Whats New

When it comes to redesigning the plumbing systems in a historic building, most times you have to expect the unexpected. The central dining facility at Emerson College in downtown Boston was built around 115 years ago. The space needed to install completely new plumbing systems in a historic structure of that age comes at a premium. But space wasn’t the only concern.

With the all-new renovation also came metered faucets on timers, which added a level of complication.

“Most of the faucets are on timers, which limit the amount of water that can flow out,” said Rich Dean, Senior Plumbing Designer for Vanderweil Engineers who designed the hot water system installation for the project. “When you have the limited amount of time, you don’t purge the line. Viega’s double drop elbow gets water to the faucet from the source quicker, and that improves user experience.”

Dean designed the hot water plumbing systems for two bathrooms in the dining facility. One bathroom provided the space necessary to install regular tees, but the other bathroom was too small.

“It’s a very old building and just has the issues that come with renovations to a very old building. We had to drop individually to each sink as opposed to having the space to run it horizontally down right to the fixture,” explained Peter Hannon, Vice President of Commonwealth Plumbing, the company that installed the plumbing systems. “Due to space within the wall, we didn’t have that luxury. The tight quarters made the double drop elbows the best choice.”

An average user will take 30 seconds or less to wash his hands. Most of the time that means the water he uses will have been sitting in the pipe line for a while. It won’t be freshly heated water until the line is purged.

“That dead leg water is in those faucets,” Dean said. “It will purge itself over time, but not usually fast enough.”

By using Viega’s double drop elbow fittings in the bathroom installation, Vanderweil and Commonwealth eliminated the dead leg in the line completely.

“Installing the double drop elbows allows us to get the piping much closer to the fixtures to minimize the dead legs,” Dean said. “Having warm water at the faucet is a better experience for the user, so they’ll think the best of the facility.”

Dean still used the series design in the other bathroom, which had more space allowing them to install more traditional fittings.

“We have used Viega in the past. When it was first presented to us, it was unique and a bit different, but it started to meet some of the issues we were experiencing,” Dean said. “We first saw Viega’s double drop elbows more than a year ago. The Viega team came to the office and discussed its use in hospital situations. We thought about how it would be good in commercial applications too.”

While the danger of Legionella bacteria in plumbing lines is always a concern, eliminating it in a facility like a dining hall bathroom isn’t as crucial as a hospital or nursing home. For the Emerson College project, the main focus was providing hot water to users in spite of the low-flow faucets.

“Design for the unexpected. You don’t know if a client is going to come through there with a bad immune system, and you don’t want them to get sicker because of bad plumbing design,” Dean added.

In a series design installation, like the sinks in a bathroom, when water is turned on at the end of the line, the water circulates through the whole system, purging the line and providing hot water to the active fixture almost immediately.

“We’ve done a loop system before similar to this,” said Hannon. “This was the first time we’d used these particular fittings, the double drop elbows. We met our installation goals. Especially where there was a lot of wood in the building, pressing saved us from having to solder.”

“We have used them in other projects,” Dean said. “It’s a solid system. And Viega is a solid product.” Dean was one of many engineers who attended Viega’s water quality seminars, which were held across the country in various locations.

Thanks to coordination with their local Viega rep, Vanderweil and Commonwealth worked together on the Emerson College project.

“We’ve been using Viega for a number of years and have had very good luck with it. We recommend and submit it for projects as often as possible as a product to use,” Hannon said. “Our rep introduced the engineers to these fittings. We worked together on how best to make it work. Our rep was a great help, and we really appreciated his input.”

For more information, click here.

Extech Instruments announced the launch of a new high definition wireless videoscope inspection camera kit designed for plumbing professionals. The rugged industrial-duty videoscope (HDV650-30G) comes equipped with a 30m fiberglass cable to quickly inspect and troubleshoot plumbing problems on long pipe runs with sharp, clear images and video.

To aid customers with responsive, expedited repairs, plumbers can use the Extech HDV650-30G to inspect past P-traps, 90 degree turns, drains, long pipe runs, storage tanks, standpipes, sewers, cisterns, vent stacks and other piping components. Now, extraordinary inspection capabilities, not previously available except from premium videoscopes, are within reach for small and large plumbing and pipe-fitting businesses.

