warning: don't hire plumbers who can't solder copper right

listen up, i manage a crew of five in central california, mostly ag and ranch work, and let me tell ya, nothing pisses me off more than bringing on some newbie who can't even sweat a joint without it leaking like a sieve. last month i had a guy botch a whole irrigation line repair on a dairy farm, using 3/4 inch type L copper but his torches were shit, some off-brand nobody's heard of, and he didn't flux the fittings proper. ended up with a callback that cost us two hours and a pissed-off client who almost canceled the next job. PSA: always test 'em on a PEX-A manifold install first or something simple like a SharkBite demo before they touch real pipes. saw a thread on r/Plumbing about this same crap, and someone in the Plumbers United group swore by running 'em through a Ridgid K-45 snake job to see if they got the basics. i've been doing this 10 years, and bad hires ruin your quoting accuracy every time. train hard or go home, fellas.

goddamn apprentices these days think youtube makes 'em pros, had one flood a basement last week with a half-assed solder.

haha, test with sharkbites? that's like handing a toddler a loaded gun, but yeah, better than letting 'em near the torch.

don't get me started, fired a guy after he soldered a 1 inch line with lead-free but no nitrogen purge, whole house reeked of flux.

same here man, my back's killing me from cleaning up after these clowns on a ranch repipe.

ugh, had a similar mess with a dairy setup, client threatened to sue over the downtime.

controversial take: sharkbites are fine for ag work, who cares if they leak in 10 years.

fuck these cheap labor pools, everyone's cutting corners and we're the ones paying with callbacks.

run a skills test with a viega press tool, separates the men from the boys quick.

yeah, and make 'em watch a roger wakefield vid on proper soldering first.

how do you even find decent help out there? mine keep flaking on irrigation jobs.

one moron used pvc primer on copper fittings, thought it was universal. fired on spot.

we're all getting screwed by these half-trained kids flooding the market from trade schools.

man, that central cal ag work sounds brutal, same issues with my crew on well installs.

i feel ya, been mopping up solder fails all season.

lol, my test is snaking a main line blind, if they panic they don't belong.

goddamn unions making it worse, protecting the lazy asses.

start with uponor manifolds, easy to spot the screwups early.

felt that, my whole team's morale tanks when one idiot leaks a job.

sharkbites behind walls? hell yeah, saves time on callbacks.

bro, same boat, irrigation callbacks eating my weekends.

had a guy melt a fitting with a bernzomatic, no mapp gas. amateurs.

these newbies are killing small shops like ours.

hang in there, central cal sounds rough with all that ranch pipework.

i get it, one bad solder and your rep's toast for months.

yeah, my plumber buddy deals with this crap daily.

fuck the whole hiring process, it's a crapshoot every time.

document everything, saved my ass from a wrongful termination claim once.

proud of my crew now, but took years of weeding out the trash.

never trust a plumber who can't read a dfu chart, disaster waiting.

test 'em on a ridgid seesnake run, see if they freak under pressure.

we're drowning in unqualified help, thanks to diy vids.

start with basic flange installs, if they mess that up, bye.

haha, had one guy glue pex to copper, called it 'hybrid'.

pay 'em commission only after proven jobs, motivates the good ones.

these ag jobs in cal need real pros, not weekend warriors.

shut up and hire from community colleges, better basics there.

one leak and boom, $5k water damage claim.

we hate these half-assed hires ruining the trade.

use propress fittings for tests, no fire risk.

solid advice, gonna try that manifold test next hire.

i hear ya, central cal droughts make leaks catastrophic.

train with hands-on, no more theory bs.

yeah, been there, crew drama over one bad apple.

these kids think apps replace skills, smh.

had a similar fire on a ranch, guy couldn't flux worth shit.

proud i finally got a solid team after years of this nonsense.

use jobber for tracking their work, flags the lazy ones quick.

fuck yeah, cal ag work needs bulletproof hires.

same struggle, one leak and the whole farm's pissed.

lol, my test is a pressure test on day one, fails and gone.

how often do you do these tests? weekly?

pex-b is garbage for ag, stick to copper or lose jobs.

sick of these hires costing me quoting time on fixes.

recommend starting with apprentice pay and ramp up after tests.

we're all fed up with the talent shortage bs.

yeah, my knees thank me for firing the weak links early.

i feel for ya, ranch pipes are no joke.

goddamn, one bad solder and your whole season's quote sheet is off.

watch tommy mello's stuff on hiring, he nails the screening process.

we're getting buried by these pe-backed firms stealing our good guys.

hang in there, brother, ag life's tough but rewarding.

haha, had a guy call a ball valve a 'shutoff widget'.

what's your go-to flux brand for training?

i get it, one leak floods the whole operation.

use a skills checklist from the plumbers united group, works wonders.

these corporate roll-ups are hoovering up talent, leaving us scraps.

yeah, central cal heat makes bad installs sweat even more.

i feel your pain, crew management is 80% babysitting.

never hire without a trial day on a real pipe run.

solid warning, saved me from a headache last month.

we're pissed at the influx of unqualified labor flooding jobs.

lol, my apprentice thought propress was a dance move.

how do you handle the paperwork on firings?

document every step, protects you legally.

fuck these kids, think they're pros after one class.

proud my small crew's all certified now, no more drama.

i hear ya, leaks in ag mean lost crops.

use fieldedge for logging their screwups, easy audit trail.