The Turnaround - PHCP Pros · The Turnaround From the big house to the supply house ... and the...

A Publication

october 2009vol. 10, no. 10 Truck & Power Tool Usage Surveys

The TurnaroundFrom the big houseto the supply house

One man’s extraordinary journeyStory begins on page 40.

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Circle 54 on Reader Reply Card

4 Phc News — OCTOBER 2009In thIs Issue


www.phcnews.com

Owner

Tom M. Brown, Jr.

Chief EditorJohn MesenbrinkManaging EditorJames SchaibleContributing EditorsMary Jo MartinMark BrunoRichard DiTomaMorris R. BeschlossPaul RohrsDan HolohanEllen Rohr

Production ManagerCate C. BrownAdministrative AssistantDebbie Newberg

Editorial Offices1838 Techny Court

Northbrook, IL 60062Phone: 847/564-1127Fax: 847/564-1264,

[email protected]

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[email protected]

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Northbrook, IL 60062847/564-1127

Fax: 847/[email protected]

Diane Spangler, West, TexasDiane SpanglerP.O. Box 9802

Fountain Valley, CA 92728714/839-6700

Fax: 714/[email protected]

Direct subscriptioninquiries to:Cynthia LewisCreative Data Services519 E. Briarcliff RoadBolingbrook, IL [email protected] 630-739-0900 x203Fax: 630-739-7648

TMB Publishing, Inc.

Tom M. Brown Jr., President

plumbing & hydronic contractor news

Departments

Trucks for 2010 — pg. 52

DEWALT making impact — pg. 58

ColumnsDAN HOLOHAN: Getting to know your steam traps . . . . . . . . . . .22PAUL ROHRS: Change, change, change; it’s all for the good . . . . . . . . .26BRISTOL STICKNEY: Comparing thermal mass materials . . . . . . . . . . . .28RICHARD DITOMA: Asking the right questions — to yourself . . . . . .32MORRIS BESCHLOSS: Recovery for commercial construction . . . . . .37

Field ReportsMascerating systems shine in floating manufactured bathhouses . . . . .16Managing multi-state payroll with dedicated software . . . . . . . . .18

In the NewsHand-washing habits revealed . . . .6The Pulse: Metal-cutting lubricants; fuel prices down . . . . . . . . . . . .8Survey says economy to improve . .10University students design solar home for 2009 “decathlon” . . .14CPCV, PEX compared for fire sprinkler system performance . . . . . . . . .20Test your hydronic skills, contribute your own field challenge . . . . .27Hydronic heating benefits . . . . . .34DEWALT listens to contractors when developing impact line . . . . . . .58Instrument maker Wohler measures success by innovation . . . . . . .602010 Truck Roundup, Tool Crib, Product News . . . . . . . . . . .52-56

From the EditorsAmerican Restroom Association stumps for more, better public johns . . .66

42 Truck, tool use surveysOur annual surveys take the measure of contractors’choices and preferences in the trucks they drive and thetools they use. A weak economy and improved technol-ogy have had their effects in the results.

62 Dormont ManufacturingWe interview Jack Stein, vice president of sales, and JoeDykta, general manager for Dormont Manufacturing,maker of flexible gas connectors since 1946. Dormontnow is a leading provider of stainless-steel connectorsfor natural gas/LP and fluid conveyance applications.

Features

On the CoverChris Koch found himself in prison with noidea of what he would do with himself uponrelease. He discovered plumbing working onthe “inside” and determined to make goodafter his release. With guidance from EllenRohr, Dan Holohan and several pros in thefield, he founded Top Notch Plumbing andis on his way to a successful, productivelife. Story on page 40.

