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Rusty and Randy Tigges, co-owners of R&R Septic Services of Carroll, Iowa built a profitable business niche—fast.

R&R uses the JM-1000 Mini-Jet, a compact, powerful water jet from General Pipe Cleaners, to service and clean modular wastewater treatment installations.

Decentralized modular septic systems like AdvanTex are becoming more common in rural areas not served by municipal-style treatment plants—including housing subdivisions, apartments, golf courses, RV parks, campgrounds and more.

Rusty Tigges says that the Mini-Jet’s hose and nozzle are the perfect size to clean pipes and orifices of a modular septic system filter pod. And since R&R offers fixed-price septic maintenance contracts, work productivity remains key to profitability.

“Most septic maintenance guys use a bottle brush at the end of fish tape—too slow and slipshod for us,” he adds. “But our JM-1000 Mini-Jet does a faster, more reliable job!”

More Installations In Less Time

The compact, lightweight, electric-powered JM-1000 Mini-Jet—smallest in General’s popular gas and electric powered Jet-Set water jets—is excellent for clearing sludge, sediment, grease, and ice from small, 1-1/2 to 3 inch lines, up to 50 feet long.

With 1500 psi of raw cleaning power, General’s powerful little water jet hits soft stoppages with wall-to-wall high-pressure water—and flushes them away.

“General’s nozzle head design really helps negotiate the twists and turns of septic system pipes, Randy says. “And it’s far more thorough than hand-cleaning with a bottle brush.”

JM-1000 Mini-Jet performance also offers R&R the speed and reliability to service multiple septic installations in a shorter period of time.

“It’s definitely improved our productivity and profitability,” Rusty smiles. “When doing several systems a day, just one technician can knock a half-hour off each job with the JM-1000. And that really helps.”

Portability & Pulse Technology Aid Productivity

Pulse technology helps slide the hose around tight bends and farther down lines. It breaks the initial tension between the hose surface and pipe walls, increasing cleaning power. And it separates General’s Jet-Set from ordinary pressure washers.

Rusty Tigges likes the Mini-Jet’s compact size, too.

As large as a typical toolbox, the JM-1000 Mini-Jet’s rugged, diamond plate metal case containing pump and motor assemblies measures just 24” L x 10-1/2” D x 11” H. At just 23 lb, it’s easy-to- carry—making it perfect for one-person operation.

Including servicing septic system installations. “With the right knack, one technician can go seamlessly from pipe to pipe on an AdvanTex filter pod,” he says. “It works pretty slick!”

Equipment Arsenal Built From Trust

Performance like that also lets R&R use the JM-1000 Mini-Jet on a range of inside drain cleaning jobs.

Rubber feet on the carrying case help protect delicate counter tops in kitchens and baths. It also sports key safety features—like a sensor to shut-off the motor if water stops flowing, and a 3-wire Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter.

“Trust in our tools is very important for daily operations,” says Rusty Tigges. “And General has a great reputation for making highest quality tools.”

Mickelson Plumbing & Heating, Missoula, Montana, specializes in plumbing, HVAC and boiler service, and high-efficiency systems.

Starting his own business out of necessity, or perhaps the illusion of it, Andy Mickelson (@mick_plumb) launched Mickelson Plumbing & Heating New Year’s Day, 2011. I guess you could say it’s all part of Mickelson’s fabric and mental make-up—there is no end result other than success. “I am a terrible loser; I hate not winning daily,” says Mickelson.

Turning the clock back to where it all began, Mickelson was eight years old when he got his taste of real hard work, helping out his father, a remodeling contractor. “It was easy to have my brothers and me helping out, and at that time, we were eager to get dirty and learn how to build things, and THAT has never stopped,” says Mickelson.

Soaking up knowledge whenever he had the chance, Mickelson has had many great mentors in his first shop, and the UA produces an incredible brotherhood of knowledgeable folks. “Dick Darne was one of the Journeyman that I learned the most from; he had a hip replacement, and a few weeks later I began my service career, carrying his tool bag and being his hands in the field when he couldn’t. All I had to do was listen to directions and retain the methods of his madness. The troubleshooting tactics I learned in a roundabout way were invaluable.”

Today’s Landscape

Nearly 10 years after venturing on his own, who could’ve ever foreseen the situation we are faced with today? “The first quarter was one of the best we’ve ever seen, but April produced only 68% of the average business produced in the first three months of the year,” says Mickelson.

Thankfully, Montana has seen fewer COVID-19 cases than the rest of the country, and the state has re-opened for business. But that’s not to say Mickelson isn’t taking the necessary PPE precautions, and Mickelson is screening all customers at this time. “For the most part, we are not taking on work that can be postponed.”

In general, needless to say, Mickelson loves what he does—creating solutions for his customers. “Service work allows me to do that several times a day. It’s a good thing.”

