To All HVAC Tech

greghvacguy

Does anyone have a list of parts thay have on there truck. Im trying to show my boss we need to cary more parts. He doesnt wont the overhead do to slow/hard times. Im just tierd of running to supply house to get parts and charging the customer my time. Yes i get paid for that time but just a pain. If anyone would like it pass it on that would be great I will you you my email if so.
Thanks Greg

nhmaster3015

I suspect that you are pissing into the wind here. Your boss probably has a pretty good idea of how the money is flowing right now and feels that it's better to keep inventory overhead costs low. I know it's frustrating but then again having a van with 10 grand in parts that don't move quickly can be very costly also. Try an get him to stock the real common stuff and ride it out.

hvaclover

Ccuse me while 'Splain to Little Ricky the facts of life.


Hey dude. It may be a pain but you are the manager as you post. For one you should not be coming to a public forum to air this complaint. I would be pissed if my SM did it.

It's not your job to whine but to make sure your crew does their job so the boss can do his, namely, run the business and keep the doors open.

I have made the call to keep less stock, money is tight and can't be tied up in parts. In this economy I would be standing shoulder to shoulder with your boss instead of second guessing him.

flashheatingand

Come on Clover, give dude a break. It's perfectly normal for the sub-ordinate to have ideas that are different than the boss's. You can't hate on him for that. If he were bitching to his workers, that's one thing, but in a fairly anonnomous site like this...just take it in.

Actually, it's a good question. We don't know the specifics in this case, but, as hvac pro's there are some parts that we should be "expected" to carry. For example, I had a service call in which the culprit was a blow fuse (50 amp) which wasn't in my van. It would be unfair to charge a trip fee for something like that we are pro's. It would be helpful to start a short list of parts that a hvac pro should stock. I can think of several items, but lets keep it at three to four per person.

thermostats, high temp limit switch, and refrigerant.

greghvacguy

Flashheating that is what i was getting to. what do most tech keep on there truck. Just was seeing if we where far off. I look at this it could help all of us. Transformers,fan/limit,thermostat,contactors,gas valves presure switch. I will sit down and put list and post back.I have not put a list on papper this will be the time to start.I was not here to bitch about my boss or the slow time just see what everyones thought was. sorry to all if i came off that way.

hvaclover

I carry 2 transformers, 4 universal igniters, one half hp blower and a third hp blower. Two blower mounting brackets (one with short legs one with with long legs).

Any thing else we run to parts store which we can drive to inside fifteen minutes.

With thing as a****ty as they are around here I won't tie money up in stock.

bwalley

Greg,

It may be a hassle running to get parts, but the client is paying for the time and so are you, so if your boss wants to continue doing this, there isn't much you can do.

A truck should have some basic parts, like capacitors, contactors, transformers, a couple of condensor fan motors, etc., but with the economy the way it is, having a bunch of stock on the truck gets to be expensive and there is always a certain amount of 'slippage' with parts bought for stock.

I am sure you would never forget to charge a client for a part or would use a part to fix a friend or relatives A/C, but it happens.

Dr Heat

It is more difficult these days then when I started. Now I carry the parts for the equipment I sell and some universals. Three ignites a gas valve 1/3 and 1/2 blower motor a universal fan timer board a hard start some flame rods and two venter motors a 50va transformer and a thermal couple (old habits die hard) along with fuses and misc. these are just what i came up with of hand.

I admire your desire to better your company. I have an employee like you and feel lucky.

flashheatingand

It wouldn't hurt to have caps, couplings and elbows (copper, gas, and pvc), some adjustable elbows in 4" & a 6" could come in handy as well. Mastik tape is another good truck-stock item, but charge for it. There is a balance between service parts and "hardware" parts. I wish I had the right answer.

flashheatingand

It's one thing to have to take a trip to the parts house for a specific part, but to take a trip for a stupid part (like the ones mentioned above) is just frustrating. You ever try to adjust a flue elbow and the thing collapse on you? Well, you know you are miffed if you don't have an elbow in stock. No tape (duct or mastik) aye yay yay, . I have come to believe it is better to have the right hardware stock. Motors are good, but I don't need a gang of them as they do take up space. Ignitors, and limit switches is a gotta have item as well. One transformer maybe two, but nothing crazy. Finally, the electrical fitting box is necessary.

Just in case you are wondering why I am still talking about truck stock is that I cleaned it out, and I remember re-stacking items, and thinking about how much is too much, and everything else. The part has to be able to pay the rent.

hvaclover

We have so many parts houses so close by no matter where we travel in the metro area it makes better dollar sense to buy as we go that way we don't have badly needed capital tied up when we need it.

Easier to track your stock too. You don't have to inventory a truck if a guy leaves or you run low on stock.

Willis15

You have plenty of good answers. If you'd like, drop me your e-mail and i'll scan a list of our required inventory from James River Air down here in Richmond, Virginia. Keep in mind, my list pertains to mostlythe guys that work in the commercial services department and most of these guys are primarily trained as air conditioning techniciansThere are several of us that do the bulk of the companies boiler work. For more inf on our company goto: Jamesriverair.com