NEBB air balancing exam

[kiranchudal]

Hello.
Does anyone have the study materials for the NEBB CP exam?
I am willing to buy a used one, as new is costly.
I am located in Tyler, Texas.
Thanks,
Kiran

[WAYNE3298]

They try to scare you with how difficult the exam is. They claim 60% of the PE'S that take it fail. I don't see how that could be the case. The EIT is 10 times harder at least. Know your fan and pump laws and basic math and you should be fine. When I took it 6 multi choice problems did not have the right answer as a choice. They do have a seminar for the test if you don't feel ready.
Know how to construct parallel fan and pump curves.

[kiranchudal]

Thanks Wayne.
I do have an EIT certification. It was quite challenging but got it done.
I just wanted to be well-prepared for this.
I am going to schedule my exam for October seminar.

[WAYNE3298]

If you can pass the EIT the NEBB should be pretty easy for you. NEBB doesn't cover near the material the EIT does. I finished the entire test before lunch. Take the reference books they allow because you may need a constant for an equation. Good luck and let us know the results.

[kiranchudal]

ok. thank you

[honestcharlie56]

Wayne, how did you do on the practical side of the exam?

[WAYNE3298]

The practical side was such a joke that I at first thought they were trying to trick us. The practical included a sample balance report that was so ridiculous that I ask the proctor if it was really part of the exam.
In a lab setting there isn't a lot they can test you on and frankly I thought it was a waste of time. If you haven't taken it yet don't sweat it. I assume you passed the written part already. Keep in mind the real TAB learning process starts in the field.

[honestcharlie56]

I've been certified through AABC and NEBB. I actually preferred the NEBB certification process because of the practical exam. AABC is solely dependent on an exam. I've found the NEBB examination process, utilizing the practical exam, further weeds out individuals who are just looking for additional letters behind their name.

[jogas]

The practical side was such a joke that I at first thought they were trying to trick us. The practical included a sample balance report that was so ridiculous that I ask the proctor if it was really part of the exam.
In a lab setting there isn't a lot they can test you on and frankly I thought it was a waste of time. If you haven't taken it yet don't sweat it. I assume you passed the written part already. Keep in mind the real TAB learning process starts in the field.

I'd be interested to know where you took your Practical.
Sounds a lot different than the one I took in Philadelphia.
8 Hours of Proctored fun.

Passed mine a while back when the written was done on paper.
The two other guys who were taking it laughed when they found out I hadn't taken the prep course.
I musta got lucky and passed.
I did need to reference the NEBB Book. Questions I had required using several equations from the book.
Now I'm hearing the Practical is on PC.

[WAYNE3298]

I took the entire test in Kansas City. The first thing on the practical was evaluating a report they cooked up. The report was so flawed I at first thought it was a trick. I finally decided the trick was finding all the flaws in it.
If you know the fundamentals the prep test isn't necessary for the written part. If you don't know the fundamentals you would probably fail. The difficulty of the test was a lot less than I expected.
I don't think you got lucky you knew the subject matter. Did they still have questions with no correct choice of answers?

[WAYNE3298]

I took the entire test in Kansas City. The first thing on the practical was evaluating a report they cooked up. The report was so flawed I at first thought it was a trick. I finally decided the trick was finding all the flaws in it.
If you know the fundamentals the prep test isn't necessary for the written part. If you don't know the fundamentals you would probably fail. The difficulty of the test was a lot less than I expected.
I don't think you got lucky you knew the subject matter. Did they still have questions with no correct choice of answers?

[jogas]

I took the entire test in Kansas City. The first thing on the practical was evaluating a report they cooked up. The report was so flawed I at first thought it was a trick. I finally decided the trick was finding all the flaws in it.
If you know the fundamentals the prep test isn't necessary for the written part. If you don't know the fundamentals you would probably fail. The difficulty of the test was a lot less than I expected.
I don't think you got lucky you knew the subject matter. Did they still have questions with no correct choice of answers?

I don't remember any without correct answers. But they do have different test versions.

I liked the one that asked if more OA or RA would flow thru an AHU which listed pressure drops thru the OA and RA devices, like Louvres, Screens, Dampers, etc.
When you added them all up for the RA and OA, they were the same...so equal amounts was the answer.

