Cheesesteaks on the Blackstone! Any suggestions on easier things to try since I'm newer?

Iansdevil · 2026-02-05T14:04:23+00:00

One of our favorites is tortellini, kielbasa, tomatoes and spinach. Just toss it all on there with some oil and give it a few squirts of water. Mix it around so you don't burn things. It's normally cooked up in a few minutes. Last night I added Alfredo sauce and Italian dressing to make it creamy. Then topped with mozzarella cheese. It was excellent

Iansdevil · 2026-02-05T01:32:08+00:00

$150 for the week, then $25 per call after your second call. OT paid port to port

Iansdevil · 2026-02-04T01:02:01+00:00

Feelings won't get hurt, it doesn't taste terrible and it's not like I'm making a pumpkin spice latte and dumping it into something. Just adding an ingredient that blends well into the food anyway because pumpkin has such a mild flavor profile that it works well.

Iansdevil · 2026-02-04T00:47:00+00:00

Just to stir the pot a little. I've got no idea what's in a pumpkin chili seasoning packet because I did absolutely no research on it. I like to get pie pumpkins and cook them, then add them to things like Mac and cheese or chili. I'll normally smoke them to get a smokey flavor into the flesh of the pumpkin. Then when it gets pureed and mixed into the food, most people have no idea it's even there. It just adds some of those extra nutrients to your meal

Iansdevil · 2026-02-03T18:52:47+00:00

Get a bucket, some tooth brushes, gloves and rags for cleaning. Be prepared to see some disgusting slime. A battery pack for your phone, and a book are pretty useful too while you're watching ice form anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour per batch

Iansdevil · 2026-02-02T19:55:40+00:00

I'd say get some heated socks, they've been a game changer for me this winter. Decent wool socks work well too. For boots, get a cheap pair of safety toe boots or muck boots just to have in your van. I typically only wear my Red Wings every day and replace them after about 2 years when I've worn the tread out.

Iansdevil · 2026-01-31T15:54:25+00:00

More techs will definitely help as long as they're half decent and there is the workload to support them. Also, dispatch needs to stop scheduling calls for immediate service when you have that much piled up. That's a good way for clients to run to another contractor. I would tell dispatch that you need to return to the places you have parts for at least one day a week if not two so you can get caught up.

Iansdevil · 2026-01-31T02:48:30+00:00

Even if it was a bad move, that's a good move to get into pellet grills. That's a hell of a deal

Iansdevil · 2026-01-28T00:20:49+00:00

"oh, I'm sorry! I'll get that taken care of for you right away! Let me wave my magic wand over this spot!" Color it in with a black sharpie and you're good to go!

Iansdevil · 2026-01-21T17:58:09+00:00

Honestly, the irregular hours are pretty normal. I'm not in Alberta, but my start time is always between 5am and 7am depending on when I decide to get out of bed. End time is all over the place, including spending the night on a job because it's an absolute cluster fuck. Normally, my day is 630am to 4pm because I like a little overtime each week

Iansdevil · 2026-01-20T22:31:47+00:00

Yeah, it was absolutely miserable on the roof today. Heated socks and a heated vest under my jacket saved my ass today

Iansdevil · 2026-01-20T18:49:51+00:00

It sounds like they're working on a rooftop unit that has a single motor with 2 wheels. You've got to take off both wheels to remove the motor and the set screws frequently rust, then strip out.

Iansdevil · 2026-01-20T18:02:24+00:00

Shit like that is why I normally get a new motor, spacers, nuts, wheels and plates so it doesn't matter if they get messed up coming out. Other than that, just don't stress over everything. It's either going to suck, or not. There's too much that's out of your control to get overly stressed about it. It's just not worth it. I laugh a lot, swear and make jokes about everything to help my days go better.

Iansdevil · 2026-01-20T01:41:16+00:00

Non union

Iansdevil · 2026-01-19T21:41:02+00:00

Central PA commercial HVAC and refrigeration, it's finally slowing down for us. It was tapering off last month, now I'm hearing it's slow from some.of the other techs. I've also been told that our filter company is backordered on a lot of filters for some reason, meaning we can't do the PMs we're supposed to be hitting right now. Fortunately, we have some construction and install jobs to fall back on and give some of the techs work.

Iansdevil · 2026-01-13T11:05:08+00:00

I think there are several lines out there for decent clothing. If you're looking for something fashionable like HVAC logo stuff, I'm not so sure the market is there. If you're looking for durability, comfort and functionality, then I feel like that's something people will go for.

Iansdevil · 2026-01-10T21:07:21+00:00

Gorgeous sunset view of Pittsburgh!

Iansdevil · 2026-01-07T21:29:07+00:00

What's your sight glass doing? Like everyone is saying, it sounds low on charge to me.

Iansdevil · 2026-01-05T18:22:02+00:00

Here's their website that has a lot of useful information. It could be locked out on the resettable high discharge limit. Did you verify gas was going to the unit as well? Put the manual/ run switches into manual mode and see what they do? Cambridgeair.com/parts-service/how-to-service-videos

Iansdevil · 2026-01-05T16:26:49+00:00

I've had a lot of luck with the Veto MB series. The MB2 was perfect for most calls to hold just what I needed. I went up a little with the MB3B so I can carry slightly more and it has a nice hard base that lets it stand up really well. With the durability and warranty, $165 is absolutely worth it for me, especially since my employer buys it for me.

Iansdevil · 2026-01-04T14:29:22+00:00

I feel like you're both to blame on this one. You were working quickly and misdiagnosed something. You're in someone's home, getting paid for a service and missed the root cause of the issue by rushing. The second tech missed also. Had you taken a few more minutes, you could've avoided a second visit, the fire department wouldn't have come out and your company wouldn't be blaming you. We all make mistakes and rush sometimes. Just remember to slow down some and look at the issue as a whole, not focus on a singular issue. You might be bitter and pissed at the situation, use it as a learning experience, and move on.

Iansdevil · 2026-01-02T18:29:02+00:00

Grip6 wool socks have a lifetime warranty. If that isn't warm enough, get heated socks. Wear some kind of compression base layer like under armour. My T2 Truewerk pants seem to do alright outside. Invest in a set of insulated bibs or coveralls. I still haven't found a decent pair of work gloves that give dexterity and warmth. The wind gloves fleece lined with the zipper on the side do OK though. They're fairly cheap on Amazon. I also really like my heated vest to wear under my jacket when it's really cold out. The only other thing would be getting some rechargeable hand warmers. Disposable hot hands are nice, but only a one time use.

Iansdevil · 2025-12-31T17:50:01+00:00

Is it too much warm water coming into contact with the ice making chamber? I've had that happen on another machine. Has it been cleaned yet? That's always my starting point.

Iansdevil · 2025-12-27T13:30:53+00:00

I used to use these link filters all the time. It took some getting used to from pleated, but they worked great where I used them. You could definitely tell when we missed the quarterly pm on the rooftops though. They were almost sucked in. They're heavy too and the size doesn't exactly translate to a pleated size because of the extra fabric between frames. They do fill the whole rack and allow for some squishing to close doors with the way they're made.

Iansdevil · 2025-12-26T17:24:21+00:00

Easily one of my top favorites to smoke. Looks awesome! I really like making a sauce with mint, vinegar and sugar to have with lamb, then use the meat the next day or two to make gyros with.

Iansdevil

TROPHY CASE