Best Of
Re: We Got Steam Heat - wish I never read this book
Many times the smartest thing to do is walk………..No, run away.
Re: We Got Steam Heat - wish I never read this book
I have installed more fiberglass insulation than I wish to remember. Do you really wanna pay a plumber or steamfitter (highly skilled trade) to install insulation? It's something the HO can do or hire a handyman for much less $$.
If the client insists, I give them a professional insulating outfit. The anger will wear off. Atleast you know tons more going foward. Mad Dog
Re: Oil furnace explosion - audit, thoughts
Lots of possibilities — but the most likely one is that the tech — or someone — pressed the reset button more than once and got too much oil in the fire chamber. Which finally got a spark… not the first time. And a common enough occurrence.
Proving who did what and why the burner didn't ignite reliably is going to be a real headache for all concerned.
I doubt the gasoline theory. Much more likely that someone sat there muttering "why doesn't thing run?" and stabbing the reset…
Re: Space Aliens?? Robots? Nope
May take some training for the dogs to learn how to use it. 😃
jesmed1
Re: Burner technicians -what’s going on in this industry?
Unfortunately this is what we've become as a society, after decades of "you have to go to college or you'll end up like him" rhetoric. These white collar "educators" don't understand that the majority of blue collar workers make a better living than they do, and still look down on them with disdain. My high school experience made me feel like I would end up under an overpass if I didn't get some sort of college degree and even after a 5 year union pipefitter apprenticeship, was still meant to feel like I was somehow ruining my life by being a lowly construction worker. It still happens today, if I'm being honest. I actually took a lot of pride in my work and learning what makes things tick, so I was a foreman as a 21 year old apprentice with guys triple my age working under me who still couldn't sweat a joint or cut a thread- those same guys refusing to take orders from "the stupid kid". I was the youngest guy on site by a decade for a long time before younger guys started coming in again, and honestly I felt like the younger guys coming in were better at their job than the older guys for the most part. Maybe it was the whole "old dogs and new tricks" thing, but there were countless retirement age guys who'd been pipefitter for 40+ years and barely knew which end of a wrench to grab and that still hasn't changed. I'm 36 now and run my own business, but am still met pretty regularly with the vibe that I couldn't possibly know what I'm doing because I'm just a dumb kid. Obviously we always have more learning to do but I think a large portion of tradespeople are too arrogant, lazy, or dumb to learn anything new and that's why we're seeing this incompetence. It may not always be the technician's fault, but their employers who send out a new hire who's never even seen an oil boiler before to a job where they're required to service an oil boiler. By themselves. A few weeks ago I was installing a boiler and the plumbers from a big name company showed up, both of them under 21, to connect a 4 port gas manifold to 4 runs of CSST hanging in the room. It took 2 guys 3 hours to do a job that I could do alone in 10 minutes, but it was apparent that nobody had ever taught either of them how to do what they were sent there to do. I tried to help at one point and the arrogant punk got snotty with me so I let them do it their way.
GroundUp
Lunch
It's seldom that we stop work and take the time to go have lunch off the jobsite. Today, we're way up in the Berkeley Hills and lunch will be a 15 minute break. We also don't take rest breaks which would surely get us into trouble with OSHA if we had employees.
Re: What Gas Boilers Are Manufactured In The U.S.A.?
EzzyT
Re: What do you think the future of our industry looks like?
I ve kinda waited out a bit for posting ,but from my point of view there really are not enough younglings going into any blue collar type of work . I kinda think that when it comes to making money like everyone they want the largest return for the smallest effort in most cases. And the work we do is not the most rewarding over a few decades your bonuses are bad back ,knees shoulders and rotator cup aside from arthritis sounds like a good deal . I think most kids are not willing to put in the grunt work and think that doing some thing once correctly and your a pro and should be intitle one to a raise . lol
i hardly doubt any kid would walk my shoes in construction to get where i am and that aint saying much .
From starting out doing basement water proofing installing french drains in existing homes to digging under grounds and doing sewer and water main connection to doing finish work and hot water boiler and all the waste and vent ,b vent chimney installs and all plumbing junk to switching gears and doing hvac for about 35 year from residential to commercial ac splits to package rooftops ,multizone rooftops to process cooling for blow injection plants water towers,refregeration from freezers to blast freezer and in between all that work on single and old two pipe system and a few years of oil burner install and service . Oh yeah go get a chiller lic w toxic ref cert at over 50 . A request of my dad so i did it
i highly doubt that kids today would stick w anything that long while continue to learn more and more aspects of the trade . While learning all this stuff w fairly no monetary increase for long lengths of time ( raises once a year ) I think most of the truly smart one will be off to college and not dirtying there hands .
As time goes on finding the diamonds in the rough w 1/2 a brain that fit some basic requirements will be like hitting the lottery .Being the one big issue i hear is reliability and that lack of dong a couple of basic simple things like showing up to work on time and every day and doing that every day no excuses . Stay off your cell phone ,work like theres a flame on your **** instead of dragging your feet hoping that some else will pick up or carry material or garbage . Seems like the only time the flame is on is when its punch out time then theres a fire under there ****. I know there are a few kids out there like me when i was younger but i have to say i don't think there that stupid any more and realize that it s not glamorous as one may think but you may meet elvis as you are hallucinating in a 130 degree attic while the ho ask how much longer lol . That's glamorous for sure . i guess this is why there are so many non american doing the work but w our new immigration program there's no wonder there is a short coming of workers in the new construction fields and plenty of jobs available but no taker or at least not youngins .
Just my wierdo view standing w one foot on a banana peel and the other in a hole and ready to go at any point w zero resistance
peace and good luck clammy
clammy
Re: What do you think the future of our industry looks like?
All of the skills & trades based education I had starting in grade 7 occurred well before the department of education was created.
Not saying the department is bad or good; just that states need to show leadership in this area. STEM is great but STEM needs the trades.
PC7060