Pfister® Faucets continues its celebrated docuseries, hosted by country music star and Army Reserve soldier Craig Morgan, spotlighting real-life stories of plumbers’ successes and the individual approaches that enabled them to achieve their dreams through a career in plumbing.

Pfister® Faucets, a trailblazer in the plumbing industry, proudly announces the launch of the fifth season of their docuseries, American Plumber Stories. Over the past four seasons, this series has captivated audiences nationwide, showcasing the inspiring stories of plumbers who have overcome challenges to pursue their dreams in the plumbing trade.

Season 5 will present perspectives from plumbing experts in Australia, Alaska, Canada, Hawaii, and California, shedding light on the common challenges faced by plumbers worldwide. For the first time, the show has ventured outside the United States, creating great excitement about reaching an international audience—especially the next generation of plumbers.

Craig Morgan Returns for Season 5 

Country music star and Army Reserve soldier Craig Morgan will return as the show’s charismatic host. Craig’s authentic passion and profound connection to the stories of tradespeople make him the ideal guide on this journey of discovery and inspiration.

“This year, Pfister’s American Plumber Stories is heading to my second home state of Alaska and beyond, and five seasons in, it remains an honor to share these stories of inspiring men and women on the frontline of the worldwide plumbing trade,” Craig Morgan shared.

Strong Alliance Partners and New Partnerships

Three new partners joined forces with American Plumber Stories for Season 5. The International Code Council, NIBCO and AprilAire will help expand the reach of the series to their sizable audiences in the US and around the world. They are joining the ranks of industry leaders RIDGID, Cintas, Oatey, and the PHCC in this important mission.

“NIBCO partnering with American Plumber Stories was a natural fit, as we are committed to supporting and elevating the plumbing industry,” said Ashley Martin, president and COO, NIBCO. “The U.S. is in critical need of the next generation of plumbers. This show is helping to engage young men and women in an authentic way to help change the perception and inspire successful and fulfilling careers in the plumbing trades.”

Beyond the Boundaries

Season 5 tracks down some interesting plumbers around the world.

1. Maui–Arecently retired plumber lost his house and everything he owned in the Lahaina fire disaster. The set-back motivates his son Raymond to recruit the next generation of plumbers to help build Lahaina back.
2. Australia– Martin is the “Crocodile Dundee” of the plumbing industry in Tasmania. He specializes in servicing remote locations that he reaches by helicopter and small “bush” planes.
3. Alaska– In this episode we explore the beauty of Alaska and what it’s like for Bill to work as a plumber in an extreme climate.
4. Vancouver Island, B.C.– This episode tells the inspirational story of Mary Anne who employs an all-female team of plumbers. Her 100K+ social media followers know her as @the_ladyplumber. Discover why she is a role model to tradeswomen.
5. Salinas, CA– Plumber Instructor Jorge helps rehabilitate inmates by teaching them the plumbing trade in the Soledad State Prison. We have an open discussion with the warden on why this approach works so well.
6. Victorville, CA– Meet the Motherflushers. They are young and passionate about plumbing and have changed the perception via social media– well beyond the borders of the United States.

For more information and to watch the new episodes of American Plumber Stories, please visit www.americanplumberstories.com.

Interested plumbers who would like to share their own story can do so here: www.americanplumberstories.com/pages/i-am-an-american-plumber.

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When she was young, Sara Mazin moved around a lot. That’s because her family wanted the best opportunities for her that she coundn’t have in a third-world country. Born in Mauritania, North Africa, and after just one month, Mazin initially moved to Berwyn, Ill. and lived there until she was 16. She moved across the country to Irvine, Calif. to live with her sister so she could have a fresh start, and graduate high school.

As a young adult, Sara entered the trades by completing nine months at the now closed WyoTech College in Long Beach, focusing on the plumbing trades. Right after finishing the program, at the age of 19, Mazin was hired as a plumbing apprentice at Rescue Rooter Riverside. “I was bored, frankly,” says Mazin. “But by the time I worked my way up to plumbing service tech after six months, that’s when I fell in love with the trade.”

