Smart Solutions Category: Piping

Going Big: Second Pipe Cutter More Efficiency

Alexander Mechanical, Inc. purchased its first Watts pipe cutting machine in 2020 and immediately increased efficiency and decreased material costs. So as business grew and fabrication jobs started calling for bigger pipe, Alexander Mechanical bought a second, larger Watts pipe cutter that again increased efficiency and also offered more flexibility.

Alexander Mechanical specializes in commercial, industrial, and federal projects nationwide, with an approach it describes as “design, build, and maintain.” The company prides itself on completing quality projects on time and within budget. President and CEO William (Bill) Alexander founded Alexander Mechanical in 1998 after a 22-year career as a journeyman pipefitter and a member of Pipefitters Local Union 533 in Kansas City, MO.

Rising Demand

Alexander explained, “Entering into 2020, our pipe fabrication volume was growing, and we wanted to become more efficient. Simply put, we needed to cut more pipe and we needed to do it more quickly. At that time the majority of pipe we were fabricating and installing was 12” outer diameter (OD) or less.

“Our situation was actually quite simple,” continued Alexander. “To keep up with the fabrication demand, we had to automate our systems. Because of our involvement with MCAA, I was aware of Watts Specialties. Our local Watts rep did a very good job of promoting their product, so we visited a company with a Watts machine and immediately realized that this would help us to grow our fabrication output and our company.”

Perfect Timing

Alexander noted, “In 2020, we purchased and installed a Watts W-122 CNC pipe cutting machine with a 25’ feeder roller bed. We immediately saw an increase in our pipe cutting ability. This was perfect timing; our pipe fabrication began to increase just as we had expected. Not only did our actual pipe cutting become more efficient, our material costs improved as well.

“Prior to having the W-122,” Alexander continued, “we kept a very large bin where pieces of scrap went in case we needed a 3’ pipe. The Watts machine, running on their 3D-Profile Plus software, reduced our scrap pieces to almost nothing. The software maps out the cuts for the job and optimizes the cuts to minimize waste. We probably save 100’ of pipe every month because of the efficiency of the Watts machine with the pipe cutting software.”

Estimate how much a new Watts pipe cutter could save your business using Watts’ ROI Calculator.

Continued Growth

Alexander went on to say, “As we approached 2023, our fabrication jobs continued to increase. In addition, we started getting jobs calling for larger pipe. Many of our fabrication projects called for pipe that exceeded 12” and even 20” OD. We needed another machine that could handle up to 24” OD.

“We looked at a larger machine of a competitor,” Alexander said, “but the service we received from Watts and the reliability of our first machine made the choice easy. We decided to get a Watts W-244 machine. This has increased our flexibility and efficiency once again.

“Honestly, I really had not appreciated the value of having a six-axis cutting head until the new machine was operating. We had to manually change the angle of the torch head with the W-122 machine. The W-244, with the six-axis cutting head, does everything controlled by the software and the machine. Hit ‘submit’ and that machine moves through multiple cuts, adjusts the cutting head angles, and makes the cuts in minutes, depending on the cuts.”

See Watts’ pipe cutting machines in action here.

Seamless Software Solution

“We install a lot of pipe for chilled water, hot water, and steam piping,” said Alexander. “On the majority of our projects, we try to fabricate more than 40 percent in our fab shop, either with piping racks or pre-piped equipment skids. One of our objectives with the new machine was to increase our ability to automate our processes with our Stratus 3D building information modeling to spooling to fabrication. The Watts 3D software makes this process more seamless.”

Steady Support

Alexander Mechanical also appreciated Watts’ customer support. Alexander explained, “We really work these machines, and we sometimes need support. Watts was always there when we needed them. This was a deciding factor when making a decision on a replacement. Ultimately, the support we received from Watts with the first machine made the second machine purchase an easy decision.

“From phone support to in-person visits, the support is prompt and issues are resolved! They have ensured the least amount of downtime by shipping parts quickly or guiding us through software issues,” Alexander concluded.

For more information, visit watts-specialties.com.

Dramatically Increase Efficiency

With a large project on the horizon and more on the way, AMS Industries, Inc. invested in a Watts Specialties, LLC pipe cutting machine and immediately reaped benefits. “Pipe cuts that were previously taking one man 40 hours to complete are now being cut in 8 hours—including olets!” said Beth Thullen, fabrication shop superintendent at AMS.

Keeping Up the Pace

AMS has built their reputation over five decades of serving clients in multiple industries. They aim to build a better, stronger, and more durable company for the future; protect the AMS brand; and meet their commitments to clients to help improve local communities.

Thullen started her career in 2007 as an apprentice in UA Pipefitters Local 597 and has been with AMS Industries for 12 years. “The last three years we have seen numerous changes and a substantial increase in shop fabrication for commercial and nuclear piping,” she said. “Fortunately, we have stayed extremely busy, and despite having a great team, we are always looking for ways to be more efficient. Previously, we were mainly using a bandsaw, magnetic torch, and different types of pipe and prep machines. We were also renting equipment, doing repairs, and buying replacement parts.”

Thullen continued, “We pride ourselves on being competitive and finding ways to speed up our pipe fabrication flow. Accelerating the steady output of pipe was a priority. Each pipe cut was taking around 15 minutes, followed by an end-prep machine. One of our largest projects was coming due in 2023, with more projects scheduled for 2024. Simply put, we needed a more efficient way to cut pipe.”

AMS began discussions about purchasing a new CNC pipe cutting machine. “The only company mentioned was Watts Specialties,” said Thullen. “We lined up a trial period with a Watts machine at another fabrication shop in the spring of 2021. One of our machine operators worked in this facility for a month, cutting pipe for AMS projects on the Watts machine. We quickly realized an automated pipe cutting machine was the solution for our efficiency goals.”

AMS purchased a W-244 pipe cutting machine with a 25’ conveyor system. “We are now cutting a lot more pipe from 6” to 14” outer diameter with more efficiency,” Thullen noted.

Finished pipe loaded for shipment to site

Fabrication Shop Floor – Pipe loaded on Watts machine

Quality Control of pipe staged for shipment

Expectations Achieved

“We were hoping for an increase in productivity with a decrease in manhours,” said Thullen matter-of-factly. “As we expected from our trial machine, we have definitely seen an increase in productivity. The cut pipe leaves the machine with clean bevels. The welders are now more efficient, spending less time on layout and fit-up.”

Thullen explained, “We are mostly running prespooled fabrication with a lot of olet holes. We also get regular requests from the field for ‘spur-of-the-moment’ piping needs. It is really nice to be able to quickly design a new spool by simply putting the dimensions in the machine … on the go, then load the spools on a truck and deliver the pipe to the field. This kind of swift flexibility was hard to accommodate prior to having the Watts machine.”

Game-Changing Software

Thullen also appreciates the Watts 3D-Profile Plus Software. “The software is great,” she noted. “The majority of our larger jobs are scanned, modeled, spooled, and moved to a shared file by the drafting department. My operator is able to make decisions about which jobs he uploads on a daily basis.”

Learning the software has been a smooth process, according to Thullen. “Our machine operators, only two months into working with the Watts machine, are very comfortable. The benefit of the software is greatest on bigger jobs when we upload spools to be cut in multiple quantities.”

Moreover, Thullen explained, “The software is also a game changer when we get requests for lateral, mitered, or saddled pipe cuts. It only takes five minutes to design and cut a unique spool. Before we had the Watts machine, it would take one to two hours—calculating coordinates, laying out the project, and then cutting the pipe with a torch or a grinding/cutting wheel.”

AMS has not yet needed to call for support, but, said Thullen, “start-up and training with Jessie Scribner, the lead support technician for Watts Specialties, was super informative. He definitely set us up for success, so we are not overly concerned about what might happen when we need support.”

For more information, visit www.watts-specialties.com.

Saladino Mechanical Cuts Down Time, Costs With Uponor’s PEX Products

Saladino Mechanical of Kansas City, MO, won the bid for a college dorm renovation by specifying Uponor’s PEX piping rather than more costly copper—a move that saved the contractor time and money during installation. The dorm’s new plumbing system is also more efficient, saving energy and conserving water. Uponor is a sponsor of MCAA’s 2021 Virtual Education Conference.

Updates Needed

CollegeProwler.com, a university search site for students by students that ranks everything from parking, transportation, and housing to campus life, academics, and athletics, gave a very astute observation of Kansas University’s Gertrude Sellards Pearson (GSP) Hall: “Great location, but needs renovation.” The university heard the call loud and clear and set out to accomplish a year-long, $13-million renovation that included a complete interior demolition of the electrical, plumbing, and HVAC systems.

Built in 1955, the four-story, 109,000-square-foot building was initially plumbed with galvanized steel and then re-piped with copper in the late 1990s. When bids went out for the new renovation, all the plumbing bids with copper came in too high.

PEX Piping Prevails

Saladino decided to rebid the project with PEX—a flexible, durable, polymer piping product that has been gaining popularity in commercial plumbing projects over the past decade because of its extreme durability and cost-effectiveness. While PEX has a 40-year history in residential projects (in fact, it is installed in more new-home plumbing construction than copper and CPVC combined), builders have been slower to adopt the product for commercial projects because of concerns that a “plastic” product is not as durable as metal.

However, thanks to its corrosion resistance and extreme flexibility, PEX is more durable than metal, which can corrode, and it is faster and easier to install. Because PEX is not a traded commodity that fluctuates in price, like copper, contractors can bid a project with greater confidence.

Carl Bachner, foreman at Saladino, has been plumbing with PEX since 2003 and was very familiar with the product. He worked with Mark Baker of Uponor representative firm Specified Systems, Inc., to send the project through Uponor Construction Services for the design work. The bid came back right on target.

“I was first introduced to PEX back in 2003 when I was installing the plumbing system for an assisted living complex,” said Bachner. “After that, I installed it in my own home, and I’ve never had a problem with it.”

Cutting Down Costs

The GSP Hall re-pipe used nearly 12,000′ of 1/2″, 3/4″, 1″, 1-1/4″, 1-1/2″, and 2″ Uponor AquaPEX® for the plumbing system, which included piping for 42 bathrooms, a laundry facility, and a large kitchen to accommodate more than 300 students.

The system also included Uponor’s ProPEX® engineered polymer (EP) and lead-free brass fittings. Baker noted that using EP fittings also helped bring the costs down for the plumbing system.

“The EP product is helping us get a good leg up on the competition cost-wise compared to brass,” said Baker. “In fact, up to 80 percent of the fittings we do now are EP.”

The cold-expansion ProPEX fitting concept was also a big winner with Bachner and the other installers. The ProPEX connection uses an expansion tool to expand the flexible PEX pipe to insert a fitting. Then, as the PEX shrinks back to its original size, it creates a solid, strong connection around the fitting.

