Say that you are competing for the same position, and you competition has the same amount of experience that you do, you have a universal hvac license while your competitor only has a type 1 and 2. Now who do you think is going to land the job? Not counting the past references and stuff as that plays a huge role also.

The thing about being an hvac technician, is that it will not make you rich, but it will guarantee you that there will always be work out there whereever you go. If you are up north where it is cold year round, people will need heat. Whether they have gas or furnace heaters, baseboard heaters, radiant floor heating, they will need someone to install that type of heating system for them. Not only that, more than likely in the next five years, that heating system will fail and then it will have to be servied.

The same goes for down south, the majority of hvac would more than likely be cooling. Unless the installer is perfect with perfect parts, an air conditioning system will always need to be serviced. If you want to make money being an hvac technician, then the best route would be to open your own business. This way you are cutting out the middle man.

Take caution though, if you decide to open up your own hvac business, you better know heatin, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration inside and out. You do not want to have to call someone else in to troubleshoot a problem that you cannot figure out. Not only will this make your business name look bad, as you do not know what the hell you are doing, but it will cost you money. You are the contractor, meaning that there should not be anything that you do not have the ability to fix.

The strongest part of hvac in my opinion would be the refrigeration part. No matter where you live you will need refrigeration to keep food cold and frozen stuff frozen, both up north and down south. Not only that I find it that refrigeration and chillers are the hardest to work on, or in that matter to learn how to work on, but once you get the hang of it they are not that bad. Learning about what kind of refrigerant they use and such can be a pain in the butt.

So if you have already made up your mind that you are going to do manual labor the rest of your life, becoming an hvac technician may be a path that you may want to pursue. You will learn how to fix all sorts of things that many people do not have the slightest clue, if you want to own your very own hvac business, then I would recommend that you have at least 15 years of experience.

One thing that you will have to remember when you are working on refrigerators, that many of them will use different types of refrigerant than the common kinds that are found in air condtioning systems. This is because refrigerators do not need as much pressure, so the refriegerant will vary in a lot of cases. To be able to troubleshoot the freon part of refrigerators you will have to have a type 3 epa 608 certification, the last type there is and in my opinion it is the most difficult of the three certifications that you can get, as I failed the type 3 test the first time that I took it, and then I passed the second time.

Back to refrigerators, if you want to become an hvac technician, you will have to expand your knowledge past just heaters and air conditioners. I know that leaks on refrigerators are very hard to pinpoint, but they are alot less common than you may find on air condtioing systems. This is because the welds that are on refrigerators are made in the factory, and they are tested several times in the factory before they are shipped out. I myself have been in this business for many years, and I have never had to do a leak test on a refrigerator.

Like air conditioning systems, there is a condensate line on refrigerators, the older models will just usually go to a drip pan, while the newer models will actually go through an evaportion process. So just like air conditioning units, these can get clogged up just as easy, and you will have to either blow or suck out the condensate line. If you do not then the freezer could build up excessive ice, causing the fridge not to cool, and eventually the ice will expand until it hits the blower fan that is in the freezer or even the fridge. Another reason why a freezer may freeze up, or a refrigerator may not cool, is because the defrost cycle might not engage.

If a freezer never defrosts, then ice just keeps building up, this is no good, and also, the food that you have in the freezer may get freezer burn. So make sure that if your fridge is not set to defrost automatically, then you will have to do it yourself manually. If you have a newer fridge you should not have this problem, but if you do the defrost button should be located in the fridge, and with a small skinny screwdriver you will be able to engage it and start the defrost cycle.

Sorry I could not go over more on what I know on fridges, but as an hvac technician I am able to successfully troubleshoot 90% of the service calls that I get by explaining what I know.

The high side on these residential air conditioning systems will usually sit around 250 psi of refrigerant, if the system is operating properly like it should be, meaning there is no restriction of air at the coils. So if you are running low on money but do not want to risk freezing your hand off, as shraeder valves do fail some times when you are taking the fitting off, then I would strongly recommend that you invest in a low loss pressure fitting for your high side, then when you get more money in the future get one for your charging and suction side as well.

Not only will low loss fittings save you from freezing your hand off, they are also good for the envirement, or more to say the ozone layer. If you are epa 608 certified, and or an hvac technician then you should know about cfc’c and hcfc’s and how dangerous that they can be to our ozone layer. If we do not take care of the ozone, then we are screwed. We may not be screwed right away, but our future generation will be. Although we are weeding out refrigerant that causes the depletion of the ozone layer, it will more than likely not be comletely weeded out for the next 20 or 30 years, so us as Hvac technicians have to take extreme caution when we are charging air conditioning units.

The same applies for when you are recovering or transferring refrigerant. So if you are an hvac technician and you make a living out of doing this then you will need the right tools, you should already have a pair of guages, do the right thing and invest in some low loss fittings for your hvac guages.

