Archive for December, 2010

PEX Tubing and Plumbing

Dec 30

Posted by Edmundo Plumber in PEX plumbing, PEX Tubing & Pipe | Comments off

PEX tubing is thought to be the future of plumbing in most residential communities. A number of studies have shown that it is much quicker to install, and therefore costs many companies less to go with PEX rather than with copper. It is a very flexible and durable and has been gaining popularity in recent years. What does someone want most from their plumbing? The most important thing for the plumbing in any home is that there is no leaky connections. As a rule of thumb, the more connections that are present in a system, the higher the chances are that you will have to deal with a leak through a faulty connection at some point. This will eventually lead to water damage and can cause both rot and mold.

PEX requires much fewer connections than copper tubing. Cross linked polyethylene was first created in the 1970s, but did not become popular in North America until the mid-1980s. PEX has been used for a number of purposes since that time, but it is most popular in plumbing.

The growth of PEX was hampered because many plumbers were reluctant to use PEX after having dealt with polybutylene, another similar type of plastic tubing.  This type of tubing wasted away over time as it was exposed to chlorine. Although they are similar in look, feel, and name, PEX should never be compared to PB because they are two completely different substances. PEX is not susceptible to the constant erosion that PB was the victim of.

PEX has been tested thoroughly to ensure that it will not fall victim to the same erosion that PB did throughout its use. Typically, PEX tubing can come in white or a variety of other colors. Some plumbers choose to use red piping for hot water, and blue for cold water. This can help to make the most complicated systems much easier to understand and work with.

The installation of PEX tubing is much quicker than the installation of copper tubing. PEX is flexible and is much easier to work with. With the constantly rising prices of copper, it is clear to see why some plumbing companies had moved away from the metal alternative and had gone with a plastic solution in recent years. PEX tubing and plumbing has quickly become one of the more popular solutions for residential plumbing systems.

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What one needs to know while installing the Little Giant Pumps

Dec 9

Posted by Edmundo Plumber in Little Giant Pumps, Plumbing supplies | Comments off

The Little Giant Pumps are a collection of modern pumps that are installed in the homes we live in and even in the big industries out there. These pumps have the capacity to run recirculation of heated water to a level of 212F, which is very high compared to other pumps. The pumps do so with very minimal damages, and thus are the choice that many people opt for while choosing pumps. These pumps are usually packed while they are already assembled. Not only so, but they are usually pre-tested in the factory, so that they can be safe to use outside the factory. Whenever on gets a Little Giant Pump, it is important to check through, just to make sure that the pump does not contain any kind of damages. If there are any damages, the company should be notified immediately so that a replacement is done immediately.

The pumps come in different forms, ranging from the Little giant 5-msp, Little giant 5asp-II, Little giant 5-md-sc, Little giant vcma-15uls and also the Little giant vcl-45uls. All these pumps do have some common instructions to be followed while making their installments. The Little Giant Pumps usually come with an instruction sheet, which one will need to go through before making the installation. The owner of the machine is therefore required to go through the instructions carefully before proceeding to do the installation.

Some of the instructions to be emphasized on will include never running the pump on dry-mode. Doing this may cause potential damage to the whole pump. Another point to note is that the pump should not be used without the three prong electrical connection. The Little Giant Pumps Company always installs a three prong electrical wiring. The reason for this is that the third wiring will be used as the earth wiring. Taking any measure to remove the wiring will therefore cause the warranty to be cancelled.   

In the event that the owner uses a battery connection, it should be noted that weak batteries should be avoided. Pumps knock whenever they are connected to weak batteries and the ones that come from the Little Giant Pumps Company are no exception.

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Spirotrap dirt separator- clog free pipelines

Dec 9

Posted by Edmundo Plumber in Radiant Heating, Spirovent | Comments off

Primary concern with any under-floor thermal radiation system is the clogging of manifolds and pipelines by the debris from old radiators as well as suspended particulate matter in the water or the circulating fluid. However, a simple sieve filtration system for the elimination of this matter is not sufficient because of the difficulty in repeated removal of filter medium for cleaning. A possible solution for the clarification of circulating fluid is a Spirotrap dirt separator. It works on the principle of separation of matter using centrifugal force and turbulence. A stream of water contaminated with particulate matter enters a vessel with a patented spirotube in it under a certain pressure and a sudden velocity drop is experienced. The dirt particles of all sizes drop down to the bottom of the vessel and get collected into the dirt collection chamber which is outside the main flow area.

Particulate matter falls to the base of the vessel from where it can be collected and removed through a normal open-close valve. The Spirotrap dirt separator has the benefit that it is easy to install and service, which is vital because of the location of the under-floor arrangement. The Spirotrap dirt separator can be adjusted for any house’s heating needs and flow rates.  It is very conveniently placed so that the dirt collected while circulating in the radiator can be removed from the system before it enters the boiler.

The Spirotrap dirt separator also has the advantage of not having any special moving parts, thereby helping to save wear and tear of the component, which can in turn bring down the running and maintenance of the whole under-floor heating and radiating system.