“The ProPEX fitting is nice because it doesn’t restrict the flow like insert fittings do,” remarked Bachner. “It keeps the same OD [outside diameter] like copper does.”

Other Advantages Achieved

The new plumbing system included multiport tees in the bathrooms to supply water to the lavatories and showers. A multiport tee is essentially one long tee with multiple outlets. This product reduces the number of required connections in a system for faster, easier installation while improving system performance by distributing water to fixtures in a single grouping.

This installation method, known as “logic” plumbing, also provides advantages for clustered or consecutive uses of hot water, saving on energy and water usage. Once hot water arrives at a multiport, it is readily available to all fixtures connected to it. Essentially, that multiport’s fixture grouping is “charged” with hot water.

Energy and water conservation were also a large part of the design process, which included several runs of preinsulated Uponor AquaPEX pipe to insulate the hot-water lines. The preinsulated piping product is available with insulation sizes from 1/2″ up to 1-1/2″ to help projects meet energy codes while offering installers a preinsulated product, which saves time.

The design also called for a unique application for the flush-valve water closets. The designers came up with a concept that used PEX along with prefabricated stubouts instead of traditional copper or another rigid piping product. This approach helped save on costs when compared with using only copper.

Because of its flexibility, PEX significantly dampens surge pressure and noise transmission when compared with copper. Surge pressure in PEX is 65 percent less than in copper, and noise transmission in copper is eight times higher than in PEX. For these reasons, using PEX for all the flush-valve water closets worked well. The project used prefabricated 18″ by 6″ stubouts of 1″ copper that were rigidly supported behind the wall to transition from PEX to the flush valve.

Dan Pederson, plumber with Saladino, was part of the team that quickly and easily replaced a Kansas University dorm’s worn copper plumbing with 12,000’ of Uponor PEX piping with ProPEX engineered polymer and lead-free brass fittings.

After his experience with the GSP Hall re-pipe project, Bachner was very happy with the results. Not only did his installers work faster with flexible PEX compared with rigid copper, but using PEX helped his bottom line as well. With the stable pricing of cost-effective PEX and EP fittings, Saladino kept costs low and the project on budget.

For more information, visit www.uponor-usa.com.

MCAA thanks Uponor for being a sponsor of MCAA’s 2021 Virtual Education Conference.

Aquatherm Outlines Steps to Success With Butt Fusing Polypropylene Piping

A properly performed butt fusion on polypropylene piping is a wonder of the modern world: two pieces of pipe (or a pipe and fitting) become one solid piece. The joint is as strong—if not stronger—than the pipe itself. There are no leak paths, and, when properly performed, the fused joint will remain leak-free throughout its 50-year-plus year lifespan.

Of course, the key here is “properly performed.” Good technique and attention to detail will ensure a successful fusion, contributing to a leak-free installation.

According to Lance MacNevin, director of engineering for the Plastics Pipe Institute’s Building & Construction Division, the butt-fusion procedure basically consists of heating the squared ends of two pipes (or a pipe and a fitting), holding them against a heated plate, removing the heat when the proper temperature is reached, bringing the ends together with a certain force, and allowing the joint to cool while maintaining the force.

There are seven essential steps when performing a butt-fusion joint using Aquatherm polypropylene pipe. The steps outlined here are the basis for creating both great piping systems and happy customers.

Step 1: Prep

Proper preparation and organization will help your heat fusions go smoothly.

First, inspect the pipe itself. Do not use pipe that is damaged or gouged deeper than 10 percent of the pipe’s wall thickness on the outside or 5 percent on the inside.
Next, set up and inspect the fusion machine that you will be using. Follow all the machine manufacturer’s instructions and perform any maintenance as needed.
Inspect the facer device and ensure the blades are sharp, tight, and undamaged.
Inspect and turn on the fusion iron. Make sure the iron is clean and set to 410° F ±18° F (210° C ±10° C). Verify that the iron is at the proper temperature prior to each fusion.

Step 2: Clean

Clean surfaces are essential. The pipe ends being fused must be clean and dry to ensure a good fusion. Clean the pipe ends, facer, and fusion iron to remove any dust, dirt, or other contaminants. Wipe the pipe ends, facer, and iron with a clean, dry, lint-free, nonsynthetic cloth and isopropyl alcohol, 91-percent concentration or higher.

Step 3: Clamp and Align

This step is crucial, as the clamps will hold the pipe as it is being fused, and an accurate alignment will ensure a consistent fusion “bead.” Remember to watch your fingers whenever the fusion machine’s carriage is in motion.

Set the pipe and fittings into the clamps. Adjust the configuration as needed. Make sure to leave enough room for the facer (see step 4). Tighten the clamps and bring the pipe ends together.
Check the alignment of the pipes by running your finger or the end of a pen across the gap. If one side is higher than the other, tighten down the higher side.

Step 4: Face the Pipe

The ends of the pipe or fittings must be faced to establish clean, parallel mating surfaces. Proper facing creates smooth and even surfaces for fusion. This step is performed using a device with a rotating cutter head.

In step 3 you brought the pipe ends together to check their alignment. Now, separate the pipes, while keeping them locked into the fusion machine’s carriage. Open the carriage set and lock in the facing tool. Run the facing tool and let it come up to full speed—do not start the facer if it is pinched between the pipe ends.
Close the pipes on the facer and increase the pressure until the facer begins shaving off ribbons of polypropylene. Proper facing will produce 360-degree full-width strips on both sides of the facer. When you see two full revolutions of ribbon on both sides of the facer, open the carriage to separate the pipes from the facer, then switch off and remove the facer. (Do not turn off the facer while the carriage is still closed; this can leave nicks on the pipe face.)

Step 5: Adjustment and Bead-Up

Close the carriage and check for gaps; reface or realign as needed. Reopen the carriage and wipe down the pipe faces with 91-percent isopropyl alcohol.
Check the fusion machine manufacturer’s information and set the drag pressure and full fusion pressure levels (controls vary by manufacturer). A temperature measuring device, or pyrometer, can be used to verify proper temperature of the heating tool face.
Open the carriage and insert the heating iron. Close the pipes onto the heating iron under full fusion pressure to begin formation of the adjustment bead. The height of the bead will vary from 1 mm to 2.5 mm depending on the size and standard dimensional ratio (SDR) of the pipe.
Carefully watch the bead during the adjustment phase and reduce the pressure once the bead reaches its required height. The height of the bead is important during the fusion, as too small a bead may lead to an improper connection, whereas too large a bead can create a flow restriction and also may indicate a problem with fusion pressure.

Step 6: Heat

Once the adjustment bead is complete, drop the system to drag pressure. If necessary to maintain contact, add up to 10 percent of machine pressure. The heating phase requires as little pressure as possible. Some machines lock in place, only requiring the drag pressure. Others require a slight positive pressure to keep them in place, but never more than drag plus 10 percent machine pressure. Excessive pressure during the heating phase can create an excessive bead and slight restriction in the pipe.
Use a timer to monitor the proper heating time for the size and SDR of the pipes being fused.

Clamps hold the pipe as it is being fused, and an accurate alignment will ensure a consistent fusion bead, which is important for a good connection.

Step 7: Fuse and Cool

Open the carriage and remove the iron. Immediately bring the pipes together and ensure the machine achieves full fusion pressure within the pressure buildup time. If excessive force is used, melted material may be pushed out of the joint, resulting in contact with cold material, known as a “cold” joint. If too little force is used, insufficient welding of the joint can occur.
Allow the connection to cool for the specified time for the size and SDR of the pipes being fused. Examine the bead. The final bead should look like one solid piece; a bad fusion will have a split bead with two distinct sides.
Release the pressure and, once the pressure has been completely released, undo the clamps.
Remove the fused pipes, or fused pipe and fitting, from the machine. It is ready to hang and to begin providing leak- and corrosion-free service for decades to come.

Proper facing creates smooth and even surfaces for fusion, a key factor in forming a strongly fused joint. Facing is complete when you see two full revolutions of ribbon on both sides of the facer.

Conclusion

These steps give you an overview of making successful, long-lasting, leak-free butt fusions with polypropylene pipe. For a complete guide to working with polypropylene pipe, consult the Aquatherm North America Installer Manual, available at https://aquatherm.com/literature/installer-manual. Aquatherm also offers extensive training resources.

In addition, the manufacturers of the fusion equipment offer comprehensive information about their products. It is important to always follow the manufacturer’s guidelines for both the pipe and fusion equipment when fusing polypropylene pipe and installing polypropylene piping systems.

For more information, visit aquatherm.com.

McKinstry Specifies Uponor Products to Save Energy and Installation Time

School Solves Persistent Heat-Loss Problems, Cuts Energy Costs by Using Ecoflex Preinsulated PEX Piping

Following an energy audit, McKinstry specified Uponor’s flexible Ecoflex preinsulated piping to resolve a remote Minnesota school’s longtime heating problems and save the school thousands in energy costs. Ecoflex proved easy to install, allowing workers to lay hundreds of feet of piping in just one week.

Heating System Headaches

Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center in Finland, MN, is a nationally accredited K–12 school and residential educational center for outdoor learning adventures. The campus, which spans more than 2,000 acres of forests, inland lakes, and streams, is located in one of the northernmost areas of the nation—where winter temperatures can fall well below zero for months at a time and snowfall accumulations can total more than 100” for the season.

The first buildings constructed on the site included two classroom buildings, an administration building, a dining hall, and a dormitory, totaling 61,000 square feet. All the buildings, with the exception of the Science Center, were heated via four 3,200-gallon cordwood boilers in a remote district heating plant located approximately 500’ north of the dining hall. Each boiler featured a simple aquastat controller to circulate the energy through the underground loops.

An underground fiberglass piping network distributed hot water to heat the buildings through air-handling coils. The fiberglass pipes were insulated with ½” urethane foam and covered with polyethylene black plastic wrap. The Science Center building was heated via an in-slab hydronic radiant floor heating system that received local electric off-peak energy for the heating supply source. The Science Center could not be part of the underground distribution loop because the ground was complete bedrock and would have required additional soil to bury the district heating piping.

The entire district heating system seemed to work well upon initial installation. However, over the first winter, the heat loss to ground was so significant that it melted the snow pack above the distribution lines. So, Wolf Ridge placed 2” polystyrene foam above sections of the piping system that were experiencing the greatest heat loss. Although this initially helped, within a few days into the heating season, the heat-loss problem was again obvious—as demonstrated by a melted path in the ground.

McKinstry specified Uponor’s Ecoflex preinsulated PEX piping to resolve persistent heat retention problems at Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center in Finland, MN, where winter temperatures can fall well below zero for months and seasonal snowfall accumulations can total more than 100”.

