Just the Tip

Modern technology undoubtedly offers a lot of benefits to property owners, helping them be more comfortable, minimize the hassle of plumbing tasks and increase their overall efficiency. Updates to plumbing fixtures allow homeowners to adjust their water usage based on their needs, decrease the amount of energy they use for water heating and give themselves a luxurious experience every time they walk into a bathroom. These cutting-edge upgrades deserve consideration as part of any plumbing system overhaul.

Smart Faucets

Touch faucets are nothing new, but the latest technology adds much more. These days, smart faucets can anticipate a user’s needs, providing water at the right temperature with a simple voice command. As part of an integrated smart system, property owners can direct the faucet to pour a specific amount of water into a container, without even having to be in the room at the time. Smart faucets can also track water consumption and minimize accidental use. These faucets integrate seamlessly into bathroom vanities, allowing users to maintain high standards for efficiency without compromising beauty or style.

Tankless Water Heaters

Although tankless water heaters have been around for decades, recent advancements have made them more efficient and effective. Older systems relied on dual heat exchangers, while newer models can maintain a higher level of efficiency with just one heat exchanger. Smart recirculation services allow the water heater to estimate the building’s needs based on past use, recirculating hot water only when necessary. With these systems in place, property owners use less water with a tankless water heater without losing access to hot water in an instant.

Smart Showers

Smart shower technology represents the vanguard of home comfort and efficiency. Smart showers allow homeowners to determine ways to use less water and prevent leaks, but they can do so much more. The latest models allow users to set schedules that adjust the temperature, time, and other features of the shower setting for prime hygiene and comfort. Homeowners can use voice direction to start the shower, pause it or get information about the current temperature. Integrating the shower into the home’s smart hub can provide opportunities to listen to music, take phone calls or even watch a show while decompressing.

Greywater Systems

While consumers gain interest in efficiency and sustainability, the ability to reuse water grows in demand. Greywater systems are not a new concept, as many cities incorporate greywater recycling as part of their municipal water treatment systems. Building owners want the option as well, to avoid using as much water or find ways to put the water to more than one use. Greywater recycling systems can take water used for certain purposes, treat it, and collect it for use in other ways, such as supplying toilets or watering landscaping.

Smart Toilets

Few people enjoy having to deal with a toilet even at the best of times, so smart toilet technology sits in high demand. Smart toilets offer a variety of features, including:

• Customizable bidets
• Heated seats
• Automatic or voice-activated flushing
• Adjustable flushing technology to minimize clogs without unnecessarily increasing water usage
• Self-cleaning
• Deodorizing
• Lid sensors
• Remote monitoring

Smart toilets can also improve overall hygiene and minimize the spread of communicable diseases. The fewer times people must touch the toilet in order to operate it, the fewer opportunities they have to encounter bacteria and viruses.

Designing the bathroom of the future calls for one or more of these advanced plumbing fixtures and systems. With new products on the market every year, the sky is the limit in the amount of luxury and efficiency people can have for even the quickest bathroom visit. Property owners who take advantage of these upgrades to plumbing technology can lower their energy bills, decrease their water usage and enjoy better comfort than before.

Author bio: Erica Garland is Content Marketing Manager at Modern Bathroom and has 15-plus years of experience in the bathroom renovation industry. Modern Bathroom sells a variety of products you would need for any bathroom renovation project. With such a large selection of vanities, faucets, sinks, toilets and showers, Modern Bathroom is sure to have the perfect piece to give your bathroom an updated look.

Contractors out in the field are always looking for one tool that does it all. Our ClogChopper^® is a great tool that can be connected to almost any drum, flexible shaft or sectional style machine, and cuts through obstructions in the pipe.

Our ClogChopper has four features that make it the “all-star” attachment – it is maneuverable, efficient, versatile and economical. In this blog post, we talk more about these features and how they make the ClogChopper stand out.

Maneuverable

The perfectly balanced ClogChopper automatically negotiates multiple, tricky bends – maintaining a central line position and minimizing pipe wall, elbow, connection and joint damage. The ClogChopper essentially “bounces” around the pipe to get to where the user needs it to go.

Efficient

With “all surface” cutting edges, the ClogChopper clears clogs and scrapes encrusted debris from inner walls – all in one operation. The six inverted cutting edges run smoothly, without rattling or jumping. The spherical design helps to maneuver around tight bends and traps, thoroughly and safely cleaning metal, plastic and clay pipes to make it more efficient while going through the pipe.

Economical

The ClogChopper is durable enough to handle years of demanding use in residential and commercial applications, and self-sharpens while working, making it the perfect tool for handling multiple jobs and lasting a long time for the user.

Versatile

General offers ClogChopper connectors in a variety of sizes for several brands of drain cleaning machines.

The ClogChopper has six self-sharpening blades that dig into encrusted debris and root masses, easily grinding up stoppages, scale and crystallized urine without risking pipe damage. It works in both directions, in and out lines, all in one operation. As it spins, it also self-sharpens as it scrapes along the pipe walls.

It’s available in one-inch, one-and-a-half-inch, two-inch, two-and-a-half-inch, three-inch and four-inch sizes. This drain clearing tool is also excellent for clearing stacks, downspouts and mains, as well as for pipe lining jobs to reinstate the pipe.

For more information, call the Drain Brains at 800-245-6200, or visit www.drainbrain.com/clogchopper.

In a hydronic system, every installation is an opportunity to improve efficiency. The products you select for the job not only impact the installation of today but the performance of tomorrow. This is especially true when installing a boiler; the components you pair with the unit can mean the difference between a simple installation and a smarter installation.

Auxiliary boiler accessories range in both form and function. The best products for the job should be designed to save time, space, and labor during installation. They should also provide controls to ease future maintenance and should protect the boiler and system components over time.

