I cant imagine the bearing would last long that out of balance.
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- Thread starter DarnYankeeUSMC
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I’m sure that had no bearing on the failure of that system…
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Pardon the pun, it was a hung jury. The evidence could not readily be seen.
You drink Bud Light don’t youYou sound, wonderful!
ROTFLMAO! I see exactly what you did there!
What you don't see in your shop are the DIYers who know what they are doing and fixed their problems. You only see those who fail and you extrapolate from there.
What keeps me out of shops is that $30/hr monkeys are doing the work they charge me $150/hr for. That does not make sense for an engineer who takes home ~$70/hr after taxes to design similar or significantly more advanced systems. In the extreme, I can take twice the time the monkey needs to fix a problem and still be ahead. More often than not, I beat the book time for scheduled maintenance.
And let's not pretend that there are not any shops who just throw parts at a problem rather than troubleshooting with a full understanding of the system. I have the same diagnostic tools the shop uses for my vehicles (all pre 2007, after which things went insane) and know how useless some DTCs are. Let take the infamous P0299 turbo underboost code. It tells you the problem but not the cause. That's when the monkey starts grasping for twigs because he is not familiar with the underlying system design philosophy. He sees a bunch of sensors, pipes, wires and actuators, I see a control system and know how the individual components drive the function of the systems. Granted, he has an advantage if we are dealing with a fleet-wide design problem that he noticed in his day to day work. But that also shows up in related forums and on youtube.
I also need to amortize over several systems/vehicles the ten thousands of dollars in tools I have accumulated for a variety of tasks. And then, there is the huge convenience of not being at the mercy of someone else's schedule.
That being said, I do not do my own dentistry, surgery, or lawfare.
And when I have to ask a shop for help, I am man enough to admit that I am stumped or out of my league.
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Managed a tune up shop for a while . Let me tell you about fucktards .
Guy comes in , car missing , backfiring , straight up shuttering . One of my guys says broken camshaft .
So I stepped in ( broken camshaft in a production car is a unicorn ) . Hooked it up and put an old wire pick on the plug wires .
Thing was running on 5 cylinders out of eight just barely . Cap , points , condenser , plugs and timing later it's a kitten .
Mothers fucker had the balls to complain that he could feel a little vibration in the steering wheel .
Another guy comes in with a Datsun running like shit .
Checked it out then asked if he tried fixing it . He said yeah . I told him I found a broken distributor screw . Well this tard flips shit and says I sabotaged his engine to rip him off .
Fair enough . I fixed it and told him don't come back .
Had a Volkswagen owner come in with an engine stalling , stuttering and running like general shit . One look at the air intake and knew it was fucked . Asked him if he had changed his air filter lately . Yup . Well it's a closed circuit aspirated fuel injection system . Your intake is cracked .
Another asshole that flips shit and blames the shop .
Told that guy to fuck off .
Got out of anything to do with customer service . People suck .
Guy comes in , car missing , backfiring , straight up shuttering . One of my guys says broken camshaft .
So I stepped in ( broken camshaft in a production car is a unicorn ) . Hooked it up and put an old wire pick on the plug wires .
Thing was running on 5 cylinders out of eight just barely . Cap , points , condenser , plugs and timing later it's a kitten .
Mothers fucker had the balls to complain that he could feel a little vibration in the steering wheel .
Another guy comes in with a Datsun running like shit .
Checked it out then asked if he tried fixing it . He said yeah . I told him I found a broken distributor screw . Well this tard flips shit and says I sabotaged his engine to rip him off .
Fair enough . I fixed it and told him don't come back .
Had a Volkswagen owner come in with an engine stalling , stuttering and running like general shit . One look at the air intake and knew it was fucked . Asked him if he had changed his air filter lately . Yup . Well it's a closed circuit aspirated fuel injection system . Your intake is cracked .
Another asshole that flips shit and blames the shop .
Told that guy to fuck off .