MENOMONEE FALLS, WIS. — Worriesabout the spread of the H1N1 virushaven’t changed the majority ofAmericans’ hand washing habits, ac-cording to a national survey con-ducted by Bradley Corp., amanufacturer of commercial plumb-ing fixtures and accessories.In Bradley’s first Healthy Hand

Washing Survey, 54 percent of the1,020 respondents said they “washtheir hands no more or less fre-quently” in public restrooms as a re-sult of the H1N1 virus. “Influenza A viruses, of which

swine flu is one, are fragile virusesthat can be easily destroyed throughproper hygiene, including use ofsoap and water and alcohol-basedhand sanitizers,” said Dr. Judy Daly,spokesperson for the American So-ciety for Microbiology, director ofthe clinical microbiology laborato-ries, primary children’s medicalcenter, Salt Lake City. “Flu virusesmost frequently enter the bodywhen contaminated hands touchmucous membranes of the nose,eyes, and mouth. Frequent hand hy-giene certainly makes this transferless likely.”Bradley’s Healthy Hand Washing

Survey was conducted online July28-31, 2009, and queried 1,020American adults about their handwashing habits in public restrooms.Participants were from around the

country, evenly dividedamong men and women,and ranged in age from 18to 65 and older. Overall, 87 percent of re-

spondents said they didwash their hands after usingpublic lavatories, but otherresponses indicated thatsome may have exaggeratedhow often they actually didthe job correctly. Whenasked if they had also usedsoap, the numbers declinedonly slightly, to 86 percent;yet 55 percent of the groupadmitted on occasionthey’ve simply rinsed, with-out using soap.In contrast to what people

say they do, numerous ob-servational studies questionwhat Americans actually do.In 2007, researchers for theAmerican Society of Microbiologyfound that only 77 percent actuallywash their hands after using a publicrestroom. In 2003 and 2004, theMinnesota Department of Health, Di-vision of Environmental Health ob-served hand washing practices at theMinnesota state fairgrounds. Duringthe 2004 Minnesota State Fair, 75percent of women and just 51 per-cent of men washed their hands withsoap and water after using the publicrestroom.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Con-trol and Prevention (CDC) is unequiv-ocal about the benefits of handwashing, calling it critical in prevent-ing infection and illness:“Hand washing is a simple thing to

do and it’s the best way to preventinfection and illness,” the agencysaid. And by “washing your hands,”the CDC notes that nothing beatsgood old soap and water.Asked why they did not wash

their hands before leaving a public

restroom, respondents identified anumber of reasons such as the sinksweren’t working, the wash area ap-peared unclean, the sink area wascrowded and they didn’t feel theneed to wash. However, 28 percentof those who didn’t wash theirhands said they used a hand sani-tizer instead. The primary reasonrespondents cited for not usingsoap, rinsing only with water, wasthat the soap dispensers wereempty.

Bradley Corp. releases hand washing survey results

6 Phc News — OCTOBER 2009Industry news

www.siouxchief.com 1-800-821-3944

A Member of Our FamilySince 2006


ECR International announces support of revised New York State net metering lawUTICA, N.Y. — ECR International an-nounced its support of the legislation,signed into law Aug. 27 by GovernorPaterson, which expands New YorkState’s current net metering law to in-clude residential micro-combined heatand power (micro-CHP). Micro-CHPtechnologies, like ECR’s freewatt sys-tem, combine an ENERGY STAR-rated,high-efficiency natural gas or propanefurnace or boiler with a Honda co-gen-erator to produce heat and electricityfor homes.“The inclusion of micro-CHP as an

eligible technology in New YorkState’s net metering law is extremelysignificant,” said Michael Paparone,president and CEO of ECR Interna-tional. “Net metering will allow micro-CHP homeowners to offset the cost ofelectricity they purchase from a util-ity by selling any excess power theygenerate back to the utility. We esti-mate this will save New York Statehomeowners approximately $1,000

per year.”The previous law permitted net en-

ergy metering for residential solar,farm waste, non-residential solar andresidential and/or farm service windelectric generating systems. Theamended law also requires electriccorporations to permit net energy me-tering for micro-CHP generating equip-ment and to provide for theinterconnection to the electric systemof micro-CHP systems in the same man-ner as other eligible technologies.Micro-CHP has been identified by the

United States Environmental Protec-tion Agency (EPA) as one of its 2009Climate Choice technologies. Accord-ing to the EPA, Climate Choice is a newpartnership program that recognizesemerging technologies that have thepotential to substantially reducegreenhouse gas emissions once theyare more widely adopted.For more information on freewatt,

visit www.freewatt.com.

FlexibilitFlexibility.

®

Full range of tubing, fittings and accessories.Full range of tubing, fittings and accessories.