Working for the company was a good experience, but Mazin felt it was too big for her so she looked for a smaller company to work for where she could continue to learn, and have more opportunities. Mazin spent eight years with Kalka Plumbing Heating and Air as a plumbing service technician and field supervisor before she left to start her own company—Sara’s Best Plumbing, Orange County, Calif. Some two short years later, Sara runs a successful plumbing service and repair company with five employees.

You see Sara is a fast riser. What started as digging trenches, Sara worked her way up to the top, becoming a licensed Master Plumber. “When I realized I had that really strong passion for the trade, I had a vision to build a company that would impact not only my family, but other families throughout the plumbing trade and industry,” says Mazin.

Sara started Sara’s Best Plumbing in 2022, and early on, “I was extremely nervous to get the phone to ring,” says Mazin. “At first, I reached out and networked with everyone I knew. I focused on developing my online platforms—Instagram, facebook, Yelp, TikTok—to reach as many people as I could. I also focused on registering as a certified contractor with all the major manufacturers in the plumbing industry.”

Mentoring and Moving Forward

Mazin has gained such an admiration for the trades over the years. “I have so much respect and appreciation for the trade. There is literally nothing that I do not like about the trade,” she says.

Mazin recalls some of her mentors to help her get to where she is today. Thomas Gillespie, former plumbing manager at Kalka Plumbing and current GM at NexGen, taught Sara a lot of the sales and service and side of the industry. Kevin Kalka, owner of Kalka Plumbing really taught Sara a lot about the trade and plumbing. And lastly, Sara’s brother Abdul and sister Amna are mentors and role models in both business and life.

Loving the the problem-solving side of the trade and being able to solve problems for her clients, Sara absolutely considers herself a mentor. “I love leading by example, and passing on my knowledge and experience. I have always done that with my previous coworkers and now my employees at Sara’s Best Plumbing. I wish I was more of a mentor to women and would love that opportunity,” says Mazin.

And while Sara welcomes the role of mentoring for women, “I think the industry needs to be more diverse in bringing more minorities to leadership roles. They, in turn, can be role models for more people,” says Mazin. “It is really hard being what you haven’t seen. Meaning, we need more women/minorities in roles of leadership to open up more opportunities.”

In her “spare” time, Sara likes to be active: go on hikes, workout and trying any new activities. To decompress, she enjoys listening to music, cooking, and watching Netflix. Her bucket list items include 1) Going on a Safari in Africa 2) Sitting courtside at an NBA Game and 3) Visiting Italy or Fiji.

And while every day Sara is thankful everyday for the opportunities given to her, the last time she said “Today is a great day, ‘It was on the 4th of July when I got to spend time and hang out with my family eating BBQ’d and watching fireworks.’”

Bob Pagano, CEO, Watts

North Andover, Mass.—Watts Water Technologies celebrated its 150-year anniversary in style this past week as nearly 300 past and current employees, trade press and local dignitaries gathered to celebrate the long-continued success of the company. Keynotes from Chris Jameison, Senior Vice President and General Manager, and Bob Pagano, CEO, and a special presentation from Tim Horne, Director Emeritus, Watts Water Technologies kicked off the event.

The goal for Watts moving forward—to paraphrase Jameison— is to “improve comfort, safety and quality of life” for its customers. Pagano echoed that sentiment emphasizing safety, water conservation and energy efficiency as key tenets for the company.

Tim Horne

Horne regaled the audience of stories of his great grandfather breaking ground, mock home explosions and company growth. What started as a $15,000 investment with the purchase of the company from Joseph E. Watts, a machinist who emigrated to Lawrence, Mass., by Burchard Everett “B.E.” Horne, the company grew exponentially over the years due to expansion through acquisitions, and innovations such as the introduction of the T&P relief valve and entering the backflow market among others, for example. The company stayed in the Horne family for three generations where it is now in good hands, run capably by current CEO Pagano. The company is now worth more than $2+ Billion. Yes, that’s with a B. “Anniversaries are actually more about the future than the past,” says Horne.