A few years later, Wolf Ridge added a second dormitory. This time, instead of using fiberglass for the underground distribution loop, the center decided to try another product it hoped would offer better insulation. The product, Uponor’s Ecoflex, featured PEX service pipe surrounded by PEX foam insulation and covered by a corrugated HDPE jacket.

The product allowed increased flexibility because the different layers could “move” independently from one another. It also allowed easier accessibility to the service pipe because the PEX foam insulation was not adhered to the service pipe. The project used 1,223’ of 2½” Ecoflex to supply district energy for heating and domestic hot water to the 23,000-square-foot east dormitory.

Systemwide Solution Needed

Fast-forward 12 years. The Wolf Ridge district energy system needed an upgrade. “We knew we had a problem with heat loss and aging boilers,” said Pete Smerud, executive director of Wolf Ridge. “However, we needed documented data to prove the inefficiency of the fiberglass system as well as the viability of the district energy system.”

Bernie Eikmeier, program manager of McKinstry, was asked to perform an energy audit of the system. For three weeks, Eikmeier tested the heat loss of the fiberglass and flexible preinsulated systems to gather data. His results showed the flexible preinsulated pipe experienced an average of 15-percent heat loss while the fiberglass pipe experienced an average of 60-percent heat loss. McKinstry estimated that by repiping with Ecoflex, Wolf Ridge could reduce its energy consumption by 20 percent annually, saving approximately $6,400 in annual fuel supply costs.

District Energy vs. Distributed Heat

After deciding on the product to use for the underground distribution piping, Wolf Ridge also needed to consider which application would be best. The center considered several options provided by McKinstry during the energy audit. Based on McKinstry’s recommendation, management decided to upgrade the existing boilers and replace the distribution system.

Uponor’s Ecoflex preinsulated piping, proposed by McKinstry, comes in long coil lengths up to 600’, so workers did not need to stop often to make connections during installation.

Gulbranson Excavating of Eveleth, MN, dug the trenches for the new pipe, and Shannon’s Plumbing of International Falls, MN, along with members of Wolf Ridge staff and engineers from Uponor, installed the Ecoflex system. The project included 340’ of 2” supply and return pipes in a single jacket and 610’ of 3” single pipe in a jacket.

The Ecoflex pipes came in long coil lengths up to 600’, which meant the installers did not need to stop often to make connections. They used a large uncoiler to lay the pipe in the trench efficiently in just one week.

McKinstry recommended mounding the backfilled material over the pipe to distribute surface water runoff, which was especially important as springtime water percolating through the soil created some of the most challenging conditions with the fiberglass pipe.

When it came time to install the second phase of the repipe for the west dorm and education building, the consistency of the Ecoflex system allowed a fast, efficient installation that met the same one-week construction schedule. The west dorm repipe used 180’ of 2” supply and return pipes in a single jacket and 1,170’ of 4” single pipe in a jacket.

The whole installation went very smoothly, and the installers were able to finish the project within the tight timeframe. Because Wolf Ridge is a 24/7 operation, the installation speed was crucial to the success of the project.

The first winter after the installation, Wolf Ridge saved approximately $7,000 in fuel supply costs—just on the wood alone. The consumption of wood dropped 21.5 percent from a yearly average of 200 cords to 157 cords—and that was during an extreme winter. Reducing consumption by 43 cords per year offered Wolf Ridge an annual savings of approximately 190 birch trees (140,000 lb.) and 860 million British thermal units (MBtu). The energy cost savings were even greater when adding in reduced labor costs of feeding and removing the ashes from the wood-fired boilers.

An Education in Energy Efficiency

Following the repipe, Wolf Ridge replaced the cordwood boilers with two new biomass wood pellet boilers to bring even greater energy efficiency to its campus. The new system is a pressurized, closed-loop system operating at 22 psi. The old cordwood boilers were only operating at 50 percent of their maximum efficiency because of corrosion buildup on the heat exchanger. The new boilers increased capacity by 58 percent from 1.9 MBtu to 3.0 MBtu while reducing the volume of water needed to store the energy by 75 percent (without including the distribution system volume).

McKinstry recommended mounding the backfilled material over the new Ecoflex pipe to distribute surface water runoff and mitigate a problem that hampered the previously installed fiberglass pipe. The first winter after the installation, Wolf Ridge saved approximately $7,000 in fuel supply costs thanks to the changes suggested by McKinstry.

Before Wolf Ridge replaced the distribution piping, the district heating system supply temperatures were around 105° F because of heat loss to the ground. With the new wood pellet boilers and distribution system in place, the system supply temperature is set at 160° F.

In addition to its new district energy system, which now includes domestic hot water, Wolf Ridge has added a solar thermal domestic hot-water system, working in concert with the biomass in the east dorm. The center also benefits from a 1.2-kW solar photovoltaic system and a 10-kW wind turbine that together supply 20 percent of the Science Center’s electrical needs.

As an educational facility, Wolf Ridge uses these new energy-efficient resources to teach its students about the importance of district energy, renewable energy sources, and sustainability. It also demonstrates how solar and biomass energy sources can help increase energy efficiency.

“Everyone at Wolf Ridge is so passionate about the sciences and teaching others about the importance of energy efficiency and natural resources,” said Smerud. “I’m very proud of the work we do here, and I’m glad that our new energy systems will allow us to continue providing education in an energy-efficient environment for decades to come.”

For more information, visit www.uponor-usa.com. MCAA thanks Uponor for being an MCAA sponsor.

Piping Systems Slashes Cutting Time and Increases Capacity With Watts-Mueller Machines

Piping Systems Inc. invested in a Watts-Mueller cutting system when it became clear that its current tools were too slow for jobs involving large-diameter pipe. Using the WM Classic Series WM-60 6-axis pipe profiler, a job that once took seven hours to cut was complete in less than an hour. “We knew the ability to reduce cutting times so much would give us a competitive advantage and the investment was necessary,” said Piping Systems President Jeffrey Bunker.

Need for Speed

Cutting large-diameter pipe can be cumbersome and time-consuming when done manually. After Piping Systems completed the largest project in its history—a 375,000-linear-foot project with diameters up to 72” and wall thicknesses up to 1.5”—the fabricator realized its current equipment conveyor system would not keep up in the long term. “The equipment’s conveyor we had at the time was only rated for a maximum 500 pounds per foot. There was no way we could run heavy-wall, large-diameter pipe,” said Tony Kent, vice president of Piping Systems.

Watts-Mueller’s WM-60 uses 180 ft. of conveyors to transport pipe from the outside into the main fabrication shop, which enables Piping Systems to cut and bevel most large-bore, heavy-wall pipe inside the facility so it can go directly into production.

Bunker added, “Our automated cutting process prior to the new equipment was limited to 42”. Anything more than that was manual or machine-cut, and it was a slow process. After we completed that first large-diameter job, we knew we needed to be able to cut three to four times faster than what we were capable of doing.”

Safety was also a concern, as large-diameter, thick-wall pipe is difficult to move by hand. To meet customer demand for heavy pipe processing, Piping Systems purchased a system from Watts-Mueller capable of managing 1,500 pounds per foot.

Previously, large-bore, heavy-wall pipe had to be brought in using forklifts, set up using the overhead crane or saw cut, then moved to a machine beveling operation. “With the added capacity of the WM-60, most of the large-bore, heavy-wall pipe can be conveyed inside the facility, cut and beveled by the machine, and flowed directly into production,” Bunker said. “There are very few touches by humans beyond that.”

The system is 180’ long and the largest setup Watts-Mueller has installed to date. It includes compatibility with drafting software, which allows Piping Systems to take cutting job files and import them directly to the machine to reduce manual input errors. “Our goal is to reduce input errors, and so the capability to export files from drafting software reduces overall error rates,” Kent said.

Piping Systems’ principal products include pipe spool fabrication (large bore and small bore), pipe racks, modular piping, and equipment skids. Founded in 1991, Piping Systems works with carbon steels, stainless steels, nickel alloys, low temperature and chrome alloys, and HDPE in four segregated bays within its Hortonville, WI, facility.

Customized Solutions

The WM-60 computer-controlled pipe cutting machine conveys and rotates pipe from 3” to 60” outer diameter with a 45’ machine bed capable of supporting 1,500 pounds per foot to a maximum of 50,000 pounds. Located in Puyallup, WA, Watts-Mueller produces 3D profile cutting machines for round pipes, tanks, dished-ends, square and rectangular pipes, and steel beams, as well as automated welding solutions. The company has over 1,743 machines located in Germany, the United States, Russia, the United Arab Emirates, India, Singapore, and Brazil.

Piping Systems’ Watts-Mueller machine is 180’ long and the largest setup Watts-Mueller has installed to date. It will increase Piping Systems’ capacity to meet customer demand for heavy pipe processing and enhance safety.

Large projects require Watts-Mueller to visit a customer’s location to discuss requirements. “We need to see where the machine will ultimately be installed in their shop,” explained David Carr, managing director of sales and marketing. “We complete drawings based off those measurements and design a machine that is then submitted to the customer for approval.”

Watts-Mueller is capable of building 160”-diameter machines. Training time varies. “Generally, the install is two weeks for a system this large, and operator training takes one week,” Carr noted. “This learning curve is quite short. The fact that an operator with one week of training and a little practical experience can train other employees is a testament to how good the [software] user interface is.”

Easy Interface

Software plays a large role in maintaining efficient machines and processes. Watts-Mueller’s software creates 3D contours as part of an integrated process chain. “Instead of creating the [drawing] as an isolated element,” Carr said, “with 3D-Profile Plus (3DPP), the machines work with both upstream and downstream workflows. This significantly reduces production time, material costs, and errors.”

The 3DPP CAD/CAM comprehensive system provides models cutting geometries, nests numerous parts to be cut on a single pipe, assigns cutting functions to one or several machines (while taking into account each machine’s capacity), keeps track of each stage of the working process for each machine, and calculates and records cutting times and costs.

Users can reference 3DPP’s extensive reporting functions for calculation or documentation purposes. “This robust software system can be fully integrated into any company workflow as an autonomous software system for the modeling of pipes or by importing drawings from a multitude of CAD software systems,” Carr said.

After a decline in new inquiries in 2020, Watts-Mueller has adjusted how it works with customers to keep projects moving. “By being flexible with pricing and payment terms, we have been able to maintain a backlog,” Carr stated. “We are cautiously optimistic for 2021. Inquiries were up in January, and conversations with prospects are positive—the indicators are good.”

Piping Systems believes its Watts-Mueller installation will be busy in 2021. “We’re expecting a pretty good year ahead compared to 2020,” Bunker said. “I think we’ll get over the COVID-19 hump by the end of the third quarter and expect things to be under control.

“We have relationships with other fabricators in place that even if we lost half our workforce we’d have a backup plan in place to continue to meet customer expectations without downtime,” Bunker continued. “We’ve learned to plan ahead for any scenario.”