In addition, the Spirotherm dirt separator does not have any special collector bags which hinder the actual cleaning efficiency of the entire system and the flushing of the dirt can be done while the whole system is operational.

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Fix the right sized Radiant heat manifolds

Dec 9

Posted by Edmundo Plumber in Radiant Heating | Comments off

A manifold is a device which is used to distribute water to various rooms from the main supply. Hot water is distributed to the rooms to heat the floor in very cold countries. It is short pipe with many outlets to the side which distributes water equally into the pipes which are laid under the wooden floor. For any radiant heating system, radiant heating manifolds are an essential component.

Radiant heat manifolds come in steel and brass and is a package. Typically a set consists of two manifolds one for the supply of hot water and the other is to return the water to the boiler after it has passed through the pipes and has transferred the heat. It is usually a pre-assembled set with manual balancing valve and flow indicators.  It is tested for pressure so as to avoid any un-desirable incidents. They are fit with automatic air vent, drain valve and a ball valve to shut off or allow the flow, gauge for temperature and brackets to fix them.

Radiant heat manifolds are suitable to be installed with concrete slabs, staple up systems, baseboard radiators and in-floor systems. Radiant heat manifolds have the side outlets set two inches apart with an outflow of 1.4 gallons per minute.

By default a 1/2” PEX compression adapter is provided along with the set of the manifold used as an essential part of the floor heating system. The steel manifolds come with side outlets from 2 to 10 and the brass ones come from 2 to 12. The accessories which have to be present to setup safe floor heating system are the manifold pressure test kit, thermostat actuator and a 1/2″ PEX compression manifold adapter. The adapter is free with every manifold adapter. A plumber can calculate and fix the right sized manifold.

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Applications of Brazed Plate heat Exchanger

Dec 9

Posted by Edmundo Plumber in Radiant Heating | Comments off

In order to transfer heat from one fluid to another, Brazed plate heat exchanger is utilized. These are highly flexible and compatible units that are used in all kind of rugged applications. Mainly comprised of stainless steel, they possess great strength and power which is why they are used in ample number of applications.

Applications served by brazed plate heat exchanger are as follows:

Industrial Processing: Industries that manufacture and process oil coolers, condensers, sub coolers, process heating, cooling and other marine and sea applications place these exchangers at time of manufacturing so that it can be used for even more rugged applications with full ease and convenience.

Hydronic Application: In hydronic applications such as snow melting, spa warming, fuel oiling and radiant floor, this unit is used at a large scale. In such functionalities, it is placed between the floor and pipe installed beneath so that heat generated through flowing water can be transferred to the requisite floor area. Due to their excellent efficacy they are able to provide an equitable distribution of heat throughout the floor area.

Refrigeration: In ample number of refrigeration processes, brazed plate heat exchanger units are utilized at large scale. Heat pumps, liquid chillers, condensers, pumps for heating and sub coolers are some of the applications that are served by these plates at large scale.

Ammonia: All kinds of heat transferring functionalities carried on with ammonia make use of truly strengthening units. Flooded chillers, DX chillers, coolers, sub coolers, thermo siphon, warmers for keeping floor warms and economizers are some of the units served by it.

Great computability, high efficiency, great strength, easy installation and most importantly cost effectiveness are the main factors due to which these plates are used for all such applications. Without any doubt, brazed plate heat exchangers are really high performing units that can be utilized at cost effective rates.

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Stiebel Eltron Tempra all 12 15 20 24 29 plus 36 water heaters for reduced utility bills

Dec 9

Posted by Edmundo Plumber in tankless water heater, tankless water heaters | Comments off

Constant hot water supply is very essential in homes and work places. Traditionally an electrical water boiler was installed for this purpose and one had to pay very fat utility bills for the same. The novel idea of using the heat pump technology for water heating has been received because of the advantage of reduced bills. Steibel eltron water heater is a pump water heater which is very much in use.

Stiebel Eltron Tempra 15 uses the concept of heat pump which is a very new concept for heating up the water. The heat pump concept is not new but its use to heat water is a brand new idea. Its working is similar to an air conditioner. Heat extracted from the air is not let out and wasted but it is used to heat water. The efficiency of the whole system is dependent on the heat in the ambient air. If the air is hot the heat dumped into the water is higher. The whole system of the Steibel Eltron Tempra 20 takes about 1 kwh of electricity and gets heat  equal to 3 to 5 kwh.

This system of water heating ensures great saving. Standard steibel eltron water heater has a storage capacity of 80 gallons and reduces the utility bill incurred to heat water by about 80 percent. It has an added advantage of dehumidifying the air along with cooling it. Stiebel eltron water heater can be used in almost all climates. The unit can be placed in the garage or even inside the house to pick up heat from the ambient air during warm climate. During winter months it can be placed in the basement which keeps the basement dry and provides dehumidified air as a bonus. It is also loaded with an electrical element as a backup which switches on automatically whenever the heat pump is unable to meet the demand of the hot water.

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