But thinking of going out on your own? A heavily-involved Boy Scout leader, Mickelson suggests taking its motto to heart—Be Prepared. “Plan, Plan, Plan. There are fantastic resources available to help people prepare to start a business. USE THEM! Also, you have to answer the simple question, am I ready to be a business owner first and a plumber second? If yes, then proceed. If no, rethink the approach get your mind right. Businesses hire good plumbers, not the other way around.”

And those who are thinking of getting into the trades? “Do it, unless you have a better plan that actually pays,” says Mickelson, but he stresses that we need to kill the stigma that the trades are all about hard work. Concerning to Mickelson, those who discourage others from entertaining the idea of becoming a tradesman based on the work being too tough or man’s work. “Anyone who indulges in this tactic is merely afraid of their own deficiencies and nervous about being replaced by someone who may work smarter or harder.”

Sure, there are aspects that are hard, continues Mickelson, but with continued education and exerting oneself, reaching a higher level of employment in the trades is a real possibility. Good work ethics and attitude are noticed—one may not hear about it—but it doesn’t go unnoticed. And, share the knowledge others have shared with you. “I have always found that it is far easier to share knowledge with a willing listener than it is to intentionally with hold it,” says Mickelson.

Mickelson’s career has afforded him a good life with his wife and two kids. “Family time is my favorite. Second would be exercising my 2nd Amendment rights. Both of which usually occur outdoors.”

Yet balancing work/family life is a careful endeavor for Mickelson. “It’s really easy for family to take a back seat and be lost in the hustle. I traditionally try to make sure that work is done during the day and that my ‘Night Shift’ doesn’t start until everyone has begun to wind down for the night. All in all, business has taught me to use my time efficiently, and set priorities, Family, friends, money, seems to be a good flow.

All in all, waking up every day is a blessing for Mickelson. “I’ve told my kids for years that they are the only person who can make their day a bad day, so go into battle and aim for a great day, and worst-case scenario it’ll be OK.”

One of Pennsylvania’s oldest and largest school districts has opted for advanced technology to solve an age-old problem: precise temperature control for domestic hot water, installed for pragmatic reasons and as a valuable “insurance policy.”

The Bethlehem Area School District (BASD) has been around since the 1920s. The sixth largest school district in Pennsylvania, BASD covers more than 40 square miles and has 14,000 students enrolled throughout 22 schools, including two high schools, four middle schools, and 16 elementary schools.

The school buildings, dating back nearly 100 years, have seen their fair share of mechanical systems. The latest: mechanical mixing valves that have far outlived their lifespan.

According to one of BASD’s full-time master plumbers, Scott Yandrasitz—in 2010, the district managers dove headfirst into an effort to modernize plumbing and mechanical systems throughout the century-old school district, beginning with the building of their first green-certified school.

Supervisors of facilities at Bethlehem Area School District say, “Just because we’re an old school district doesn’t mean we can’t have the latest and most advanced technology.” BASD’s modernizing effort snowballed from there.

In August 2018, the district’s manufacturers’ rep for all things mechanical—Warminster, Pa.-based Vernon Bitzer—came through with an ultra-modern solution for the buildings’ outdated domestic water mixing valves.

“The old systems were leaking and deteriorating,” said Vernon Bitzer’s Dick Filer (recently retired). “They had far outlived their lifespan.”

“At the beginning of each week, when we’d walk into the mechanical room, we’d check the systems and the temperatures had always drifted several degrees,” added Yandrasitz. “We wanted a solution that would be something similar to what we already had, but we needed a solution that would be precise, reliable, and would also eliminate the need for routine maintenance.”

“The old systems had too many moving parts,” said Carlo Angelone, another BASD master plumber. Invariably, there was always something to deal with.  “Each school’s domestic water system had two mixing valves: one for high flow and one for low,” he noted. “By their nature, the many moving parts were prone to challenge, and as they aged, we were faced with the need for constant maintenance and repair.”

Catch 22

According to Filer, facility managers are typically caught in a mechanical systems Catch 22: turning down domestic water storage temps ensures reduced risk of scalding, yet greatly increases the risk of germ proliferation—including the infamous legionella bacteria, the source of Legionnaires’ Disease. Yet, bumping up storage temperatures increases the risk of scalding.

Filer’s suggestion was the Powers IntelliStation® Jr.—a Watts brand product for smart digital water mixing and recirculation.  The technology would give facility managers the precise temperature control they wanted and also integration with BAS to allow remote monitoring and control.

The IntelliStation Jr.’s sanitization mode addresses waterborne bacteria while a programming schedule for the set-back of temperature improves energy efficiency when the building is unoccupied. It controls water temperature to a +/- 2°F for enhanced safety, prevents overnight creep, and automatically balances the hot water distribution system during low-to-zero demand periods—all ideal features for a school building application.