You want performance? WARDFLEX® is the only fully annealed CSST on the market. Bends where you want. Stays where you want. Durable as you can get. Know why? WARDFLEX is 100% helium/ vacuum tested for leak-free integrity. Every inch, every day.

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You want it done right? You need training. On-site, in the rain, even at dawn. Ward invented CSST certification. More than 40,000 installers strong – including competitors’ installers – it’s done the right way: the WARDFLEX way.

America works hard. After 85 years, Ward still makes it easier. Simple as that.

Simple as that.

©2009Circle 6 on Reader Reply Card


Tool Tips feature trade tipsfrom Lee “HACKMAN” Bre-ton, marketing services

manager for LENOX, team HACK-MAN event manager and car cutterextraordinaire. Every month,HACKMAN shares insight from his25+ years in the tool industry.The frictional heat created

when cutting, milling, reaming,tapping and drilling metal canprematurely wear down thesharp cutting edges of yourtools. The use of cutting fluidwill greatly reduce frictional

heat which in turn, increases thelife of a sharp edge and reduces cut-ting time.Depending on the application, cut-

ting fluids can be applied by flooding,spraying, dripping, misting or brush-ing. For many metal cutting applica-tions, the ideal would behigh-pressure, high-volume pumpingto force a stream of fluid directly intothe tool-chip connection point. Thetwo main types of lubricants, semi-synthetic and synthetic, blend thebest properties of oil into the bestproperties of water. For band saw blade cutting, the

machines have full tanks of cuttingfluid and a system that pumps thefluid up to the blade — keeping the

cutting surface cool as it cuts andwashes the chips away. Some bandsaw machines are equipped withunits designed to deliver smallamounts of lubricant by way ofnozzles that apply micro dropletson the blade and aid in tooth pene-tration, chip formation, heat reduc-tion and extended tool life. Lubesticks are also available and are de-signed for application directly tothe band saw blade and other cut-ting tools.If you have any questions or com-

ments for HACKMAN, email him [email protected] or visitwww.lenoxtools.com. �

The

Pulse

8 Phc News — OCTOBER 20098

U.S. average 2.499

East Coast 2.453

New England 2.551

Central Atlantic 2.520

Lower Atlantic 2.374

Midwest 2.375

Gulf Coast 2.309

Rocky Mountain 2.548

West Coast 2.984

California 3.037

Metals

*Copper $2.67/lb. **Aluminum $0.84/lb.

fi

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Gasoline Diesel

Area $/gal. Change

U.S. average 2.601

East Coast 2.607

New England 2.703

Central Atlantic 2.714

Lower Atlantic 2.552

Midwest 2.585

Gulf Coast 2.525

Rocky Mountain 2.658

West Coast 2.742

California 2.807

fi

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per prices according to NYMEX.com

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etalprices.com.

Tool Tips

with Hackman

Using metal cutting lubricants

www.symmons.comCopyright © 2009 Symmons Industries, Inc., Braintree, Massachusetts

From hotels to hospitals, from schools to stadiums,

Symmons products have been trusted by

professionals for 70 years.

FOR COMMERCIAL PROJECTSTHE SOLUTION IS SYMMONS®


10 Phc News — OCTOBER 2009InDusTry

news


Manufacturers predict improving economy, AHR Expoto provide needed boostWESTPORT, CONN. — According to arecent survey of more than 1,000manufacturers, 70 percent of the re-spondents said that they expect theeconomy to be stronger in the firstquarter of 2010. This bodes well forthe 2010 AHR Expo® in Orlandothis coming January as nearly 72percent of respondents predictedthat their customers will start buyingmore products in the first quarter. In keeping with the optimistic out-

look, 69 percent of the AHR Expoexhibitors believe their customershave been delaying purchases of newproducts and that this pent-up de-mand will result in more sales during

the first quarter of 2010. Twenty-four percent of exhibitors expectsales to increase over 10 percent andnearly 30 percent expect sales in-creases of 5-10 percent in the firstquarter of 2010. Close to 25 percentof respondents expect a smaller firstquarter increase of between 1 and 4percent while less than 5 percent seea decline in sales.The 2010 AHR Expo will take

place January 25-27, and will featuremore than 1,600 exhibitors show-casing hundreds of innovative newproducts to over 45,000 attendeesand exhibitor personnel from nearly100 countries. So far, Show ex-hibitors have reserved over 310,000

