It’s been running like that too

Well this is one of those the more you look the worse it gets situations. Old man said his nephew put in this "new" furnace for him, just about everthing i can name is wrong. Gas, ductwork, electric, what is the point in bringing in outside makeup air with loovered doors. Refrigeration is so messed up, 50/50 on every joint completely kinked lines it's all just a big mess. But most of all the flu, bro said "it needs a trap doesn't it? " just straight up blowing fumes into this old man's house. Literally gas chambered this poor guy, and he didn't have any drains on this thing at all!! Maybe that's why he thought he needed a trap i guess. I got it to run where its safe but will be back to overhaul everthing hopefully soon. It's ugly but functional for now lucky for him i keep lots of old crap in the shop. And the supplies are wierd 1 6in pipe supplying 4 registers that are reduced to I think 5 in, redoing it anyways but. HOMEOWNERS DONT DIY AN INSTALL IT'S NOT WORTH YOUR LIFE.

He called me and said the flame was too much outside of the tube, I don't work on many of these but it seems fine? Anyone able to second my thinking of its fine

Customer calls last night and says his expansion tank just blew off the system. I ask for some pics and this is what I see. On the phone he was mentioning something about a spring and I was really confused…then I saw the pic.

Never seen anything like this before.

Leave the Cheeto dust be, I’m talking about the HSI, the gas line to the EGV is right bellow the fastener

First time visit for a humidifier and furnace. Their usual company was booked out and we had openings.

Needless to say the drain for the humidifier was clogged. Quoted adding a pvc line and drop tube for the humidifier, but they declined.

SoCal (San Diego) area. 1st year apprentice as a DDC tech and I don’t think I can stick it out. I came from trade school a couple years ago and worked non union in controls, then found a union contractor that was hiring. I don’t want to go into much detail but where I’m at has been taking a real toll on my mental health to the point I don’t even want to wake up some days. It doesn’t help that my students and teachers tell me my employment is 70% politics and if I’m out of a job depending on who hired or fired me I can easily be blacklisted by word of mouth to other contractors. Would I be making a big mistake if I left? Would my BAS give me an edge on finding another job quickly (I have about 10 other certifications that I’ve obtained over the years too). I’m worried if I leave it’ll hurt my reputation and career. Also with this job I have a sign on bonus I would need to reimburse if I left. Any advice?

I’m the guy who gets cheap buying random things I need like dress shoes or tennis shoes, but also won’t hesitate to spend $300 on new work boots instead of buying a cheaper brand. I also have my tool brand loyalty and wont hesitate to pay a little extra for the same tool that is cheaper from a different brand. I know not everyone is like me and of course you can be a good tech still and not spend extra for certain things. Whatever, I like what I like and accepted this fact about myself already. When I started in the trades I showed up my first day with a plastic bag with a borrowed hammer and two screwdrivers in it cause that’s all I had. So anytime I buy a tool or something for work to me it’s an investment more than a random purchase.

It got me to think, how much money do other techs spend on tools and equipment they need/use/want for their work? Just this month alone I bought new boots for $300, a veto tool bag for $250, cordless shop vac and batteries for $200 and those are all things I didn’t really need right away to do my job just things I wanted that I can use for work. That’s not even counting all my power tools and batteries I have, tool boxes/bags, countless hand tools, work wear and other things I already own. Plus I had all my
Tools stolen out of work truck a couples years back and had to re buy everything again which sucked but I learned my lesson and really value and take care of the shit I had.

I’m about 4 yrs in the trade and I am an installer so I do have more tools needed than prob a service or maintenance tech would need day to day. But u estimate in total I have prob spent $7-10k all together. Curious about how long someone’s been working, their role and how much they think they have spent all together since becoming a hvac tech.

After being hesitant and just out right too cheap to buy the veto pro pac tool bag I been wanting. I got a little buzzed after work on a Friday and did a little splurging lol.

TBH the thing that really made me say “fuck it” was seeing the brand new hire straight out of trade school walk in on his first day carrying the exact tool bag I been wanting. Lol

Heading to Japan for a few weeks and just curious if there’s any HVAC stores? I know of Factory Gear that sells Knipex, WERA, Klein and local tools like Kyoto Tool. Be pretty cool to pick up some Japanese HVAC gear.

Who else be leaving smiles/faces around?

What do your guys check lists look like on spring/fall maintenance and what are some things you always make sure to check?