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Best way to get into the chiller side full time
I’ve been in the HVAC/R industry for about 5 years now as a general technician and I’ve decided that I really want to start pushing my career into the chiller side but don’t know where to begin. I’ve talked with my boss about it and he’s said he’d try getting me training but the department I’m in has no senior level chiller techs or enough chiller accounts for me to get experience with. I’ve taken 2 formal training courses (ChillCo, and Chiller Academyl and need to take the one here) and I’ve done annual maintenances on some so I have some knowledge but I feel like I’ve hit a wall with my current company. Would looking at an OEM position and risk starting from the ground up be the best route or just waiting it out with my current company? Central Indiana and I’d prefer staying away from the union
Member Post, Member Post and 2 others7 Comments-
Getting into a union contractor is what gave me access to chiller and hydronic equipment. What’s your reason for avoiding union? I don’t think you’d start completely at level zero since you’re at year 5. But there are non union shops that do chiller work.
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@brettraper1996 Mind you I’ve never worked for a union shop so I don’t entirely know how they operate but I don’t care for having someone “speak on my behalf”, nor do I care for dues, just personal preferences
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Most of the manufacturers are in the local unions for your area. (Daikin, JCI, Carrier). I believe Trane is the only one that is not a union shop for that area. The Union is going to have a large majority of the kind of work you seek
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@chick16 that’s kind of what I thought. I like dealing with Trane equipment but I’ve heard mixed things about their chiller department and how to get into it
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I wouldn’t write off the union until you at least try it first, there are a lot of misconceptions sometimes that prevent guys from making the jump prior and then wish they did sooner once they are in
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There is a lot you can learn online, though having a mentor like I did helps quite a lot.
Trane does put on Trane university classes but these take place in La Crosse, WI and while excellent, they are more meant for design engineers of chiller systems and it isn’t cheap.
ASHRAE also has some good training guides if you join them as a member.
I have quite a collection of documents I have accumulated over the years I can send you.-
@bfurlong the online stuff and in person classes I’ve gone through have been incredibly helpful, the problem I’ve run into is opportunities to apply the knowledge. Due to turnover and customer losses I’m now considered our lead chiller tech and we only have a couple process chillers so I’m not sure if it’s better to sit and wait for opportunities or go seek them
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