To someone that is looking for help, THIS is the right group to ask in. The other group was NEVER intended to be a self help group, and what alot of folks forget, is that in many states, its illegal for a homeowner to install, work on, or modify a unit...licences are a big deal. Now, with that ruling in I think it was the Netherlands, expect to start being held liable as we all have predicted for giving wrong advice that hurts someone...to someone with a licence, like myself, you have to pick and chose real careful.
the bad mouthing over there, is over a few users that are simply hacks. Period. Ive been in here for years, I dont post much in here..I go months and wont even look at the place...you can only tell someone to get a pro with training and INSURANCE so many times. No..its not rocket science..its fluid dynamics, and thermal dynamics, with a bit of electrical thrown in. And if you want the truth, there are times rocket science is prob more simple. Then again...with enough training, you too can do open heart surgery.
Respect is something I gain every day by being just like I am...I pull no punches, and dont sugar coat something just because you want it sugar coated..if teh damn things broke, its broke. Dont try to do like some EEs do and make it sound simple to replace a resister on a board...we dont do that, NOR would it be approved by any maker of a unit to start doing surgery on a board....as an example that is used in so often.
I will NOT sit here on every post and explain how many hours might go into something as simple as a manual T, or J, or D...I wont tell you how to do it either. I will tell you that the freebie online s*it is that..s*it..its not even close to what you encounter in the real world. You can run all the fill in the blank proggys you want, it does not do you a bit of good if you dont know EXACTLY what you are putting in. Diagnosis? No way anyone in the biz has time to cover each and every possible issue on every unit every time its asked. If you notice, most of the info in here, from the same bunch thats raising hell in the other group, is pretty much what anyone could ask for being that no one has that crystal ball. There are two in here that everyone loves cause they kiss ass...but they are two of the worst examples of the trade, to a real pro...hence, why they catch so much hell. Ive told people to f*ck off in alt.hvac, and come over here and answer the question... Respect? I have that, and my paying customers show it, every time we get another call thats a referral...and yes Virginia, we get alot of them.