Got out of anything to do with customer service . People suck .
Not just customers but also clients. We do electrical work in a special section of the construction industry. And we are the best. But some builders have a hard time paying. And I have rules to go buy. If an invoice is overdue past a certain time, I cannot schedule any more work for that builder. Because the next step is a mechanic's lien. And yes, every builder and client is informed at the outset that our invoices are due upon receipt. - Average turn-around is 7 - 10 days, the amount of time it takes for them to check notes, audit the invoice, and approve for payment.
Some get downright verbally abusive with me. Does anyone here remember the character Mike, played by Jonathon Banks, in "Breaking Bad"? That's me, but taller, bigger, and a lot stronger. Business is business, no personal feeelings, IRL, I cannot be intimidated and I will not budge. I suck at poker because I do not bluff. I will die in a game of chicken because I will not swerve. Usually, one of the owners steps in order to look like the "good guy." It is a show, certainly. And it gets us paid. And my check is nice, too.
But that does not mean I have to like it. The failure of others' business acumen is not my problem. Pay the invoice, life goes on. And the worst complainers are the ones that only needed us for one or two jobs. The long term clients don't have this problem.
We work for people who pay us, pure and simple.
Some get downright verbally abusive with me. Does anyone here remember the character Mike, played by Jonathon Banks, in "Breaking Bad"? That's me, but taller, bigger, and a lot stronger. Business is business, no personal feeelings, IRL, I cannot be intimidated and I will not budge. I suck at poker because I do not bluff. I will die in a game of chicken because I will not swerve. Usually, one of the owners steps in order to look like the "good guy." It is a show, certainly. And it gets us paid. And my check is nice, too.
But that does not mean I have to like it. The failure of others' business acumen is not my problem. Pay the invoice, life goes on. And the worst complainers are the ones that only needed us for one or two jobs. The long term clients don't have this problem.
We work for people who pay us, pure and simple.
Years ago when I was still in the dealership, we had a truck come in with a complaint that the AC wasn’t “as cold as it used to be”.
My tech pulled it in, set the manual control to max and didn’t hear the compressor come on. So he gets out and opens the hood…..no AC equipment under there. Truck never had AC
I ask the customer about the claim that it used to be cold and he bought it late fall and said it seemed to cool well
Someone had swapped in a control from an AC truck.
In the Cummins world, I threw the towel at pre-2007 ISB level.
The ISX front seal job looks like a bitch at first glance and I am glad not to have to deal with it. If I had to, I would probably outsource it instead of buying expensive tools for a once in a lifetime job.
It is tough on forums to make a generic point by citing someone's post without appearing to criticize the poster individually. That's how we get the flame wars, especially here in the pit. My next post(s) will be without quote(s) and everyone can decide whether the shoe fits or not.
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I realize that this is a bitching and venting thread but nevertheless there are a few angles that seem to be missing here.
Back in the days when Michael Dell was still operating out of his dorm, I owned a computer retail and repair shop. My passion was business software development but that was a long shot in Southern Bavaria. The money from the shop was good and it was not too agonizing to deal with the challenges of retail sales and service.
At that time I was also a member of Rotary International where the members are expected to see and conduct their profession as an avenue of service to humanity, where every profession has purpose and provides value. (https://my-cms.rotary.org/en/document/introduction-vocational-service). I obviously hoped to snag some corporate business from the networking aspect of this organization but that did not pan out initially.
One day, this kid comes in the shop looking for a mouse. I showed him what we had in stock and he wanted to try a couple mice out. Sure, why not. I opened the boxes, connected the mice to a computer and let him find his favorite model. After half an hour or so, he walked out of a shop with his mouse after adding about 10 bucks to the cash drawer. Not exactly a sustainable business model but I felt good that the kid was genuinely happy with his purchase.
