ACI MNL-15(20) or 15(16)??

[tvalenti05]

Hi,

NCEES states to purchase ACI MNL15(16), but it doesn't appear that you can even purchase that book anymore. The new version ACI MNL 15(20) is available on amazon. Does anyone know if I need 15(16), or will the 15(20) work?

Thanks,

 

[NJHHEngineer P.E.]

@tvalenti05, I think you'd be fine with the (20) if you can't find the (16). It's just a compilation of ACI standards, which I don't think will have changed drastically. But, this is a must have reference. I was surprised at how many questions needed this book in some capacity. The other option would be to see if you can purchase the sections individually and place them in your own binder. But, that's probably more expensive.

 

[tvalenti05]

Thanks for the reply!

Another question is the PE Civil Reference Manual 16th edition the best one to get? Most places online mention 15th edition, but I assume they're older posts

 

[NJHHEngineer P.E.]

Thanks for the reply!

Another question is the PE Civil Reference Manual 16th edition the best one to get? Most places online mention 15th edition, but I assume they're older posts

I personally bought the 16th. In my opinion, i think the 15th would probably be fine as well (and cheaper). Truthfully, I didn't really use the CERM on the exam for much. I took the EET classes and the binders they provided were my reference for like 90% of the exam. I went to the CERM a handful of times to try and find a little more info/confirmation of the info in the EET binders. There may have been 1-2 questions that I truly used the CERM for the answers and would not have been able to figure out without it.

Although it was lightly used, I would still plan to purchase and flag it with relevant topics as it is the most "complete" reference you'll have. It could save you on a few questions if they come out of left field. The other references listed on the NCEES site are topic specific. Also, just remember it's called a REFERENCE MANUAL for a reason. You DO NOT have to read it cover to cover like a book, you'd be wasting your time. Just be familiar where each topic is. Highlight key words. Read if you must, but the biggest thing is just know where to find the info. One thing the CERM doesn't do (and subsequently the practice problems book from Lindbergh) well enough in my opinion is differentiate between a Breadth and Depth Topic. You might spend hours "learning" a topic and doing a problem only to find out the "breadth" part of it was finished 10 minutes into the process. I downloaded an older copy of the sample CERM problems and attempted to solve a few. Then totally threw it in the trash. The problems were WAAAY more intense than the exam. If you could solve them you'd probably be prepared for the exam, but they were a bit overkill.

 

[youngmotivatedengineer]

Hi,

NCEES states to purchase ACI MNL15(16), but it doesn't appear that you can even purchase that book anymore. The new version ACI MNL 15(20) is available on amazon. Does anyone know if I need 15(16), or will the 15(20) work?

Thanks,

If you can only get the newer version, see if you can find a list of the changes between the 2 versions. It could just be minor house keeping changes so they can see a newer version ( i.e. reorganize the code sections, slighty modify the wording without changing the actual code requirements), or there could be an actual change to 1 of the code requirements. The test will go based off of the version listed in the specifications, so you want to try to avoid getting an easy 'look-up' question wrong because you used the newer code requirements instead of the old ones.

 

[NJHHEngineer P.E.]

If you can only get the newer version, see if you can find a list of the changes between the 2 versions. It could just be minor house keeping changes so they can see a newer version ( i.e. reorganize the code sections, slighty modify the wording without changing the actual code requirements), or there could be an actual change to 1 of the code requirements. The test will go based off of the version listed in the specifications, so you want to try to avoid getting an easy 'look-up' question wrong because you used the newer code requirements instead of the old ones.

I feel like the changes are just a way to justify a new printing and increased sale price. Content is the same, just different page number or something silly. I agree to have the ones referenced on the NCEES list, and in general practice to have the most up to date codes...but like how much has concrete changed in the last 4 years? I don't recall hearing anything groundbreaking...same with AISC Steel Manuals...

 

[youngmotivatedengineer]

I wholeheartedly agree with you on that. It's the same thing with the PPI review manuals. There's not much significant change, but they have to keep the demand going so that people aren't juat buying old versions 3rd party.

The good thing with the codes is that you can normally find some kind of summary of the changes so you can tell if it was anything big and see if you can get away with the old version. I think the international building codes is the main area where codes are constantly being changed every few years.