More Than Fixing an Air Conditioner

Green Klunk's HVAC Shirt

     On a sunny autumn morning, Ryan Klunk from Klunk's HVAC went to a yellow rancher style house to do another HVAC job. From the outside the house was extremely run down, and no one inside. He wears khaki shorts, black tennis shoes with low socks, and a bright green shirt from Klunk's HVAC. His black beard had just been groomed, and a red marker sticking out of the hat on his head. His clothes looked as though they had already been through plenty of jobs. Inside the house, the thermostat read 76 degrees, and the place was warm and humid, with an old smell filling it. The smell was stronger in the basement, where the HVAC system was. The basement was small, unfinished, with stained concrete floors and a musty smell. 

       The HVAC system looked cleaner compared to the rest of the basement and sat in the corner. To find any odd problems, he listened to the system to see if there were any noises. He then took a red drill and removed the cover of the system, and once the system was opened, he sprayed water on the pipes to check for bubbles, indicating a leak.  As the work continued, dust and dirt started to fall onto the floor from the system.  Next, he connected a gauge to a valve on the system and discovered there was very little refrigerant left. After finding this out, it gave him a better understanding of the problem.

    Ryan returned to the work van, where tools were packed into nearly every part of the back. He took a pink bottle of refrigerant and went back into the basement, hoping the problem was just low refrigerant. Once the system was refilled, the cover went back on with the drill hoping the system was now fixed. A few minutes later, the system clicked on and began blowing air which made Ryan's face light up in relief. He then reached into his tool bag and grabbed an old black dustpan before sweeping the dirt off the floor. He returned to the van one last time and put all the equipment away and climbed back into the driver's seat. 

Ryan Working on System

    Ryan's roles involve a lot more than just performing repairs and installing new systems. When asked how he first became interested in HVAC, he explained "I got into HVAC because I love working with my hands and figuring out how to make things work. I learned the trade through experiences of working for different companies on all different kinds of systems." He acquired his skills through working for different companies and dealing with all kinds of problems. In the end, he chose to set up his own business because he wanted control over what he does. As he confidently stated, "I wanted to work for myself and have control over my own business. Being self-employed allows me have freedom to do what I want, but also makes me responsible for everything." This responsibility includes looking after customers, scheduling jobs, dealing with paperwork, and every other aspect of running a business. When asked what a typical day is like Ryan replied, "There isn't ever a normal day. Each day usually comes with a new problem and a different solution. For example, a customer could need maintenance while another could need a whole new system." This makes his job full of variation and not the same tasks every day. 

White Work Van

    

    The van doors shut, and Ryan was back on the road to another job. It was clear from watching him work that HVAC is not as simple as some might think.  A great deal of work is required to figure out what the problem is and how to fix it, and sometimes it has to be done in hot, dirty, or tight spaces. On top of dealing with that, Ryan has to deal with running the whole business by himself. Even though the repair at the yellow was only one job carried out, it shows the amount of effort that most customers probably aren't aware of.