caused be defective parts that had been installed in the furnace to create specific conditions.
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Personally learned electronics first by hanging around my father who was a radio repairman for the railroad, and was also an amateur radio (HAM) enthusiast. Then took electronics at high school (vocational) and at university (part of physics courses). Google on basic electronics tutorials and you'll get stuff similar to http://www.electronics-tutorials.com/ which will get you on your way without spending any money. Most community colleges have classes but you have to have the time and money to attend, most amateur radio sites have links to basic electronics online tutorials.
The controls that are used in commercial HVAC have become very sophisticated and to get into it in depth requires that you understand programming in addition to electronics, but at this point the residential and light industrial stuff is pretty understandable even to me. I'd suggest hunting down some of those amateur radio sites, and then if you need a more sophisticated understanding, check out formal educational institutions (hands on and instructor led), electronics can be learned on one's own, but it is better to have a mentor or at least someone who can answer questions. Hope this at least points you in an inexpensive direction...
There is of course also the matter of certification, but you can sometimes challenge the (in my case) provincial/state examination...
Last edited by enb54; 12-14-2010 at 11:36 AM. Reason: add certification
Banned
Hey now, I'll be attending community college beginning this Winter in the evenings from 6 p.m. 'till 10 p.m. for four days a week for 18 weeks so I can work during the day.
Doesn't matter to myself any longer, school is being put first even if it is just little old comunity college.
Regular Guest
I got an Advanced Class amateur Radio license forty years ago, and that gives me an understanding of electricity and electronic circuitry much beyond that of most HVAC techs.
Of course, that wasn't just getting a license, it was several years of being an electronics hobbyist including building some of my own radio equipment from scratch ---- even salvaging parts from old television sets.
Professional Member
This. the community college i work for has not one, but two classes dedicated specifically to wiring control circuits of various voltages, as well as motors and accessories and in the heating and cooling classes we spend a few weeks talking about wiring up heating/cooling units (also with a focus on control circuits)
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I too have my advanced (Canadian) and yes, if you have that, you have all the skill sets necessary to work on just about anything. Having taught electronics at the component repair level didn't hurt either...
Have found that if someone has the basics and a willingness to learn, they can easily handle even very sophisticated equipment...
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All in a day's work for the HVAC/R technician.
Professional Member*
The best broad range training you can get (IMO) about working on HVAC equipment is hands on only after you fully understand the components themselves. I've found in training employees that using old equipment headed for the scrap dealer the best way to accomplish this. Nothing better than tearing things apart to see what makes them tick, but the real trick is being able to put it back together and make it work the way it was designed.
Use the biggest hammer you like, pounding a square peg into a round hole does not equal a proper fit.
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I started out with Electromechanical course @ local college. It gives you great insight into control design and troubleshooting. I was supposed to be a millwright apprentice but found out hvac is much better for me.
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whoa that is a great quote.
Regular Guest
You first need to learn the basic concepts - voltage, current, resistance, power, Ohm's law. These are all the same whether you are going to be a computer engineer or HVAC technician. You can learn this in any electronics course, but it's all just "book learning" unless you have a hands-on lab, so look for that.
Professional Member
ya, hands on is a must for this field. i've had students that could quote all kinds of info verbatem from a book that couldn't apply even the simplest concept to an actual piece of equipment.
hooking up a circuit, measuring and troubleshooting it, discussing why you see the numbers you do, if they are the proper range of numbers, and why they are important is ideal. Don't be the guy that goes out to troubleshoot a furnace and just randomly starts sticking his probes around.
i've seen techs working in the field spend 30 mins or more on a unit only to give up and ask me what i did to it.. when it simply had the breaker turned off, the door switch failed, or the thermostat not calling for heat.
these problems might not present themselves alot in the field, but it teaches you to start from where the power comes in and follow it till it stops.. that gives you a real good idea of where the problem lies, generally.
Professional Member
Join the air force alot of low volt wirring and controls in weapons
Professional Member*
I concur with this also. I can't tell you how many times I walk up to a piece of equipment, doesn't matter what is, if you understand the sequence of events, what's supposed to happen and when, oftentimes you simply need a meter to confirm what you now already know, simply based on observation.ya, hands on is a must for this field. i've had students that could quote all kinds of info verbatem from a book that couldn't apply even the simplest concept to an actual piece of equipment.
hooking up a circuit, measuring and troubleshooting it, discussing why you see the numbers you do, if they are the proper range of numbers, and why they are important is ideal. Don't be the guy that goes out to troubleshoot a furnace and just randomly starts sticking his probes around.
i've seen techs working in the field spend 30 mins or more on a unit only to give up and ask me what i did to it.. when it simply had the breaker turned off, the door switch failed, or the thermostat not calling for heat.
these problems might not present themselves alot in the field, but it teaches you to start from where the power comes in and follow it till it stops.. that gives you a real good idea of where the problem lies, generally.
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