ProPress

Source Brewing is a destination, a place to enjoy a craft brew in a scenic location. And while you’re there, look overhead – you’ll see some Viega products adding to the décor.

Located in Colts Neck, New Jersey, Source Brewing is in a 125-year-old converted barn. In trying to maintain some of the character of the barn, there are exposed beams.

Matt Fleming, Vice President of All Star Plumbing, knew he’d be running copper and carbon steel lines in the building. He also knew some lines would remain exposed, so he suggested Viega, because of its clean look and for several other beneficial reasons.

“The owners liked the look of it, with the exposed lines and such,” Fleming said. “When this job came up, I thought, ‘Let’s press everything in here and see how it goes.’

The flameless connection of Viega press technology was another benefit, since the crew was working in an old wooden structure. There was nothing to worry about, with no flame needed.

The brewery contains 12 tanks with glycol for chilling, and 2″ ProPress fittings were used on those copper lines. The 2″ carbon steel line feeding steam to three tanks was pressed with MegaPress fittings, and there are ¾″ branches from the tanks also done with MegaPress.

For the gas, a 1½” line equipped with MegaPressG fittings runs to the steam boiler. There’s about 100 feet of 1″ carbon steel line with MegaPressG fittings going to the mechanical room.

Mike Glaser, President of Aqua Solutions, installed the water filtration system for the brewery. Nearly all of his Annihilator Ultra Systems are installed with ProPress, and have been for the past decade. He said he uses Viega, because he knows he can’t beat the product.

“Viega is always consistent,” he said simply. “The fittings don’t break, they are reliable, and we don’t have issues with ProPress.”

“This is the first brewery that we’ve done everything with pressing,” Fleming added. “We’re realizing the time savings and efficiency, plus the lack of leaks. We’re not a big company, but we have five other brewery projects now on the forefront!”

The National Science Foundation’s Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope in Maui, Hawaii, uses the largest mirror of any solar telescope in the world. Thanks to its 13-foot-wide mirror, it collects seven times more sunlight than any other solar telescope, producing the clearest, highest-resolution images ever taken of the sun.

Not surprisingly, a solar telescope of this size produces a lot of heat. With a working lifespan of about 50 years – after more than two decades of planning by the National Solar Observatory and its partners – there is a lot that goes into keeping the telescope cooled so it can provide groundbreaking scientific insights.

And that’s where Viega comes to the table.

An enormous, unique project

Eventually, there will be more than seven miles of thermal piping within the telescope and support buildings, explained Lou Szabo, Facility Thermal Systems Site Coordinator for the National Solar Observatory. He spends his days helping to finish construction and commissioning the equipment that recently began collecting images of the sun.

Much of the piping was prefabricated years ago, as various parts of the facility and telescope were being built (construction has taken about 10 years). Traditional methods, mainly welding, were used. But then the project came to a crossroads.

“As the various science instruments are installed and other devices added to the telescope, the final piping needs to be completed or modified, and oftentimes in close proximity to optics or one-of-a-kind electronics that are worth millions of dollars – things that would take many years to reproduce if damaged,” Szabo said. “We can’t have any joining methods that use heat or fumes. It has to be a very clean process.

“The only way to install these remaining piping runs is with a joining system that meets the ‘no heat, no fumes, no dust’ requirements – and Viega hit that mark. We can go into these critical areas with very little equipment and complete press joints within inches of sensitive equipment, and the crews don’t have to worry about damaging it.”

As the need for a press-fitting solution surfaced, Szabo was already aware of Viega. He’s been in the piping trades for more than three decades and had previously used Viega.

He also knew that Viega had a large variety of fitting choices and, more importantly, offered plenty of technical support.

“When I presented the press system to the lead engineers and the decision-makers, I had to bring the best system I knew of,” he said. “Viega had been around the longest and had the best technical support if we had a question or got into a bind. We knew we had the reliability of the system behind us. It was really the only choice. I wouldn’t have been comfortable with others.”

Another factor to account for is the ozone conditions. The telescope is located at Haleakalā Observatories, at 10,000 feet in elevation, on the island of Maui. This location allows for great conditions for observing the sun but brings with it other unique elements, too.

“There is a high ozone content in the atmosphere here. Ozone was attacking a lot of rubbers and things, so we use HNBR sealing elements in all of our fittings,” Szabo said. “Some of the coolants we use are more exotic, and the HNBR holds up.”

The bulk of the coolant used is Dynalene HC20. The manufacturer lists both HNBR and EPDM as compatible materials, but the EPDM seal isn’t as resilient with the ozone presence, so Viega’s HNBR sealing elements are the right fit.

Inner workings of the telescope site

A series of primary loops come from the main mechanical/utility building, where all the chillers are located. The loops run to heat exchangers, followed by secondary and tertiary loops. There are dozens of pumps and tanks involved in the complex setup.

Piping in the system includes everything from 6” carbon steel piping to ½” copper tubing. Stainless steel is also used. The miles of piping run coolants and air to keep the telescope project at an appropriate temperature and to keep everything working smoothly. Viega ProPress fittings up to 3” in diameter and MegaPress fittings as large as 2” are used throughout the site.