Use Watts-Mueller’s calculator to estimate the return on investment of a new system: https://www.watts-specialties.com/contact-roi.php

For more information, call 832-701-7121 or visit www.watts-specialties.com.

Cannistraro, Atomatic Keep Costs in Check With Wheatland Tube’s SureThread

Atomatic Mechanical Services, Inc. and J.C. Cannistraro both rely on SureThread^™ pipe from Wheatland Tube to keep their costs down. Cannistraro Fabrication Manager Billy Gardner said, “SureThread is the only brand we use for fabrication. It creates less wear on our tools, which saves us money.” Nick LaMonto, piping superintendent at Atomatic, added, “We’re threading every day. We can’t afford inferior pipe.”

The only domestically manufactured continuous weld standard pipe on the market, SureThread has a uniform grain pattern and smooth weld seam that makes it stronger and more ductile than electric resistance weld pipe. That makes grooving, threading, cutting and bending easier, with substantially less wear on tools and less rework required on the job.

SureThread ASTM A53, Type F, is now Grade B certified, which means it can be used in a wider range of applications, including small-diameter (less than 2”), low-pressure applications, making it a more cost-effective and readily available option than seamless pipe. SureThread comes with a exterior protective coating, Ultra Z-Coat^™, that makes pipes more corrosion- and scratch-resistant, protecting them against the elements when stored in an outdoor distribution yard or jobsite. The coating has no volatile organic compounds and is produced with no hazardous air pollutants, making it more environmentally friendly than other options.

For more information, visit www.wheatland.com.

Harris Realizes Immediate ROI With Watts Specialties Pipe Cutter

Harris saw an immediate return on investment (ROI) from their Watts Specialties automated pipe cutter, with improved efficiency in cutting and handling and no need for hand-cutting for olets or saddles. Based in St. Paul, MN, Harris has 15 regional offices with more than 300,000 square feet of fabrication shops.

In Need of an Upgrade

“Our operation in the Bellingham facility was growing… fast,” said Garett Andersen, director of the fabrication shop and field operations for Harris’ Bellingham location. “We needed to gain efficiency, and we knew that we needed an automated pipe cutting machine to gain that efficiency. We had an old Vernon machine with problems. One of our other shops had an older Watts Specialties machine, and they were getting the efficiency that we lacked.

“We looked at Watts Specialties. Then we looked at three other manufacturers: all three were either priced too high or their machines did not have the features we wanted.

“We decided to take a small group to the Watts Specialties facility in Puyallup, WA, to meet the Watts team,” said Andersen. “We met a couple of the owner/managers, which was good, but then we met with a few of the machine technicians and support team. We were completely impressed with the machine guys. We walked away knowing that we were going to move forward with Watts. Seeing how they build each machine specifically for the purchasing company was also impressive. The personal contact with their service and support team was HUGE if or when we have any issues.”

Harris leased a Watts Specialties W-244-Eco automated pipe cutter and saw an immediate return on investment, thanks to the ease of use, efficiency, and quality of cuts.

Anderson continued, “We wanted a larger machine, but our need for an automated solution outweighed our ability to wait for a machine to be built. We needed a machine more quickly, so Dave Dunham [Watt’s managing director of operations] offered us a rental machine so we could get started quickly and see the benefits before we made a large capital commitment.

“We leased a W-244-Eco machine with a 24’ bed. We use Stratus so we were able to import pipe data directly into the machine through the Watts software. We immediately realized a benefit we had not expected—savings on pipe fitup. The cutting accuracy—the quality of the bevels, joints, and olets—saved us on prep manhours. We would typically transport a cut pipe to another fabrication station for prep and fitup. Prep work was reduced dramatically!”

See the Harris Bellingham fabrication shop in action.

Results in Real Time

“We immediately benefited from leasing the Watts machine,” Anderson noted. “Their service technician came to our shop and trained our machine operator. In a day-and-a-half, she was running the machine. The operator inputs the data with Stratus into the Watts software and the machine starts cutting. We quickly saw the ROI with this machine; the efficiency in cutting and handling was immediate. No more measuring and marking pipe. The operator inputs the data and the machine makes all the cuts. We realized immediately additional ROI by not having any hand-cutting for olets or saddles.”

Anderson added that Harris is extremely happy with the Watts software. “The software is easy to learn, easy to use. Importing data through Status also reduced the learning curve.”

Now, Harris is planning to expand the capacity of its Watts machine. “We are now looking at extending our W-244-E with a 40’ cutting bed and other logistics,” said Anderson. “The economy version came without loading racks. Adding loading racks will make material handling far more safe and efficient.”

For more information, visit www.watts-specialties.com.

F+F Mechanical Slashes Pipe Cutting Time and Labor Costs With Watts-Mueller Machine

Recognizing that pipe fabrication was slowing down its prefabrication process, F+F Mechanical Company invested in a Watts-Mueller pipe cutter that dramatically improved speed and quality while decreasing labor costs. In fact, thanks to the efficiencies gained from prefabrication using the Watts-Mueller machine, F+F Mechanical recently completed a full boiler room change-out for a hospital in just three months.

Several years ago, F+F Mechanical, a full-service mechanical contractor based in North Haven, CT, recognized the need to embrace new technology. John Ferrucci, vice president of F+F Mechanical, said, “We needed to move into prefab units and modular construction. As we started this process, it quickly became clear that pipe fabrication was taking too much of our projected time and consuming too much of our budget—piping was the bottleneck in our progress. We had four men fully dedicated to cutting, beveling, and prepping pipe.”

F+F Mechanical Vice President John Ferrucci noted, “The quality of beveling with the plasma torch on the Watts-Mueller machine dramatically improved the speed and quality of our X-ray joints.”

Ferrucci continued, “We visited a few large fabrication shops and observed them using the advanced technology we were considering—we had to upgrade our capital equipment. We were already looking at Watts-Mueller and one other manufacturer; everyone we talked with advised us to look at Watts-Mueller.”

In 2017, F+F Mechanical purchased the Watts-Mueller W-242 (two axis) machine with a 25’ bed and a conveyor outside the building for preloading and feeding pipe into the building. “We quickly went from two men working all day cutting pipe each day to cutting pipe two days a week. The labor savings alone justified the purchase of our new Watts-Mueller pipe cutting machine,” said Ferrucci.

“Another cost-saving benefit was gained efficiency with welding X-ray joints,” continued Ferrucci. “We had been using oxy-fuel in our pipe cutting. The quality of beveling with the plasma torch on the Watts-Mueller machine dramatically improved the speed and quality of our X-ray joints. All large-bore, high-pressure steam piping that requires radiographic testing passes at 100 percent now. One of the contributing factors to the success is the good end prep from our new machine.”

Ferrucci noted, “For the quality of the machine and all the features, the price was competitive, but what really got my attention was that every mechanical company I spoke with raved about Watts-Mueller machines.”

When he attended the annual MCAA Convention, Ferrucci visited the Watts-Mueller booth. “I introduced myself to David Carr and told him about our needs. Working with David was really great. He has so much knowledge of the industry and honestly told me what we really needed, actually steering me away from the more expensive options I thought we needed.”

Recently, F+F Mechanical upgraded the Watts-Mueller 3DPP software. “We are seeing substantial improvements with office/shop communication as well as gains in efficiency and accuracy,” said Ferrucci. “Our cut/prep time has gained roughly 60 percent in efficiency since the addition of the W-242 pipe cutting machine. All of our connected fabrication capabilities have increased. We now can cut heavy-wall pipe, stainless steel, and nozzle outlets.”

F+F Mechanical credits its ability to replace the boilers at Yale New Haven Hospital’s Saint Raphael campus in just three months to its prefabrication capabilities. The project included a complete replacement of three 1,000-horsepower boilers and all the high-pressure steam mains in the power plant and was performed with no time loss for the hospital. “We could not have completed this project in this timeframe prior to having the Watts-Mueller machine,” said Ferrucci.

For more information, visit www.watts-specialties.com.

Winger’s Productivity and Capacity Soar With Watts-Mueller Machines

Winger Companies tackled two challenges—the growing scale of its fabrication projects and a tight labor market—with Watts-Mueller machines that allowed them to do more with fewer people. General Manager Mike Smith said, “We increased our finished fabrications while cutting the cost of both consumables and manhours.”

Winger is a one-stop mechanical and electrical contracting company serving commercial and industrial markets. It is a fourth-generation, family-owned business that has grown to be the leader in mechanical construction for the Midwest region. Since it was established in 1942, Winger has continuously expanded into new markets to keep up with growth and demand.

“Our fabrication projects had grown to the point where we needed to add automation to our processes in order to become more efficient,” said Smith. “We bought a Watts-Mueller W-244 machine in 2015—that gave us more ability to cut and bevel pipe up to 24” OD [outer diameter],” but then Winger needed more.

“We continued to grow in our fabrication projects, both in volume and with projects calling for larger pipe,” Smith continued. “In 2020 we purchased a second machine, a Watts-Mueller W-364 capable of cutting up to 36” OD pipe. This machine went into our Cedar Rapids fabrication shop and further extended both our efficiency and our capabilities.”

The most pressing reason to purchase the Watts-Mueller machines was to gain efficiency. “We needed to become more productive with the same manhours, and we needed to save on consumables,” said Smith. “Where it took 25 minutes to lay out and cut an 8” pipe, the same cuts are done in only around 90 seconds with the automated machine. The Watts-Mueller pipe profiling system allows us to make precise, uniform, clean cuts in a minimal amount of time. We are more efficient, spending less on prep time and less on manhours.”

The automatic conveyors integrated with the Watts-Mueller machines mean Winger needs fewer people to move, stage, and prep large pipe—and they can do it without cranes, saving labor costs and increasing safety in the shop.

Winger also purchased a conveyor system with the new W-364 machine: a 25’ machine bed with an integrated powered conveyor. In addition, Winger purchased another 20’ infeed conveyor and rack outside the building, enabling the pipe to be power-fed into the shop.

“Due to labor shortages in the industrial fabrication industry, we needed a way to get more productivity with less manhours,” Smith stated. “Where it used to take two people to prep and mark up a pipe for a saddle cut, now the job only requires one person to input the numbers into the 3D-Profile Plus software and simply run the machine. Even the most complicated cuts can be done by one person, the machine operator.

“In addition, it used to take two people to move, stage, and prep large pipe,” said Smith. “Now, with the automatic infeed bed, we can load pipe outside the building, convey into the building and right onto the machine bed. Prior to having the feeding racks we had difficulty loading heavy pipe—we had to use a crane, which called for more workers. We are saving in manhour costs, and we have increased the safety for our employees in all of our fabrications.”

