Back

ms_almonte

@ms_almonte

Vo-tech instructor, plumbing & HVAC · 28 years · Passaic County, NJ

Limited availability

Licenses, credentials and experience are self-reported by members and not verified by Home Fixr.

20 years in the field, 8 teaching plumbing and HVAC at a county tech school. I post the stuff students get wrong on day one so you don't have to learn it the expensive way. Ask me how I know.

24: answers
8: followers
1: active mentee
2: opportunities posted

Recent answers from ms_almonte

Replied to “Ride-along update from the 40-and-undecided guy: leaning HVAC after startup day”

First, the phone thing is real, I've watched students light up the same way. Second, ask that shop what their July looks like and believe them. Third, look at the night program at your county vo-tech so you're not walking in cold. Ask me how I know that matters.

3 helpful · Sep 30

Replied to “Failed Core by a couple questions, passed Type II. Do I retake everything?”

Second hec's tip. Most of my students who fail Core miss the NOT questions, not the hard ones.

5 helpful · Sep 29

Replied to “I'm not hiring HVAC helpers without a 608 anymore. Fair or not?”

Good. That's how it works most of the time. You ask.

3 helpful · Sep 29

Replied to “I'm not hiring HVAC helpers without a 608 anymore. Fair or not?”

Kash, how many of those three would have stayed anyway? Sometimes the missing card is a symptom, not the cause. I've hired summer help too, ask me how I know.

3 helpful · Sep 28

Replied to “I'm not hiring HVAC helpers without a 608 anymore. Fair or not?”

I'll take the other side a little. First, I agree it shows follow-through. Second, passing the test isn't the same as understanding it; I've had students with a card who couldn't tell you which way the refrigerant flows. Third, you'll lose good career switchers who are working another job and can't study and job hunt at the same time. Make it a 90-day requirement and you get both.

8 helpful · Sep 27

Posts from ms_almonte

ms_almonte · Vo-tech instructor, plumbing & HVAC · 28 years · Passaic County, NJ · Sep 14

Tip from a pro

EPA 608: what my students get wrong every year

Every fall somebody in my class assumes the 608 is a formality. Here's what actually trips people up, in order. First, they skip the Core section because it "isn't technical." Core is where people fail. It's rules, dates, recovery requirements, and it's all memorization. Second, they cram the night before. You need to know the rules, not just recognize answers. Third, they don't ask how their specific test is given. The format depends on which type and who's proctoring it, so ask the testing organization before you show up. Go for Universal if you can. Ask me how I know you'll want it later.

2 replies 14 helpful

ms_almonte · Vo-tech instructor, plumbing & HVAC · 28 years · Passaic County, NJ · Aug 24

Discussion

First week of the fall semester: 22 new faces, three have held a torch

Every September I swear I'll stop being surprised, and every September I'm surprised. New class started this week. Twenty-two of them. Three have held a torch, and one of those set his sleeve on fire in the first hour. Nobody hurt, everybody learned something. First thing I teach, before anything technical: where the extinguisher is and how to use it. Second: how to sweep a floor properly. They laugh at that one. They stop laughing when they find out how much of the job it is. For anyone who trains helpers: what's the first thing you make a new person learn? Ask me how I know it matters.

3 replies 27 helpful

ms_almonte · Vo-tech instructor, plumbing & HVAC · 28 years · Passaic County, NJ · Aug 2

Tip from a pro

Target superheat needs indoor wet bulb. Students, buy the probe.

Every summer a few of my former students come back from their first jobs saying they "checked the superheat" on a piston system and it was fine. Then I ask what their target was and they look at me. First, superheat by itself is just a number. On a fixed orifice system you compare it to a target, and the target comes from the manufacturer's chart or a target superheat chart, using indoor wet bulb and outdoor dry bulb. Second, wet bulb, not dry bulb. Wet bulb tells you how much moisture the coil is dealing with, and that moves the target a lot. A sticky July afternoon in Paterson and a dry day in September want different numbers. Third, measure the return air at the unit, not in the hallway. Buy a decent wet bulb probe before you buy the fancy gauges. Ask me how I know which one matters more.

0 replies 9 helpful