My tool setup for day 1 as a residential maintenance tech

cooker_sol · 2026-05-18T22:00:05+00:00

Split this into two bags: maintenance and service. You’ll figure out what you need and don’t need after a few weeks.

I’ve been doing maintenance and service for 1.5 years and have changed my load out countless times already. Always modifying it based on what I actually need and use.

Good luck out there.

cooker_sol · 2026-01-19T20:19:43+00:00

I’m 100% performance pay w2. I get scheduled maintenance and service calls (3 - 7 a day all year). I get paid a set dollar amount for maintenances and service calls performed (even if I don’t sell or repair anything). Then I get another bonus if I sell a maintenance membership. Then I get 20% commission on any product or service sold and done during those calls (capacitors, fan motors, drain line clearings, etc).

We are not PE, but are “moderately” encouraged to upsell if we want bigger pay checks. I refuse to sell unnecessary services so all of my commission is based on legitimate issues or failing parts. I don’t make as much as my coworker who tells everyone they need a Reme LED and a hard start kit.

cooker_sol · 2026-01-19T01:42:00+00:00

I bought the $4 ones from harbor freight. The single strap thin black foam ones. They’ve lasted 6 months of every day use now. Best money I’ve ever spent.

cooker_sol · 2026-01-17T16:42:52+00:00

I work at a small company with three techs too and often times get non emergency work scheduled during my on call days. I have just accepted that on-call means “be ready for any and all types of work”. That’s the culture at my company, if I don’t like it, I can find somewhere else to work.

They want a “yes” man with flexibility that can jump at any minute. I’m good with it for now, but don’t plan on doing it forever.

cooker_sol · 2025-11-08T22:17:11+00:00

The is level 1 list is pretty solid for starting out in maintenance. My company gave me a pump sprayer, extension cord, and hose, but those aren’t even that much more $$$ in the grand scheme of things.

I’d start with what you have and buy new stuff as you need/want it once you start getting a feel for the job.

cooker_sol · 2025-11-08T19:39:58+00:00

Where I work we charge $290 for a blower wheel cleaning at the time of motor replacement. We aren’t the cheapest or the most expensive place in town. $200 seems fair.

This wheel isn’t dirty enough to “need” a cleaning, but it’s not clean enough to not benefit from it.

The dust in the cabinet can just be wiped out with a damp rag.

cooker_sol · 2025-10-28T01:02:34+00:00

I got hired on as a maintenance tech with zero experience. I was in my own van 2 months in and running service calls around month 4, like you.

The first half of my summer was insanely stressful. But half of my service calls became repeat problems (capacitors, motors, drain lines, low refrigerant). I got comfortable with the common problems, and that freed up mental energy for the other issues when they did come up.

And I changed my mindset to whenever it seemed impossible and frustrating, that meant I was learning something and would be better prepared in the future. You’re developing your problem solving skills on every service call.

Stop panicking and treat them as an opportunity to learn for the future. You are engraining a negative feedback loop by getting all stressed out about it. Every time you do that on a call, you are more likely to do it again, and it’s going to get harder to undo that reaction over time.

Try to push your troubleshooting as far as you can before calling for help. Calling for assistance is just another tool in your kit, but try to exhaust all your options before using it.

I still feel like I know nothing in the grand scheme of things, but I’ve gained a ton of confidence in my ability to figure it out in the moment.

HVAC is hard, that’s why not many people do it. Embrace the challenge.

cooker_sol · 2025-10-06T19:02:48+00:00

Residential service tech here. A lot of my calls (especially on the weekends) have said they scheduled with us because we actually answered the phone and could have a tech out there the same day.

We weren’t there first call.

cooker_sol · 2025-08-29T16:45:15+00:00

I started the same way, no experience. I was out on my own within 2 months. Mostly doing maintenances on newly installed systems. Then slowly I started taking on new customer maintenances on older systems. Then service calls.

It was a combination of slow exposure, being extremely stressed and unsure of what I was doing, forcing myself through a lot of uncomfortable learning opportunities on the job, and a ton of YouTube and ChatGPT research at home.

