He's good, but I was super disappointed in his book on mini splits and inverter systems. For what he charges it should have been a lot more informative.
No I dont recommend it. Most of the book is on basic stuff. Installation best practices. Recovering refrigerant, evacuation and charging. As a service tech who wants to avoid calling tech support I was hoping his book would teach me enough to master service and repair of inverter systems. I learned a few things but for over $100 I felt like I should have learned a lot more.
It sucks I know. Service and repair of mini splits and inverter systems can be a nightmare. I don't know anyone who is good at working on them and there's not a lot of resources out there to learn from.
But are we doing an injustice by discouraging people from educating themselves on things they show an interest in?
As said, you need to be trained to work on hvac. But bobs gonna bob regardless right? So why not do the honorable thing and try to get bob as educated as possible on the subject and possibly even dissuade him in the process.
In Ohio you only need an EPA card to buy and handle refrigerant. No hvac license needed to work on resi equipment. So why not try to get the proper information into the hands of folks to prevent venting/damage/injury?
I would recommend Craig’s books to a diy guy, I’d also recommend a diy guy to use skill cat to get his EPA.
Let’s be honest here. Nothing in this trade, at least on the residential side, can’t be learned within a few weeks or months. Nothing about this is any different than any other line of work or trade. It’s a mix of common sense, troubleshooting, and learning basic concepts. This trade doesn’t require a college degree and in most states, not even a license. It’s a mix of learning basic electrical concepts, the refrigeration process, and the seq of operation on a gas furnace. If you learn that and spend about $2500 in tools, you’ll be able to maintain your existing hvac system for the rest of your life. Read a book on it and see if you have any interest in. Then start small, such as changing out a capacitor or troubleshooting why a gas furnace doesn’t start up. There is no reason why you should be paying 500 to have a tech change a capacitor when you can do it yourself for 15 bucks.
You make me feel a bit better. I've been trying to train myself using Skilcat, and have gotten as far as getting my EPA universal and finishing the Residencial courses. I'm part way through industrial. I think I'd actually like to get into the trade, and I'm looking at going to college for it. I've managed to fix a couple of small issues at home, and recharged the system after a leak. Had to borrow a friend's recovery machine of course, but I think it's something I could see myself doing. I've done nothing but retail for 15 years, and want to change things up. Some of us regular Joes are willing to do the real homework to properly do something.
Lol, that's bullshit. What about learning airflow, ductwork design, static pressure measurements, combustion analysis? I work on gas and oil. Boilers, hydronic and steam heating. Condensing boilers. Mini splits and inverter systems? I've been doing this 20 years and I still don't know everything I want to know to feel like I've mastered the trade.
Oh but you can learn residential in a couple months...get the fuck out of here.
I said maintain, not install. Regardless, the first four topics you mentioned are not difficult to learn. Mini splits are a joke to learn. One of the easiest jobs out there, except if installing a cassette in the ceiling. If you really think it takes someone with 20 years of experience to change out a cap or replace a fan motor, or to clean a condenser then you’re just lying to everyone. This shit is simple.
I'm talking about service and repair of all those types of systems. Yeah you can start doing service with a little experience but you are going to fuck up a lot and misdiagnose a lot of systems. Basic maintenance is easy. Being a skilled service technician who can diagnose and repair ALL types of HVAC systems takes years of experience and dedication to learning. It's not simple whatsoever. 98% of techs can't do my job the way I do.
Fucking up is part of the learning process. Discouraging people from even attempting basic maintenance is fucked up too. Nothing about this trade is anymore difficult than auto maintenance. Anyone with common sense can learn 100% of the preventative maintenance tasks and basic troubleshooting. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to diagnose and replace a defective blower motor. If someone read a book on this, watched YouTube videos on the topic and spent 2k or so on tools, then they will save serious $$$$ over the long term of home ownership. Just like doing your own basic maintenance on your car. No point paying 100 for an oil change and 75 bucks to replace your air filter, right?
Hey if someone can do it more power to them. But there's a big difference from a master automotive mechanic to a guy at Jiffy Lube changing oil. Just like there's a huge difference between a guy changing belts and filters and a master HVAC tech
I disagree. Residential HVAC isn’t terribly hard. The refrigerant side of things is definitely less DIY friendly but any weekend mechanic who can fix his own car or replace an outlet should be able to learn how to tackle things like capacitors, contactors, etc. Learning how a system works helps people decide when it’s doable and when to call a pro.