Smith also appreciated the 3D-Profile Plus software. “The software with the input communication of the measurements, angles, and outlets is very user-friendly,” he observed. “I can send numbers from my desk directly into the machine if I need to. Watts-Mueller support has also been good. Our machine operator likes how the support staff has working knowledge of fabrication and can offer more than just technical knowledge about the machine.”

For more information, visit Watts-Specialties.com.

Letsos Company, CFI Mechanical Swap Uponor PEX for Copper, PVC

Ease of Installation, Low Cost, and High Performance Benefit Texas High Schools and Contractors

Letsos Company and CFI Mechanical, both of Houston, TX, used Uponor PEX for two high school plumbing projects to save money for the school district while also realizing faster installation and cost savings over traditional approaches. CFI Mechanical estimated a 30-percent savings in cost and labor resulting from using smaller PEX piping (1” and below).

The 80,000-student, Katy, TX, Independent School District (ISD) recently built its eighth high school, Patricia E. Paetow High School, and is working on its ninth, Jordan High School, to meet the needs of its growing student population with new, state-of-the-art facilities. The plans originally specified copper and CPVC for the plumbing, but the school district was looking for other options to value engineer the Paetow project. Letsos Company proposed adding PEX to the specification on the basis of their success in a Houston waterway project.

Mike Rostvold, technical sales representative at Uponor, met with the engineer as well as the school district’s maintenance staff and head of construction to educate them on the properties and benefits of PEX. “The maintenance staff loved it—the ease of the system with no torches or glues, the longevity, the warranty,” said Rostvold. “After the meeting, the district rewrote their spec to include PEX.”

By using Uponor PEX for a new high school’s plumbing, Letsos Company avoided the need for torches or glues, increasing the speed and safety of installation.

CFI Mechanical estimated a 30-percent savings in cost and labor resulting from using smaller Uponor PEX piping (1″ and below) for the new Jordan High School in Katy, TX.

And while PEX was not specified in the original Katy ISD design standard, it was installed in eight other Katy schools previously, having been accepted as a value-engineered product. The 635,000-square-foot Paetow High School was completed in August 2017. In the winter of 2017–2018, the Katy area experienced freezing temperatures. The only buildings that did not have pipe failure were the ones plumbed with PEX.

“Freeze protection is just one of the advantages of PEX,” said Anthony Gardner, senior plumbing estimator at Letsos Company. “The speed of installation, the flexibility, and the material cost savings are also great benefits.”

Gardner added that Uponor’s support services, such as field training and jobsite walkthroughs, “help tremendously” to meet tight production schedules on a project.

CFI Mechanical is currently installing the Uponor PEX plumbing system at the 649,000-square-foot Jordan High School, set to open in the summer of 2020. “With the initial installation, we’re seeing significant cost and labor savings with pipe sizes 1” and down,” said Roy Hennick, vice president of CFI Mechanical. “I’d estimate about a 30-percent savings for the smaller pipe sizes.”

And it appears word is getting around to other school districts about the benefits of PEX. “Now many other school districts are jumping on board,” said Rostvold. “We just met with Houston ISD about new construction and repipe opportunities, and we now have 13 different K–12 school projects in process.”

For more information, visit www.uponor-usa.com.

MCAA thanks Uponor for being a major sponsor of MCAA2020 and providing the welcome baseball cap.

ACCO Installs Uponor Radiant to Achieve LEED Platinum in HQ Expansion

Rollout Mats Speed Up Installation Time

Delta Electronics (Americas) originally specified a conventional radiant tubing heating and cooling system for its headquarters expansion in Fremont, CA, to help meet LEED® Platinum and net-zero energy building standards, but ACCO Engineered Systems suggested Uponor’s Radiant Rollout™ Mats for a faster, more efficient, consistent installation. ACCO crews installed 138,000′ of tubing with the Radiant Rollout Mats in five months—much faster than the time required for conventional PEX rails or tie-down methods.

Committed to Green Building

Founded in 1971, Delta’s mission is “To provide innovative, clean and energy-efficient solutions for a better tomorrow,” and its headquarters is a shining example of creative thinking paired with a desire to protect the environment. The company takes advantage of the latest in advanced energy-efficient research and product development, and the American headquarters is their 13th green building worldwide.

ACCO designed the radiant heating and cooling system using the mats for the 178,000-square-foot campus, which includes a 38,000-square-foot warehouse. The radiant slabs are the primary cooling and heating systems in the campus buildings, so it was crucial for the design to ensure comfort as well as the desired energy efficiencies.

ACCO crews installed 138,000’ of tubing with Uponor’s Radiant Rollout Mats in five months at Delta Electronics (Americas) Fremont, CA, headquarters—much faster than the time required for conventional PEX rails or tiedown methods.

Planning Pays Off

ACCO had recently completed several large commercial projects using the mats, including the Pier 15 Exploratorium in San Francisco and the Sacramento Municipal Utility District building. For the Delta project, ACCO spent a considerable amount of time up front designing the slab construction, the sequence of the slab construction, and how the mats would be fabricated to align with the installation process. “We eliminated a lot of potential problems up front—lessons that we learned on other projects,” said Jonathan Bell, ACCO project manager.

Three dedicated crew members plus one runner installed 138,000′ of tubing with the Radiant Rollout Mats in five months—much less time and labor than using conventional PEX rails or tie-down methods would have required. The installers needed a bit of onsite training to get up to speed, and the first couple of circuits went in a little slower while workers learned efficient, effective ways to speed up the installation. “But it didn’t take long for the crew to have a full understanding of the processes, and they quickly picked up the pace for the rest of the installation,” Bell said.

“For large, open circuits, the installation of the Radiant Rollout Mats is much quicker than laying down regular tubing,” said Bell. “And the prefabricated and labelled mats allow for more efficient material handling onsite, which is very important in these large installations.”

Uponor’s Radiant Rollout Mats were just one of the energy-efficient technologies that Delta used to achieve LEED Platinum status. The company also earned a First Place Honor Award in the National Institute of Building Sciences’ 2018 Beyond Green™ High Performance Building and Community Awards.

For more information, visit www.uponorengineering.com.

Warner Mechanical Uses Aquatherm Pipe to Help Manufacturer Rebound Quickly from Roof Collapse

A roof collapse could have knocked IVP Plastics of Washington, IL, out of commission for a long time, but Warner Mechanical LLC, of Edwards, IL, used Aquatherm polypropylene pipe in the rebuild, helping the manufacturer get back to business quickly. The heat fusion process made Aquatherm piping easier and faster to install than traditional welded pipe, saving Warner Mechanical time.

From Disaster, New Opportunities

IVP Plastics was founded in 1953; today, it is a leading provider of customized plastic parts for the agricultural, heavy equipment, and automotive industries. On March 24, 2018, a late-season storm caused a portion of the roof to collapse at the IVP Plastics headquarters, a 20,000-square-foot, clear-span building. Fortunately, no one was injured. Although damage to the building itself was significant, a crane rail running the length of the ceiling spared much of the company’s manufacturing equipment from serious damage.

About two weeks after the collapse, Jeff Frieden, president of Warner Mechanical, visited the damaged manufacturing facility. “We sat down with the IVP Plastics team, the general contractor, and the insurance company, and the bottom line was that time was of the essence,” Frieden said.

The decision was made to replace the damaged building with a new one, and IVP Plastics requested that Warner Mechanical design the process piping system for the 16 machines that would be moved into the new building. The old process cooling system had used 6″ PVC pipe running overhead at the ceiling. The company said it preferred a system that would place the pipe in mechanical
trenches behind each run of machines.

Frieden knew immediately that Aquatherm would be a good choice for such a piping application, and IVP Plastics’ management agreed. Warner Mechanical used Aquatherm SDR-11 MF Blue Pipe® for the process chiller piping: 1,575′ of 4″ pipe, 247′ of 3″ pipe, and 156′ of 1 1/2″ pipe. They also used 507′ of 1″ Aquatherm Green Pipe® for clean-up water.

Plastic Pipe Eases Maintenance Concerns

The system designed by Warner Mechanical called for most of the pipe to be located in trenches under the equipment in the concrete floor of IVP Plastics’ new manufacturing facility. Fittings emerging from the trench covers allow the manufacturing machines to be hooked up easily whenever the process line is reconfigured. The company’s process chiller provides 40° F cooling water to the machines, with return water flowing through the Aquatherm pipe at up to 100° F.

“We decided to do things differently at the new facility,” explained Joe Camp, engineering manager at IVP Plastics. “We wanted to put the process plumbing in the floor, and it was Jeff’s recommendation to use the Aquatherm pipe for that. It will be nice to not have pipes sweating and dripping, which was a problem when we had the PVC overhead.

“Another nice feature of the Aquatherm pipe was that we could get longer continuous lengths of pipe, so we had fewer joints to deal with,” Camp added.

The clincher for IVP Plastics, according to Camp, was Aquatherm’s virtually leak-free performance, backed by an extensive and comprehensive 10-year warranty because it was installed by Warner Mechanical’s Aquatherm-trained technicians.

“There is definitely peace of mind that comes from investing in a product with a warranty like that,” Camp said.

Warner Mechanical found that Aquatherm polypropylene pipe was ideal for the new IVP Plastics facility, and it is easier and faster to install than traditional welded pipe, saving the contractor time and money.

Perfect Pipe for Plastics Pros

For Warner Mechanical, an undeniably interesting aspect of this project was installing Aquatherm in a plastics manufacturing facility. “As we discussed this project with IVP Plastics, the owners were very pleased to see the range of temperatures and pressure ratings that were available to them,” Frieden said. “After our initial conversations, the owners researched it themselves and were very impressed by what they saw. When you’re working with a plastics company and they’re researching plastics, you’re playing with experts.”

Once the project began, the installation of the Aquatherm pipe attracted a great deal of attention from IVP Plastics’ personnel. “The engineers were watching us put this in, and it really intrigued them—being a plastics company—that we were putting this thermoplastic piping in their building,” Frieden said.

“Once they saw the benefits of the heat-fusion welding process, they had total confidence in the durability of the product,” Frieden continued. “They could understand when it’s properly heat-fused there would be no leakage problems.”

Frieden added it was much faster and easier to heat-fuse the Aquatherm pipe and place it in the trenches than it would have been to weld metal pipe. “I think any time you’re in a process where you would typically turn to welded piping, you should look at the time savings and durability of Aquatherm pipe,” he said. “For this customer, using Aquatherm enabled us to reduce the time it took to complete the system and allow the owner to start production.”

“I also really think it’s a great choice any time you’re in a buried or constrained space,” Frieden concluded. “It’s easier to work with than metal pipe, and it offers a big advantage in peace of mind. You know you can walk away from it and when the job’s complete and not worry about leaks.”

For more information, visit aquatherm.com.