The mirrors and transfer optics are cooled in a variety of ways, including cooled liquid and air. For example, air a few degrees below ambient temperature is typically blown on the back of the mirror cells.

The Dynalene coolant runs at a very low temp, some as low as –2 degrees F, some around 45 degrees. The coolant is also environmentally friendly, which was important for the culturally sensitive site that carried with it many environmental guidelines. Propylene glycol mixtures are also used in some of the scientific chillers.

“A challenge we have in the middle of the Pacific is having fittings available, and that’s why we try to keep our setup as simple as we can,” Szabo said. “It’s also why we went with MegaPress and ProPress. Much of it is available on the islands, whereas other systems are more difficult to get.

“We try to keep a stock of certain fittings and materials on hand and stay ahead of the game. Oftentimes we’re looking at a two- to four-week lead time to get less-common fittings to the island. Thankfully our supplier, PACE Supply, can often get us common fittings within a couple of days.”

Szabo said they strive to keep the piping runs as simple as possible to both limit flow restriction and allow the use of standard elbows, adapters, tees and couplings, which are more readily available on the island.

One-of-a-kind solar research

Plans for the Inouye Solar Telescope (named for the late Daniel Inouye, the U.S. Senator from Hawaii who played a crucial role in getting finances approved for the project and was a big advocate of STEM and science) started 25 years ago. Dr. Claire Raftery, Head of Education, Outreach and Communication for the National Solar Observatory, said innovating how to build something so complicated – and then get it funded – was a massive undertaking.

There was an extensive survey done to determine the location of the telescope. A few hundred sites worldwide were reduced to a short list of 72, which was whittled down to a six. From there, only three met the specific requirements that scientists were looking for, and the location in Maui was chosen.

The Inouye Solar Telescope’s unique location combines clear and vivid blue skies needed to observe the faint corona of the sun with a high elevation and low air turbulence of the atmosphere above the telescope. Thanks to all these things, the telescope can produce the best images of the sun ever taken so that scientists can learn more about the dynamic star.

“We’re studying an object that there’s still a lot of mystery around. Many questions remain unanswered because we don’t yet have the capability to answer them,” Raftery said. “We need more detail, higher resolution – and these are things this telescope will bring to the table. It’s really a fortuitous time to be working in the solar physics industry.”

The telescope is expected to be operational for at least 44 years – four solar cycles – which is one of the benefits of ground-based astronomy, Raftery explained.

“We can expand the abilities of this project much longer than we could from space,” she said. “It’ll never really stop being finished. We can adapt and improve. The team will continue to bring new science experiments online through the life of the telescope.”

Part of the federal requirements from the National Science Foundation include returning the site back to the way it was found, so in 50 years they won’t simply turn off the lights and walk away, but instead the project will eventually be removed from the site after it has run its course.

But with that prospect decades into the future, for now everyone involved with the project is exhilarated as the telescope begins recording images of the sun.

“I remind the crews that they are the only ones in the entire world working on this unique system,” Szabo said. “This is truly a one-of-a-kind project.”

Viega offers Viega ProPress®, the original press pipe joining system for copper tubing. The system joins copper tubing in less than seven seconds without flame or heavy equipment. Viega ProPress for copper is available in more than 600 fitting configurations, in sizes ranging from ½” to 4″. The patented Smart Connect® feature, available only from Viega, provides installers with added confidence in their ability to ensure the integrity of connections.

Viega was the first manufacturer to offer press joining systems in North America in 1999. The flameless technology eliminates the need for sweating, brazing and grooving as well as burn permits and fire watches. Connections can be made wet or dry for quick repairs on existing systems.

“The proven Viega ProPress system is the original press pipe joining solution,” said Derek Bower, product director, metal systems at Viega. “ProPress has more approved applications than any other press fitting system on the market, making it ideal for nearly every application.”

The system can be customized to suit nearly any residential, commercial, industrial or marine application from potable water to natural gas. It has been tested to the strictest standards in North America, gaining more approvals than any other press fitting system.

Viega ProPress fittings are available with EPDM, HNBR and FKM sealing elements.

For more information on Viega ProPress, visit website.

Nelson Stark used Viega ProPress^® to install the plumbing for the construction of Mercy Health – West Hospital in Cincinnati. Plumbers installed a combination of Viega ProPress for stainless pipe and fittings with Viega ProPress copper fittings as well as transition fittings for potable water at the medical facility.

“The project called for 3″ and 4″ mains from the mechanical room, down the halls and up the entire building tower. From the mains into each room we installed copper tubing and fittings in 2″ and smaller,” said Todd Elliot, Project Executive at Nelson Stark.

Nelson Stark selected Viega ProPress for the plumbing installation because the system is flameless and can be installed simultaneously with other utilities since there’s no need for welding or grooving equipment. Overall, the plumbing install required more than 3,800ˈ of large-diameter 316 stainless steel pipe and approximately 900 Viega ProPress stainless steel fittings as well as approximately 7,500 Viega ProPress copper fittings and valves.

“Our customer saved on costs by having fewer hours of labor and using cost-effective stainless, but they will also save on future maintenance costs by using Viega ProPress because it allows repair work to be completed with little or no shutdown time,” said Mike Wells, Project Superintendent at Nelson Stark.

Click here to read more.