No Ducks in the Attic: & Other Basics of HVAC Installation

This residential AC book is probably the only straight forward "here's how you do it" HVAC book around. There are a lot of text books out there, but this book covers the need-to-know basics and touches on some business aspects (for those who own their own HVAC companies). It is a great book if you're unfamiliar with the principles and basic techniques involved with residential AC installation. It goes into everything deep enough that you can probably install your own central AC better than some contractors out there -- except it doesn't really cover charging and evacuating systems.

This book not is a technical instruction manual, so it is not going to be a book that will allow you read it, jump into a van, and jump into the HVAC business on your own. If you have no HVAC experience...get some and read this book. If you are new to the trade...read this book. If you're an experienced HVAC technician, and you feel like the bosses expectations are unrealistic...read this book. If you own an HVAC business...read this book...AND have ALL of your employees read it. I just got it and read it straight through. Some parts made me laugh, and some made me cry (condensate drains and Capes), and I'm about to order 8 more copies for my employees. GREAT book!

I am currently going through a HVAC/R program and working on becoming a licensed technician. I purchased this book in the hopes it would have some decent info, even though anecdotal, about HVAC and some quick tips on various things. Overall it's decent, nothing spectacular, it's not a very long book but it does have a few very basic tips for the non-technician. Anyone with an average background in HVAC or does it for a career will probably not find this book informative, it's basically for the average DIY homeowner that wants a little background info in residential HVAC.

There are lots of books on code and the science of HVAC, but this gives a great summary on how to go about doing a full job. It is not a complete how to, but good when you are first starting out and don't know what you don't know.

This book is writed from profesional to profesional. It's in plain english, so very easy to undertand.Mr. Shuster offers us truths 'as fists' facing the reader with real life, He is always looking for the highest quality and efficiency in the work

We definitely need more HVAC books on the market because there are few, if any good ones that explain the process from start to finish. This book was a huge disappointment on every level. Though the book was a terrific concept, it was poorly executed. It was as if R.J. returned home from the bar one night and decided to write a book on the HVAC Business. There is no real useful information on load calculations, equipment selection, troubleshooting, or professional issues. This book could have been good if R.J. would have spent some time talking to other professionals and better organized this book and added some depth. In addition to the lack of depth and useful information, the illustrations are a joke. Most are scribbled and many are unreadable. I swear, a 1st grader would have done better. No time was spent to make this book look professional.There are basically two kinds of HVAC guys in the business. There are the educated HVAC professionals who research their equipment and various installation techniques and use various charts, gauges, and read installation manuals and attend industry sponsored events to further their knowledge. They know and follow the specs. After work these guys can be found on various HVAC blogs talking HVAC. These are the guys you want to install your equipment. This book wasn’t written for them because there is little technical information and no real depth of information. Then, there are the guys who’ll show-up to work still buzzed from the night before trying to wing your installation. They will tell you that all equipment installs the same and will ‘guestamate’ all the important calculations. They will make several mistakes and blame the equipment. They are more concerned with quitting time than a good installation. They will be sloppy and leave the work site a mess. They can never be paid enough and you can usually find their work truck parked at a bar at 1730 or so. This book wasn’t written for them because they can barely read, and if they do, it must contain several pictures of half-nude women or monster trucks, or guns. So, who was this book written for? It was written for any Fool, like me, who will buy it hoping to get some useful, and detailed HVAC information.This book was written as a product of a late night drunken bet of whether R.J. could write a HVAC book in a weekend. Well he did, and had a day to spare. Good job, R.J., you won a beer 🍺.

This book is pretty basic but I enjoyed it, I could have done with out the jokes but that's just my personality. I would say if you've been in business for under 2 years could definitely benefit from this book unless you've been to great schools with great in field teachers then you might know most of this but it's a good refresher.

GREAT BOOK. I TEACH HVAC-R CLASSES AND HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK TO MY STUDENTS, IT'S EASY TO UNDERSTAND AND HAS REAL WORLD APPLICATIONS.FOR NEW OR EXPERIENCED TECHNICIANS. MOST HVAC-R TECH'S AREN'T BIG READERS AND THIS BOOK HAS LOTS OF ILLUSTRATIONS THAT ARE HAND DRAWN AND EASILY UNDERSTOOD. I'VE MET MANY TECHNICIANS THAT CALL THEMSELVES JOURNEYMEN THAT COULD LEARN A LOT FROM THIS LITTLE BOOK.