FALLS CHURCH, Va. — The Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors National Association (PHCC) Educational Foundation will hold its third annual HVAC Apprentice Contest Sept. 30-Oct. 1 during PHCC’s CONNECT 2015 in Hollywood, Florida.

The HVAC contest features the nation’s top 15 HVAC apprentices in a hands-on competition that comprises six events: brazing, where contestants assemble a refrigeration circuit with components following a drawing; refrigerant recovery and identification; a written knowledge test; an opportunity to take readings on a working package unit and make relevant calculations to determine system operation parameters; electrical troubleshooting; and basic electrical skills and wiring.

When 2014 winner Leroy Friend, a technician with Shapiro & Duncan in Rockville, Maryland, returned to work after winning the contest, he carried with him a big boost of confidence, a $4,000-plus prize package of state-of-the-art tools to show his colleagues, and bragging rights for his company.

Among the tools he received were refrigeration gauges, hand tools, a drill, an infrared thermometer, a gas detection kit, a multimeter, and a camera with a telescopic head that Friend uses to look into heat exchangers.

In addition to the actual contest, contestants have the opportunity to attend special educational seminars at CONNECT, complete with peer-to-peer networking, and gain exposure to the latest technologies and products.

For more information and for contest applications, visit http://bit.ly/1QTwhWv.

Publication date: 8/10/2015 

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