Fast forward two weeks and a guy comes in the shop who I had never seen before. He introduces himself and the last name sounded familiar. Turned out he was the owner of the biggest company in the area and the kid with the mouse was his son who had told him that I worked on custom software. I do not recall exactly how much the contract with his company added to our bottom line but I can guarantee you that without this gig I would not have been able to buy a competitive carbon-fiber sailplane to spend my weekends soaring over the Bavarian Alps.
Truly happy customers are the best advertisement for your business. Exceed your customer's expectations even if it is only through small things. I saw a video of a guy who bought a very expensive airplane and the first thing he proudly showed to his brother was the cool T shirt he got with the purchase (The airplane was obviously top notch too).
I also think that it is actually easier to make less sophisticated and less knowledgeable customers feel special. So instead of agonizing about the knuckle-head factor, just try to make someone's day.
And then there are a few individuals who want to be put in place by you. They test your competence and composure like children and they will be mad and unruly if you do NOT establish respect and bounds. Your service to them is more parental than practical but nevertheless appreciated if rendered properly.
Back in the days when Michael Dell was still operating out of his dorm, I owned a computer retail and repair shop. My passion was business software development but that was a long shot in Southern Bavaria. The money from the shop was good and it was not too agonizing to deal with the challenges of retail sales and service.
At that time I was also a member of Rotary International where the members are expected to see and conduct their profession as an avenue of service to humanity, where every profession has purpose and provides value. (https://my-cms.rotary.org/en/document/introduction-vocational-service). I obviously hoped to snag some corporate business from the networking aspect of this organization but that did not pan out initially.
One day, this kid comes in the shop looking for a mouse. I showed him what we had in stock and he wanted to try a couple mice out. Sure, why not. I opened the boxes, connected the mice to a computer and let him find his favorite model. After half an hour or so, he walked out of a shop with his mouse after adding about 10 bucks to the cash drawer. Not exactly a sustainable business model but I felt good that the kid was genuinely happy with his purchase.
Fast forward two weeks and a guy comes in the shop who I had never seen before. He introduces himself and the last name sounded familiar. Turned out he was the owner of the biggest company in the area and the kid with the mouse was his son who had told him that I worked on custom software. I do not recall exactly how much the contract with his company added to our bottom line but I can guarantee you that without this gig I would not have been able to buy a competitive carbon-fiber sailplane to spend my weekends soaring over the Bavarian Alps.
Truly happy customers are the best advertisement for your business. Exceed your customer's expectations even if it is only through small things. I saw a video of a guy who bought a very expensive airplane and the first thing he proudly showed to his brother was the cool T shirt he got with the purchase (The airplane was obviously top notch too).
I also think that it is actually easier to make less sophisticated and less knowledgeable customers feel special. So instead of agonizing about the knuckle-head factor, just try to make someone's day.
And then there are a few individuals who want to be put in place by you. They test your competence and composure like children and they will be mad and unruly if you do NOT establish respect and bounds. Your service to them is more parental than practical but nevertheless appreciated if rendered properly.
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The guy from my story opened his own shop a while ago and has a sign on the front desk that says;
Quality, Cheap, Fast. Pick two
We were contacted by DIYers on a regular basis. The more common was a request to diagnose over the phone. Wanting to "borrow" special tools was also popular. "Can I talk with one pf your techs a minute," was popular.
Funny that you mentioned it. I my last reply to your post I was initially going to ask for some (paid) advice. Then, thinking about this issue I figured it out myself.
How about charging a consulting fee, have someone seasoned who actually has a clue answer these calls, and make everyone happy? It is easier to retain your experts if you do not just inundate them with the run-of-the-mill stuff.
For my last transmission (not tranny) surgery, I bough the new parts at a local shop and paid the guy for the great advice he gave me. I did not even have to ask to borrow a few tools over the weekend. He offered it as part of the parts/consulting package.
