mark allen

[mark allen]

Thanks Susan,
The dolly and air sled? are they listed in the tool list?

[mark allen]

Second man required…..
I know what it means to need a second man. I used to do water heaters a few years ago, when I was a younger man, and a few times I wished I had a younger back. Now I do not have kids or family members to assist me. I work alone. What would you recommend in this case? How often would I expect to need a second man? Is there a work around? I cant afford to hire someone to hang around on the off chance I need support.

[mark allen]

this has me tripped up too. same two questions. looked at several internet sites regarding polarity of diodes and they agree with the depiction on page 152 and in figure 7-19 you have referenced in the Kleinert text. That figure shows Cathode (-), Anode (+)
It was my understanding that the question was asking how the diode was marked. This would be more dependant on the internal construction and not on direction of electron flow. Most people know that in the case of the arrow it is always pointing against the flow.
So I understood the question to be asking ..to put it more simply…which end is marked with the plus sign? I did not understand the question to be asking me to determine direction of electron flow.
I will adjust the answers so as to be able to proceed but I do suggest some clarity in the test questions.

[mark allen]

SBA (Small Business Association) can help on some things. Especially if you are a new business and don’t forget to register as a Veteran Owned Business if you are a Veteran.!!

[mark allen]

I suppose….however, I think what I should have said is that the way the question is written it doesn’t make sense, linguistically that is.

[mark allen]

water takes the path of least resistance…….and its all down hill

[mark allen]

ummm….I don’t know about porn…so this is an old school timer..how does the modern electronic timer look? probably just a circuit card I am guessing.?

[mark allen]

I have to admit…these timing charts are a tough nut to crack. I have experience with wiring diagrams as relates to Boeing aircraft systems but the hardest thing here is trying to reconcile in my mind what this looks like in the real world. The biggest thing for me is the difficulty I have in following the actual time schedule. I guess if I could print it out and highlight the different zones it would be more clear and easier to read.
Secondly, if I had an actual timer I could physically see the cams in action ….then it would be much easier to understand.
is there a video that shows the inner workings of the cam?
I don’t have one available to me to lay hands on.

[mark allen]

I am located in Seattle WA and I will say that my experience in the past two years of being in business here is that any print ad is a total waste of money. Absolutely 0.0 % ROI. I have tried industry trade magazines, the few I could afford, as well as “boosting” my facebook posts. nada returns. However, I do stick up business cards on feed store bulletin boards and barber shops ect,. anyplace I can find a free community board. This costs practically nothing and depending on location some are frequent hitters.
However, I would estimate that 99% of my new clients are from doing a Google search. I paid a lot of money for a pro to develop it, and she still maintains my website. There are some things I know better than to try to do myself. its expensive but worth it. I have had new clients choose us stating that they made the choice on the strength of our professional looking website. Remember that people don’t always make logical choices. Most make choices based on emotion and you only get one chance to make that first positive impression.

[mark allen]

Seems like a legit question ….can we bump this up?
perhaps its in a section I haven’t completed yet.

[mark allen]

I also use Square on my phone. I have been using it in my current business for two years. In that time I think I only had one rejected payment.
However, it is expensive. I have switched to invoicing online thru the accounting program QuickBooks. QuickBooks only charges $0.50 per transaction, no matter how much the total bill is. Square is the same as all other card processing companies including Paypal. They will take (in round numbers) 2.5% of the swiped amount and 3.5% + an additional fee (0.15 cents I think), for keyed entries. Keyed entries would only happen if you are taking payment over the phone, which does happen in my business on a frequent basis. I have had several rejected payments thru the QuickBooks system and that causes a big problem. The system shows the invoice paid so there is no way for the client to go online and pay that invoice again. In that case they write a check. Its a hassle to run it down.
At first I thought that it was stupid to pay $0.50 on each invoice until I realized that I was loosing thousands a year to the card companies. So to compensate I added a card payment surcharge of $2 per transaction if the client wishes to use a card. Most folks don’t whine too much.
I do take checks, both business and personal. only had one bounce but it was a simple mistake and I personally knew the person so it was easy to resolve. However,…..I have had a LOT of problems with people not paying if work is done and to help them get back to work we email the invoice and let them take the tool/equipment without payment at the moment of delivery. That happens when the boss is not in and he’s the only one that can write the check….I currently have $700 in uncollectable receivables. Needless to say they are on my list of “never do business with again”. If they stiff you for just labor its bad but not as bad as if you go pay for a part with your credit card and then they decline the work or don’t pay the final invoice. Ultimately its a tax write off.
If you are doing repairs for a business, you most likely will have to invoice it to the Accounts Receivables dept at their corporate HQ and wait for the money. If you are in someones house make a rough estimate before putting any parts into it, and don’t fix it without an understanding of the fees. That’s not to say you would not ever have a dirtbag decide after you are done that hes not paying and force you to leave. Personally, I will be trying to screen my clients so as to try to stay out of those type of houses. Let the cheapo PCM take that job.
And that’s my .99 cents worth.

[mark allen]

Master,
when you get a free(ha) moment…could you tell us more about the requirements your favorite companies want us to meet. What hoops and how high do we have to jump?
obviously, I haven’t gone to the websites to look it up yet. its a time thing for me as well.
perhaps just a link to the proper area for me to look will be all I need.

I have noticed you have a few videos that look like its new equipment. I was wondering about that as the previous experience I have with anything in a house is not that clean and nice to work on.

[mark allen]

Yes Master,
I have used that very same outdoor rated wire nut when building my house. Personally, I hate wire nuts when splicing stranded wire but it is what it is.

Thank you for the info. I had not considered the access limitations surrounded by flimsy plastic. (haven’t seen the inside of a fridge yet)

[mark allen]

Somewhere I have a little flash card given to me at my other job for assisting us in remembering how to read the meter and knowing we have a reading that is within spec. very handy and is helpful to remember which location the decimal point goes in.
The internet is full of information, not all of which can be counted on to be true. However, here is a tool that is very helpful and you can play around with it to see how it all works. I use this tool as well as other measurement calculators available on the internet. Just type into your browser search tool whatever it is you are looking to convert.
http://rapidtables.com/convert/electric/index.htm

[mark allen]

test passed

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