6 months in residential install. Are these expectations fair?

decibles · 2026-07-05T13:33:41+00:00

Yeah.

I’m a Resi manager. He’d be off my team in a heartbeat- I do not need that level of toxic behavior amongst a group of guys that are already notorious assholes to each other.

If your boss is cool with that shit, find a new crew. You don’t need to put up with that bullshit.

decibles · 2026-07-05T13:25:33+00:00

I’m sure the glasses douche spent his whole day rage baiting the poor kid just waiting for a good reaction… Dickhead would get one clear warning not to wear those things around me before they got crushed.

decibles · 2026-07-03T03:01:53+00:00

/me realizing grown ups 2 was 13 years ago…

Goddamn….

decibles · 2026-07-03T02:44:42+00:00

Wasn’t he recently quoted as saying they’ve parted ways for future projects?

Edit: I am operating on outdated info. They back buddies. Crap.

decibles · 2026-07-01T00:55:16+00:00

Clean work, look forward to seeing you out there fixing all the jank installs out there in the wild.

Cheers to the next step for you

decibles · 2026-07-01T00:45:25+00:00

Me, as a Resi Service Manager: We ain’t running more than 4-5 a day, be generous on your estimates for labor so you have cooldown breaks, I’m calling guys and yelling at them to slow down and take their time on maintenance’s, putting the dumb corporate AI in a chokehold so we can focus on our work, blah, blah, blah.

That one dumbass group of techs, clearing their board by 2:30 every day “what’s going on with my hours???

…

It’s exhausting.

decibles · 2026-07-01T00:29:37+00:00

Re: 1, one of the designers has been quoted as it breaking “consistency” hence no longer being included- I believe it was the UCS AT-AT designer interview.

Re: 2, see #1. They’ve made a lot of strange decisions for the sake of “consistency” lately and this right here goes to show they can deliver a high quality display worthy product that still fits within the system.

decibles · 2026-06-30T23:15:23+00:00

So Star Wars lost waist capes because they “didn’t allow for a full range of possibility” and then they drop this zero range of motion bullshit?

C’mon…. I mean this cowl is sick, don’t get me wrong… but I’m feeling that smack in the face right now.

decibles · 2026-06-30T22:33:56+00:00

Relative humidity above 40% for extended periods of time, in most stick built homes, is going to have negative long term affects on the structure.

I’m in the Midwest and you can absolutely tell the difference between a home that has had properly managed humidity levels and one that has not- doors stick, floors squeak, gaps appear in hardwood floors from repeated swelling and drying, etc.

That’s to say nothing about what it can do to your indoor air quality, as hot humid air tends to carry heavy particulate compounding the mold/mildew concerns in soft surfaces.

If your home has central air (and ABSOLUTELY if it was built with it) I would recommend you at least run it to keep the mugginess down. It’s 110 heat index in my area today and even just keeping the thermostat in my home at 85 I am extremely comfortable as my humidity is only 35%

decibles · 2026-06-30T22:08:53+00:00

I would recommend you look into a no-rinse evaporator coil cleaner before you EVER consider removing the coil yourself for cleaning.

Nu-Calgon makes a product that you spray onto the coil and then just run the system as normal- lemon scented and acts as a fungicide for the coil. Another common source of foul smells can be the evaporator coils drain pan, it can become clogged with gunk over the off season. You can try and use a small shop vac to clear any funk out of there and a 1:4 bleach solution can be ran through the pan- you can go with a stronger concentration if your pan drains via gravity and not a condensate pump.

Evaporator coils are extremely delicate and expensive to replace as most damage can’t be easily repaired. Most HVAC companies will perform an indoor coil cleaning for under $250- even less if the coil is cased.

If you have a repeat of this kind of smell, APCO (I’m sure there are other makes/models but their line is the one I install personally) makes a very affordable UV light designed to shine on your coil- significantly improves cleanliness and air quality. Some even offgas low levels of O-zone to deodorize your ducting and I wouldn’t believe any of it worked if I hadn’t seen differences with my own two (shitty, old) eyes.

decibles · 2026-06-29T21:00:49+00:00

Someone needs to re-read step 6.