Dont get me wrong, I had to study my ass off with the training book when it came down to it. And remember even though I have seen the hands on done, and the recovery process of the thing done many times the epa exam will ask you alot more questiong than charging a unit. As a matter of fact if my memory serves me correctly there is nothing in the test book that covers anything about charging an air conditioning unit with refirgerant.

This brings me to another case, that the most important part that you need to know about the exam is the first test, also known as the core. The core section of the epa 608 test must be passed, no matter what. Say that you pass the type 1-3 hvac epa 608 certification, and then you fail the core test, then that means that you do not get any certification. You must pass the core test to recieve any kind of certification at all, this is very important, so if you are to over due a section, then make sure that you study your ass off on the core section.

Also, there are questions that will be on all three of the epa tests that are in the core section study guide, so make sure that you go through it very thouroughly as you will need to know this like the back of your hand if you want to be able to handle refrigerant. This is no walk in the park, the first time that I had takin the epa 608 certification I was in a review class all day and there were 2 teachers that were present. The two teachers that were present were former hvac technicians and have gone through a great deal of knowledge with them. Even with reviewing all of the sections of the epa 608 so I could get my hvac certification, I still managed to fail one of the sections out of the four tests.

The section that I failed was the type 3 license, and I missed that by only one question. The type 3 was the section that I had studied the least amount, and a lot of the questions I was just guessing. But two months later all I had to do when I was studing was look over and refresh my mind in the core section, and then study a bit harder in the type 3 license. I took the test again and I think I missed only one or two questions.

I was happy to have all three 608 certifications, also known as a Universal License at my disposal. With the hvac training and experience that I have know, and the universal license, will look good on any resume for someone that is seeking an hvac technician position.

Today’s lesson in the HVAC School will be about getting certified. In order to handle refrigerants, which you will need to be able to do if you ever want to make a living as and HVAC technician then you will have to be epa 608 certified. If you wish to have some further information from the professionals on what this is all about you can visit there site here.

Now what I had to do when I got my certification is take four different types of tests, and they are not that hard if you study. If you attend an HVAC school in Florida, or anywhere else this will be one of the first things that you will need to get.

There are four types of certifications that you can get, these are type 1,2,3 and the universal, which means that you have all of them. Having a type 1 certification means that you can work on small appliances that contain Freon, such as refrigerators and portable air conditioning units.

Type 2 holders can work on hvac systems that use high pressure refrigerant, some examples of this are home central air conditioners, super market air conditioners, heat pumps. Basically this is what you will need to work on any central heating and cooling system.

Type 3 consists of working on systems that use lower pressure refrigerants, some examples might include hvac in cars, or chillers.

The universal certification will be awarded when you pass all four tests, now notice that there is no type 4, and there are 4 tests, this is because there is a core section in hvac training courses that you must pass. You must pass the core test to get any type of certification. Once you pass the core you will not have to take that test again. You could pass tests 1-3 and if you fail the core you will not get any of the certifications at all.

The core consists of basically ozone depletion, CAA phase out, clean air acts and many other things that you will have to know. Before you go to get your hvac certification at either a testing center or an accredited hvac school you should really concentrate on what type of hvac certification you will want. It is good on a resume to have all of them but it is a lot easier to study and learn one section at a time. If you think that you can take on all of the tests at once then by all means go ahead, I did and I passed all but the type three, which I went back and got later.

In other posts here at the hvac school I will go over each test individually and what you will need to know to pass them with flying colors.

Here at Dave’s hvac school we like to cover all the basics about hvac, and in today’s lesson I will be going over some basic troubleshooting for residential central air conditioning systems. There are literally hundreds of possible causes for an air conditioning system to malfunction, as I will be covering everything that I know with you, but the hvac training for now I will only be going over the basics, that does not require professional knowledge or an HVAC certification to troubleshoot the problem.

The most common problem that I come across is a dirty furnace filter, this is not good. If the filter is clogged with dirt and dust then that will restrict the air flow that is being sucked in by the blower fan, which will cause your system to work harder than it actually has to which is a bad thing. For one the room that you are trying to cool will not cool efficiently, and the dirtier the furnace filter gets the less efficient the air conditioning system will work. If the furnace filter gets too dirty then the refrigerant lines could even freeze up, and when there is a big block of ice that is covering the evaporator coils then there will be no cooling going on, and it is also very bad for your compressor. If this happens you must turn the fan on to the unit only, and let all of the ice melt off completely before you can start running the hvac system in cool mode again. You should be changing your furnace filter every 1 to 3 months depending on what kind of filter that it is.

Be sure that you are keeping the cage that is in front of the evaporator coil clear of everything, some people like to put their dirty laundry right in front of the air vent where it is sucked in, and this will also cause the hvac system to malfunction.

If you central air conditioning unit comes with a float switch, which every modern residential hvac system does these days, then you will need to make sure that the condensate line is kept clean. Even if you don’t have one installed the condensate line must be kept clean anyway as if it is not slime and sludge will build up in the pipe, and the condensate that is supposed to be draining outside or into a sewer line will back up and flood your home.

