HVAC and Refrigeration Advice

 



(i posted this on another site but didn't get many responses so I figure I would also ask here)

I was hoping for some advice on how to prepare and materials for the HVAC exam for October 2018 from people who are taking or took this exam. I am wondering especially with this newer format since most of the engineers at my company took the older exam so I don't really have many people to ask for advice.

Some background knowledge on me. I have been out of school for nearly 2 years and have my FE so I don't have a lot of on the job experience. I have been studying for about 2.5 months with the first 1.5 months focusing on going through MERM and the last month focusing on practice problems. I have been studying almost everyday when I get off work and weekends. It has been self-paced with no online course. I have been very stressed about this exam and passing in general. I get severe test anxiety and have been struggling with that.

The first question is materials. I am planning on bringing these books and planning on making an quick index for the practice questions:

Mechanical Engineering Reference Manual 13th edition Lindeburg

Quick Reference for Mechanical Engineering PE Exam Lindeburg

The 4 ASHRAE Books (2012 HVAC and systems, 2013 Fundamentals, 2014 Refrigeration, 2015 HVAC Applications)

Six Minute Solutions for Mechanical PE Exam HVAC and Refrigeration Problems 2nd edition Elder

PE Mechanical Engineering HVAC NCEES Practice Exam

Practice Problems for Mechanical Engineering PE Exam 12th Edition Lindeburg

Is there any addition materials that would be useful or any gaps?

The second question I have is the practice problems I have seem to have quite a gap in difficulty ranging from the more straight forward NCEES questions to the complex Practice Problems book with hour long questions. I was reading on here that one person commented that the NCEES and Six minute solutions are similar to the type and difficulty of exam questions for the Thermal Exam. Does this hold true for the HVAC and if so should I focus on those books and that material for the next few weeks? I did just do a mock exam timed using the NCEES book (didn't get a passing rate) and mainly have been just going through the books and doing the problems over and over.

The last one I have is how did you guys prepare for the word based questions like what is this piece of equipment or what type of material is best used here etc? Is there any advice you can give on how you readied yourself for these types of questions.

Finally, if you have any more advice for this exam or in general I would love to hear it because it will not only help me but maybe someone reading this.

Thanks for the help and sorry about the long post.

I took the TFS, so take what I have to say with that grain of salt.

I highly recommend taking your Thermo and Fluids and any other relevant undergrad textbooks along with you, particularly because you should be familiar with them already and look ups should be straight forward. Having books with you that you don't end up needing for the exam is better than not having a book with you that you wish you'd brought.

Be good at using a psychometric chart.

As for which problems best represent the exam? The NCEES example problems, while not showing the extent of material that will be covered, give you the best idea of the breadth of topics that might be covered in any exam and also show the appropriate level of difficulty. No other problem set will do that, of which I am aware. Most try to make their problems harder so that you're BETTER prepared than you need to be.  The point is to keep studying and practicing problems until you're not struggling with the NCEES level of difficulty problems any more.

I highly suggest you take the Slay the PE for the TFS material.  There is/was a a great deal of TFS material on the HVAC & R exam.  It is great source material and if you act quickly  you can get 50% off the material by doing the contest.

Contest

PS...   Most people consider the 6 minute solutions material "trash"

I had a very similar reference list. I did not have 6MS but I had the Engineering Pro Guides HVAC&R practice exam and various notes/equations from the Eng Pro Guides Technical study guide. 

A little late to get his study guide but I would look into the practice exam. He also has an additional 40 problem practice exam based on looking up references. Would probably be worth purchasing. As you're going through problems, tab relevant topics in your ASHRAE books...tables, charts, etc.

I found the problems to be similar in difficulty to those in the NCEES practice exam, but take that with a grain of salt.