Welcome to all New Guests going Pro? Do not post equipment questions in this forum

[JMack13]

I got my Associates degree in HVAC/R in July 2011. Being the motivated 22 yr old I was then I hit the ground running & started my own business in October 2011. I am in a small town and everyone already knew my name meant customer satisfaction bc of my dad having his own auto repair business my whole life. The only problems i have is following the other 2 companies in my area. Both have been in business since before i was born & both were passed down through the family without proper training & school. I have yet to find an adequate duct system in my area but telling a home owner "Billy Bob" ripped you off is bad business & not my style! Every time i go on a call i want to tell them "There is a book called Manufacturer's Installation Instructions, you should try reading it sometime"

[benatwhodotnet]

There are issues everywhere. I've seen plumbing solder on high side R-22 lines, condensers set within a foot of the house and a foot of a block fence (3-foot recommended clearance on the label), special ordered units (stripped of delay timer, defrost board, low limit, high limit, start cap) used for large tracts of houses, sloppy fitting "washable" filters that are so porous they stop nothing, run capacitors hanging from the wires under a fan motor, screws run into a condenser tube at the edge of the coil, etc. I normally document the issues, say nothing about who may have done it, and present a plan to correct the issues. What I really hate is not knowing what may have been introduced into the refrigerant without any label or notes -- additives, oil charge, leak stop. Sometimes I can smell it, other times you just don't know. I have routinely followed service companies that added too much R-22 and have had to weigh the charge to correct it.

I got my Associates degree in HVAC/R in July 2011. Being the motivated 22 yr old I was then I hit the ground running & started my own business in October 2011. I am in a small town and everyone already knew my name meant customer satisfaction bc of my dad having his own auto repair business my whole life. The only problems i have is following the other 2 companies in my area. Both have been in business since before i was born & both were passed down through the family without proper training & school. I have yet to find an adequate duct system in my area but telling a home owner "Billy Bob" ripped you off is bad business & not my style! Every time i go on a call i want to tell them "There is a book called Manufacturer's Installation Instructions, you should try reading it sometime"

[JMack13]

I've already seen nearly all of that! It's ridiculous really. If i'm guna make a couple thousand off of somebody the least i can do is follow simple instructions that actually make our job fool proof!

[JMack13]

But the duct system designs is still what gets me the most!

[4 State H & A]

I went through a 1 year HVAC-R course when i was 19 was a little younger thought i was hot stuff and had a grasp of the stuff till i got in the field i quickly relized i didnt know half of what i thought i did. Im 26 now and have owned my own res/com heating and air business for awhile now and we are doing great but i still find myself banging my head against the wall trying to figure something out that i should know from time to time............ ... By the way it wont let me update my profile

[benatwhodotnet]

... By the way it wont let me update my profile

I think as soon as you have 15 posts and fill out the Professional Member application form you will be able to add to your profile, including the avatar and personal photo.

[Dad]

You can update your profile after 7 post. That means post here one more time and go to your profile to edit.

[En-gin-er]

I graduated out of the Milwaukee School of Engineering in 1986 with an ME degree and have been practicing in the field of HVAC most of my career. My professional career consists of 9 years in the nuclear business, 15 years with MEP firms in Chicago, along with serving the DOE, DOD & Argonne National Labs. My background on chillers is limited and will require additional training. General view of previous HVAC projects include: declomissioning of 5 nuclear facilities, Chicago high rise HVAC modifications, working on GGP's 125 malls, hospital, educational, museum & medical mods, strip mall HVAC system designs, industrial ventilation & heating systems. I am also dangerous in designing FP, piping, structural & electrical systems.

[DD931]

Anyone out the "burnt out" on PMs or furnace checks? I know I shouldn't be complaining, work is work right? But I'm doing a decent sized apartment complex with forced air furnaces and I'm sick of moving tenant's personal items to get at the furnace. These furnaces are very simple and I rarely run into anything "real" I can fix. I'm only supposed to spend a half hour or less per unit so no combustion analysis or anything. Anyway can anyone feel my pain? Or should I suck it up and keep on going through the motions?

[benatwhodotnet]

I feel your pain. Here's a suggestion, make it a challenge by timing yourself and increasing the items you check. Walk in with just the tools you know are required and click your stopwatch (on your phone or whatever). Add: 1) soap test the gas fittings and wipe down with rag, 2) vacuum the burner box to remove rust scales, 3) mark the valve position with a drop of paint marker or nail polish (to be evident if gas valve has been off/on by tenant), 4) wipe or vacuum other parts just because, 5) all the other stuff like filter changes that you are required to do. See if you can keep to your original time limits while adding the extra stuff... add some of your own depending on what problems you eventually discover with these units. Keeping to your original time while adding work will make you indispensable and get you noticed whenever they secretly check behind you or survey the apartment tenants or managers. My mom always said, "Make sure you're worth more than they're paying you or you can be replaced."

Anyone out the "burnt out" on PMs or furnace checks? I know I shouldn't be complaining, work is work right? But I'm doing a decent sized apartment complex with forced air furnaces and I'm sick of moving tenant's personal items to get at the furnace. These furnaces are very simple and I rarely run into anything "real" I can fix. I'm only supposed to spend a half hour or less per unit so no combustion analysis or anything. Anyway can anyone feel my pain? Or should I suck it up and keep on going through the motions?

[vwradar]

Well hello everyone, I'm new to this board and to the industry at the young age of 30, got started late. After several years at the same job the company shut down and I thought long and hard about what I wanted to do and couldn't be happier with my decision. I started in the install department at the company that took a chance on me in August of this last year and in November was moved into the service department. Right now I am just doing maintenaces, and doing minor repairs. I have learned a lot and know I have a ton more to learn and look forward to it.

