xXxPARAGONxXx’s 1999 Chevrolet K2500 Crew Cab

[xXxPARAGONxXx]

Hakko is good stuff. I've still got an old US-made Weller unit that I use for practically all of my soldering work; it's got good temperature control and is a sturdy unit. Bought it in.. wow.. 1999? 2000? Still going strong. Usually just use cheapo disposable solder suckers and buy 'em several at a time, toss them when they quit. As pictured..

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I've also got an ancient Hakko 700 solder/desolder unit but I've got to repair the vacuum pump for the desolder side. Sucker was an expensive unit back in the day. Built like a tank but not very portable so it gets used far less often.

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Richard

Very nice gear!

 

[HotWheelsBurban]

It was sad to see Fry's go. Their location on Houston's North side, I-45 near West road, was near my old wrecker service/storage lot that I ran in the early 2000's before I had my salvage yard/truck shop. Fry's was like what Radio Shack wished it could have become, before Radio Shack became just a glorified cell phone store. Amazing selection, just huge, and all kinds of products across the board. Everything from individual electronic components to science style kits, CD's/DVD's, home and car audio, of course TV's, home appliances, digital cameras, gaming stuff, computers and parts, really just everything. Yeah you'd pay more to walk in the door and browse vs. buying online, but they existed in that time period where online hadn't completely taken over people's purchasing habits. It was nice to be able to see and hold things in your hands before buying, vs. just looking at it on a screen.

Richard

Another interesting thing about Fry's: they were founded by the Fry family that years earlier had sold their grocery store chain to Kroger. In the mid 80s they saw the tech boom in California, and decided to go into the electronics business, but use the grocery store model. Many of the stores had themes, many of which came from the area that store was in.
They also had a good toy selection before things got bad for them. I used to find the newest Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars there, a couple of weeks before they came to Walmart and target.

 

[someotherguy]

Very nice gear!

Practically antiques by now, but they come in handy for working on other antiques. Like early 80's pinball machines and video arcade games, and the occasional GMT400.

Richard

 

[xXxPARAGONxXx]

Still need to buy a few more HVAC tools, but coming along.

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Got both of my EPA licenses (608 Universal and 609).

This equipment will allow me to work on my residential and auto HVAC systems. A2L-rated as I will probably be buying a new R-454B-equipped residential HVAC in the coming years, as my current system is still R-22! Also, wife's vehicle uses R-1234yf which is also A2L.

 

[Supercharged111]

Still need to buy a few more HVAC tools, but coming along.

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Got both of my EPA licenses (608 Universal and 609).

This equipment will allow me to work on my residential and auto HVAC systems. A2L-rated as I will probably be buying a new R-454B-equipped residential HVAC in the coming years, as my current system is still R-22! Also, wife's vehicle uses R-1234yf which is also A2L.

How much of an asspain was that? Pay a fee, take a test, and get a cert?

 

[xXxPARAGONxXx]

How much of an asspain was that? Pay a fee, take a test, and get a cert?

They each cost money. Not exorbitant though.

609 is pretty easy. Open book, online. I took it through MACS.

608 is more challenging. Not open book. Must be done in person at a testing site. Can be done online via ProctorU (for example), but the ProctorU online proctor watches you take the exam and inspects your test site (all via camera) to eliminate cheating.

I did my testing via ProctorU for convenience. Used a laptop and took it early in morning at kitchen table while family was sleeping so no one came into the room.

The 608 license was provided from Esco Institute immediately after passing the test (benefit of doing it online).

I studied hard for about a month. Studied the CFR (federal law), a 608 PDF from Esco Institute, and also iPhone 608 app. Nearly aced it. Missed a couple questions max from each section — results below:

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Test is 4 sections (Core, Type I, Type II, and Type III), 25 questions each. It goes over residential, commercial, and industrial HVAC. MVAC is not covered under 608, as it is covered under 609.

