Hvac........Good Job or not?

[JCM 10,234]

Well @squonk  I was not sure which reaction to give you on that one, could have used them all. On that topic I posted on Industrial Piping job every soldered joint on the 3'' and 2 1/2'' was checked with a flashlight and inspection mirror before I did an air test, let alone the 50/50 mix of glycol and water was introduced. No matter how many years we do this you can never be safe enough and must test everything no matter how hard someone on the job is pushing us to getter done. I was not aware that the HVAC boys were using press fittings, thanks for the heads up. Maybe someday we can meet at the Bus stop and share some trade stories.

[squonk 43,862]

21 minutes ago, JCM said:

Well @squonk  I was not sure which reaction to give you on that one, could have used them all. On that topic I posted on Industrial Piping job every soldered joint on the 3'' and 2 1/2'' was checked with a flashlight and inspection mirror before I did an air test, let alone the 50/50 mix of glycol and water was introduced. No matter how many years we do this you can never be safe enough and must test everything no matter how hard someone on the job is pushing us to getter done. I was not aware that the HVAC boys were using press fittings, thanks for the heads up. Maybe someday we can meet at the Bus stop and share some trade stories.

I can tell you about the time I stood on a stack of frozen pies and used a mirror to see a hole I had to braze shut! 

Edited April 30, 2020 by squonk

[WHX?? 51,807]

Not to take this too far on your career decision Tractor Boy but you are already getting some education...

Yah Jim pressing reefer fittings is getting real common. We recently went to what is marketed as yoga pipe. Crimp fittings are brazed on copper stubs at the shop then pex is pressed on them in the field. These presses need to take the 400 psi + of some refrigerants.

Eliminates (some) hot work in the field and a time saver. Currently looking into pressing gas piping if I can integrate it into boiler/infloor jobs.

Lingo we talk  may be above your head Tractor but this is what you will be learning. One thing about the mechanical trades is things are constantly changing.

[Tractor boy 239]

32 minutes ago, WHX24 said:

Not to take this too far on your career decision Tractor Boy but you are already getting some education...

Yah Jim pressing reefer fittings is getting real common. We recently went to what is marketed as yoga pipe. Crimp fittings are brazed on copper stubs at the shop then pex is pressed on them in the field. These presses need to take the 400 psi + of some refrigerants.

Eliminates (some) hot work in the field and a time saver. Currently looking into pressing gas piping if I can integrate it into boiler/infloor jobs.

Lingo we talk  may be above your head Tractor but this is what you will be learning. One thing about the mechanical trades is things are constantly changing.

They are constantly changing.....

About 50% of the lingo is above my head. 
For a beginner apprentice what would y’all say the average salary is?

[JCM 10,234]

I wish I could answer that for you but that is @WHX24  's   forte. When he get's a minute or two he maybe able to ballpark that for you. I feel you are making a good decision entering that trade. We definitely need Plumbers but HVAC is a much cleaner trade and when they are straight out in the summer Plumbers are usually out on the Lakes boating and fishing. Sorry Jim

[Cvans 1,009]

I don't use the word hate very often but I hate those situations. Went through something very similar last summer with a new convenience store and station. Food was showing up and no refrigeration. The installer had worked for several days trying to get it running. The owner was in a panic and I don't blame him. He contacted me and I was able to hook him up with some good people and everything turned out OK. 

I'm glad it worked out for them because they make gooood chicken. 

Edited May 1, 2020 by Cvans

[ZXT 2,401]

  

13 hours ago, squonk said:

I’ve seen plumbers cut holes in ductwork to install a sewer pipe! 

I've seen EMT and Romex run through ductwork on more than one occasion..

 

Recently I went in after the data guy to add a outlet for a router in an office. Wall had insulation in it and rather than trying to fish it down the wall, he drilled a hole in the sewer vent and ran it down that! 

[adsm08 3,284]

7 hours ago, ZXT said:

  

I've seen EMT and Romex run through ductwork on more than one occasion..

 

Recently I went in after the data guy to add a outlet for a router in an office. Wall had insulation in it and rather than trying to fish it down the wall, he drilled a hole in the sewer vent and ran it down that! 

 

When I was in high school my district built a new high school, state of the art, huge building LAN, all sorts of network issues. Random slow-downs, poor connections, dropped connections. This was 2003, so wi-fi was present but rudimentary, but worked better than the hardwire.

 

After months of searching we found that the installers laid the LAN cables in the same race tracks as the wiring for the fluorescent lights, which ran right on top of the lights.

[953 nut 60,145]

11 hours ago, Tractor boy said:

For a beginner apprentice what would y’all say the average salary is?

That will depend on the going rate in your area. When I began my electrical apprenticeship I was making 40% of the scale for a journeyman. Don't look at starting pay as if it is the end game. It is an opportunity for you to learn the trade and for the contractors to learn how valuable you are.

[Racinbob 11,952]

1 hour ago, 953 nut said:

That will depend on the going rate in your area. When I began my electrical apprenticeship I was making 40% of the scale for a journeyman. Don't look at starting pay as if it is the end game. It is an opportunity for you to learn the trade and for the contractors to learn how valuable you are.

 

That's what it was when I started out in the 70's. I believe it's 35% now because of the high journeymans rate but I could be wrong. At any rate it's still an outstanding opportunity sweetened even more with a excellent benefit package. The education you'll get, both book and on the job, is priceless. 

 

 

[Racinbob 11,952]

20 hours ago, squonk said:

Yup   Knees and back are shot. 

 

Same here but I can't blame the trade. After about 10 years I was out of the field doing estimating and project management. I managed to screw myself up working on my own stuff.