air conditioning

[LukeScotty]

does, anyone do air conditioning on here, just wondering if it is a good thing to get into, along side electrics, been looking at some books, but cant seem to find any good ens/upto date/and value for money

 

[rumrunner]

Good evening
Used to do quite a lot of plant rooms and air conditioning type of work ,basiclly you just nead to understand ,motor controls ie for the fan ,pumps etc and the rest .stats ,motorised valves etc is quite strait forward ,most control panels have plc type interfaces ,which from an installation point of view is just wiring by numbers,

your best bet is find a company who does this type of work ,and go and talk to the boss
all the best with it ,its interesting work

 

[Shakey]

Luke i have done a fair bit, mostly big industrial. There are C&G quals as well, I have one in refrigerant handling, so i can drain down and recharge systems.

Like, Rum said, you'll need to get up to speed with single and three phase motors (mostly squirrel cage), so you will often find an invertor drive as well.

The big ones are often PLC controlled (last one i worked in was Siemens S7 based), and generally incoroporate a PID controller as well, so lets of sensors etc

I have even worked on a mobile unit with a diesel powerpack running a 500kVA geberator to power up the system - so you will need a lot of background knowledge to really get into them. I got fed up with lads chaging the PLC modulles every time there was a breakdown, just because they didnt really know how the system worked!!

good luck

 

[LukeScotty]

overall, does it beat industrial / commerical / domestic electrics?

 

[Bane]

A very good thing to get into if your looking to work abroad too Luke

 

[Cirrus]

Tell ya what, if you can get into it then in the next 30 years there will be a fortune to be made in this ****ty island we call home as the weather patterns change

 

[wayne]

whats the pay like?

 

[Cirrus]

I used to work for a firm where the 'unqualfied' Air con guys were earning more then the equivalent electricians/ Air con as a business is extremely profitable. Our guys were turning in a MASSIVE profit whilst the electrical side made a loss 10 years on the bounce.

 

[LukeScotty]

have any of you studyed this air conditioning? got any decent books you recommend?

 

[Shakey]

overall, does it beat industrial / commerical / domestic electrics?

Luke,

as with most things, the more strings you have to your bow the better.

Particualrly in the commercial / industrial world the more you can do the more you can expect to earn.

Obviously the guy who can turn his hand to anything will be a better prospect than the guy who can just install trunking!

BUT, this stuff is difficult to just 'pick up'. I went through electrical technician training (one year intensive), NVQ3, HNC, HND, then all the 2391 etc, finsihing with a C&G Licentiaship in Electrcial Engineering. The point i am making Luke is that i have spent quite a few yerars of my life in college to get to my current level, but you only get out what you put in.

Go for it, but remember, this is long term, it aint gonna happen tommorow!

 

[Bane]

Wow Tony.

All those years in education and you still can't spell

Seriously though, go for it Luke. Like I said, in my experience, countries/islands where there is quite an ex-pat community (or even former colonies), they tend to look more favourably upon British tradesmen as better trained/educated/reliable etc. I'm talking mainly on the domestic side of things and slight commercial (bars/nightclubs).

 

[LukeScotty]

Because I didnt go to college, and went on a course,ever since i've been reading and studying, on the way to jobs, inbetween, on my breaks, and after work and on here. Thinking about going back to college to do air con/refridgeration/ or further electrics, at the moment bit unsure what step to take next, going to try for the 2391 in june, just looking ahead and wanting to get my head ina few books. looks like a trip to the libarary

 

[Shakey]

Because I didnt go to college, and went on a course,ever since i've been reading and studying, on the way to jobs, inbetween, on my breaks, and after work and on here. Thinking about going back to college to do air con/refridgeration/ or further electrics, at the moment bit unsure what step to take next, going to try for the 2391 in june, just looking ahead and wanting to get my head ina few books. looks like a trip to the libarary

Luke, its so refreshing to see someone keen to progress.

I think once you are 2391, then possibly looking further into Motors and motor control sytems (start with DOL and Star/delta) and work upwards. Then i think PLC's would be your best bet (although it will help if you have a BASIC understanding of electronics & logic circuits)

best of luck, and any help you need with basics/terminology, just shout

Wow Tony.

All those years in education and you still can't spell

Seriously though, go for it Luke. Like I said, in my experience, countries/islands where there is quite an ex-pat community (or even former colonies), they tend to look more favourably upon British tradesmen as better trained/educated/reliable etc. I'm talking mainly on the domestic side of things and slight commercial (bars/nightclubs).

erm.....Who?

And i might have done the education, but i never said i was educated