Couts Cures Concrete with Uponor Thermal Cooling

Novel Use Keeps Integrity of World’s Largest Concrete Pour

For a record-setting continuous concrete pour, Couts Heating and Cooling, Inc. installed more than 20 miles of Uponor radiant tubing to create a thermal cooling system that would ensure the integrity of the concrete as it cured. Applying this new technique, Couts not only smoothed the way for this rapid, massive project, it also benefitted from the ease of installation. The PEX tubing’s “extreme flexibility made it fast and easy to install around the rebar in the base of the structure,” said Mike Martin, Couts piping department manager.

Green Construction and Deconstruction

At 1,100’ tall and 73 stories, the Wilshire Grand Center in Los Angeles, CA, is the 10th tallest building in the United States and the tallest building west of the Mississippi. A structure of this magnitude requires precise engineering to ensure the building’s integrity while also incorporating creative and thoughtful design elements to meet the owners’ LEED® Gold certification requirements.

The first decision was to deconstruct the original, 1.1-million-square-foot building, built in 1951, instead of demolishing it, so that some materials could be recycled rather than go to the landfill. The concrete was crushed into material that can be sold as Class II Base for structural fills, roads, or building pads. The steel beams were sent to a local foundry and melted down to make recycled reinforcing bars. This “green” deconstruction of the old building saved the developer $4 million, making it not only good for the environment but also good for business.

Record-Setting Concrete Pour

For a record-setting continuous concrete pour, Couts installed more than 20 miles of Uponor radiant tubing to create a thermal cooling system that would ensure the integrity of the concrete as it cured.

After deconstruction, the focus turned to the design of the new, $1.2-billion structure. The base for the 2.1-million-square-foot building required a 21,200-cubic-yard concrete foundation located 84’ below street level. To place that kind of concrete mass required a world-record continuous pour.

Completed in less than 19 hours, the 82 million pounds of concrete set a Guinness World Record for the largest continuous pour in a 24-hour period. To ensure structural integrity of the foundation’s massive slab, the design specified a hydronic radiant cooling system to draw off the heat as the concrete cured—a new trend that is becoming more popular for large concrete projects such as building foundations and bridges.

According to Martin, the idea of thermal cooling came from an engineer in Minnesota who was looking to redirect the heat and keep an even temperature in the slab to prevent cracking after it cured. To keep the slab at the proper temperature, the team at Couts installed more than 100,000 feet of 3/4” PEX tubing from Uponor that intertwined through the rebar of the foundation. The tubing was used to convey 40° F water throughout the system to maintain an even temperature that was not to exceed 160° F as the concrete was poured and then cured.

“The lighter weight of PEX made it easier to move around the jobsite,” said Martin. “Also, PEX is very forgiving. The installers were walking on it and dumping concrete on it, and it never damaged the pipe. Plus, any kinks in the pipe were easily repaired with a quick shot of heat from a heat gun, which is a big advantage for PEX-A type tubing. This eliminated the need to add in couplings in the slab.”

Mike Martin, Couts piping department manager, said Uponor’s PEX tubing’s “extreme flexibility made it fast and easy to install around the rebar in the base of the structure.”

Couts installed the radiant tubing at 6” on center and dropped it down 18’ from the 8” HDPE supply header before looping it back up. Once the radiant tubing installation was complete, the concrete pour began. It was a steady, organized plan that required more than 400 workers, eight concrete plants, 208 mixers, and more than 2,000 truckloads.

During the pour, the 40° F water, sourced from a chiller system featuring a 40,000-gallon storage tank, began running through the system. The thermal cooling system pumped water throughout the tubing for two weeks while being continuously monitored by 24 sensors to ensure proper system temperatures. After the two-week timeframe, the water was removed from the system and the tubing was filled with grout and remained in the slab.

Cooling Catches On

To date, the Wilshire Grand stands as a testament to new construction trends that promote business-smart sustainable design and “green” deconstruction, an idea that is likely to gain traction as older buildings make way for new structures. And, according to Martin, concrete thermal cooling will also continue to increase as more and more professionals look to smarter building practices to make structures of higher performance.

In fact, Martin noted, many general contractors are reaching out to Couts to install thermal cooling systems for similar applications. Since the Wilshire Grand, Couts has completed two bridges with concrete thermal cooling, and Martin estimated the trend will continue to grow.

For more information, visit www.uponor-usa.com.

Circulating Air ‘Amazed’ by Speed, Ease of Installing Uponor Radiant System

Research Center Reaches LEED Gold with Efficient Solutions

Describing the Circulating Air crew’s first experience using Uponor products, Job Foreman Matt Fitzgerald said, “We were truly amazed at how quickly and easily we installed the tubing for the radiant heating and cooling system.” The Los Angeles-based mechanical contractor’s four-man crew installed 16,000’ of Uponor’s Wirsbo hePEX™ tubing in a new research building on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Using the radiant heating and cooling system helped earn LEED® Gold status for the six-story, 100,000-square-foot Edie and Lew Wasserman Eye Research Center.

Uponor PEX Tubing — Circulating Air’s four-man crew installed 16,000’ of Uponor’s Wirsbo hePEX tubing in UCLA’s new research center. “I love how fast and easy the Uponor ProPEX system is,” said Job Foreman Matt Fitzgerald.

Efficient, Easy to Install

The first three floors of the structure were specified to include radiant heating and cooling, a technology that embeds tubing into floors of the building to circulate warm or cool water to condition the space inside. Because water has the capacity to transport energy 3,500 times greater than air, it is an extremely efficient method for heating and cooling an environment.

Working closely with Circulating Air, Uponor, which manufacturers PEX tubing and provides plumbing, heating, and cooling systems, helped design the radiant heating and cooling system in conjunction with the engineers and architects on the project. The building’s southern elevation is a wall of glass, and the radiant heating and cooling system takes a huge load off the forced-air system.

Circulating Air also had some onsite training from a local Uponor sales representative. “Receiving training onsite really helped us, and our crew felt up to speed very quickly,” said Fitzgerald.

According to Fitzgerald, prior to the training, he was unaware how easy it was to make the connections to the manifolds and fittings. “I love how fast and easy the Uponor ProPEX system is,” he said.

“We were truly amazed at how quickly and easily we installed the tubing for the radiant heating and cooling system.”

—Matt Fitzgerald, Job Foreman, Circulating Air

Uponor’s PEX tubing uses ASTM F1960 ProPEX expansion fittings, which require one simple tool to make fast, easy connections. The contractor simply places an expansion ring on the end of the tubing and expands the tubing and ring with a ProPEX expansion tool. After expansion, the contractor inserts a ProPEX fitting. The tubing and ring shrink back down, creating a strong connection to the fitting that holds tight with up to 1,000 pounds of radial force. Those familiar with traditional copper or other rigid pipe connections recognize that the ProPEX fitting system is a much easier, more reliable connection method.

The system connected to six Uponor TruFLOW manifolds and six manifold cabinets divided between the three lower floors. “The installation was fairly straightforward,” Fitzgerald said. “And we didn’t encounter any obstacles that we couldn’t overcome.”

After the installation of the PEX tubing was complete, concrete was poured over the radiant system to create a large mass for heating and cooling the structure. Circulating Air then performed a pressure test to ensure system integrity before starting up and commissioning the system.

Leading in LEED

The Wasserman Eye Research Center is a culmination of a 50-year vision to house a world-class research and care center on the UCLA campus to preserve and restore eyesight. The $115.6-million building garnered a Community Impact Award at the Los Angeles Business Council’s Los Angeles Architectural Awards and was named Best Medical Project by the Los Angeles Business Journal’s
Commercial Real Estate Awards.

The University of California system became the first American university to have 100 LEED-certified facilities—an impressive milestone and a testament to the system’s dedication to responsible building practices. The Wasserman building was designed to ensure the structure included as many sustainable building technologies as possible. The three lower floors were dedicated to the expansion of the Jules Stein Eye Institute, making it a state-of-the-art research and treatment facility.

For more information, visit www.uponor-usa.com. MCAA thanks Uponor, Inc. for being a major sponsor of MCAA18 and sponsoring the David Horsager Education Session.

P1 Group Installs Aquatherm PP-R Piping, Saving Time When Every Second Counts

By using Aquatherm polypropylene-random (PP-R) Blue Pipe® to replace carbon-steel pipe at Berry Global’s injection-molding facility, the P1 Group of Lawrence, KS, successfully completed installation in just 24 hours. The lightweight pipe is easy to transport and easy to join using a flameless heat-fusion technique that saves time. The speed of installation was more than just a productivity win for the contractor; at Berry Global, a mere half-second loss in production time can cost tens of thousands of dollars.

A Tricky Transition

Berry Global needed to replace a large portion of pipe used to transport cooling water to more than 20 injection-mold and thermoforming machines. The existing carbon-steel piping, along with an undersized chilled-water storage tank, showed excessive corrosion. Cooling the molds is a critical, time-sensitive part of the injection-molding process; the plant already had begun to incur losses because rust and pipe scale were interfering with the cool-water flushing of the molds.

“Our [cooling] cycle time on some of the equipment had increased due to hot cores. This resulted in significant losses in production,” said Jacob Francis, facility maintenance supervisor. Increasing production demands on an undersized storage tank and piping system exacerbated the complex problem.

The system itself is simple. Chilled water leaves the chiller at 55° F and flows directly to the injection-molding equipment. Water exits through orifices in the aluminum or steel molding equipment and circulates to what was originally a 4,000-gallon holding tank before circulating back through the chiller. However, according to Francis, at the required 3,800 gallons per minute, the water never had an opportunity to “settle,” causing air to be absorbed within the system. The completely aerated system not only was rusting badly, but the excessive air also prevented water-treatment chemicals from adhering to and protecting the carbon-steel pipe effectively. Corrosion already had eaten two holes in the chilled-water tank.

The situation would only get worse until the piping was replaced, but that created an even greater challenge: How do you replace 300’ of 10” and 16” welded steel pipe for a manufacturing process that virtually never stops? The plant in Lawrence, one of Berry Global’s 130 facilities around the world, produces food-grade plastic cups and containers for various restaurants and
food and beverage industries. The plant operates 24/7, every day of the year, save a day or two at Thanksgiving and Christmas. Shutting down operations for just one hour comes at a high price—one Berry Global most certainly would have to pay several times over if the piping were replaced with field-welded carbon steel, which can take a long time to install.

Aquatherm Eases Installation

Todd Mihalchik, industrial mechanical estimator and project manager for P1 Group, suggested Aquatherm PP-R piping systems, even though no one from P1 Group had installed Aquatherm pipe in such large diameters. Mihalchik’s conversations with local representatives from the Lawrence branch of Ferguson, a wholesale distributor of plumbing and mechanical supplies with 1,400 locations serving customers throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the Caribbean, and Mexico, convinced him that the piping might be the answer for his longtime client, Berry Global.