With these goals in mind, Webstone has developed the most complete selection of under boiler solutions available today. Its under boiler program is a single source for better installations, with products that also simplify and reduce the number of maintenance callbacks.

The Hydro-Core™ manifold simplifies the installation and service of the primary heating loop. This solution combines closely-spaced tees with isolation valves to achieve hydraulic separation for the heating loops, isolates the components within the loop, and purges the system. A T-Flow ball directs the flow into either the boiler or the drain, which can be configured in a number of ways to assist with purging, filling, and descaling/cleaning. Its compact, forged-brass body replaces up to 17 individual components, eliminates 16 leak paths, and saves over two hours of labor.

To improve overall system performance, the Air Separator uses a unique stainless-steel coalescing medium that captures both microbubbles and static air. The separated air collects in the top of the unit, where it forces a pin-guided float to drop down and open a vent. Once the air is released, the float rises once again and closes the vent. This reduces noise as well as wear on system components caused by trapped air in the pipes. The vertically mounted model is ideal for installing on the boiler outlet, where the air can be separated and vented before it reaches the rest of the system.

To protect the boiler from iron sludge that can accumulate in a hydronic system, consider the Magnetic Boiler Filter. Installed on the system return line, it captures ferrous and non-ferrous debris before it can reach the boiler using a high-powered 12,000 Gauss magnet and plastic filter. The drain makes it simple to remove accumulation, with a strapped cap that can be used to actuate the drain valve. A universal diverter allows the Magnetic Boiler Filter to be used in both horizontal and vertical piping orientations. The service tool is also included to help install and maintain the filter with ease.

Both the vertical mount Air Separator and Magnetic Boiler Filter are outfitted with removable G1 threaded end connections (available in sizes ¾” and 1”, with MIP, FIP, SWT, or Press ends), offering added versatility to any installation. These threads allow the installer to easily add isolation valves for future service, or a temperature gauge to verify boiler output right at the source.

A full-featured under the boiler installation from Webstone requires no more than 22” of space and delivers cleaner, more professional-looking results. Solutions are also available for boilers with external pumps and combi domestic hot water connections from the E-X-P™ Series of Tankless Water Heater Service Valves. To find all of these products and more, visit www.webstonevalves.com.

Founded in 1954, Webstone now operates as a brand of NIBCO INC. and is recognized as an industry leader for innovative design of residential and commercial valves used in plumbing, hydronic, radiant, solar and geothermal applications. These designs focus on time and space-saving concepts that simplify future maintenance and upkeep of all piping systems. Some of the Webstone trademarked and patented items include Hydro-Core™, The Isolator®, E-X-P™, Pro-Connect™, and Pro-Pal® step-saving valves.

Is your HVAC company still trying to service clients without sewer line video equipment? A sewer line camera is an invaluable diagnostic tool that allows HVAC professionals to see inside plumbing systems beyond what can be observed with the naked eye. As you know, a home’s plumbing system is actually an integral part of its HVAC system because it’s common for HVAC systems to connect to main sewer lines via drainage lines. This setup makes it possible for collected water to drain out of the home via larger pipes. However, the sewer line remains a mystery for most HVAC pros. Don’t let your inability to get a clear view lead to a frustrating misdiagnosis. Sewer line cameras make is easy to accurately and clearly diagnose the following issues in minutes:

•  Odors.
•  Blockages and clogs
•  Broken or cracked parts

For clients, getting an accurate and fast diagnosis is valuable because it saves both time and money. It also safeguards them from spending money on the wrong solution. Sewer line cameras erase the need for hunches and best guesses. That’s precisely why so many clients now expect a camera-based inspection when they call an HVAC pro to help with a mysterious problem. Here’s a look at the two core reasons why your HVAC company needs sewer line video equipment.

Sewer Line Cameras Save Money

Why spend countless hours making a single diagnosis when you can get a crystal-clear picture of the problem in minutes? Snaking cameras allow HVAC pros to diagnose an issue in the fraction of the time it once took to troubleshoot plumbing-adjacent problems. The high level of accuracy created by a visually based diagnosis also saves money by reducing the risk that you’ll get a call back from the customer hours or days later letting you know that you didn’t provide the right fix. The savings offered by a sewer line camera are compounded if your company offers fixed-rate pricing or free services through service plans.

Sewer Line Cameras Can Lead to More Satisfied Customers

Customers love the transparency and accuracy that come from plumbing cameras. First, customers feel confident when working with companies that embrace the latest technology to innovate their services instead of relying on outdated techniques. Next, customers also appreciate the ability to see the finished results in real time. Generally, HVAC work involving sewer lines or drain lines is “hidden” because it can’t be observed from the surface. However, sewer line cameras give your clients the ability to see that a clog, crack, or other issue has been detected with real-time visual proof.

How to Choose the Best Sewer Camera for Your HVAC Business

When selecting a high-quality sewer line camera for your HVAC business, it’s important to prioritize models that offer high-quality video recording, high-quality audio performance, LED lighting, wide-screen viewing, a typewriter feature for notes, and capabilities for data sharing and storage. That last feature on the list is important because clients will generally request to see your footage. In addition, it’s important to select a camera with adequate recording time to ensure that footage doesn’t stop during a critical recording moment. It goes without saying that any camera you select should also be 100% waterproof.

Of course, it’s also important to select a sewer camera that’s in your purchasing budget. If you’d like to save money because your HVAC company only requires camera footage of plumbing lines occasionally, hiring a local plumbing company offering sewer line video inspection services may be the more economical choice because you won’t need to purchase and maintain your own pricey camera equipment. The other benefit of hiring pros for the job is that sewer line cameras should only be operated by experienced professionals in the first place.