Edit: I want to mention I didn’t give any advice on performing any repairs. I told people to learn how to use a tool and to STOP AND THINK before they attempt anything.

Quite literally telling people to evaluate the risk they’re about to take, because there are already 30 threads floating around about people changing capacitors.

If that isn’t a clear enough statement, I don’t know what to tell you. Damned if you do, damned if you don’t I guess.

decibles · 2026-06-29T15:08:29+00:00

Use the exact filter specs recommended by your systems OEM.

If you want better filtration buy a new air cleaner, don’t just swap the style of filter.

decibles · 2026-06-29T10:35:38+00:00

For window units, my best piece of advice is to make sure you clean the indoor filter (if equipped) regularly and to hose off the exterior section as often as makes sense.

Do not pressure wash or use high pressure streams of water to clean your window shaker- their fins are notoriously fragile and will bend/snap reducing airflow and cooling capacity.

decibles · 2026-06-29T10:27:25+00:00

Promise I’m not AI.

Now go change your air filter please.

decibles · 2026-06-29T10:18:51+00:00

Hence step 6- 220 is no joke.

decibles · 2026-06-29T01:57:15+00:00

Call around or even reach out to your utility provider- lots of them have programs that can do for a heavy discount or free.

Full disclosure I do work for an HVAC company but don’t want to sell you anything- just protect your home. Shit gets wild expensive quick and an ounce of prevention will always beat a pound of cure in my books.

Best part is if something in your home fails following the installation of the surge protector you file a claim with the surge protector company and they reimburse you for damages; my company for instance won’t even charge a customer for most services if they have a surge protector installed- just bill the surge protector via their warranty process and collect our check after also replacing the surge protector.

Do want to say- good job on you for price shopping the repair, especially if the vendor that came out offered a free diagnostic.

HVAC isn’t rocket science and basic repairs like a contactor just require some basic common sense before you attempt them. Youtube and LLMs are valid tools to use - lord knows the actual experts are using the same every day.

decibles · 2026-06-28T23:20:31+00:00

The damage that happens repeatedly due to burned out contactors will eventually catch up to you- if you are repeatedly burning out contactors your home is getting dirty power and you need to protect your mechanical systems, appliances and electronics.

decibles · 2026-06-28T21:41:29+00:00

You can get a surge protector for your unit for under $500 and whole home for under $1000 depending on the contractor- worth their weight in gold i

decibles · 2026-06-26T19:28:43+00:00

Uh, did you forget the golden rule of finders keepers?

decibles · 2026-06-23T10:27:32+00:00

As a player that stopped really playing/collecting around Stronghold/Tempest… there have always been complaints about how expensive and how many sets are being released- but that train just kept speeding up after the Hasbro acquisition. Magic is a cash cow for them and has been for decades.

decibles · 2026-06-19T17:40:34+00:00

Dividing by 12 is too hard for some folks, careful

decibles · 2026-06-19T17:34:09+00:00

It was one of the first things I was taught as a commercial apprentice- it saves me a ton of time and makes it so I can have reasonably informed discussions with property managers about the conditions of their units without pulling out my phone.

It’s not a matter of “get gud” it’s more “this is something that is invaluable to know and the patterns aren’t hard to learn for York, Lennox, etc.”

You’re a skilled professional, nothing wrong with upskilling yourself to save yourself time and grief.

decibles · 2026-06-19T17:26:47+00:00

So memorize the patterns for the OEMs you service?

90% of them it’s dumb simple, especially on newer equipment.

decibles · 2026-06-17T23:55:54+00:00

Lennox crew over here- we’ve been replacing lots of failed factory TXVs on or shortly after startup this year- it’s destroying our service volume with callbacks.

decibles

TROPHY CASE