Wedged between a costly shutdown and a rapidly deteriorating system, Francis agreed. He gave P1 Group the green light to install Aquatherm Blue Pipe to replace the chilled-water piping serving two thirds of the plant’s injection-molding processes.

Unlike metal pipe, which must be welded into place at the jobsite, Aquatherm pipe components are joined using a safe and simple heat-fusion process to create virtually leak-proof connections in minutes. Because the product is so lightweight, large sections can be fabricated in a contractor’s shop—or in Lindon, UT, at Aquatherm’s North America headquarters—then easily transported to the jobsite. Because Aquatherm PP-R is completely noncorroding, it will not break down, weaken, or scale like metal piping systems and does not require chemical
treatment.

“At first, we were going to have three days for the actual installation, but that got whittled down to just 24 hours. … The timeframe was really challenging, but Aquatherm made things a lot easier.”

—Todd Mihalchik, Industrial Mechanical Estimator and Project Manager, P1 Group

At a training session held just prior to the Berry project, installation specialists Aquatherm Regional Sales Manager Mike Engle and Ferguson’s Nathan Geyer taught P1 Group technicians the appropriate heat-fusion procedures. “About five or six of our installers attended the five-hour course taught by Aquatherm, where they learned all the different heat-fusion welding techniques,” Mihalchik said.

The installation included the construction of a new 10,400-gallon outdoor chilled-water tank, 16” supply and return piping to and from the tank, and assorted lengths of 12” and 10” piping connecting a 16” Aquatherm header to the various injection-mold presses. Nearly all the piping sections were fabricated in advance at P1 Group’s fabrication shop, then installed using rented butt-welding equipment and handheld socket-fusion equipment. The only exception was the 16” header, which Aquatherm’s Design & Fabrication Services team fabricated because P1 Group did not have ready access to the welding equipment needed for the large-diameter pipe.

The fabricated piping sections, some of which were 15’ or longer, were lightweight enough for just two workers to carry into the installation space and hoist into place—a huge advantage for P1 Group, given the project’s ever-shrinking installation window. “At first, we were going to have three days for the actual installation, but that got whittled down to just 24 hours on Good Friday before Easter. The timeframe was really challenging, but Aquatherm made things a lot easier,” said Mihalchik.

A “Fortunate Mistake”

Aquatherm Polypropylene-random (PP-R) Blue Pipe® — P1 Group workers quickly learned the flameless heat-fusion welding techniques required to join Aquatherm PP-R Blue Pipe, which is not only safer than traditional welding but also saves time.

The only glitch, which occurred during the all-night installation, turned into a blessing for Mihalchik and his crew. At one point, the installers discovered that two of the 10” lines off the 16” header had been cut too short. It might have been a panic-inducing discovery if not for Engle, Geyer, and Ferguson’s Kent Cramer, who were at the jobsite during the installation and were able to oversee some impromptu pipe fusion to adjust the length of the 10” pipe.

“They showed us how easy a fix it really was. In a way, it was a fortunate mistake because now we know we can work through it easily on our own. I’m a 100-percent believer in Aquatherm now for sure,” Mihalchik said.

Francis is equally convinced he made the right decision choosing Aquatherm. In fact, he had another 700’ of Aquatherm Blue Pipe installed for domestic water service to Berry’s nearby warehouse, and he looks forward to identifying even more opportunities to use Aquatherm piping.

No Insulation Required

“The fact that we didn’t have to insulate the pipe is another huge benefit. None of the indoor pipe had to have any insulation, even though we are carrying 55° F water in an 80° F ambient space,” Francis said. Francis added that despite some extremely warm, humid days since the pipe was installed, he has yet to see a drop of condensation on the Aquatherm pipe. “I have one flange where carbon-steel pipe meets the Aquatherm,” said Francis. “I can put a hand on each and feel that the Aquatherm is barely below room temperature while the carbon-steel pipe is really cold.”

An inherent low thermal conductivity (R-value of one or more depending on the pipe size and standard dimension ratio) makes insulating Aquatherm unnecessary in certain indoor applications. Not only does this save installation costs, it creates a cleaner, more uniform installation in which the pipe is exposed for easy inspection. “It really looks sharp,” said Francis, who also credited P1 Group for a very professional-looking installation.

The plant already has seen improvements in system performance, both in terms of chiller usage and pump efficiency. Perhaps even more important, the Berry plant has eliminated future downtime caused by pipe corrosion—at least where Aquatherm is installed. Furthermore, the company has all but eliminated the need for chemical treatment in its piping system. “For a process project like this, Aquatherm was a no-brainer choice,” Francis said.

For more information, visit www.aquatherm.com.

Metropolitan Mechanical Contractors Cuts Installation Time in Half with Uponor’s PEX Pipe

Metropolitan Mechanical Contractors (MMC) of Eden Prairie, MN, found that using Uponor’s AquaPEX^® crosslinked polyethylene (PEX) piping for the risers and the unit piping in a new hotel saved crews about two to three days of installation per floor. On a 13-story project with 50 units per floor, that adds up to almost a month of installation time savings.

Bob Wolf, MMC’s project manager for the Radisson Blu hotel project, said, “We started out with a three-man crew, which took three days to complete each floor,” he says. “Installing copper would have been double that time.”

Miles of Piping Required

From south of the Twin Cities, you can see the Radisson Blu Hotel at the Mall of America on the horizon. This 570,000-square-foot, 13-story, 506-room structure sits on a two-acre site in Bloomington, MN. It is the first hotel to be connected to the Mall of America—the second largest mall in the world. The $137-million structure opened in March 2013.

The hotel sports more than 1.2 million pounds of structural steel, 24,000 cubic yards of concrete, and 23,000’ (nearly 4 1/2 miles) of Uponor PEX pipe for the plumbing system. The PEX pipe was selected for the in-suite potable-water plumbing and the floor-to-floor riser piping.

On learning that the project required having the product files in the Trimble Building-Data database, Uponor’s Design Services Manager Mike Rivers and .NET Developer Chris Bertsch responded rapidly, getting the product information into the database within two weeks.

Saving Time at Every Step

When the product landed at MMC’s shop, workers learned how to make 2″ ProPEX^® expansion connections to prefabricate the risers. The unique shape memory of Uponor’s PEX allows the pipe to be expanded before inserting a higher-flow fitting. As the PEX shrinks back down around the fitting, it creates a solid, strong connection without the need for torches, solder, or open flame.

“With the experience we’ve had with the [Uponor] PEX pipe saving us a couple days of install time per floor, I know we’re going to be using it more and more in commercial plumbing applications in the future. It just makes sense.”

—Bob Wolf, Project Manager, MMC

Wolf was on the project from the beginning and found the plumbing installation with PEX to be very efficient. “I started installing PEX in small retail applications several years ago, and I really like how the flexible tubing makes it faster to install because we don’t need as many fittings,” said Wolf. “The Radisson Blu project has been my first experience using large-dimension PEX in riser applications, and I really like the additional labor savings it provides.”

Mark Montgomery, MMC foreman, said the PEX pipe’s flexibility is one of his favorite features of the product. “I’ve been working with PEX pipe in residential structures for about five years now, but this has been my first experience using it in a commercial application,” he said. “I like the 2” PEX for the risers. It works really well. And the flexibility of the pipe for in-suite distribution makes it faster and easier to fish through the walls.”

MMC prefabricated the risers and installed them during the cast iron installation. Then, the crew hooked up the unit piping for all 50 units on each of the 11 occupied floors (third through 13th floors).

Chris Dent, MMC assistant project manager, examines the ProPEX expansion fitting connections in the Radisson Blu hotel. Dent and his coworkers found that Uponor’s PEX piping shrink-to-fit fittings, the piping’s flexibility, and multiport tees made installation faster and easier.

“When you’re talking about 50 units on one floor, you can whip through it pretty fast with PEX and the multiport tees,” said Chris Dent, MMC assistant project manager. “The multiport tees also help save time by reducing the number of fittings required.”

Multiport tees are made of engineered polymer, a highly durable material that is resistant to corrosion and can withstand high temperatures and pressures. The multiport tees offer an ideal parallel piping fitting solution for hospitality and multifamily applications, and they require about 60-percent fewer connections compared with a piping system using traditional elbows and tees.

The fewer connections offered by the multiport tees not only save significant installation time, but they also reduce potential leak point liability. For a 506-room hotel, the fewer potential leak points, the better.

“With the experience we’ve had with the PEX pipe saving us a couple days of install time per floor, I know we’re going to be using it more and more in commercial plumbing applications in the future,” said Wolf. “It just makes sense.”

For more information, visit www.uponor-usa.com.

Atomatic Investment in High-Quality, U.S.-Made Wheatland Tube Pays Off

In 2015, Atomatic Mechanical Services won the bid to install a large chiller plant in a renovated office building in Chicago’s West Loop and chose Wheatland Tube pipe for nearly every part of the project. Atomatic knew that reliable, high-quality, domestic pipe is easier to weld then imported pipe and much less likely to deteriorate or cause leaks—so it would save Atomatic time both onsite and after installation. As expected, the system has had no leaks, which helped allow the chiller plant to become operational two weeks ahead of schedule.

Counting on Quality

The loft-style high-rise building, now known as the Gogo Building, is home to high-profile tenants such as Gogo, Twitter, and Uber. Atomatic used a total of 1,600 tons of Wheatland Tube cooling pipe in sizes ranging from 1/2” to 16”. The crew set up a pipe fabrication station onsite for cutting, threading, and welding and made more than 200 screwed joints. With eight pipefitters working six days a week, plus overtime, they completed the project in just five months.

Atomatic’s focus on total quality has always been the key to its success and steady growth. While other HVAC providers try to cut costs by using imported pipe, Atomatic remains loyal to high-quality domestic pipe from Wheatland Tube. “We’re growing because we put quality first and always use the best pipe,” said Nick LaMonto, construction manager at Atomatic. “That’s how we’re different from our competition. And I think our customers respect that. We do it right the first time, so they don’t need to call us back to fix leaks. They call us back for more new projects.”

“So we might spend a little more on materials by buying Wheatland pipe, but we make up the difference in labor savings during installation. It’s more than worth it.”

—Nick LaMonto, Construction Manager, Atomatic

Perils of Inferior Pipe

Because Wheatland Tube’s pipe is made of high-quality steel and does not have hard and soft spots, Atomatic finds it easier to work with onsite and much less prone to leaks than imported pipe, so it saves the contractor money and time overall.

LaMonto has seen a lot of pipe since he entered the industry nearly 30 years ago. He has seen the welding process cause inferior pipe to split along the seam and develop leaks. He has seen imported pipe deteriorate over the span of a year when exposed to the elements. And he has seen a substantial difference in quality when using pipe from Wheatland Tube, especially when welding, threading, or cutting Wheatland’s SureThread^™ continuous weld standard steel pipe.

