Armed Polite Society

Main Forums => The Roundtable => Topic started by: Brad Johnson on March 05, 2008, 02:48:57 PM

Title: Pretended I was 280plus (again) today.
Post by: Brad Johnson on March 05, 2008, 02:48:57 PM: One of my best friends is an HVAC guy. His helper quit over the weekend so I offered to give him a hand on a big install he had today. Kinda fun, though I spent most of the day handing him tools, lugging parts and equipment up and down a ladder, and watching (learning) him work. On the upside, our local Red Lobster has a shiney new Trane 7.5 ton package unit humming merrily away on their roof. I even finished up with all fingers intact and no new experiences with electricity.

Think I might drop back by for some garlic cheddar bisquits. The new unit was right by the exhaust stack for their baking oven and I spent all day smelling them. Yum!

Brad
Title: Re: Pretended I was 280plus today.
Post by: 280plus on March 05, 2008, 03:00:17 PM: Quote
The new unit was right by the exhaust stack for their baking oven and I spent all day smelling them.
Yea, it can be a tough job at times!

Glad you had fun
Title: Re: Pretended I was 280plus today.
Post by: Leatherneck on March 06, 2008, 12:09:57 AM: I remember helping my Dad as a kid in the 50s work on HVAC units like walkin boxes for restaurants. Seems like every eatery owner would try for a discount by feeding us after the job was done. Good eats!

TC
Title: Re: Pretended I was 280plus today.
Post by: 280plus on March 06, 2008, 02:16:28 AM: I had a guy once who wanted me to do ~$350 worth of work and materials for a pizza and acted insulted when I wouldn't. I don't service many resturants these days.
Title: Re: Pretended I was 280plus today.
Post by: Brad Johnson on March 06, 2008, 08:35:50 AM: Remembered something very important this morning ... lugging heavy stuff up and down ladders is hell on the legs. Tried hopping out of bed this morning and it ended up more a slow moaning roll. My knees are killing me, my quads are screaming, and my butt feels like it's been pounded with a baseball bat.

Thank God for Tylenol.

Brad
Title: Re: Pretended I was 280plus today.
Post by: 280plus on March 06, 2008, 10:21:07 AM: Yea, 30 years worth of ladders has pretty much killed my knees and elbows. Sucks gettin' old...

hey, I was just on a roof myself. What a co-inkydink.
Title: Re: Pretended I was 280plus today.
Post by: Brad Johnson on March 06, 2008, 11:44:46 AM: Glad they have some help lined up for my friend. The same roof gets a 15 ton unit next week. I saw it at the warehouse. It's 8' x 10' x 5' and the shipping shows the weight as just shy of 2600 pounds.

Brad
Title: Re: Pretended I was 280plus today.
Post by: 280plus on March 06, 2008, 12:38:21 PM: Aw hell, just toss that baby up on your shoulder and get up that ladder!
Title: Re: Pretended I was 280plus today.
Post by: Brad Johnson on March 13, 2008, 10:13:22 AM: Well, the help that was lined up for my HVAC buddy can't come on board until next week. The install on the fifteen ton unit was scheduled for this week. Yesterday, to be exact. So, once again, I played ladder monkey to help him out. Strange thing is I did twice the work but am not nearly as sore. My knees are smarting a good bit, but that's it. No muscle pains or aches at all.

Things went a little haywire with the gas and electric stuff. We ended up having to rip out and redo all the wiring, beginning at the junction box inside the building. Then we had to relocated the gas line because the curb adapter totally covered the old gas riser. That set us back a couple of hours. Then the Economizer ended up being a total Charlie Foxtrot. Trane must have retarded monkeys writing the instructions. They were awful. The same monkeys must be packaging them, too. It was done so poorly that one of the screens was crushed. What should have been a 45 minute job ended up taking almost three hours. In the end we didn't get it operational but we did get all the big two-man stuff done. All Brian had to finish this morning was run one piece of gas flex, hook up the new stat, and set up the efficiency kit.

Brad
Title: Re: Pretended I was 280plus (again) today.
Post by: Tallpine on March 13, 2008, 11:54:08 AM: Quote
My knees are killing me, my quads are screaming, and my butt feels like it's been pounded with a baseball bat.

Sounds like a normal morning to me

Of course, I can remember carrying 6x6 T&G houselogs up a ladder by myself and setting them in place. And I used to throw the rough sawn 6x6's (from which they were milled) up on top of a chin high stack on the green chain.
Title: Re: Pretended I was 280plus (again) today.
Post by: 280plus on March 13, 2008, 03:50:16 PM: Yes, I love the Trane Economizers. No worse than Carrier's I suppose. So you gots to play with a crane too? What fun!
Title: Re: Pretended I was 280plus (again) today.
Post by: Brad Johnson on March 14, 2008, 06:01:42 AM: Quote from: 280plus on March 13, 2008, 02:50:16 PM
So you gots to play with a crane too? What fun!

Yeah, nothing like trying to stabilize a 7x10x5 2600lb sail in a 15 mph wind. Had fun with the curb adapter, too. Whoever welded it up needs to go back to trade school. The welds were so sloppy, gloppy, and rough the unit wouldn't fit over the lip of the adapter. A little "trimming" with a 5 lb sledge fixed it right up, though.

Brad
Title: Re: Pretended I was 280plus (again) today.
Post by: 280plus on March 14, 2008, 10:48:58 AM: Quote
A little "trimming" with a 5 lb sledge fixed it right up, though.
Ah, gave it a few taps with the old "technician's hammer" eh?
Title: Re: Pretended I was 280plus (again) today.
Post by: Brad Johnson on March 14, 2008, 12:43:58 PM: Quote from: 280plus on March 14, 2008, 09:48:58 AM
Quote
A little "trimming" with a 5 lb sledge fixed it right up, though.
Ah, gave it a few taps with the old "technician's hammer" eh?

Yep, my fa-vo-rite tool. Squared it right up.

Brad
Title: Re: Pretended I was 280plus (again) today.
Post by: 280plus on March 14, 2008, 04:01:18 PM: Yup, there's nothing like a little gentle persuasion...