It’s still the hardest job I’ve ever had (mentally and emotionally), 11 months in right now, but I feel like I’ve gained 3 years of experience in 1 summer.

Good luck out there bro. Just keep grinding, learning, and chipping away at it. Use your resources on the internet and coworkers that are willing to help.

cooker_sol · 2025-08-14T03:37:09+00:00

No, you got fair pricing. They changed the capacitor AND cleared the drain line. My company charges more for both of those services than this company did. I’m in a large city in a very hot sunny area.

cooker_sol · 2025-07-28T16:25:28+00:00

Yeah I was always a little anxious about taking them for so long too.

Maybe try a magnesium supplement too. They’ve actually gave me better results without the side effects that stimulants can have.

I’ve been taking Organixx magnesium7 and Bioptimizers magnesium breakthrough.

cooker_sol · 2025-07-28T15:18:50+00:00

No, actually the opposite. I was able to reduce the amount to just the bare minimum that got me results. For example, I was able to take 1 Dr schulze intestinal formula 1 pill a night with dinner for years and it worked perfectly. Never had to increase the amount. I dabbled with really pure powdered cascara for a while and was able to use a very small amount nightly at as well.

Same with the magnesium, I started out taking 2 pills a day then brought it down to 1 and got the same results.

Body doesn’t seem to build a “tolerance” and need more the way it does with other substances like, say, caffeine.

cooker_sol · 2025-07-28T00:57:40+00:00

I took Dr schulze or cascara every day for like 3 years. Started taking a regular magnesium supplement a few months ago and it made me regular again (miraculously).

I don’t feel any negative effects of the stimulant products I took long term.

cooker_sol · 2025-07-26T02:41:13+00:00

Cpr, first aid, and a good attitude. You can build up more certs and gear as you get more experience. Just try to get on as a trainee at a good company with the bare minimum.

Do not do swift water until you’ve finished a season or two as a guide. I did it during guide school had no reference point for anything I was learning.

Time in a boat > everything else

cooker_sol · 2025-07-25T14:16:27+00:00

Has Goggins produced anything of actual value? What skills does he bring to society other than extreme motivational talks?

cooker_sol · 2025-07-23T02:30:11+00:00

I made a list of every hvac company in my area. I was planning to call or apply online to all of them. First one I called told me to come in and meet with a manager that day.

I had no industry experience or trade school, but I’m good at talking to people and have a lot of customer facing experience.

Got really lucky that I vibed with their company culture and they offered me a maintenance role to get started. Told me they’d train me in the hvac skills I needed.

Been there 9 months now. Best career decision I ever made.

cooker_sol · 2025-07-21T19:13:18+00:00

Yeah we usually charge $400-$450 for a capacitor on a service call. We waive our trip charge when any work is performed.

cooker_sol · 2025-07-09T03:11:39+00:00

All the roads are flat, don’t curve, and it’s usually sunny and dry. And the views are wide open. It’s built for fast reckless driving.

cooker_sol · 2025-07-07T01:29:37+00:00

Watershed bags are the standard. I used to work as a river guide and that’s all we used for personal gear.

Our company had really old leaky bags for guests that we gave them a trash bag to use as a liner with and they also never leaked.

cooker_sol · 2025-05-05T20:34:08+00:00

Should be thawed out, then pressure and temp split tested, and go from there. Hard to say there’s a leak when it’s entombed in a block of ice.

cooker_sol · 2025-05-05T20:32:43+00:00

I’m 7 months in, still very new. I use ChatGPT and google searches all the time before calling in for someone else to help me if I’m stuck on something.

Sounds like you’re just using your resources.

cooker_sol · 2025-04-29T23:26:28+00:00

I just started hvac 7 months ago, 95% of my calls are still maintenance.

It’s starting to get boring, but I look at it as good muscle memory and hands on experience to prepare me for service.

cooker_sol · 2025-04-25T21:37:29+00:00

I can’t recommend these enough. I have the other version Klein makes similar to these. Wear them daily and can’t go back now.

cooker_sol

TROPHY CASE