(Note: Transmission work is typically very repetitive and should be outsourced to folks who do this day in and out. In this case, I wanted to beef up the transmission a little without going through monster or other companies who specialize in that. The owner decided to let his staff deal with the ongoing day to day stuff while he supported my custom project. He still bagged the parts mark up and instead of marking up the monkey labor, he got the hourly rate for his experience level. I know that this does not scale to big volume but why not add it if you have the capacity and expertise.)
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Tried it. No one wants to pay for what should be "free."
I had a number of customers that purchased parts from me. I sell an engine or in-frame kit to a DIYer, I'm happy to provide tech quidance and the loan of special tools. That does have limits.
There are a very few people capable of undertaking repairs beyond a leaking valve cover gasket. There are exponentionally more who think they can. The latter group get bent of of shape when they have a truck towed in with a box of parts in back and want a discount because they already did "a lot" of the work.
I worked for DoAll the band saw company for a few years. Had lots of WTF calls.
Once I had a call for a saw that was taking hours to saw through a 5 inch round of stainless.
I get there and look at the saw for a all of ten seconds and Ask who put the saw blade on?
The operator says the sales rep for the blade company. I ask, one of our sales reps? No we are trying another company. I reply with, You should see if they will pay for your service call .
Because the blade is on backwards and inside out. Teeth were against the wheel flange and running backwards.
They were literally pressure grinding into the stainless round.
Had many calls for dead machines. I would call and ask basic questions. Is the disconnect on ?
Is the E-stop on? They would reply with yes we checked both.
Can you do me a favor and double check? Some would and some wouldn't.
Many times after checking again, They would find that one or both were not in the proper position.
They would thank me and cancel the service call.
I can't tell you how many times that they would tell me just get here as fast as you can.
When I get there the 1st two things I check are the e-stop & disconnect. one or both are not set properly.
Turn the machine on and write up the bill. There were some operators who got their tit in the wringer over
those service calls.
Customers paid hourly rate plus mileage there and back from our shop location.
We would get guys who wanted a service call and didn't want to pay rate and mileage. They would ask if we could stop by if we were in the area. Sorry , but no you have to pay for your millage and the hourly rate to get
there and back. You can't save money by piggybacking your bill on another customer from your area.
Also fixed copiers for 5 years. The stupidity was insane on that gig. Had to get out of that before I had a stroke
from dealing with the idiocy daily.
Once I had a call for a saw that was taking hours to saw through a 5 inch round of stainless.
I get there and look at the saw for a all of ten seconds and Ask who put the saw blade on?
The operator says the sales rep for the blade company. I ask, one of our sales reps? No we are trying another company. I reply with, You should see if they will pay for your service call .
Because the blade is on backwards and inside out. Teeth were against the wheel flange and running backwards.
They were literally pressure grinding into the stainless round.
Had many calls for dead machines. I would call and ask basic questions. Is the disconnect on ?
Is the E-stop on? They would reply with yes we checked both.
Can you do me a favor and double check? Some would and some wouldn't.
Many times after checking again, They would find that one or both were not in the proper position.
They would thank me and cancel the service call.
I can't tell you how many times that they would tell me just get here as fast as you can.
When I get there the 1st two things I check are the e-stop & disconnect. one or both are not set properly.
Turn the machine on and write up the bill. There were some operators who got their tit in the wringer over
those service calls.
Customers paid hourly rate plus mileage there and back from our shop location.
We would get guys who wanted a service call and didn't want to pay rate and mileage. They would ask if we could stop by if we were in the area. Sorry , but no you have to pay for your millage and the hourly rate to get
there and back. You can't save money by piggybacking your bill on another customer from your area.
Also fixed copiers for 5 years. The stupidity was insane on that gig. Had to get out of that before I had a stroke
from dealing with the idiocy daily.
One time, I sent our service tech out to a job and it turned out to be a misconnected GFCI that someone else had dealt with. And we were charging him the service call fee. It took our guy 5 minutes to fix it. So, the customer, a homeowner, was trying to pro-rate it in his head, figuring service call divided by 60 minutes = x and then x*5 minutes.