As part of Extech’s award-winning HDV family, the HDV650-30G features a drop-proof and waterproof (IP67) display, making it ideal for dry or wet plumbing conditions. The large 5.3” (13.5cm) LCD screen has sharp 640×480 pixel resolution and is easy to view in outdoors or at poorly lit areas of a customer site. A durable 25mm camera head (IP57 waterproof) with bright 12-LED illumination and a 60° field of view/ long depth of field is ideal for inspecting concealed conditions in piping and is robust enough to dislodge minor clogs. The videoscope’s SD card can store more than 15,000 images or up to 4 hours of video plus voice annotations.

To expand the Extech videoscope’s versatility, the available HDV650W-30G kit also includes a wireless transmitter handset that allows users to position the display separately from the cable spool, up to 30m (100 ft) apart, simplifying inspections of difficult-to-access pipe runs. The wireless connectivity makes it easy for a technician to take the display around a site while the probe is still in use. Video and images can be transferred easily to a PC via the SD card (included) or USB output. For added versatility, AV outputs allow images and video to be viewed directly on an external monitor.

The HDV650-30G kit is backed by Extech with a one-year warranty and comes complete with videoscope, 25mm camera probe, 30m cable, SD memory card, 3.7V rechargeable Li-Polymer battery, patch cable, Universal AC adapter (110-240V, four plugs), USB and AV cables, and hard carrying case. The HDV650W-30G also includes a wireless handset.

Learn more by visiting http://www.extech.com/HDV650-30G.

The Typhoon™ trailer jet from General Pipe Cleaners blows away blockages in big lines and long runs. The Typhoon delivers 12 gallons a minute at 2500 psi to blast lines clean of grease, sediment and debris from 4” to 12” lines up to 400 ft. long. A 200 gallon holding tank carries enough water to handle remote applications where access to water is limited.

The Typhoon boasts electric brakes, safety strobe light, safety cones, rear fold-down stabilizer jacks, retractable hose guide arm, and antifreeze system as standard equipment.

Its reliable 690 cc (24 hp) Honda engine with electric start and 7 gallon fuel tank ensures extended performance on stubborn stoppages. On-demand Vibra-pulse® helps slide the nozzle around tight bends, and propel the hose down long lines.

Two hose reels – a jet hose reel with 400 ft. x 1/2″ capacity featuring variable speed electric rewind, and a water supply hose reel carrying 150 ft. x 3/4″ hose – are mounted at the rear of the unit next to the pressure gauge and output valve.  Engine controls, including an hour meter, are mounted within easy reach in the lockable tool box with slide action doors just below the reels.

General’s Typhoon trailer jet rides on rugged 15″ radial tires with modular wheels and a leaf-spring suspension rated at 3500 lbs per axle. A splash guard at the front helps protect the pump and engine from road debris. And the body is protected by a tough epoxy finish for added weather protection. The Typhoon is also available in a skid mount model.

To see the Typhoon trailer jet is action, visit drainbrain.com/jets.

The Viper Dual Flush provides some of the industry’s most noteworthy features and components.

Gerber®, an industry leader in high performing plumbing fixtures, has added a MaP Premium dual flush toilet to its high performing Viper® product line.

The Viper Dual Flush Toilet is one of the industry’s top solutions for those looking for meaningful water-saving product options in the bathroom. A smart solution for residential, hospitality and other applications, this two-piece toilet has two buttons on the top of the tank to dictate the flush rate – one flushing 0.9 gallons per flush (gpf) for liquid and one flushing 1.1 gpf for solid, making this toilet consume less than 1.0 gpf on average (0.97 gpf average water consumption). The toilet is WaterSense® certified for its contributions to water conservation. With that certification comes recognition for high performance, even at a lower flush volume.

“The water savings with this product is exceptional,” says Lovin Saini, senior product manager for Gerber. “Users experience a 19 percent savings over 1.28 gpf models and more than 70 percent over older traditional 3.5 gpf models.”In addition to these water-savings, this toilet provides an exceptional 51 feet of drain line carry and is rated to flush solid waste at over 2.8x the EPA’s baseline WaterSense specification and that of MaP testing norms, making it MaP Premium rated.”

According to Saini, the Viper Dual Flush provides some of the industry’s most noteworthy features and components, including:

• 1000 Map Score (4x the average bulk weight disposal requirement)
• Proprietary rim pattern for complete bowl rinse with every flush
• ErgoHeight® ADA Elongated Bowl for added comfort
• 3″ flush valve for maximum water flow and flushing power
• Multi-point tank-to-bowl mounting system for easy tool-free installation
• 5 year warranty

For more information on the Viper Dual Flush Toilet, visit www.gerberonline.com or call (866) 538-5536.