The thing with central heating systems is that they aren't taught very well if at all at college. Now unless you have a good mentor throughout your apprenticeship, which covers that area of work then how are you meant to learn? Mistakes can cost time and money but can be one of the most influential learning curves.
Ok so I was taught heating controls as part of my apprenticeship so that is how I learned the basics.
However I was not taught stage lighting control systems, generators, anything more than bare basic earth electrode theory, appliance repairs, vehicle wiring, gas regulations, and a multitude of other things , but I have managed to learn all of these things outside of my apprenticeship off my own back via research, reading books, looking at the systems and working them out and asking a million and one questions when I get the opportunity to meet someone who knows the answers.
I didn't learn anything about the plumbing side of boilers during my apprenticeship, I have learned that entirely through looking at it, reading the manuals for boilers when I wire them, watching plumbers whilst I'm waiting for the, to get out of the way and also actively offering to help them out when I'm waiting for them to finish up so that I can test a system.
You don't stop learning when your apprenticeship finishes, it is just the start of a lifelong opportunity to learn.
Yes mistakes are a good learning experience, but don't limit it to your own mistakes, learn from everybody else's mistakes.
For example I learned about the danger of incorrectly draining down a hot water cylinder like the megaflow being discussed here when I witnessed a plumber get it wrong and cause the whole cylinder to implode. I could have just laughed at his misfortune (which I did quite a lot of too) but I also took the time to learn what exactly happened and why, and how to avoid it.
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