I Just came across an article where a guy went into an HVAC business and stole a bunch of copper from some heating and air systems and I thought it might be a good video to talk about some of the safety measures, but also you know preventative measures from crime that a lot of heating and air companies are putting into place today. I Remember when I first got into this trade, there wasn't a whole lot of these practices being done. I'm not saying that there weren't issues back then, but it definitely seems like there's an increase in these sorts of things way more than there used to be. And so this guy you know went into this business.

He was releasing the refrigerant on some of these systems so it's escaping into the air and then he was obviously stealing the metal to I assume take somewhere to recycle it and get money for that metal. We actually have an apartment complex near us that we take care of their heating and air needs and they have locks on all of the disconnects so that way the residents or anyone else can't you know, get in there I Never have heard why they have those on there I Can only assume that I could see two neighbors getting into it and you know you think well, you know I'll show you and when no one's looking I'll go out there and turn off the power to your you know your AC system and then there's the maintenance guy getting a call in the middle of the night. We also I had an apartment complex years ago. It was a high rise get on the roof to service these systems.

they were actually on the roof of the building and they had a ladder that would you know metal real sturdy ladder that went up the side from one level to the next and it wasn't a real tall ladder. It wasn't like we were, you know from the ground having to crawl like six stories. but it was a ladder there and to keep the college kids from going on the roof and sunbathing they had to put like a gate that you know with a padlock on it on this ladder that you would have to undo to be able to use the ladder. So those are all interesting.

Some of the challenges that you see apartment complexes deal with another thing I've seen in more urban areas we don't see this so much at you know where I live but I have seen where some cities they're having to install these. They almost look like cages around the outdoor units and they've been doing this for years but it just again it seems like we're seeing more of that now so that way folks can't just you know, steal the outdoor unit. I've actually heard stories where guys would go to houses and install a unit so it's brand new, brand spanking new unit and come back the next day to finish up the installation or to do the startup and the outdoor unit's completely gone. Somebody in the middle of the night, you know took it which is so crazy to me that you know I guess thieves will steal anything, right? And the last thing that I've seen becoming more of a thing.

this was more of a preventative measure when they first started coming out. and that is locking caps on the actual ports that you connect your gauges to. But As time has gone on, there are certain parts of the country in fact, near us, there's a particular City where they've now made it code. It is protocol that that if you do any work on that system or install a system, it has to have some sort of locking caps on there so you can't just easily remove those caps.

I've actually heard stories where people were huffing the refrigerant that they were going out there and taking the Caps off and then breathing in this refrigerant. I mean unbelievably dangerous. It's one thing to say. well, drugs are bad, but you know this stuff.

It'll kill you like you know you breathe in this refrigerant. And not only is it chemicals and all the things that are horrible for you, but you're also breathing in something that can literally freeze. You know you breathe it in and it gets in there and it freezes. There have been people that have done that and they immediately die right there that they you know They found them hunched over the heating and air conditioning system outside.

Anyway, that's just a few that I figured I'd throw out there. It's just a crazy time we live in. have I missed any? Can you think of anything that you know folks have had to put into place that are safety measures Or you know, preventative measures we didn't have to deal with years? Go love to hear about that. Please comment down below.

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