So that's the big beef with the HVAC guys.

I have no idea why you would have trouble with the supply house.
The rest of this you will not like.


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I don’t make a habit of running all kinds of electrical work but I don’t just stop at the dissconnect box and tell the HO he's out of luck and call an electrician either. I do work for a guy that does everything he can get paid for so when its slow I will do electrical jobs, but I'm smart enough to know my limitations and I'm not single handedly putting all the electricians out of work.
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Why did I bother to get my license if you are not going to call an electrician for electrical work?

Should I start recharging HVAC units?

OK,. so there it is..... I'm a straight forward guy and I like to just know what the deal is. Please forgive me for my sarcasm but I am in need of a midget electrician now. He must be 20-30 lbs and not mind the mess in my tool bag. I will be carefull when I hoist him up to the roof because I will consider him one of my most valuable tools in my bag. I think I'll call him my "mini me" tool.

Ya know too,... I hardly think the comparison of doing electrical work with out a electricians licence to an electrician charging a unit to be comparable. The test to get a universal card here is only a little one and your all set, but to get an electricians lisence is like eating some electrical contractors sh!$ for five years. correct me if I'm wrong.

My understanding of the rules is the same as Bill's

Your electrical work is limited to the load side of the disconnect.

Still does not explain the problem at the supply house.

I have to say I'm not too keen on the fact that you're so comfortable stepping out of the bounds of what you should be doing. That may be carrying over to the guys in the supply house too. In most areas I know of a license (and Insurance) is required to do Electrical work for pay. I think I'd count myself lucky that no one has turned me in or filed complaints/charges yet.


As far as I know I'm perfectly legal here. My boss has insurance that covers this type of work. He carries a policy that covers his construction, plumbing, HVAC, and electrical work. I have worked under licenced electricans that pull the permit and then have me do the work, they get paied for that by the way. See,. if I think its too much I will call the electrician, he has told me that if its small just to do it and if he is busy, but if he's slow he askes for it. He's too big to fit in my tool bag though... This is too unreasonable?

I may be off topic. I really don't even know how this topic started but I figure that HVAC isn't work for the simple minded.

AC/refrigeration work takes some brains. You don't have to be a genius to do it but there's alot to know and it takes some smarts to master it.

I wouldn't expect an HVAC guy to be able to safely wire a bank of 3ø motor starters or install an emergency backup generator and transfer switches, or any of the more complicated projects a licensed electrician would be expected to do. (Although anybody that can follow the controls wiring on some of the more complex HVAC systems might be able to wire the space shuttle)

But a guy that can troubleshoot and repair HVAC equipment has to be smart enough to learn to run a single 220V circuit from the panel to the disconnect box without killing anybody.

I'm real comfortable with AC pros doing that much electrical. These guys spend most of their troubleshooting time on electrical circuits anyway. It's not a foreign trade to them.

I know the law says no...but I'm not a fan of a large part of the law. I try to do what's right and what makes sense.

I know I'll get pounded for saying this but bring it on...I can take it.

And for your electricians who want to charge your own AC. I say go for it. Global warming is pretty much considered bunk now anyway and you could learn to charge one correctly in about 10 minutes. I'll loan you my tools.

are you for hire JohnnyB?

Let's not turn this into who knows how to do what and who doesn't. It's not about opinions either. Either someone is supposed to, or allowed to do something or they're not. That may change from area to area, but it's a simple concept and there shouldn't be any argument there.

Bill