# "hats off to the young guys in the trade"



## trout lake (May 9, 2009)

Age is a funny thing. It has the power of making you think a certain way and sometimes thinking your way is the right way. It can have the ability to cloud your thinking and giving you a narrow outlook on the problem at hand. I don't think that way.
I have respect for the young guys in the trade. With the schooling that’s provided today and all the various products that are being used, the guys that are coming out into the business are light years ahead of where I was at their age. 
The controls on high efficiency condensing furnaces, multi-stage HVAC units with automatic temperature control economizers, and DDC units that make your eyes glass over. It's a different world today and the young guys in the trade are the ones to carry us forward. 
I was gassing a building the other day and I met a young plumber named Jerome. This kid was cool. I was using an old beat up Ridged 300 manual feed threaded threading one inch pipe. He was doing the ground work for the sanitary for a different company.
"How do you like the 300, he asks"
I figure he probably hasn't use something this old so I say 'Brilliant, they can cut pipe all day long and never break down."
"I know, he says, our power feed Rothenberg broke down on a job I was on last month and we borrowed an old 300 off another company to finish the job. I absolutely loved the unit. It reminded me of a big old Buick my uncle use to have. It was a heavy old thing that had the best ride I have ever had."

From that moment on him and I hit it off and were friends. I told him things and we shared our ideas. I was wonderful.
The kid must have been all of 24 years old and was a tradesman well above his young years.
I have tonnes of respect for the young guys in our trade. You need to give them their dews. 
Good on guys like Rockstar that started greasing joints at 6
tl


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## Mike Jessome (Aug 7, 2008)

Its funny to hear you say that I myself am 20 years old and I have well over 4000 hours under my belt, not saying I am an expert but doing new homes and union work every other day I am starting to get the feel of what I am doing not saying I am as fast as or even close to as good no, but I work my ass off to keep my job I respect all the journeyman I work with they are true professionals and great teachers, but I never get any respect shown to me as if i have not earned it yet, having worked for almost 2 years for the same company. I get constantly called "young fella" "your still a kid" "he doesn't know anything" and its not from just plumbers its carpenters ventilation guys everybody. I pay for my own apartment, I pay my bills like everybody else me being 20 shouldn't have any effect in my opinion on how I am treated, but who knows maybe when I get my ticket and 20 years down the road i'll be doing the same thing i'll just say this I love going to work everyday and being respected or not i'll still be the first person at work every morning.


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## Tankless (Jun 12, 2008)

I was just thinking about that not too long ago. I seemingly more and more am getting called onto tankless jobs where something isn't right. I get there and it's usually "well, here it is". i work my magic for a few minutes and can usually figure it out before they get comfortable watching me work. One old timer said to me, i don't know about these things and all their fancy electronics. I gave him my blanket answer of "when they are installed right they work great, but it's not like just swapping in another tanked heater. There is a lot to know on these". He said all you young kids can have them, I don't like them. He did appreciate how fast I was able to get his unit running.

At the same time, from a guy trainid by old school plumbers, I worked my ass off to get to where I am in my now specialized field. Many nights studing diagrams and messing with heaters for my own knowledge and not charging customers for me to learn the units inside and out. I can do now in 15 minutes what used to take me 2 hrs to do about 4 years ago. But with the new condensing units there is yet another learning curve to master.

My favorite comment from clients is "can you install new fixtures too?" I smile and simply say, that's like asking if I know how to tie my shoes. "Oh, oh ok"

For as much as I have spent on tankless I know there is a huge amount of products out there that I have not gotten into that much. Rooting,,,,,I don't do it. I have a hand held power snake for sinks and such but that's about it....and an Auger!! But I don't run cables anymore....It just doesn't do it for me. If I am not liking what I am doing, I will start hating it and stop altogether...Tankless has kept me interested for a while and I am interested in where the trend is going....just trying to figure out how to make more money. I am getting tired of killing myself week after week and still comming up short on my goals. But that is a different topic!!

As for this thread, I think a big kudos needs to go out to the old timers that actually took the time to teach young guys. Without them there is no way to evolve this trade. Sure computers and plastics and fancy sensors are great but they don't work well unless all the basics are known and mastered first, I'll crawl under you stay up [email protected]!


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## TheMaster (Jun 12, 2009)

Tankless you do any solar systems with tankless backups??? That might be a money maker for you. If you dont have alot of regular customers maybe try to get the ones you have to spend more with you.


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## nhmaster3015 (Aug 5, 2008)

So, are you saying someone makes a better threader than the 300? No freekin way. :thumbsup:


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## Tankless (Jun 12, 2008)

TheMaster said:


> Tankless you do any solar systems with tankless backups??? That might be a money maker for you. If you dont have alot of regular customers maybe try to get the ones you have to spend more with you.


 
Well, I have put in a few systems and worked on various aspects of existing systems. Ken helped me out a while back on some "new" type of system that a home owner wanted me to do, but I declined the job for a few reasons...mainly because I just don't see the value in it. For electrical...sure but for domestic....I'm just not feeling it. If I were to combine it with a tankless system, I just don't see a very big return on the investment. Most peoples gas bills are not that high, so the main selling points for tankless is space - endless hot water (for an uninterrupted 24 hr period) - and when installed correctly a 20-25 yr life expectancy. Those points is what sells tankless. Less gas doesn't. Taking someones bill from 60 to 40 on a 3000-5000 system is a bad selling point, I guess I look at solar as a service call waiting to happen and I am a bit ignorant on the topic. I am sure there are systems that work great, and there are guys that know them like I know tankless. The idea of creating a duel system package for clients may interest me at some point, just not at the moment. Alot of the roofs here are Terra Cota and that means bringing in a roofer to lay down asphalt - flashing the mounts and jacks for the water lines. Mixing valve - storage tank - recirc system for the storage tank...for what? Maybe 20 bucks a month during the summer savings and next to nothing during the winter? Like I said, I am a bit ignorant on the matter. I guess I need someone to sell me on the tech - the product and the value in real world applications and dollars. I am getting ready to start some RnD for a few plumbing products that no one is making yet for tankless adaptation. If things go my way I will be getting out of everyday plumbing and into office work, but that is a few years off. Still working on getting lead free brass castings that don't cost the same as my truck!! I do like a good challange however!!


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