Exactly! Buy a set of gauges and you’ll be able to check your own pressures. Go get an epa cert(I did those, tests weren’t that hard) to be able to legally purchase Freon. If there’s something in question, go watch YouTube. Every single thing is documented on there in detail from hvacschool or one of the other techs that make videos
Nothing about YouTube will teach you what years in the field will show you. Every single system has different variables involved and not shit from the *lab results* (which is what your reading in these books/videos) come close to what you see in the field. Don't do it or it cost you alot more money for someone like me to come out and fix
No, you have to call and pay for the years of experience that guy put in to know that your system needs hosed down. If you have no trade experience then you have no way to properly diagnose an issue let alone fix it. Youre just gonna end up costing yourself a lot more. This is a book about charging and servicing, the tools needed to charge a system alone cost $1k+, you’d rather pay that and hope you did it right?
You can’t be serious. There is zero skill involved in hosing down a system. That’s like saying you shouldn’t do your own oil change or change out your air filter.
I’m just saying if you’re having any ac issues you shouldn’t be trying to diagnose and especially not fix it yourself if you don’t have experience in the trade
I recommend it to anyone interested in learning about the refrigeration cycle, service procedures or components of the system. As for you working on your own system, I’m staying out of that conversation entirely because I simply don’t care
Yes, look into the site SkillCat and go through the process of getting your EPA license. It’s easy and (at least used to be) free.
It’ll teach you about the fundamentals of refrigerant and Craig will teach you the fundamentals of hvac in general.
Stay safe, keep the gas out of the environment and good luck!
I haven’t daisy chained shop vacs since that accident in college.. it won’t make things longer, only fatter and juicier and trust me that’s not as good as it sounds
He's good, but I was super disappointed in his book on mini splits and inverter systems. For what he charges it should have been a lot more informative.
I like to imagine he scanned the instructions from multiple models of mini splits and bound them together.
Really! Damn good to know thanks
Dang, so I’m gonna assume that you don’t recommend getting it then? Was really hoping it was good as my mini split knowledge is a bit lacking.
No I dont recommend it. Most of the book is on basic stuff. Installation best practices. Recovering refrigerant, evacuation and charging. As a service tech who wants to avoid calling tech support I was hoping his book would teach me enough to master service and repair of inverter systems. I learned a few things but for over $100 I felt like I should have learned a lot more.
Well that’s a bummer. What you mentioned is exactly what I was hoping for also.
It sucks I know. Service and repair of mini splits and inverter systems can be a nightmare. I don't know anyone who is good at working on them and there's not a lot of resources out there to learn from.
He's comin' at 'cha, and in this video we're going to be going over- I can not say Craig's last name so I just say he's Craig Comin' At'cha.. lol
Mig-Lee-AWE-Chee-o
Does he touch on commercial and industrial applications?
Hands down the best hvac YouTube channel
Great book
Do you recommend the book to a do it yourself guy like me.
Nothing on your ac system should be DIY unless you have experience working in the trade
But are we doing an injustice by discouraging people from educating themselves on things they show an interest in? As said, you need to be trained to work on hvac. But bobs gonna bob regardless right? So why not do the honorable thing and try to get bob as educated as possible on the subject and possibly even dissuade him in the process. In Ohio you only need an EPA card to buy and handle refrigerant. No hvac license needed to work on resi equipment. So why not try to get the proper information into the hands of folks to prevent venting/damage/injury? I would recommend Craig’s books to a diy guy, I’d also recommend a diy guy to use skill cat to get his EPA.
Let’s be honest here. Nothing in this trade, at least on the residential side, can’t be learned within a few weeks or months. Nothing about this is any different than any other line of work or trade. It’s a mix of common sense, troubleshooting, and learning basic concepts. This trade doesn’t require a college degree and in most states, not even a license. It’s a mix of learning basic electrical concepts, the refrigeration process, and the seq of operation on a gas furnace. If you learn that and spend about $2500 in tools, you’ll be able to maintain your existing hvac system for the rest of your life. Read a book on it and see if you have any interest in. Then start small, such as changing out a capacitor or troubleshooting why a gas furnace doesn’t start up. There is no reason why you should be paying 500 to have a tech change a capacitor when you can do it yourself for 15 bucks.
You make me feel a bit better. I've been trying to train myself using Skilcat, and have gotten as far as getting my EPA universal and finishing the Residencial courses. I'm part way through industrial. I think I'd actually like to get into the trade, and I'm looking at going to college for it. I've managed to fix a couple of small issues at home, and recharged the system after a leak. Had to borrow a friend's recovery machine of course, but I think it's something I could see myself doing. I've done nothing but retail for 15 years, and want to change things up. Some of us regular Joes are willing to do the real homework to properly do something.