Yandrasitz and Angelone, along with the district’s master electrician, Chad DePaolis, and Bitzer’s Filer, presented the solution to the supervisor of facilities, who approved their plan enthusiastically.

First digital mixing upgrade

Eager to test out the new technology from Watts, BASD plumbers installed the first IntelliStation Jr. in Freemansburg Elementary School—which, up until that point, had the greatest number of repairs.

With three master plumbers and three master electricians employed by BASD, they were able to avoid outsourcing the work to contracting firms.

Having in-house resources for quality installation and maintenance was a substantial advantage, but they quickly learned that ease of installation and commissioning, and operational reliability were the decisive factors. All the experts agreed:  digital mixing valves would become an answer to many of the challenges they faced, district-wide.

“I believe that, in five years, digital mixing valves will be predominant,” said Vernon Bitzer’s David Steele, who took over Richard Filer’s role of working with BASD after his retirement. “I think they’ll be predominantly used for their ease of maintenance, accuracy, and flexibility in today’s age of low flow fixtures.

“Digital mixing will most likely migrate from the water heater to other items,” he continued.“ There will be smarter technology for many items throughout the plumbing system. We’re proud to be a Watts rep and are clearly devoted to our future with IOT.”

Plan for the future

According to Yandrasitz and Angelone, BASD managers recently received three more IntelliStation Jr. systems now slated for installation. For the 2018 budget submittal, they stated the need to purchase three more of the systems for 2019.  And in ’99, they requested more for 2020.

“The way I see it,” said Yandrasitz, “we’ll continue budgeting for them at three or more a year. We have at least 20 schools that will need them, and the improvements have won the admiration of senior managers without fail.”

“Less maintenance and greater accuracy of water storage and distribution temperature control—this is just what we need for our schools,” he said. “There are other advantages to digital mixing, including the ease with which we’ve been able to disconnect the old mechanical mixing systems and to install and commission the new digital mixing technology.  When the control is in place, connected and online, we simply set the new temperature parameters, and the computer controls everything, regardless of the level of water use and flow.”

An electrician’s friend, too . . .

DePaolis, says the IntelliStation Jr. meets his exact requirements. “The system is an incredibly easy hook-up to electricity and to building management systems. It’s user-friendly and there’s no maintenance for me once it’s in and operational.”

BASD’s second IntelliStation Jr. was installed in Calypso Elementary School in February 2019.

Lack of complaint calls–no lack of hot water

According to several members of the installation team, if a school doesn’t have hot water, complaint calls and emails come in from everywhere—from administrators, teachers, and parents. That means team members receive urgent calls and texts from administrators, and those can be unpleasant.

“Since installing the new digital mixing valves, we haven’t received a single complaint call for hot water loss,” said Yandrasitz. “That’s a good thing. And it’s one of the measures of success for us, that’s for sure.

“The more important assurances we’ve had with the successful operation of the digital mixing systems have been reliable operation and easy control of the domestic water system storage and delivery temperatures,” he concluded. “We know we made the right decision. We’ll have more orders for the technology soon.”

Let’s just get to this right from the start. What initially was meant to be an insult, Danielle “Twig” Browne (@thelittlestplumber) got the nickname from her high school rugby team. “I was lanky and my muscle hadn’t come in. I was the thinnest on the team but had been playing since I was 10 so I was more advanced than the other girls. One girl didn’t take kindly to the new girl being good, and popped the name ‘twiggy’ on me,” says Browne. The nickname has stuck with this Newfoundland, Canada plumber for most of her life. “There are a large majority of people on my island who don’t know my actual name, even my mom calls me Twig.”

But don’t let her physical stature fool you; she’s been kicking ass for years now. For the past nine years, she has been a facilities management plumber—specializing in plumbing service and maintenance—for the Canadian government, stationed at the Memorial University of Newfoundland. “The area where I shine is diagnostics and repairs of plumbing systems new and old,” boasts Browne.

Needing a job right out of high school, and college didn’t feel like the right move, Twig started in the automotive field. “To be honest, I’m not sure I even knew trade schools existed,” says Browne. “So, I applied to work on cars, and the boss took a liking to me and put me in the garage right away.” Twig loved the garage for the first couple of years, but eventually got bored into years three and four. It was then that she had heard about trade schools and she knew she wanted to stay in a mechanical career. “I looked through a college course booklet and thought ‘plumbing sounds cool.’”

When Twig finished her pre-employment “Plumber” classes in college, she was encouraged by her instructor to enter into a trade competition Skills Canada, which has grown exponentially since. Among the three trades schools entered, Twig won 1st place against both schools. “Shortly after, my first boss contacted my instructor because he wanted to meet ‘that girl that won,” and I haven’t been without a job in this trade since.

