The Hastings name has been associated with the field of energy for nearly 100 years

The Hastings name has been associated with the field of energy for nearly 100 years. The Reichard family has been involved with Hastings & Co., Inc. since its incorporation in 1908 when it was in the ice and fuel (coal & cordwood) business. The oilheat division was started by Reginald “Buster” Reichard shortly after World War II. Buster’s sons, John and Dave, began their association with the company in the 1960s.

John was president and general manager of Hastings Heating Specialists for twenty years. Soon after he sold Hastings Heating Specialists in the late 1990s, he and his brother Dave formed Hastings Technical Training (HTT).

John is a lifetime member, director, and former president of the Oil Heat Institute of Eastern New York (OHIENY), and former director of the Empire State Petroleum Association (ESPA). He was named Upstate Oilheat Man of the Year by OHIENY in 2002. John has served on the Education Committee for many years and has taught classes for OHI at Hudson Valley Community College (HVCC) and Albany VoTech. He attended HVCC and Siena College and is a NORA Gold Certified Oilheat Technician.

Dave served with the U.S.Navy for four years as an electrician. He holds two degrees in HVACR Technology, an AAS from HVCC and BS from the University of Houston. He is a former director of the San Antonio Air Conditioning Contractors Association. Dave was a full time instructor in the HVACR program at HVCC, and is an adjunct instructor at both HVCC and the State University of NewYork at Cobleskill. Dave owns DJR Associates, an HVAC consulting firm. His field experience ranges from residential to multi-story office buildings and sports arenas. Dave is also a NORA Gold Certified Oilheat Technician.

Hastings Technical Training (HTT) was among the first training facilities to conduct National Oilheat Research Association (NORA) approved classes. HTT has certified dozens of Bronze and Silver Oilheat Technicians. This year HTT is offering the newly approved NORA Gold Oilheat Technician Certification.

HTT’s facility in Troy, New York is conveniently located near Interstates 90 and 87. The classroom and lab are in a building owned by Hastings that once housed Troy Public School #15. Ironically, Buster, John, and Dave all attended PS 15.

The class sizes are kept small enough to provide individual attention to each student. Most courses are structured to provide classroom lecture and hands-on time in the laboratory.

Classes are generally held Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday so that technicians are available to their companies on the busiest days of the week. Some one-day classes are conducted on Friday or Saturday. Class hours are 8 am to 4 pm. Lunch is provided.

Using the NORA Oilheat Technician Manual as a textbook, HTT offers a six-week course designed for a technician with little experience or someone pursuing a career as an oilheat technician. The course is structured so that a person can take individual classes within the six-week course. For instance, a technician wanting to study oilheat controls can attend just that class. Also, industry representatives give students specific training on burners, components, and heating systems. Beckett, Carlin, Riello, Suntech, Hago, ThermoPride, Danfoss, Energy Kinetics, Amtrol, Weil-McLain, B&G, and Bock are just some of the companies participating. The NORA Oilheat Technician Certification exam is given at the end of the course. Upon successfully completing the exam, Silver Certification is awarded to a student with at least three years experience. A student with less experience is awarded Bronze Certification.

Other NORA-approved courses offered by HTT include Basic Electricity, Introduction to Oilheat Controls, Annual Tune-up, Combustion Efficiency Testing, Residential Air Conditioning for the Oilheat Technician, and A/C Servicing and Troubleshooting for the Oilheat Technician.

HTT also offers EPA refrigerant handling certification required by federal law for all technicians working on A/C systems. A Fundamentals of Gas Heating class was recently introduced. Future courses will focus on digital multimeters, heat loss, heat gain, duct design and hydronics.

In addition to the live-fire equipment in the laboratory, HTT also has training boards for basic electricity, intermediate electricity, oilheat controls, and zone valves. These allow the students to become familiar with electrical circuits and controls and experience using a digital multimeter for troubleshooting.

Hastings Technical Training can be reached at:

(518) 283-4543

1-800-501-6811.

Website home address is: www.hastingstech.com.

Email is: hasting@capital.net.

Mailing address is:

8 Winter Street, Troy, NY 12180.