The trade media experienced cutting-edge technologies with access to six stations manned by Watts/Bradley experts in what was called the 2024 New Innovations Tour.

Phil Jagelski, Senior Technical Instructor and Instructional Designer, Bradley/Watts gives a tour of the Bradvan, while showing Bradley’s Eyewash Station, wash basin, and an impenetrable storage locker, for example.

Oh, before all of that, media members were granted an exclusive tour of one of the “Bradvans,” one of six of Bradley Corp.’s mobile units that traverses the United States. Backstory, Watts acquired Bradley—a veteran manufacturer of commercial washroom and emergency safety solutions, serving the commercial and industrial end markets for more than 100 years—in 2023.

Three vans feature Bradley commercial, more architectural products, while the other three vans feature Bradley’s Safety Industrial Solutions such as the Halo Swing Activated Faucet Eyewash.

Stop 1 saw the future for Watts technology in its Nexa intelligent water management system. Coming very soon, this sensing technology empowers building owners and operators with unmatched insight and control, improving system efficiency, mitigating the risk of water damage, and conserving water and energy to provide the best occupant experience possible.

Stop 2 on the Innovation Tour featured Watts’ Smart Strainer, which prevents suspended particles and debris from damaging downstream equipment. Integrated differential pressure monitoring proactively alerts users to pressure drops, helping to prevent system damage, avoid downtime, and ensure consistent flow.

Nate Kogler talk about Bradley’s Commercial Washroom and Emergency Safety and Industrial Solutions.

Stop 3 was the inclusion of Bradley products, which featured The Elvari™ Collection of  washroom accessories seamlessly blends style and substance for a modern, commercial washroom experience. The Halo™ Swing Activated Faucet Eyewash space-saving design combines best-in-class critical safety equipment for swift emergency response. Elegance meets efficiency with the Verge® with WashBar® WB2 1-Station, providing a touchless, all-in-one solution for washing, rinsing, and drying hands.

The Verge with touchless WashBar WB2 1-Station is so slick, and it just makes sense—clean, rinse and dry your hands all in one place.

Shashwat Nath demos the Intellidation 2.

Stop 4 featured the The IntelliStation® 2 loT-enabled Digital Mixing Valve, which offers significantly improved performance over traditional thermostatic mixing valves, ensuring consistent water temperatures in low and high-demand situations. IntelliStation 2 seamlessly integrates with Nexa for enhanced system insight and control and comes available in pre-piped
configurations for unique installations.

Stop 5 a highly unique investment of Ultra High-Purity Piping (UHP), which offers clean room piping for ROID, manufacturing, and cooling processes. Molded from highly-durable Kynar® PVDF resin, all piping is made-to-order in North America, ensuring short lead times for faster system build-outs.

Stop 6, the last stop on the Innovation Tour, featured Leak Defense’s BuildAlert™ product, which provides 24/7 job site leak protection, providing protection against flooding even when you’re offsite. With remote monitoring and control, you can prevent costly water damage claims and avoid project delays.

I was talking the other day with my buddy who lives northern Wisconsin on the topic heat pump water heaters (HPWHs). You see, he is in the market for a water heater and was asking my advice on those particular units. Wanting to know more myself, I pulled up some info and the more in-depth I got, the more I wanted to know. Cold weather performance, special ducting, size of mechanical space, accessibility to air, cooling and conditioning of adjacent space are all very important topics of discussion.

But, wait a minute, I thought to myself, I can use some of my “superpowers” as an editor in the trades these past 20+ years to ask people who are more in the know about HPWH than me.

I recently reached out to few people I trust to give me honest assessments of these units.

Advantage Heat Pump Water Heaters

According to Eric Aune, Aune Plumbing, Heating & Drains, there has been a ton of marketing to the public, and even more incentives for installation. “Local utilities are offering rebates upwards of $2-3K in some places, and here in Minnesota, we aren’t seeing rebates that high but it’s clear why the rebates are offered—because its lowering and spreading the load on the grid over longer periods at lower consumption rates. The utilities are trying to stay in front of or (most likely) catch up to the growing demand and stress on the grids all across the country. HPWH’s are one piece to the puzzle.”

