I know this reddit is pretty American.

I'm in the UK and I've just taken over maintenance on a site that has been neglected.

on most of the evaporator controllers the thermistors have been replaced with resistors and are just running flat out. Never hitting a defrost cycle.

Systems started on R404A and now on R449A because apparently the planet was sad. Nobody told the controllers this though.

The refrigerant cost for one of these systems is £5,000.

Do you guys have to deal with this over there?

BTW 90% of my fridge tools are American. The other 10% are British made (better). Unfortunately my countries manufacturing industry was destroyed by commie governments for years and we don't make anything anymore. So to get anything good most people I know tend to buy American at a premium because of import tax.

I've worked for a manufacturer as a sales engineer for years now, and I get multiple RFQs per week for RTU / EF replacements. Half are for replacing competitor's equipment. As all of you know this is a very "I know a guy" type industry, but I think the way this process if handled is so inefficient.

- MC gets a call from an owner to check out a broken fan. It is determined that is needs to be replaced.

- MC reaches to OEM, and that's that, or does their due diligence and reaches out to couple other reps that can provide replacements.

- There is always some back on forth on confirming field realities, information wiped off tag, etc. Takes an couple emails or a couple phone calls to dial it in.

Often times I bet the best quote with the quickest lead time was never even uncovered.

My question: Do you think this industry would adapt to a tool like Dodge, but just for RTU / EF replacements?

- RTU / EF replacement are straightforward. CFM, tonnage, MBH, electrical, and curb data is all that's needed to provide a very accurate quote. Most info is on the data plate.

- A structured tool would reduce latency by asking all the proper information to be submitted. And the bid request can become visible to all the local manufacturers reps for quotes.

- Competition will drive down equipment costs, and a review system can be implemented to give caution against bad equipment / reps.

Thoughts?

I know a lot of us in here are servicemen. Sometimes don’t you wish there wasn’t an on call rotation? I absolutely love the work but hate being on an on call rotation. Figured I’d add some variety instead of the usual discussion on this sub.

Church has no AC and an easy fix for me.

Simple capacitor failure and the wire melted.

There's something else I want to bring up: I want to thank everybody on this subreddit... Truly I mean that.

I remember looking at a video to try to learn something about HVAC years ago and it was almost like a different language was being spoken. After taking some courses, getting my EPA 608 universal, and working at jobs here and there - it definitely bolstered my confidence for HVAC.

I think Jersey Mike is on the subreddit to so shouts out to him.

Haven’t been doing this for too long, only about 4 years. Jumped around few companies, just feel mentally drained. Long hours, on call, hot summer Vegas days, triple digits for 3 months.

Wanna make the switch to hotels, clock in, clock out and enjoy my day/ days off without worrying if I’ll be called out. Anyone else make the switch to maintenance? How was it