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

[Poodle Head Mikey]

I live every day in dread that eventually the boss man here will come to his senses and realize that I was clearly made a pro by some mistake.

PHM
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i am still waiting for someone to process my request 4 being a professional member

did i get forgotten sent u all certifications, liciences, epa card , 410, mvac, work history and expirience

hope to be a pro. member soon

[Chuck]

i am still waiting for someone to process my request 4 being a professional member

did i get forgotten sent u all certifications, liciences, epa card , 410, mvac, work history and expirience

hope to be a pro. member soon

How long since you applied? It can take a couple weeks.

[Gonzo1300]

Hi guys new member here. My name is Mike. I have been in the field for 21 years.I got into it by chance. I was looking for a summer job that was not on the farm where I was raised. A friend of the family doing new construction installs. He hired me as a favor to my grand father to get me into a trade. He put me under the house or attic with a hand drawn diagram of what he wanted. At that age $6.00 an hour was plenty of money for me to get myself in trouble with lol. After graduation I went full time with him for another year and then he retired. He put a word in for me at a local company. After that I worked my way from install helper to lead in a couple of years. Moved on to a company that did change out and did PM's as well as installs. On the weekends The owner would let me ride with the service tech for free so I could learn to diag problems and learn how the system actually worked. Went to countless classes at the 2 local tech schools and when a manufacture would come to town with a class I tried to be the first in. I did however learn more when I was hired for a full time service tech. Been a service tech now for 13years. With me starting my own small company I am actual having fun with it. If you call my number at 2:00 A.M sunday morning you will get me. I would of course love to grow my little business but I do not want to grow to fast. I have seen and work for company's that did and it never turned out well.

[hcong]

There is a 15 post rule for the Membership Committee to process your application for Professional Membership here. "Joy" posting doesn't count.

So, how do you bring your post count up and give pertinent information for the MC to consider? Easy, post in this thread about your experiences and the jobs you have been on. Speak to each other about how and why you decided to get into this business and how you expect to advance in this trade. Tech School?? Talk about your classed and what you were taught.

Before you know it your 15 will be 60. Good luck and Welcome to H-Talk.



.

I was actually a structural engineering student, but I answered an ad for an engineering internship. Turned out to be a mechanical firm and been working for them for over a year and a half now.

I took some HVAC design classes, and went to some free HVAC seminars provided but our electric and gas company. Took a carrier technical class too with all HVAC techs.

I have specified over 100 residential and commercial units.

I also was part of HVAC duct and plumbing design for several restaurants, banks, military facilities, yoga studios, etc...

[Jwbxxx]

Hi everyone, I am a new member. I have read hundreds of the threads on this site before deciding to join. I got into the hvac world by mistake and wouldn't go back to being a industrial electrician for twice the money. I took a job working with a ol timer doin install work in a strictly mobile home bussiness. For a couple of weeks of doing thirty trailers a day I realized that the money was in service calls. I didn't take long to catch on. And after five years I've learned tons of info from an ol top. Maybe not the easiest way but if it has worked for him since the seventies it will work for me.

[Poodle Head Mikey]

How does that work? What do you all do in the winter? Or do you work in the heat too?

OH! I just re-saw that he does mobile home install work. Does he also do service?

What were you doing to the thirty trailers a day? That's 15 minutes each if you work eight hours straight and have a one minute travel time between them.

PHM
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Hi everyone, I am a new member. I have read hundreds of the threads on this site before deciding to join. I got into the hvac world by mistake and wouldn't go back to being a industrial electrician for twice the money. I took a job working with a ol timer doin install work in a strictly mobile home bussiness. For a couple of weeks of doing thirty trailers a day I realized that the money was in service calls. I didn't take long to catch on. And after five years I've learned tons of info from an ol top. Maybe not the easiest way but if it has worked for him since the seventies it will work for me.

[Jwbxxx]

I haven't seen a eight day in years. I make a salary to work seven days a week. When your 1500 miles from home there ain't much else to do. We install air conditioners in mobile homes (just evap and cond.) most of our work in new parks. Last winter we worked in north Dakota running service on 2400 bard wall units. I usually do most of our service work. Mobile home service is a lot different than actual residential. I have had to learn that the hard way.

[Jwbxxx]

Oh yeah all the bard units were electric heat, a lot of problems in subzero temps.

[jmo90280]

well I graduated from high school and didn't really want to go to a 4 year college so i enrolled at a trade school hvac caught my attention and i stuck to it.finished the course couldn't get a job do to my driving record, cleared my record after a couple of year and finally got a job at a ma n pa shop which was great the owner thought me almost everything i know and here i am trying to learn more

[jmo90280]

I haven't seen a eight day in years. I make a salary to work seven days a week. When your 1500 miles from home there ain't much else to do. We install air conditioners in mobile homes (just evap and cond.) most of our work in new parks. Last winter we worked in north Dakota running service on 2400 bard wall units. I usually do most of our service work. Mobile home service is a lot different than actual residential. I have had to learn that the hard way.