If you pass all 4 sections of the 608 examination, you get EPA 608 Universal license, as seen below:

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A 608 license does not license you to perform repairs on other peoples' HVAC system. You still need your state's HVAC contractor license for that. It just allows you to buy the refrigerant (e.g., R-22, R-410a, etc.).

609 does allow you to perform MVAC repairs on other peoples' MVACs and buy the refrigerant, as I do not know of any state that requires MVAC repair persons (e.g., auto techs) to have a state license.

You don't need either license to work on your own system, but you do need them to buy the refrigerant.

I don't plan on working on anyone else's HVAC. Just needed the licenses to purchase refrigerant.

 

[Supercharged111]

They each cost money. Not exorbitant though.

609 is pretty easy. Open book, online. I took it through MACS.

608 is more challenging. Not open book. Must be done in person at a testing site. Can be done online via ProctorU (for example), but the online proctor watches you take the exam and inspects your test site (all via camera) to eliminate cheating.

I did testing via ProctorU for convenience. Used a laptop and took it early in morning at kitchen table while family was sleeping so no one came into the room.

The 608 license was provided from Esco Institute immediately after passing the test (benefit of doing it online).

I studied hard for about a month. Studied the CFR (federal law), a 608 PDF from Esco Institute, and also iPhone 608 app. Nearly aced it. Missed a couple questions max from each section — results below:

You must be registered for see images attach

Test is 4 sections (Core, Type I, Type II, and Type III), 25 questions each. It goes over residential, commercial, and industrial HVAC. MVAC is not covered under 608, as it is covered under 609.

If you pass all 4 sections of the 608 examination, you get EPA 608 Universal license.

A 608 license does not license you to perform repairs on other peoples' HVAC system. You still need your state's HVAC contractor license for that. It just allows you to buy the refrigerant (e.g., R-22, R-410a, etc.).

609 does allow you to perform MVAC repairs on other peoples' MVACs and buy the refrigerant, as I do not know of any state that requires MVAC repair persons (e.g., auto techs) to have a state license.

You don't need either license to work on your own system, but you do need them to buy the refrigerant.

I don't plan on working on anyone else's HVAC. Just needed the licenses to purchase refrigerant.

Cool, so no requirement to first have eleventy billion hours in the field.

 

[xXxPARAGONxXx]

Cool, so no requirement to first have eleventy billion hours in the field.

Thankfully not. As long as you have your 609 (or 608) license on hand, you can walk into O'Reillys (or elsewhere) and purchase a 30 lb. cylinder of R-134a.

https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/c/refrigerant/chemours-r134a-refrigerant-30-lbs/fre1/r134a30

 

[Supercharged111]

Thankfully not. As long as you have your 609 (or 608) license on hand, you can walk into O'Reillys (or elsewhere) and purchase a 30 lb. cylinder of R-134a.

https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/c/refrigerant/chemours-r134a-refrigerant-30-lbs/fre1/r134a30

Wanna know something crazy? It's cheaper this way.

Robot or human?

That or O Reilly's is nothing but a massive ripoff. 1.2 oz/$ vs 1.06.

 

[xXxPARAGONxXx]

Wanna know something crazy? It's cheaper this way.

Robot or human?

That or O Reilly's is nothing but a massive ripoff. 1.2 oz/$ vs 1.06.

I'd rather have a 30 lb. cylinder, but everyone is free to DIY as they wish.

Supertech is $9.98 per 12 oz. which is $0.83 per oz.
DuPont is $449.99 per 30 lb. (480 oz.) which is $0.94 per oz.

$0.83 versus $0.94 per oz.

I would not call that a massive ripoff.

There's actually another place I found online that is $275 per 30 lbs., but I have not verified if they are legit, so hesitant to buy from them.

R-134A 30 lb Chemours/DuPont Automotive Refrigerant MADE IN USA

We offer Freon R-134a as a non-ozone-depleting, low-toxicity, and nonflammable refrigerant, which makes it a safe choice for use in a variety of applications.

royalrefrigerants.com