Third Generation HVAC

Everybody asks what tools to buy. Terry's answer: nobody can tell you — it depends on your hand. A Klein starter kit story, a drill from his cousin that lasted five years (as a hammer drill), why he greases his pipe wrench teeth with white lithium and NOT WD-40, analog vs digital gauges ("argue with me — prove me wrong"), and the flood story that taught him the most expensive lesson in the trade: the right tool matters, because their home is their castle.Third Generation HVAC — real stories & lessons from the gas trade, 3 generations deep. New episodes weekly.Also on Spotify & Apple Podcasts — @gen3hvac everywhere.

Is AI coming for the trades? Terry gets asked this more than anything right now — by students, other techs, and buddies outside the trade. His answer is one sentence: AI can't get a gas licence. This episode: the licence wall (G3, G2, G1) and why somebody's name has to be on the tag; AI as the co-pilot, never the pilot; the no-heat call where Terry missed a cracked heat exchanger — and what it taught him about judgment; and the part nobody talks about: trust. New episodes every week — trade stories and lessons from three generations in the gas trade.

Three houses I can't explain. A caretaker's house off Highway 10 where I was not alone in that basement. My Grandpa Bob's house, and the figure in the top window. And my dad's rental above a garage that made him sick every night he slept there.I'm a third-generation gas fitter — I deal in what's real. But some calls stay with you.Got an HVAC ghost story of your own? Drop it in the comments or send it in. I want to hear it.Third Generation HVAC — real stories and lessons from the gas trade, three generations deep. New episodes weekly.

Terry tells the story of the first high-efficiency boiler he installed on his own — the one he screwed up. No marked lines, forgotten soldering, leaks everywhere, a 7-day job that turned into 14, and a customer lost. Years later, that same customer ended up praising him to his own technician without knowing they were the same Terry. The lesson: read the manual, ask for help, and own your mistakes. Integrity turns a lost customer into a customer for life.

My grandpa Bob — the first of three generations in this trade. A giant with arms like hay bales who tore down a drywaller's wall to defend his ductwork, chased a man out of the wholesaler for messing with his son, and showed up at my door with a $1,000 cheque when I needed it most. Plus the boiler that three generations of my family touched with their own hands.