Lol, that's bullshit. What about learning airflow, ductwork design, static pressure measurements, combustion analysis? I work on gas and oil. Boilers, hydronic and steam heating. Condensing boilers. Mini splits and inverter systems? I've been doing this 20 years and I still don't know everything I want to know to feel like I've mastered the trade. Oh but you can learn residential in a couple months...get the fuck out of here.
I said maintain, not install. Regardless, the first four topics you mentioned are not difficult to learn. Mini splits are a joke to learn. One of the easiest jobs out there, except if installing a cassette in the ceiling. If you really think it takes someone with 20 years of experience to change out a cap or replace a fan motor, or to clean a condenser then you’re just lying to everyone. This shit is simple.
I'm talking about service and repair of all those types of systems. Yeah you can start doing service with a little experience but you are going to fuck up a lot and misdiagnose a lot of systems. Basic maintenance is easy. Being a skilled service technician who can diagnose and repair ALL types of HVAC systems takes years of experience and dedication to learning. It's not simple whatsoever. 98% of techs can't do my job the way I do.
Fucking up is part of the learning process. Discouraging people from even attempting basic maintenance is fucked up too. Nothing about this trade is anymore difficult than auto maintenance. Anyone with common sense can learn 100% of the preventative maintenance tasks and basic troubleshooting. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to diagnose and replace a defective blower motor. If someone read a book on this, watched YouTube videos on the topic and spent 2k or so on tools, then they will save serious $$$$ over the long term of home ownership. Just like doing your own basic maintenance on your car. No point paying 100 for an oil change and 75 bucks to replace your air filter, right?
Hey if someone can do it more power to them. But there's a big difference from a master automotive mechanic to a guy at Jiffy Lube changing oil. Just like there's a huge difference between a guy changing belts and filters and a master HVAC tech
I disagree. Residential HVAC isn’t terribly hard. The refrigerant side of things is definitely less DIY friendly but any weekend mechanic who can fix his own car or replace an outlet should be able to learn how to tackle things like capacitors, contactors, etc. Learning how a system works helps people decide when it’s doable and when to call a pro.
Exactly! Buy a set of gauges and you’ll be able to check your own pressures. Go get an epa cert(I did those, tests weren’t that hard) to be able to legally purchase Freon. If there’s something in question, go watch YouTube. Every single thing is documented on there in detail from hvacschool or one of the other techs that make videos
Nothing about YouTube will teach you what years in the field will show you. Every single system has different variables involved and not shit from the *lab results* (which is what your reading in these books/videos) come close to what you see in the field. Don't do it or it cost you alot more money for someone like me to come out and fix
So now I gotta call a guy to hose my system down? Great
No, you have to call and pay for the years of experience that guy put in to know that your system needs hosed down. If you have no trade experience then you have no way to properly diagnose an issue let alone fix it. Youre just gonna end up costing yourself a lot more. This is a book about charging and servicing, the tools needed to charge a system alone cost $1k+, you’d rather pay that and hope you did it right?
You can’t be serious. There is zero skill involved in hosing down a system. That’s like saying you shouldn’t do your own oil change or change out your air filter.
Shut the fuck up 🤣
Honestly I'd rather just use a hose to clean the fins of any grass or dirt
I’m just saying if you’re having any ac issues you shouldn’t be trying to diagnose and especially not fix it yourself if you don’t have experience in the trade
My HVAC guy is awesome, no way in hell am I messing with it myself. I'm giving you a hard time. We can all relax
I recommend it to anyone interested in learning about the refrigeration cycle, service procedures or components of the system. As for you working on your own system, I’m staying out of that conversation entirely because I simply don’t care
Yes, look into the site SkillCat and go through the process of getting your EPA license. It’s easy and (at least used to be) free. It’ll teach you about the fundamentals of refrigerant and Craig will teach you the fundamentals of hvac in general. Stay safe, keep the gas out of the environment and good luck!
But the gas yearns for freedom
Violently so, seen my buddy from Texas lasso a gas cloud and wrangle it back into a bottle.
Sometimes I get like 6 shop vacs and daily chain them then put the recovery machine at the end in the last one and chase it around ghost busters style
I haven’t daisy chained shop vacs since that accident in college.. it won’t make things longer, only fatter and juicier and trust me that’s not as good as it sounds
Skilcat is 10 bucks a month now. Still worth it to me.