[bigtime]

Keep working on it and learning. Fake it till you make it...

 

[hurtinhvac]

I do study in my free time the best resource I have found to date is the International Mechanical Code. As for studying one particular manufacturer such as Trane. What happens the next day when I'm working on a Weather-Rite, Carrier, Lennox, or McQuay?
I was talking to the best tech at the company a few days ago and asked him how he learns information and he told me to read a lot. He says he reads code books. He also told me to stay away from forums because a lot of information on them is wrong.
As for going back to what I learned in school. I struggled in school never learning the information the first time around.
A problem I have with service work is this: it seems like most of the day I just spin my wheels and get very little accomplished. I'm used to working jobs where I get physically beaten down and actually feel like I accomplished something. Where as in this job I just feel mentally demoralized, but physically fine.

Do you not fix anything? A belt, spark ignition module, blown fuse, blower motor, inducer motor, burnt contactor, burnt wire, open heat element?

Most of this stuff is not that hard - you should have caught many easy calls by now.

RTUs over 10 tons can be intimidating. A bank of contactors for multiple compressors and even more for all the condenser fan motors - and then maybe another couple for the heat kit. As a matter of fact I just requested and received a few manuals for a few of them to read and study. Don't waste time at this point with code manuals if you are running service. Read the installation and service manuals and study the sequence of operations and schematics.

At the end of the day, it all starts with L1, L2, often L3 if you are commercial; and from there goes to a predefined, common routine regardless of the manufacturer.

Your post count is now a pathetic 4. If you have questions, now is the time to start asking them.

 

[R-value79]

Do you not fix anything? A belt, spark ignition module, blown fuse, blower motor, inducer motor, burnt contactor, burnt wire, open heat element?

Most of this stuff is not that hard - you should have caught many easy calls by now.

RTUs over 10 tons can be intimidating. A bank of contactors for multiple compressors and even more for all the condenser fan motors - and then maybe another couple for the heat kit. As a matter of fact I just requested and received a few manuals for a few of them to read and study. Don't waste time at this point with code manuals if you are running service. Read the installation and service manuals and study the sequence of operations and schematics.

At the end of the day, it all starts with L1, L2, often L3 if you are commercial; and from there goes to a predefined, common routine regardless of the manufacturer.

Your post count is now a pathetic 4. If you have questions, now is the time to start asking them.

Yeah I fix stuff, but I refuse to be a parts changer. A belt, why is it going bad? Is the pulley bad? As for a blown fuse, why did it blow? If I just put a new fuse in someone will be there tomorrow on a call back. As for burnt contactors or wires yeah I've done that, but that isn't service work those are for the most part PM repairs. I'm not on the PM team.
As for easy calls I rarely get them. People actually comment on how unlucky I am when it comes to the service calls I get.
Yeah I only have a few posts that's my fault.

 

[GoodGuyPA]

One option that may seem a little outside what you may need just to get by but may be perfect for the frustration you feel is to take a course at a nearby college.

Physics 2, basic circuits and Thermodynamics 1 literally changed my life.

Together they gave me very simple models on how to look at the mechanical world and approach problems.

Can you imagine trying to understand a novel when you haven't truly been shown the alphabet?

There are lots of ways to get this background, sheer experience and mechanical aptitude are certainly two, but as someone who also has neither, my recommendation is to to find a course that spends a couple weeks on the physics of electricity. 16 weeks on the background and application of essentially two equations (V=IR and P=IV) can keep you from feeling completely at a loss whenever you approach anything you've never seen.

An intro to circuits course after that would develop those basics to understand the function of the gadgets and parts you see in an HVAC system.

I saw my first rooftop unit on a service ride along 4 weeks ago and though I had never seen or heard of a contactor switch before, knew exactly what it did when the tech training me said it wasn't pulling in the way it should. That makes service calls always exciting for me, since I understand the basics even though I may not know how a specific part works yet.

My last suggestion, a Thermodynamics class, is definitely optional, but if the physics/circuits course help then Thermo could help you see refrigeration, heat and power cycles in a whole knew light. For me this year and a half class (haha I failed it twice because I never studied the material we were supposed to) changed the way I saw the world. Everything to me now is a matter of pushing energy around, and getting different results by doing it different ways.

I hope this response wasn't too long, but as you can tell I truly enjoy working in the HVAC industry as a result of my background.

I'd like to add there is a great deal of financial aid out there too if the company you work for won't help you pay for classes. FAFSA and grants put me most of the way through, even with two failed tries at thermo lol.

Good luck tho, and I wish you the best!







Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[hurtinhvac]

Yeah I fix stuff, but I refuse to be a parts changer. A belt, why is it going bad? Is the pulley bad? As for a blown fuse, why did it blow? If I just put a new fuse in someone will be there tomorrow on a call back. As for burnt contactors or wires yeah I've done that, but that isn't service work those are for the most part PM repairs. I'm not on the PM team.
As for easy calls I rarely get them. People actually comment on how unlucky I am when it comes to the service calls I get.
Yeah I only have a few posts that's my fault.

