He says, “I found there are a thousand ways to skin a cat, but whose is the best? With people talking about global warming, gas shortages and more houses having radiant installed, you would be stupid not to want to install a mod-con boiler. Even installing baseboard at high temps, you still would see high efficiency during the milder days.

“When we do a heat calc for custom homes, depending on location, we use -20, -10 and 0 degree design temps. If it never gets that cold, you never need 180 degrees F through your baseboard.”

On-The-Job Experience: I met Ruben Chinea when he called me from Yonkers, N.Y., to ask about a thermostat problem on a job. Hardly a kid at age 35, he’s a “new guy” to the hydronics industry. He says he read articles that our industry is in need of minorities - he’s Latino - and he’s very optimistic about his future here. He’s getting on-the-job experience and going to school specializing in HVAC. He comments that he learns a lot about controls because his tech school instructor brings articles into class from PM magazine.

Steve Lanyon owns Blue Sky Plumbing and Heating in Wheat Ridge, Colo. Steve is a believer in “bucket time” as one of the best ways for a new guy to learn. Bucket time is when you sit down in front of the boiler, using an upended bucket as a stool, and think about the situation at hand.

He says the hardest thing for a new guy is to calm down enough to think. “They want to just get on the radio or phone and call the shop for someone to tell them what to do.” When a guy calls in, Steve’s tempted to solve the problem for him. But the right thing to do is get the caller calmed down. He might tell him to go outside for a few minutes to get some fresh air. “Then come back in, sit down on that bucket, and think about how to solve the problem. That’s when they learn.”

Eternal Apprentice: John Madden of Georgia, Vt., claims he is “proof positive that old dogs can learn new tricks.” He calls himself the eternal apprentice, although his license reads master plumber. He says there’s no such thing as a master plumber; technology changes too quickly. He says training in our industry is as important as it is for doctors. “A heart transplant is a common thing now - doctors learned that by constant training. We, too, are the guardians of people’s health and welfare.”

John gets much of his training by reading. Even though he thinks most of our industry doesn’t read, he believes they should, especially magazines where they can learn from the experiments of Hot Rod Rohr, and from the technical background of John Siegenthaler.

Madden also thinks contractors should start using computers to get information. “I can shoot off an e-mail to an expert and get a quick answer.”

As a result of interviewing many, many people in the industry, Carrie Polk is alarmed at the direction the trades are going - or not going. She says, “As an HVACR industry professional, I am shocked at the lack of cooperation between educators and the professionals who depend upon graduates to carry their trade through the next generation.”