[Dr Love]

Hello hvac friends! Like vwradar, i started late, at age 28. I worked full-time during the day, and attended vo-tech school at night. The hvac trade is truly fun and rewarding work. I've shifted in all 3 areas: sales, installs, and service & maintenance. I enjoy service & maintenance the best though.

[kathy-sunshine]

woot woot! i am in. welcome new guests and good luck.

[Bunyan]

Hello fellow tradespersons. Been a long time follower of this site but only recently started posting. The info I've found and that has been shared has been a great resource for me. My background is that I took my BSc in Earth Sciences and found myself working with a geothermal hvac contractor in Ontario for a couple years but more as an office coordinator. The experience on the purchasing and scheduling side of things has been invaluable but I found myself wanting to be much more technical. I am now taking a Refrigeration/Geothermal course in Nova Scotia, will be graduating this spring, with the idea of achieving my Red Seal and perhaps opening my own company a few years down the road.

I am finding the refrigeration side of things more and more interesting each week. I do a LOT of extra research on the industry as a whole and, admittedly, find myself scouring these boards most every night. From advice on tools, to no bs opinions on brands and equipment, there is a wealth of information available. I am absolutely learning more and more each week and can see that it will always be like that in this industry. I look forward to eventually making pro membership to have access to the educational forums, etc.

Thank you all and look forward to sharing/learning with you all.
Cheers

[54regcab]

Anyone out the "burnt out" on PMs or furnace checks? I know I shouldn't be complaining, work is work right? But I'm doing a decent sized apartment complex with forced air furnaces and I'm sick of moving tenant's personal items to get at the furnace. These furnaces are very simple and I rarely run into anything "real" I can fix. I'm only supposed to spend a half hour or less per unit so no combustion analysis or anything. Anyway can anyone feel my pain? Or should I suck it up and keep on going through the motions?

Do airflow/temp rise checks, let furnace run 10 minutes and test. See if burners are shutting off on limit, it happens more often than most techs think, especially on rental properties. Check blower wheel and A-coil for excess dirt accumulation, filter replacement is often neglected at some point in the furnace life.

[newinthefield]

Check gas valve manifold pressure and what city is giving you...i do a lot of pm work when it's slow. Ohm out hot surface ignitor should be around 60-90 ohms, i also vacuum dirt and dust makes it nice and clean for next pm....

Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2

[northstarair]

Anyone out the "burnt out" on PMs or furnace checks? I know I shouldn't be complaining, work is work right? But I'm doing a decent sized apartment complex with forced air furnaces and I'm sick of moving tenant's personal items to get at the furnace. These furnaces are very simple and I rarely run into anything "real" I can fix. I'm only supposed to spend a half hour or less per unit so no combustion analysis or anything. Anyway can anyone feel my pain? Or should I suck it up and keep on going through the motions?

I was hired specifically as a maintenance tech for my company. Show your worth by doing a good job and you'll slowly get asked to perform more tasks. Just this week they started having me go on call and do some repairs. That's only after 7 months in the field.

[ComfortService]

May 3rd, A tornado swept through my little town of Jackson ,TN. It destroyed my place I was living, my job, and my almost fully restored 1978 Chevrolet Pickup. I lived through it. That day I told myself "What do I have to lose?",and went to a technical school.Two years later I graduated top in my class ( of about 25 ),you have to enjoy the little things right?

Well, 11 years later after working for several different HVAC companies, I decided to start my own business. I moved to Huntsville, AL to get out of my too small town.Alabama requires you have to be a contractor to do HVAC,unlike Tennessee, and this just equates to more demand for those in the field here which is good.

We are still just a small business but we have a large advertising budget this year so I am enthusiastic about this years potential. I have been in business now for over a year and I have some good people in my crew.

Why do I continue?

The challenge of troubleshooting.
The feeling of making something work again when it was broken.
The smile on someones face because they don't have to go all night without air when its 95 degrees.

http://comfortclimateservice.com

[snowytgr1]

i am new to this site but not HVAC. I have been doing this for over 30 years and actually have decided I do not really like it much any more. I hate doing maint which is just part of the job but it gives me hours during slow times. I still like to do service though as sometimes I actually have to use my brain. I have noticed that (at least around here) there are to many HVAC techs that take no pride in their work. A lot of them are under qualified and over paid so I guess this is why I don't like it as much as I used to.
I know R410 is what we have now but I still like R22 better.

[Poodle Head Mikey]

I have also been doing it a long time. But I still like it. And I also like that everyone I come along behind is apparently ignorant, stupid, and unthinking. Because while I used to have to actually Work at appearing to be a genius, now more and more I barely have to make an effort to seem like the best there has ever been. I liked R-12, but I like R-409 and R-414. True; not as much, but there is no R-12 anymore so who cares? Same with R-410. I liked R-22 but if it's going away - what am I supposed to do? Shoot myself? The world is what it is. But I can tell you this: no matter what is available to work with - I Am going to make it work to the very best of it's ability.


PHM
------

i am new to this site but not HVAC. I have been doing this for over 30 years and actually have decided I do not really like it much any more. I hate doing maint which is just part of the job but it gives me hours during slow times. I still like to do service though as sometimes I actually have to use my brain. I have noticed that (at least around here) there are to many HVAC techs that take no pride in their work. A lot of them are under qualified and over paid so I guess this is why I don't like it as much as I used to.
I know R410 is what we have now but I still like R22 better.