“Import pipe acts funny sometimes when you weld and thread it, because the steel can be inconsistent,” LaMonto said. “But SureThread is made of quality steel, so it doesn’t have any hard and soft spots. It’s annealed during the manufacturing process, which makes it much easier to work with.”

LaMonto never gives quotes involving any other pipe, and he works with a supply house that keeps Wheatland Tube’s product well stocked. Occasionally, though, the supplier runs out, and Atomatic has to use imported pipe to meet a deadline. Such a situation happened recently, when Atomatic needed to install gas piping on a roof. Workers tried to use the imported pipe that the supplier provided but had such a hard time with the threading that they gave up and replaced all the pipe with product from Wheatland Tube when it was back in stock. Atomatic finished the job easily and knew the pipe would perform well for their customer.

By using Wheatland Tube pipes, “we do it right the first time, so they don’t need to call us back to fix leaks. They call us back for more new projects.”

—Nick LaMonto, Construction Manager, Atomatic

Higher Quality Means Lower Labor Costs

Because the team at Atomatic understands the quality difference between Wheatland pipe and imported pipe, they also understand the cost difference. Imported pipe is cheaper upfront but costs more in labor when workers have to recut inferior pipes, rethread or clean up uneven pipe ends, and fix leaks.

“We obviously want to be competitive and make a profit on every job, but we don’t want to use inferior product. Leaks are embarrassing and a pain to repair,” LaMonto said. “So we might spend a little more on materials by buying Wheatland pipe, but we make up the difference in labor savings during installation. It’s more than worth it.”

For more information, visit www.wheatland.com or call 800-257-8182.

With History of Success, John E. Green Selects Aquatherm PP-R Piping for School Expansion

John E. Green Co. of Highland, MI, cut labor and installation time by using Aquatherm’s polypropylene-random (PP-R) pipe systems for a 2013 project at the University of Detroit Jesuit High School and Academy (U of D Jesuit). The project went so well that when U of D Jesuit and John E. Green teams reconvened in 2014 to plan the school’s new science building, no other piping options were considered.

Past Success with Piping

U of D Jesuit’s chilled-water system features Armstrong pumps and Daikin air handling units, like the one seen here. To meet the construction schedule and save on labor costs, John E. Green had some sections of the new system fabricated at Aquatherm North America’s Lindon, UT, facility.

Aquatherm’s PP-R pipe systems played a key role in the success of the 2013 direct-bury water-source heat pump installation at U of D Jesuit. During that project, 4” Aquatherm Blue Pipe® was buried in an underground trench, serving as the supply and return piping that linked the campus’ boiler house to a 50,000-square-foot building that originally housed the school’s priests, but now serves as administrative space.

For that project, John E. Green provided design-build support. Bob Williams, director of plant operations at U of D Jesuit, worked closely with John E. Green’s Mark Bobrowski, senior mechanical engineer of preconstruction services and a U of D Jesuit alumnus.

The 2013 installation is leak-free. The pipes will not corrode or leach into the soil and are environmentally friendly. In fact, Aquatherm currently has the only piping systems in North America that can contribute directly to LEED v4 credits.

Science Wing Takes Flight

John E. Green installed Aquatherm Green Pipe for U of D Jesuit’s 45° F chilled-water application, keeping the building cool even on hot, humid days.

Construction of the new science wing began at the end of the 2015 school year, and the new building opened in time for the 2016–2017 school year. The four-story, 40,000-square-foot science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) center includes laboratories for robotics, chemistry, CAD, biology, and physics. It also houses U of D Jesuit’s Shell Eco-Car program.

The new STEM center is the largest addition to the campus since the main school building of the current campus was built in 1930. (The original high school was built in 1877.)

To condense installation time to meet the construction schedule and save on labor costs, some sections of the new chilled-water pipe system were fabricated at Aquatherm North America’s Lindon, UT, facility. With the fabrication assistance, Bobrowski noted, “we were able to maintain the schedule and budget by getting this work done efficiently.”

Because of their light weight compared with metal pipe, Aquatherm fabricated spools were carried manually to the roof without a mechanical assist. Tying Daikin air handling units and air-cooled scroll compressor chiller and Armstrong pumps together is Aquatherm SDR 7.4 Green Pipe® in 2″, 2 1/2″, 3″, and 4″ diameters.

“The more you do, the better you become. Toward the end, I really had a good handle on what to do and how to make a perfect fusion [with Aquatherm’s heat-fusion process], and there’s definitely a labor savings compared to welding steel pipe.”

—Josh Umphrey, Journeyman Pipefitter, John E. Green

Aquatherm is joined by heat fusion. The pipe and fitting are placed on a 400–500° F heating iron, then connected. This process bonds the pipe and fitting at the molecular level without the use of chemicals or mechanical connections and eliminates systematic weaknesses and fail-points. Once the installation was complete, the Aquatherm-required pressure test was performed using compressed air. There were no leaks.

Seeing Is Believing

Aquatherm trained and certified John E. Green’s Journeyman Pipefitter Josh Umphrey onsite to install Aquatherm piping. Although this was Umphrey’s first experience with Aquatherm, he was impressed.

“The more you do, the better you become,” Umphrey said. “Toward the end, I really had a good handle on what to do and how to make a perfect fusion, and there’s definitely a labor savings compared to welding steel pipe.”

He added that there is a tendency to be skeptical when a product almost seems “too good to be true.”

“Most of us tradesmen in the field are ‘I’ll-believe-it-when-I-see-it’ types,” said Umphrey. “But I will say that after going through the process and the pressure test, I’m more than comfortable installing and recommending Aquatherm pipe.”

The chilled-water Aquatherm Green Pipe in hangers on the rooftop of U of D Jesuit’s new STEM center required protection from ultraviolet rays because it is exposed to sunlight.

Safe and Efficient

Bobrowski recommended and specified Aquatherm for the project’s chilled-water piping system because it is corrosion-resistant and will not scale. No hot work permits are needed because Aquatherm’s heat-fusion technique poses virtually no fire hazards. Additionally, no solder or glues are used that could wear or corrode the pipe.

Because Aquatherm is so light, installers can move faster without the risk of injury that often accompanies metal pipe, saving on labor costs. The pipe’s light weight also eliminates the need for extra heavy-duty hangers. Finally, joining the PP-R pipe via heat fusion speeds up the welding process, saving even more on labor costs.

“I think it was a good deal for U of D Jesuit and a good experience for John E. Green,” Bobrowski said. He called Aquatherm’s PP-R piping “a great new product” and anticipated using Aquatherm piping on future jobs.

Most importantly, the customer is pleased. “When [Bobrowski] first introduced the Aquatherm pipe to us, I liked its insulation properties and the speed of putting it together,” Williams said. “On [the 2013] job, the team had budgeted for the trench to be uncovered—and an excavator operator required onsite at his hourly rate—for eight or nine days. The Aquatherm installation only took six days. If we had put steel or welded pipe in, it would have taken a lot longer and increased costs dramatically.

On the roof of the new STEM center, John E. Green paired Aquatherm’s Green Pipe with a 142-ton Daikin air-cooled scroll compressor chiller. Because of their light weight compared with metal pipe, Aquatherm fabricated spools were carried manually to the roof without a mechanical assist.

“So when John E. Green wanted to bring it in on this other project, I was all for it,” Williams continued. “On this project, we again appreciated the inherent insulating properties of the Aquatherm pipe, and we can bill this as a green product. Even though we’re not building a totally green building, we’re able to boast a bit about what we are doing here.”

For more information, visit www.aquatherm.com.

Parker Hannifin’s ZoomLock Braze-Free Fittings Allow Davis Mechanical to Fix Refrigerant Line Leak Fast

To repair a refrigerant leak in the computer room of an office tower tenant, Davis Mechanical Service, Inc. turned to Parker Hannifin Corporation’s ZoomLock™ Braze-Free Fittings, avoiding the need to use a torch or get a burn permit. As a result, Davis Mechanical completed the whole repair in less than an hour and with minimal disruption to the client.

No Time for Downtime

The AXA Towers are among the tallest buildings in Syracuse, NY, and have been iconic fixtures in the city’s skyline since Tower II’s completion in 1973. Recently, one of the AXA Towers’ tenants experienced a R-410A refrigerant liquid line leak in their computer room’s variable refrigerant flow (VRF) system, caused by aging joints coming apart. Originally, these lines were held together with a complex, expensive glue and a pinching press that has, over time, started to loosen.

Keeping servers online and accessible is crucial to a company’s operations. Thus, the tenant required immediate assistance to patch the leak. With the leak’s proximity to their computer system and data center, conventional brazing was out of the question.

“We had to do it in such a manner that caused minimal disruption and maintained cool temperatures,” said Davis Mechanical President Chris Geatrakas. “And because of the location of the leak, we could not easily bring in a brazing torch to repair the leak in a conventional manner.” A portable temporary air conditioning unit was set in place to maintain temperatures as repairs were performed.

Fast and Fire-Free

To tackle these challenges, Davis Mechanical employed ZoomLock Braze-Free Fittings. ZoomLock’s innovative design features a crimping tool to join copper tubes without brazing equipment. Also, ZoomLock fittings are leak-proof, and workers can repeat the joining process faster with ZoomLock than with brazing.

By avoiding brazing tools with ZoomLock, Davis Mechanical was able to make the necessary repairs without having to acquire a burn permit, disable the building’s fire suppression systems, or hire a firewatcher during the job.

“We removed the refrigerant from the line, cut the line, cut the bad piece out, and ZoomLock-repaired the leaking line in a very short time,” Geatrakas said. “We evacuated the system of air, opened valves up, and got them up and running in less than an hour.”

A study by Jay Peters, principal advisor of Codes and Standards International, compared the time required to join refrigeration tube of various sizes by brazing to the time required to join identical copper tubing with ZoomLock fittings. Using ZoomLock saved time at each size; joining went from 31 percent faster with the smallest fittings to 77 percent faster with the largest fittings. While the time needed for traditional brazing increased with each size by a significant margin—35 seconds for 1/4″, 42 seconds for 5/8″, and 75 seconds for 1 1/8″—the difference in installation time between ZoomLock’s smallest fitting and largest fitting was just one second—24 seconds at 1/4″ and 25 seconds at 1 1/8″. And most importantly for Davis Mechanical’s needs, ZoomLock requires no torch, making it a perfect fit for the job and more efficient than traditional solutions.

The quick, torch-free installation of ZoomLock fittings saved time for Davis Mechanical and ensured that they would not compromise computer systems in the affected area. “No lost data, no lost downtime,” Geatrakas noted. “It made our work much easier, cost the customer less, and made us look good.”

For more information, visit www.zoomlock.com. MCAA thanks Parker for being a supporter of MCAA 2017.