This is why the safety float switch is installed, once the condensate line gets clogged the water will push up on the switch and shut all of the power off to the hvac unit, saving you from cleaning up water and extra damages that could occur, like mold. The best way to keep these clean or to clean them out is with a wet/dry vacuum. Suck the line out for a couple of minutes, and flushing it with hot bleach water will help also. You can also purchase anti slime tablets that you put in the line every month, this will greatly help in the growth of algae and slime in the condensate system. Well that is today’s short lesson here at my hvac school if you have any questions please just drop me a comment and I will get back to you as soon as I can.

To start things off here at the HVAC School I might as well make sure that you know the basic principles of refrigeration. You will not be learning anything here that will get you EPA 608 certified, you will not learn how to fix anything, but you will get a great amount of knowledge as to how the cooling and heating process work, it will surely help you out in the future if you do decide to go to a real accredited HVAC school that is for sure.

To get a little bit on the scientific side of refrigeration I will start with the word “cold”. When it comes to science law and all that other crap “cold” does not exist until you get to absolute zero, which is -460 degrees Fahrenheit. This is the point where all atomic motion comes to an end, there is not energy. No one here on earth has ever achieved this temperature, we have came less than a degree away but just haven’t quite put the nail in the coffin. Okay maybe a little off subject of HVAC School and the principles of cold and heat, or is it?

You would like to think that when your air conditioning system is up and running that it is just blowing cool air everywhere, and that is why the rooms are getting cold. The same as when your refrigerator and freezer are running, to the average person they are just blowing really cool air, therefore the space is staying cool. Well if you are to be a certified experienced HVAC technician, and you do decide to go to an HVAC school to learn a career that you can take with you anywhere you will learn that this is not how stuff works. This is not how the refrigeration cycle works, where would you get the cold air from?

When it comes to air conditioning and refrigeration, the process of cooling is actually the removal of heat. For instance inside a freezer, heat is being pulled out of the freezer and ran over coils that are filed with high pressure refrigerant which absorbs the heat and dumps it out right outside the box. The same thing and exact same principle comes into effect with air conditioning systems.

Now when it comes to heat, the fact is that heat will always move to where it is less warm. Another thing that you will learn in any HVAC School that knows what the hell they are talking about. For example if you have 2 anvils that are next to each other, one is at room temperature and the other is burning hot at over a thousand degrees, the ambient temperature anvil will absorb the heat from the hot one until both temperatures on the anvils equalize. This is just how heat and cold work.

Now with that being said heat will always travel to the cooler spot, nothing can stop it, nothing. But we can slow it down through means of insulation, kind of like your refrigerator and freezer doors have insulation stripping on them. Ovens are also equipped with a type of insulation around the door to slow the heat inside of the oven from escaping to the cooler air. So how do air conditioning systems and refrigerators remove heat so efficient? The answer is through refrigerant.

When a liquid boils it lets of the heat that is trapped in the liquid, meaning the liquid turns into steam, which is just letting off some heat. If you were to have two buckets of water that were sitting side by side outside in the hot sun, and one of them was covered and the other was not, the one that was covered would have a lot more heat. The uncovered one would be a lot cooler as it would be letting off heat with the steam escaping.

This is what you will need to know if you ever want to pass those tests in certain HVAC schools that do extensive training on this type of stuff. I do agree that hands on training is the best and most efficient type of training there is when it comes to learning about HVAC, but this is information that every technician and teacher in the HVAC field should know and be aware of. If they do not then they do not know what the hell they are talking about.

Refrigerants will boil at a much cooler rate than water does, for instance R-22 boils at negative 40 degrees Fahrenheit, which makes it a superb choice for a liquid that can remove heat. This is the very basics of refrigeration and the principles that you will learn in any HVAC school.

Hello all and welcome to my HVAC and R school. First of all let me get this out of the way this is not a real accredited HVAC school. You cannot get a license from just simply reading and understanding all of the principles of HVAC. You will need to take 4 written tests to get certified given by an accredited school or HVAC instructor, I am not one of those. But what I can help you with is some training tools that will get you prepared to take your exam and pass so you can get qualified. I will also be teaching a lot about refrigeration and heating, how central air conditioning systems work, how refrigerators work, troubleshooting, and much more.

I will not be going into stuff that requires handling Freon as far as troubleshooting as many of you that find this website through search engines are not certified to handle refrigerant. I will also be making a series of posts explaining how to get EPA 608 certified. There are four types of EPA 608 certifications that you can get and those are type 1,2,3 and universal. The universal certification means that you have all three types of the EPA 608 certificates.

I will get all into this in much more detail here at my little HVAC school so there is no need to worry, we will get you certified. The best thing about this is you will get all the knowledge you need for free at no cost, so I hope to see you in the future and do not be late to class here at my hvac school.