What he did not realize is that the tech had to drive a company vehicle with commercial insurance and get paid for his work, as well as the other overhead of the company.
Or, we get to a house to do our work and discover that the house panel is a Federal Pacific Stab-Lok with a split buss. We do not terminate our wires into those panels and do not allow others to terminate our wires. Those panels might as well have a picture of a cigarette lighter for a logo. Search and find pages and pages of nuisance tripping and including houses catching fire and burning down.
But some homeowners still don't want that.
What he did not realize is that the tech had to drive a company vehicle with commercial insurance and get paid for his work, as well as the other overhead of the company.
Or, we get to a house to do our work and discover that the house panel is a Federal Pacific Stab-Lok with a split buss. We do not terminate our wires into those panels and do not allow others to terminate our wires. Those panels might as well have a picture of a cigarette lighter for a logo. Search and find pages and pages of nuisance tripping and including houses catching fire and burning down.
But some homeowners still don't want that.
Lol they lost their UL listing years ago
Insurance companies won't even insure you if they catch wind of those in a house
And an Electrician would never risk his license working in one
The whole service gets R&R'd or it doesn't get touched.
They're a fire waiting to happen..........
I don't know much about residential but I know that commercial and industrial HVAC techs are going downhill. I get tech support calls before they even look at the equipment and most of the calls are pointing to the manual where it explains what the flashing lights mean.
Manual? Don't need no stinking manual.
Since many of the residential equipment manuals are thrown in the trash after installation or the schematic is worn off I have pictures saved in my phone. Codes and wiring diagram come in handy. Definitely beats tracking wires around a control panel
Most of the commercial and industrial jobs I deal with require that the owner and installing contractor receive multiple 3 ring binders with all of the IO&Ms and submittals with all electrical drawings in them. Older controllers had flashing lights with a legend printed on the front of the board and the newer ones have a QR code on them that takes techs directly to the manuals. The most common calls are "what does open sensor mean", "what does heat switch open mean", and my favorite, "my controller has power but the power light doesn't come on". These guys are paid to figure things out but will literally leave a job because tech support took too long to call them back.
Last weeks gem was a guy that called in and said his first and fifth compressors wouldn't come on but 2-4 were running fine. I asked him to check power on the contactors and he said that the load side wires were removed and capped off. It wouldn't have been that bad but they've had the service contract on the job for the last 5 years.
Timely thread my 80 year old mother just called me to verify the repairs the air conditioning "tune up" guy was pushing. So she puts the guy on the phone with me....
The ac dude "The compressor is rated at 117 starting amps and it is pulling 122, the capacitor for the condensor is rated at 7.5uF and it tested at 6.5..
I recommend a hard start kit to reduce the starting current."
Me "How much for the cap?
Ac dude "180.00"
Me "And the hard start kit?"
Ac dude "497.00"
Me "Put my mother back on"
Mom "So?"
Me "Tell him to get the fuck outta there"
Next time I visit her I will install the 30.00 in parts.
Oh he also said it was 1 pound low on R410.
The ac dude "The compressor is rated at 117 starting amps and it is pulling 122, the capacitor for the condensor is rated at 7.5uF and it tested at 6.5..
I recommend a hard start kit to reduce the starting current."
Me "How much for the cap?
Ac dude "180.00"
Me "And the hard start kit?"
Ac dude "497.00"
Me "Put my mother back on"
Mom "So?"
Me "Tell him to get the fuck outta there"
Next time I visit her I will install the 30.00 in parts.
Oh he also said it was 1 pound low on R410.
I have nothing of value to add to this thread, well, maybe except for the hordes of people who own a truck and chainsaw that blanket the neighborhood professing to be tree experts. "We have crews in the area and can offer your a great deal since we're already here." Or the, "we're doing work on your neighbor's yard and he suggested we come see you."
But, I was stationed in Bavaria and luved going down to Garmisch to watch the sail planes and hot air balloons; great area and good times.