When asked about her image as a trailblazer for women, Twig was modest in her reply. “As the first female plumber in my province, I’ve been called a trailblazer, but I’ve never really considered myself one; I’ve always just seen myself as a plumber. Even when people refer to me as a female plumber, I never get the need to add the gender. I’m a plumber.”

However, leading by example is something Twig’s always been focused on. “It is so important to prove myself to the world every day. From the naysayers who have a preconceived idea of what I’m capable of, to the young girls out there who think they wouldn’t make it in the trades, I want my work to change stubborn minds and build confidence.”

Of course, Twig has encountered her share baseless stigmas from the first day on the jobsite when some of the guys buried her tools with a backhoe to present day on site, as well as online. “Just recently I spoke with a 4^th-year apprentice online and he made an unprovoked remark that he was shocked when he realized I knew more. Or was better than him? I knew he was trying to compliment me, but I still wanted to ask him why he was shocked that a certified plumber who has been in the trade for 12 years longer than him, was better. He admitted he didn’t really think that way about the more senior men in our trade. It’s called subconscious bias, we all have it. He in no way meant his comment to be malicious, and I didn’t take it that way. But somehow, in his mind, he was automatically better with tools than me.

“Gender roles and strengths are instilled in a lot of people in many different careers. This happens all the time, so it never affects me anymore, I just like to get a healthy conversation going about it. I will say this, far more people are welcoming than not. The people that refuse progress are definitely on a sinking ship.”

Nevertheless, in recruiting and recognizing women in the trades, according to Twig, there’s a very strong chance you are going to need to work twice as hard for half of the recognition. “You’ll learn very quickly that pats on the back don’t pay your bills. Show up every day, wear your PPE, work hard, and never stop educating yourself. If there is one aspect of the trade that makes you nervous, that’s the one you should be focusing on.”

Twig can thank her mother for shaping her into the person she is today. Born with several physical disabilities, Twig’s mother has never once made an excuse for herself. “She worked hard and received an education, started her career as a Human Rights investigator, and raised two daughters as a single mother. I know she is in pain 24/7 but she never mentions it. She is a boss in every way.”

As for a professional mentor, Twig has had a few but her old lead hand Charlie stands out. “What a pain in my ass. Charlie didn’t think I could do much when he first met me, and I didn’t take kindly to that when I was younger and more hard headed. We got into many screaming matches, which always ended up in him throwing a job at me that he didn’t think I could handle,” says Browne. It took some time but she eventually proved herself to him, and to this day, when he comes back for seasonal work, he picks me—out of a handful of other plumbers—to be his work partner. “He is still a pain in my ass though, haha.”

Overall, the plumbing trade has been very fulfilling, and “the satisfaction of working with my hands has been incredibly rewarding,” says Browne. Yet, helping people has always been Twig’s satisfaction No. 1. “There is no better feeling for me than seeing the relief on somebody’s face who, moments before, was so stressed out.”

Getting Personal

Unbeknownst to many, Twig used to be quite competitive at rugby, and it has been a huge passion over the years. “I played for 20 years and was once selected to team Canada’s long list, and, of course, I promptly broke my ankle as soon as I made that list. The sport has taken me all over the world as a player and spectator. It’s a phenomenal sport and lifestyle if you’re interested in the world and the people in it.”

But these days, spending quality “spare time” is a work in progress for Twig. “This whole COVID-19 pandemic has really shown me that for the last decade I haven’t really made spare time for myself. It’s been all about work, which I love. But now that work has slowed, I am finding myself lost. I use to love painting and Judo. Seeing how close contact martial arts are probably looked down upon during a pandemic, I’ll probably pick up some watercolors and see what happens.”

And balancing work and family life is something that Twig is working on, as well. “My partner is a nurse and we both have very busy work schedules. We try to make date nights or games nights with friends at least once or twice a month. Hikes with the dog, when we can fit them in, are great as well.

Just last weekend Twig was tearing apart her dilapidated front porch; the weather was gorgeous for a change. After not making a lot of progress on it, her friends from hockey called and asked her to join them on a hike. “I almost said no because I really needed to get at the deck. But I went and it was exactly what the doctor ordered—friends, the East Coast and cliff trails overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. Afterward, we had a beer in their backyard and just shared a laugh. The deck will be done by 2022, I promise.”

Speaking of friendships, social media, especially Instagram, has been an incredible outlet for Twig, socially and professionally. “Growing up on an island is amazing in so many ways, but I was missing out on meeting people and friends who could teach me more about my trade, show me the newest technologies and tools. But mostly I was missing out on the amazing community of plumbers Instagram has. I can honestly say I have met some of my favorite people from that app.”

Danielle “Twig” Browne is a girl done good. Hard working, strong minded and proud of who she is and where she came from, “I’m a very proud Canadian. I can confidently say majority of people in this country want the best for each other, and have the same core values. I couldn’t really tell you if it’s in our blood or if it’s just our great beer.”