r/hvacpeople

Hello all, I’m soon going to go to college and graduated valedictorian this year, but have a lot of family who are in the trades and clear money like no tomorrow. Just curious would it be smart to go into HVAC or Electrical and open a business eventually there or no? Thank you!

We moved into our first house in February 2017. Furnace went out two weeks after we got the keys. I typed "furnace repair near me" into Google and called whatever came up first.

The tech was fast. Replaced the ignitor and cleaned the flame sensor. $395. System came back on, I paid without asking much.

Same company, same issue, two winters later. Different tech. Same diagnosis, same fix, same approximate price. I figured I just had a furnace with a recurring ignitor problem.

Third time, I looked the company up more carefully before calling back. It had changed ownership twice and been rebranded. What I'd assumed was a local business was a franchise arm of a national HVAC chain.

I called a different company instead, one I'd seen on trucks around the neighborhood for years. The tech was there for almost two hours. Found the actual issue: a dirty evaporator coil restricting airflow enough to overheat the system and trip the limit switch on cold startup. The ignitor and flame sensor had never been the problem. Fix cost $95 and a new filter.

The franchise was addressing symptoms. The local company addressed the system.

We have Amana(Goodman) R410A AC system 5 ton single staged from 2017, a 2-floor house 2700 sqft.

We came back from vacation, and so the thermostat says 82 degrees, and the ac was left on at 76.

It stopped cooling. We initaly though it might be a capacitor issue and ended up calling a guy as we wanted to get it fixed right away.

The guy come hooks up some sort of pressure gauge to the two inlets near the condenser unit outside. As soon as he saw the pressure, he said you have a major leak. I can either fill up your refrigerant and we see if you are lucky might last you 6 months. I ened up telling him go ahead fill it up. He filled it and charged me $300. I guess he filled 4lb no sure, but he had it pumping for close to 5 mins, and i could see pressure close to 350 on the high side. After that the ac started working and cooling.

But this lasted just a day. I told the guys he said there is a major leak, mostly in the coil. I looked up I could see oil leaked and stains from the condenser unit outside the fans, the top grill all had oil. The coil had no signs of the leak. So mostly it is the condenser.

Called many people; as soon as I mentioned the leak and the refrigerant after refilling lasted just a day, they all mentioned replacing the entire system is the better option.

They also mentioned. I am a second owner of the house, so you cannot claim warranty either, nor did you register on time. Even the previous owner had not registered these units.

Also you need a licensed HVAC tech to file a claim for you, no one said yes you claim it. All said you do not qualify, or when they do an actual thorough check, your claim will be rejected.

I have the best quote from the first guy itself for a Carrier single-stage 5-ton R454B whole new system. Around 9.7K including the furnace and 7.7k with out furnace. No issues with heating, at least as of now. I asked the guy what if I replace just the furnace in the future how much will you charge? He said 4k.

I am moving forward with $9.7K whole system change he said we will replace the thermostat for free(he will just cover the labour) I am getting Ecobee Enhanced.

Here is the new system.

26SCA560W003 is the condenser

Coil is CAAMP6024AMA

58SC0B090M21-20 for the furnace

Not sure if this is a good move, or should have gone the route for getting the whole system inspected for $300-600 and also doing a leak test. And replace anything bad or try to repair it. Thought it would be a rabbit hole and would end up spending the entire July and August in the heat of Texas and spending money.

Hey guys, quick question. I got so sick of sitting in my truck typing out equipment sheets after long service calls that my buddy who’s in school for computer science actually built a basic tool for me. I just upload my shop's Excel price sheet, hold down a mic button, and talk the repair specs into it. It turns my voice note into a finished client quote PDF in like 20 seconds.

He's launching it soon but letting a few field guys test it out for cheap first. Would anyone here actually use something like this, or am I just lazy?

Curious, I know POS handles offline, but what about everything else: inventory, deliveries, work orders? Trying to figure out where the real pain is to make a mobile app.

Im still on the fence of whether owning an Hvac business is worth it. For any owners out there, what part of running your HVAC business frustrates you the most because it keeps costing you money? And ik everything cost money, but I dont wanna have an overload of headaches

Looking for technical advice, not legal/contract advice.

We replaced our 20-year-old R22 system with a high-efficiency Rheem setup (RD18AY36AJVC heat pump, RH2VY3617STACNJ air handler, EcoNet thermostat). One of our priorities was maximizing reliability and longevity.

Because the old system had leaked a significant amount of R22 over the years, we specifically requested—and paid extra for—a new line set. It was written into the contract.

On installation day, the installers decided to flush and reuse the existing line set instead. They didn't tell us until they were leaving. The company now says replacing it would have required opening a wall or running a new line set on the outside of the house.

They're coming back tomorrow, and I'm trying to decide whether to insist they replace it as contracted.

From a technical standpoint:

• Is a properly flushed 20-year-old line set just as good?
• Does reusing it increase the long-term risk of leaks or shorten the life of the new system?
• If this were your house, would you insist on replacement, or let it go?

I'm just trying to understand whether replacing the line set provides meaningful long-term value for a premium installation like this.

I recently bought a house and want to make sure I'm doing my due diligence before hiring someone to work on my HVAC system.

If a contractor provides an EPA Section 608 Universal Certification, does that mean they're considered a licensed HVAC professional, or is that certification only for handling refrigerants?

Are HVAC technicians individually licensed, or is it only the company that's licensed?

Appreciate any advice.

We're now at around 5 techs and it feels like we've hit that point where the systems that worked before dosent work now, im using spreadsheets, texts, phone calls and a lot of people remembering things.

Lately we've had a couple of mix-ups and a lot of things slipping, we probably missing at least 2 or 3 things every month.

suggestions and tips from your experience would be welcome

Hi,

I just turned 17 and am a few weeks into being an apprentice for a super small but well lead HVAC company. We do new installs and renovations, and then occasional service for previous customers or whatever. I love it, but I feel super conflicted about going to technical school instead of a 4 year, and I don't want to limit my earnings. In the least arrogant way possible - friends keep telling me I am "wasting my intelligence" (I do well but hate school, 34 act, 4.0 etc whatever) and, while I am asking the people who do the job, is it better to just pursue a career that heavily relies on education? To clarify - my biggest questions are

1. How quickly can I start making good money
2. What education should I pursue if I intend on starting my own business
3. What do earning limits even look like

Thank you, and I don't mean to come off as egotistical with the school stuff or express the idea that the trades are a "waste of intelligence" when everyone I know is smart but also kind.

Hello all, I'm an administrator for a commercial HVAC company. What are the differences in everyone's different types of labor rates? For example, if your regular labor rate is $100/hr, what would you charge for Emergency? After-Hours? Rush Labor? (I know what overtime will be.)

TIA!!

-HVadmin

I’m installing a hot tub indoors for a commercial business

The hot tub will be ruining for 6 hours continuously. I have asked the manufacturer and they can’t provide me evaporation rates as it’s too hard to predict ?

I need to find out this information so I can properly plan the ventilation for the room. Has anybody have experience with this?

(The room is around 105cubic meters)
Has two windows that can be opened fully for fresh air.

Hello-I've been working in the corporate world for too long and want to use my extensive experience in HVAC to start my own business. I started in 2001 working for my family business and did residential and light commercial install and service work until 2010. In addition to the field work, I also have 5 years in HVAC sales including as manufacturers rep for parts, sold Trane for a contractor and am back in the role as a manufacturers rep. I'm universally certified and a NATE instructor. None of the people that I worked with or trained me has the necessary licensing necessary to verify my experience with VA DPOR. Any advice or anyone that can help me with this?