DAVENPORT, Iowa -- Local 25 HVAC apprentices and journeymen can be found any time of year on rooftops, crawlspaces, basements or attics doing maintenance work on heating and cooling units.
Journeyman Jeff Dennis has been in the industry for 17 years, with Local 25 for the last seven, and knows what to look for when he opens one of them up.
"Signs of burning, loose wires, broken or burnt wires, any broken connectors," he said, as he opened up one of about ten of them on the rooftop of a Mills Chevrolet in Davenport. His company has a contract with the dealership to perform regular preventative maintenance every few months.
"If there is an issue, we can address it and bring it to the attention of the ownership," Dennis said. "Their comfort is in our hands," he said.
First year apprentice Keith Kleist could be seen on the rooftop changing out air filters. On units above the car shop, the filters get really dirty really quickly. Walking on roofs like the one at the dealership isn't easy, but Kleist says he's getting used to it.
"Up on roofs, in basements, crawlspaces, attics. You know, wherever we have to go, we got to do it," he said.
Some permanent filters can just be hosed down. The cleaner they are, the better and more efficient they run.
"We're not guaranteeing that something isn't going to break through its lifetime, but we're trying to help prolong that," said Dennis.