Damn, I gotta start charging more.
I was on vacation a few years ago and an elderly customer called me. 105 degrees and the AC is not working. I told them that I would be back in a few days but they couldn't wait and asked for a recommendation. I told them to open their phone book and throw a dart. So I went and checked on them when I got back. They called the biggest company in town and got charged $350 for a compressor capacitor and it was way too big. So I put the correct part on it. I took their invoice and the part to the owner of the company and we had a little talk. He did give them half of their money back.
I call a contractor when they have an expensive piece of equipment I don’t own, and that’s about it. The only time I’ll call a plumber is for the snake. @$150/15’ section I’ve thought about it. I already have a giant Hilti hammer drill…
Exactly. Our old building had a Fed Pac panel and the insurance company came out did an audit and said that was a no go. It was a requirement to change it when we sold the place.
And yeah, lost the UL listing back in the 80s.
Emergency calls are steep, ask me how I know. If he had at least put the right cap in she couldnt bitch too much, but ....
THats why I kept a box of those $6.50 caps.
These gyus have a lot more restraint than I. Driver would have been DOA.
I don’t see why people got to rape others these days. There is a big difference in making a living and stealing from people. Really drives me apeshit when business is booming too.
Nicer than I would be. I’d have been shooting at that window the moment the car came at me. Cars can be a weapon to. Of course you could argue that dumbass shouldn’t have climbed on the car but still.
It was a normal call during business hoursEmergency calls are steep, ask me how I know. If he had at least put the right cap in she couldnt bitch too much, but ....
THats why I kept a box of those $6.50 caps.
I was a 2nd gen pool guy, got plenty of stories. My son (3rd generation) told me the other day he has folks texting him and buying $80k pools over the phone, he'll meet them a week later to pick out options.
All 3 generations, we never advertised, made good livings off doing good work and word of mouth. But people are people, trick is learning that you can't please them all, and to recognize them ASAP & excusing yourself from their presence...
All 3 generations, we never advertised, made good livings off doing good work and word of mouth. But people are people, trick is learning that you can't please them all, and to recognize them ASAP & excusing yourself from their presence...
Sounds like the Louie skipped a step or probably three in the alert pad checklist.
I liked how the B-1B was set up for alert.
Most everything was set to auto.
All the crew had to do was to hit the big red start button on the nose gear and head up the ladder.
By the time they got their bags stowed, helmets strapped on and plugged in, #4 was already running.
Pull chocks and taxi out.
A local guy built my pool when my house was built in 1955. His son refurbed it in 1980, and his son refurbed it again in 1992. I've never seen them advertise, but they're pretty much #1 in the wealthier areas of my city for both maintenance and construction. I have them close it every year (I like their big machine that blows out the lines), and I pay $50 for them to store my covers. When I open I lay the covers out in the driveway and call them when they're dry. They charge me less for salt and chemicals than anyone else (cost I think) and leave it when they pick up the covers.
Last year they installed a new heater, but I've replaced the filter and several pumps myself over the years. Taking care of a pool is not time consuming unless something breaks. I know plenty of people who have full maintenance with them, and more power to them if they can get some citiot to pay it.
And we have encountered people who hired a company to do a project and that company embezzled funds and quit the jobs and didn't pay the trades. So, we get called because the homeowner is already 60k in the hole, pun intended.
Some homeowners just can't know this but from what I've seen researching, if the builder does not have a website and a brick and mortar business location, go somewhere else. Or ask neighbors who pools and see who built their pool, for example.
I've finished those pool myself. I have had several repeat customers and built for several families members.
It wasn't the capacitor
This is rare for a rooftop unit.
Earwigs, gotta love them.
This is rare for a rooftop unit.
Earwigs, gotta love them.
Earlier in this thread some people were saying that the reason the outdoor equipment was not running was usually the capacitor. I listed several of the common reasons that were not capacitors. Earwigs stuck between the contacts on the contactor ranks way up on that list.