John Siegenthaler, P.E., Appropriate Designs, gives three bona fide advantages for HPWHs: One, they are excellent for capturing “surplus heat” (e.g., heat that’s present but not generated by another heat source for the purpose of warming the space). For example, solar heat gain to a garage, or heat generated by computer servers. Two, when properly applied, they can generate a given amount of DHW on about 1/3 the electrical input required by a standard “resistance type” electric water heater (tank or tankless). And three, some models are available that can operate on 120 VAC power, whereas all electric resistance water heaters require 240 VAC power.

But in Cold Climates?

But are these units considered more inefficient the more you climb the northern latitudes to colder climates? “Although heat pump water heaters are often placed in unconditioned spaces such as garages in southern locations, it would be a big mistake to do so in a cold northern climate where outside temperatures are below the minimum operating air temperature for the HPWH for weeks or months during winter,” says Siegenthaler. “The heating performance of any air source heat pump—ductless, central, air-to-water, HPWH, always decreases with decreasing air temperature—Putting any water heater in a cold space is not recommended. Standby heat loss would definitely increase.”

HPWHs have minimum air flow requirements, especially if placed in confined spaces, adds Siegenthaler. The I/O manual supplied with the unit should give all these requirements. “Some units allow ducting of outside air to the heat pump assembly on top of the tank, but I would only use this option in a relatively warm climate.  Using ducted outside air also foregoes the cooling and dehumidifying benefit of the HPWH,” says Siegenthaler.

Living in Minnesota, Aune says, “HPWH’s capture/transfer the heat in the space surrounding them to the tank of water. When you talk about this here in Minnesota, it’s common for people to consider this inefficient since the we have to heat with a boiler or furnace, so aren’t we running our space heating system to provide heat for the water heater?

“The reality is the HPWH is able to capture and transfer a lot of energy without major negative effects on the conditioning and comfort of the space with a few considerations like ducting the less humid, colder air to the exterior of the house or even moving it with the furnace or exhaust fans,” says Aune.

According to Gary Klein, principal, Gary Klein and Associates, the majority of HPWHs sold today are hybrid HPWHs, and their efficiency is rated at 67.5 F and 50% relative humidity. “Very close to the temperature we keep the inside of conditioned buildings,” says Klein.

Klein suggests an interesting concept by managing the cold discharge air. “Install the HPWH in the basement near the space conditioning system. Use the return of that system to suck in the cold discharge air from the HPWH and distribute it throughout the house. Use a relay to link the fan to the HPWH. Let the thermostat decide if the air needs to be conditioned. Install a very large filter grille to bring air to the room where the HPWH is installed. (2-inch pleated filters).

“Need the ability to move at least 60 cfm per 100 watts of compressor, fan and control power. Warmer intake air increases the coefficient of performance (COP),” says Klein.

Siegenthaler points out that he did a column earlier this year that discussed a situation where a modern house used an air source heat pump for space heating, and combined it with a HPWH inside the house for DHW. Technically this puts the two heat pumps into a “cascade” relationship, says Siegenthaler.

“Think of the space heating heat pump as ‘feeding’ heat to the HPWH. It’s possible to show that the overall efficiency of this arrangement is lower than using a single air-to-water heat pump for both space heating and domestic hot water (DHW).  I think that this is important because many builders, architects, energy planners, energy auditors, etc. don’t necessarily understand this concept. They assume that two heat pumps—one for space heating, and the other for DHW—are better than one.”

Siegenthaler stresses that the “ideal” scenario for a HPWH is to put it in a space where there’s “surplus heat.” “Don’t rob Peter to pay Paul,” says Siegenthaler.

There are plenty of such spaces, suggests Siegenthaler, especially in commercial buildings—manufacturing, heat from vending equipment or refrigeration equipment, cooking, laundry, computers, solar gain, attics that remain above 35ºF year-round, even mechanical rooms with lots of uninsulated piping, boilers, electrical transformers, greenhouses, cannabis grow houses, etc.

“Paraphrasing Patrick Henry, ‘Give me air, or give me death,'” says Klein.