I work on a lot of bards also mostly for cell sites , common problem is wrong gauge wiring from the manufacture

[Jwbxxx]

They always have low voltage issues. Mostly due to mobile home manufacturers don't have a clue.

[Poodle Head Mikey]

But I soon found that it Seemed beforehand like it was going to much more pleasant than it actually ever was. I always loved the work, a lot of it was one-off, and some experimental, but I disliked living in hotels and strange women. Nothing but the actual work appealed to me and I got stuck in foreign countries a few times so after a while I just stopped doing it.

It makes me laugh now when people question whether I am competent enough to repair their walk-in box or something like that because I used to work on very complicated equipment about the size of a railroad locomotive.

PHM
------

I haven't seen a eight day in years. I make a salary to work seven days a week. When your 1500 miles from home there ain't much else to do. We install air conditioners in mobile homes (just evap and cond.) most of our work in new parks. Last winter we worked in north Dakota running service on 2400 bard wall units. I usually do most of our service work. Mobile home service is a lot different than actual residential. I have had to learn that the hard way.

[Jwbxxx]

I enjoy traveling most of the time. I pull my rv every where and it doesn't hurt that my wife stays most of the time. I always take off two weeks at christmas and four weeks every summer. Our comp. Is pretty small (6 employees and only three of us are full time) so I get paid vacation for six weeks a year. I don't know what im gonna do when the owner closes up shop next year for retirement.

[Jwbxxx]

A

[Poodle Head Mikey]

If you are already doing the work, and like it, and your wife goes along - why not just become him next year?

PHM
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I enjoy traveling most of the time. I pull my rv every where and it doesn't hurt that my wife stays most of the time. I always take off two weeks at christmas and four weeks every summer. Our comp. Is pretty small (6 employees and only three of us are full time) so I get paid vacation for six weeks a year. I don't know what im gonna do when the owner closes up shop next year for retirement.

[Poodle Head Mikey]

I used to take care of a bunch of mobile hydrogen chillers and one time met a truck driver/machine operator couple who lived in hotels full time - no house or apartment of their own anywhere. They were both on salary and the company paid for all their expenses while traveling. So they just banked their income except when they got vacation-time. Then they had to pay their own hotel and restaurant bills for those few weeks.

With an agreeable woman and no children it seemed like a decent gig. But who knows - maybe I would have hated it?

It is a kind of funny thing about this business - there are a million ways available to go about it.

PHM
------

I enjoy traveling most of the time. I pull my rv every where and it doesn't hurt that my wife stays most of the time. I always take off two weeks at christmas and four weeks every summer. Our comp. Is pretty small (6 employees and only three of us are full time) so I get paid vacation for six weeks a year. I don't know what im gonna do when the owner closes up shop next year for retirement.

[Jwbxxx]

Ill admit I got an awesome gig, I don't pay for anything but food on the road and a get a great pay but its just about time for kids. Which means going home for good.

[Phase8]

Suffolk, IME, I have seen a lot of students come out of a technical school and they still don't know their butt from a hole in the ground...

I have dealt with people from both Community Colleges and Technical schools and generally speaking, the community college students were more educated.

just my 2 cents, I hope that helps

I teach at a technical school and put out 20 plus entry level technicians every 9 months. Your best bet would be to do the research and find the best place for you. The curriculum will be near identical but the teachers and teaching styles will vary. I was a tech in the field for 16 years so I can teach from experience, but I work with instructors that started teaching the day after they graduated. Do the research and find the best fit for you its your money and your education so do it right. Good luck.

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[crbn79]

I've worked with a tech school guy who tried to convince me that liquid charge into the low side was the best way to charge residential R22 systems. But I've also worked with a tech school guy who memorized the temp/pressure chart and could diagnose a trouble system over the phone while working on another straight off the bus.

I'm currently maintaining 240 systems and floating help over 5 other sites. I'm pretty fresh in the refrigerant side but the biggest problems I am finding are suction filters left on as a perm fix and horrible braze jobs that look like chewed bubble gum and leak like crazy. Most of those issues are to do with laziness rather than training.

[Phase8]

I've worked with a tech school guy who tried to convince me that liquid charge into the low side was the best way to charge residential R22 systems. But I've also worked with a tech school guy who memorized the temp/pressure chart and could diagnose a trouble system over the phone while working on another straight off the bus.

I'm currently maintaining 240 systems and floating help over 5 other sites. I'm pretty fresh in the refrigerant side but the biggest problems I am finding are suction filters left on as a perm fix and horrible braze jobs that look like chewed bubble gum and leak like crazy. Most of those issues are to do with laziness rather than training.

I agree. I get guys that come to learn and guys just looking for something to do. If they pass they all get the same diploma, that doesn't mean that they are all at the same skill level.

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