On one hand you are frustrated because you are challenged by technical aspects of the work. On the other hand you express disdain for lowly "PM" repairs?

Most of my no heats or cools are repairs that could have been done on a PM and were not; that's why I got called out. A belt doesn't need any reason beyond age and wear to get stretched out, cracked, spongey and floppy. And fuses can blow for no particular reason whatsoever. Happens all the time. Caps too...ignitors just give out, boards short out, the relays on boards stop closing and passing power and a spark ignition module stops creating a sparks. If a part is not doing what it's designed to do it gets changed. If after changing it and monitoring the system you see evidence for additional work - great. That's good, thorough work. If the system displays no further issues, you're done...but good for you to linger a bit and try to make sure.

My comments regarding your post count reflect my curiosity concerning what the hell, specifically, are you struggling with? Post your issues in the open section and the other technicians will swoop down like vultures and help as much as they can in the open areas and try to point you in the right direction. Then when your post count gets up to 15 you can apply for PRO and they'll spell it out for you, often including supporting documentation.

You are standing in a position that hundreds newer techs and even more wanna be techs in school right now would kill for and could likely have a long and lucrative career.

What, exactly, is your major malfunction? What are some of these "bad luck" calls you are getting? Specifics, please, and throw in some detail.

 

[ryan1088]

My best advice will be use the KISS method. Keep it simple, stupid. The first thing you do when you are intimidated is automatically freak out and once you do that I bet you get derailed right after that.

If you get stumped, step back off the equipment for a while and gather your thoughts and calm down.

Keep a notebook and write down a summary of things that you have ran across so you can refer back to it, unless you have the memory of an elephant.

Troubleshooting is nothing more than a process of elimination. Know what the thing is supposed to do, figure out what it's not doing, then fix it.

 

[Mike19]

My best advice will be use the KISS method. Keep it simple, stupid. The first thing you do when you are intimidated is automatically freak out and once you do that I bet you get derailed right after that.

If you get stumped, step back off the equipment for a while and gather your thoughts and calm down.

Keep a notebook and write down a summary of things that you have ran across so you can refer back to it, unless you have the memory of an elephant.

Troubleshooting is nothing more than a process of elimination. Know what the thing is supposed to do, figure out what it's not doing, then fix it.

Ditto to what Ryan said.

Last night I had a no heat call for an old rooftop unit. It had a million wires, and the schematic was faded and unreadable.

I started to freak out, so I stepped back and thought about it. Both induced draft motors where running, but I wasn't getting power to the ignition modules. So I took all the panels off, and visually traced the wires, and found a high limit tucked behind the blower that was open.

 

[timebuilder]

I went to school for a year and earned a diploma in heating and cooling. I struggled the whole time not really understanding the material. The sad thing was I actually studied.
Flash forward to present day I'm working as a service tech doing commercial work. I show up everyday, work hard, and do the job to the best of my ability. Everyday all day at work I feel tense because I don't know what I'm doing. I constantly have to call people and ask for advice or have them come out and help me. My biggest liabilities are: I'm terrible at troubleshooting, I have problems with wiring diagrams, and most important I lack self confidence.
I've talked with my boss and fellow employees and told them I'm having problems. They have told me I'm a hard worker, people like working with me, and to stick with it. A lot of people have told me that if you can make it through the first year you will make it in this career. I've only been doing this job for 4 months, but it seems like everyday is worst than the last.
One reason I've made it this long is because I like the people I work with. I also don't want to let the people down who have helped me out. On the rare occasion when I figure something out in a timely matter I actually have a sense of accomplishment.
Yeah I know I sound like a whiner. I'm grateful to have a job, but it is just so overwhelming. After working for a place for 1 month they put you in a truck and you're on your own, sort of.
I just don't know if I'm cut out for this line of work? I just don't want to be one of the guys who has been with the company for a couple of years and still doesn't get it. So yeah am I wasting my time? More importantly am I wasting the companies time?

I've written this answer a dozen times in the past 7 years here. I think it's time to save it, so I can just cut and paste it in the future.

First, find out "who you are."

Are you that curious kid who took apart just about everything as a kid, and most of the time, could put it back together?

Are you that kid who had a hobby interest in learning about electricity? You know, playing with one of those "100 electronic experiment" lab kits?

Did you find yourself drawn to mechanical things, like cars, engines, etc? Can you replace pugs and relays on your OWN car?

Do friends call you to ask for help or an opinion when something at their house "just stopped working?"

If so, you belong in this field.

If you could not say "yes" to any of these things, it is probably not for you, and you will never love this work.

That may sound brutal, but loving what you do is absolutely CRUCIAL to being happy in your life.

 

[R-value79]

Thanks to everyone who gave me advise it was very informative and made me look at things a different way.
/thread