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what have I got into now

jacobsond
jacobsond Member Posts: 90
Long time lurker. Experience in small refrigeration,mechanical repair of almost anything 2yr degree in electronics.20+ yrs repairing electronics. I really find steam interesting.I have been doing online education in my spare time. I work at a college in general maintenance and building services. For a few yrs the guys at the heating plant would always comment why do they have a guy you cleaning half the day when you could be helping us. Well system tech job came up. I got the job. Now I have to get up to speed on a large steam and hot water system,large cooling system,building ventilation and everything that goes with that. My god what have I done.
coming to you from warm and sunny ND

Comments

  • JohnNY
    JohnNY Member Posts: 3,226
    Fake it 'til you make it, bro.
    Contact John "JohnNY" Cataneo, NYC Master Plumber, Lic 1784
    Consulting & Troubleshooting
    Heating in NYC or NJ.
    Classes
    ethicalpaulCanucker
  • Jamie Hall
    Jamie Hall Member Posts: 23,170
    Have fun! Ask questions, take nothing for granted, think about what the various gadgets are doing and what the various media are doing -- steam, water, air, refrigerant.

    And come here and ask questions!
    Br. Jamie, osb
    Building superintendent/caretaker, 7200 sq. ft. historic house museum with dependencies in New England
    ethicalpaul
  • RayWohlfarth
    RayWohlfarth Member Posts: 1,459
    @jacobsond Try to learn as much as you can from the existing employees. They have been working on the equipment much longer and can give you insight. Just like @Jamie Hall said, you can ask questions here. Remember there are many things which can go boom in a boiler room so try to learn as much as you can. Luckily there are videos on almost anything you need online. Good luck and stay safe
    Ray Wohlfarth
    Boiler Lessons
  • jacobsond
    jacobsond Member Posts: 90
    I'm going to ask a lot of questions. Doing the free course at Armstrong now. Probably have to get a couple books available here. Believe me I know things can go wrong easily. I will have the summer to get to know steam better. I will have to jump into air handlers and chillers right away. My refrigeration background will help. Systems are just a lot larger than I am used to . The theory is very similar tho.
    coming to you from warm and sunny ND
  • ethicalpaul
    ethicalpaul Member Posts: 5,695
    Congrats, you got this!!
    NJ Steam Homeowner. See my sight glass boiler videos: https://bit.ly/3sZW1el
  • EBEBRATT-Ed
    EBEBRATT-Ed Member Posts: 15,455
    @jacobsond
    Congratulations!! You will be fine. If you learned refrigeration you halfway home. In 2 or 3 years you will probably know more than the other guys.

  • mikeg2015
    mikeg2015 Member Posts: 1,194
    Ask questions and read a lot. Surf through forums like HVAC Talk and this site. Eventually you’ll know enough too figure out what the existing technicians are right and wrong about. Haha. I’ve found hte skill level of on site “techs” to vary widely. Some have good basic skill and little working knowledge. one only have tribal knowledge from some old timer, and no idea how it actually works. Some are completely full of BS and are lucky to be alive. As a former facility engineer and maintenance supervisor Ive seen all types.

    Learn to listen well. Best skill you can have.

    Keep things simple for the bosses. Especially the higher ups ones. Some of them are completely clueless on anything mechanical and get defensive when you make them feel stupid and can make your life hell or drum you out. Fun eh?
  • Steamhead
    Steamhead Member Posts: 16,796
    jacobsond said:

    Probably have to get a couple books available here.

    Go here. Start with Lost Art Revisited and Greening Steam:

    https://heatinghelp.com/store
    All Steamed Up, Inc.
    Towson, MD, USA
    Steam, Vapor & Hot-Water Heating Specialists
    Oil & Gas Burner Service
    Consulting