[WAYNE3298]

It's good all the multiple choice questions had correct answers. Proving no answers matched took time but there was plenty of time allowed.
I see you are a union journeyman. Are you going to get the TABB certification? You can get it by simply asking. Maybe I should say you could when I was doing the work.

[Brent Hahn]

I realize the first post to this thread has probably been certified a long time ago, but I help write questions for the NEBB exams so I've got a bit of insight. I can't go into details of the exams, but I can confirm that the tests are now done through Kryterion testing sites, or paper tests at NEBB seminars. Candidates that review and understand the material in the recommended reading material will likely be fine. I couldn't share the pass percentage even if I knew, but I think it's safe to say most failures are the result of the candidate either not preparing or suffering from test anxiety.

[WAYNE3298]

Brent you are correct I was certified a long time ago. I think the written test when I took it was appropriate to determine understanding of the fundamentals. I have stressed on this site many times the importance of knowing and thoroughly understanding the fundamentals. If you don't know the fundamentals and how they apply all you are is a hood holder and have no business having a certification. Some think the intent of the test is to limit the number of people that get certified. I don't think that is remotely true. I don't think the practical exam is necessary. There are so many DDC balance programs it is possible to test on one the candidate has never seen. I assume the practical includes balance of DDC controlled VAV'S. The control contractors only share the bare essentials with balancers and it takes a while to learn everything you need to know.
I'm retired but am glad you posted and glad to hear the test has been improved.

[Brent Hahn]

I've known some of the men who helped write the early exams, and while they were really knowledgeable, they would occasionally get the answers to their own questions wrong because they're human and there wasn't much of a review process. The gentlemen proctoring my practical exam is still involved in the business, so I'll be respectful, but I think it's fair to say that it could've been done better. Whether or not the testing format is better now is probably debatable, but without a doubt the questions are better reviewed and have clear answers.

[WAYNE3298]

I think the practical exam is very difficult to structure. I only remember one of the questions on the written exam that didn't have a correct answer when I took it. The answer was as simple as it gets. Elevations were given on piping before and after a pump and they were looking for static head on the pump. It was a simple addition problem and a review before issuing the test would have almost certainly caught it. I was also certified in S&V. The annual test at one point got way above taking readings. The time it took to answer the questions got ridiculous. I wrote NEBB and told them that and warned that the tests were encouraging giving advise and we shouldn't be doing that. Surprisingly enough they agreed and modified the tests.

[Brent Hahn]

One of the writers of the early exam presented me with a question that went something like the following, although in diagram rather than description: There's an open water tank that measures 10' diameter and 10' tall. The tank is filled with 8' of water. What's the pressure at the bottom of the tank?

Of course, 8' seems like the obvious answer, but he calculated the volume of water, how much it weighed, then divided that by the area of the bottom of the tank and came up with answer that wasn't 8'. I mean, the math idea was right, just a mistake made in rounding or one of the steps due to over-complication. Anyway, it's part of the reason I was happy to volunteer with question writing.

[WAYNE3298]

Thanks for that Brent. I was never able to figure out why the question I referred was on the test and even more wondered how come the answer was wrong. I would never have figured that out.

[bradluke0]

Brent you are correct I was certified a long time ago. I think the written test when I took it was appropriate to determine understanding of the fundamentals. I have stressed on this site many times the importance of knowing and thoroughly understanding the fundamentals. If you don't know the fundamentals and how they apply all you are is a hood holder and have no business having a certification. Some think the intent of the test is to limit the number of people that get certified. I don't think that is remotely true. I don't think the practical exam is necessary. There are so many DDC balance programs it is possible to test on one the candidate has never seen. I assume the practical includes balance of DDC controlled VAV'S. The control contractors only share the bare essentials with balancers and it takes a while to learn everything you need to know.
I'm retired but am glad you posted and glad to hear the test has been improved.

In my opinion the practical exam is very necessary , as one purpose of the CP is to be able to teach others how to balance . I know many engineers who could pass the AABC exam and the written portion of the NEBB exam who couldn't balance a dog house . Funny engineer story …..we were 20% low on air on a decent size AHU . The engineer wanted us to prop the fan access door open with a soda can ( end to end ) and see how much it would increase . I said "so what is this going to prove?" He said " then we will know if we can get the air or not ". I said , "So if we get the airflow are we leaving the soda can here or is someone going to stand here and hold the door open?" .