net square feet of exhibit space.Industry experts will also be pro-

viding valuable educational perspec-tives on such critical topics as:• Building Automation & Control• Specialized Climate Control• Radiant & Hydronic Heating• Solar and Geothermal Systems• Energy Efficiency• Indoor Air Quality• Building System Integration• Green Building Initiatives/Sus-

tainability• Information Technology & Busi-

ness Management• Energy Recovery• Mold & Moisture Control

In addition, the show will also in-clude Special Features that offerpractical information, certificationand in many cases, continuing edu-cation credits. These include:• New Product Technology The-

aters• Building Automation & Control

Showcase• The Software Center• Various certification testing• More than two dozen educa-

tional sessions and workshops pre-sented by AHR Expo and itsendorsing associations• More than 30 Technical Sessions

and Short Courses presented byASHRAE, many of which carry CEUs.

Webb Pump partners with Dover Pump SolutionsCRANSTON, R.I. — Webb Pump, amarket-focused division of the F.W.Webb Company targeting the Com-mercial and Industrial Pump mar-ketplace, has partnered with DoverPump Solutions Group. The DoverPump Solutions Group (PSG) fea-tures the world’s largest manufac-turer of air-operateddouble-diaphragm pumps (Wilden)

and the world’s largest provider ofsliding vane and eccentric discpumps (Blackmer). Other membersof the PSG include: Neptune, a pre-mier manufacturer of chemical me-tering pumps, Almatec, a provider ofpremium diaphragm pumps forchemical, semiconductor and solarmarkets and Griswold, a quality cen-trifugal pump manufacturer.

Phc News — OCTOBER 2009 11InDusTry

news

Special patent pending PVC flexible tubing. Eliminatesfour field joints. Innovator™ overflow parts

assemble by hand. No screws. Approved by IAPMO.It’s green. You’ll get used to seeing it.

Just ask your wholesaler

New WatcoFlex Bath Waste...installs faster/easier

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‘Schoolhouse’ announces 4Q schedule MORTON GROVE, ILL. — Bell & Gossettannounced its training course sched-ule for the fourth quarter of 2009. Thefree training seminars are offered atthe Bell & Gossett Little Red School-house Education Center in MortonGrove, a suburb of Chicago, and areopen to engineers, contractors and fa-cility maintenance professionals.The seminars are tailored to variousindustry occupations and cover awide range of important topics. Thelead seminar instructor is leed certi-fied for all programs. Upon comple-

tion of the three-day seminars, CEUcredits are awarded to graduates.The 4th quarter Schoolhouse

seminars include:• Steam Operation and Mainte-

nance Seminar — October 19-21;• Large Chilled Water Seminar —

November 2-4;• Modern Hydronics Basic Semi-

nar — November 16-18;• Steam System Design Seminar

— December 7-9; and• Design and Application Seminar

— December 14-16.

PORTSMOUTH, N.H. — Anvil Interna-tional, a subsidiary of MuellerWater Products, Inc., announcedthe launch of a dramatically en-hanced new website with the sameaddress: www.anvilintl.com. Thenew website was developed to pro-

Anvil Intl. launches new websitevide more information on Anvil’sextensive line of products and serv-ices. The site features a variety oftools for customers and end usersto quickly and easily access themore than 1,200 pages of technicalcontent.

FRANKLIN PARK, ILL. — UnderscoringSloan Valve Company’s long-stand-ing commitment to renewable en-ergy, the company has installed twowind turbines and a solar array onthe roof of its headquarters.Sloan becomes a test site for wind

and solar energy by partnering withAerotecture, an energy company. Oneturbine has been installed over thefront entrance, and the other over theemployee entrance.The turbines and solar panels will

operate in conjunction with one an-

Sloan tests sustainability energy with wind turbines, solar array

other to generate adequate energylevels, Schiffbauer added. The test willhelp determine which windturbine/solar array equipment worksbest in urban environments. A displaywill be mounted by the employee en-trance to show how much energy isbeing generated, used and saved.Being a test site reinforces Sloan’s

mission of offering green products,such as its solar-powered sensorfaucets and flush valves, Sloan ECOS®dual-flush Flushometers, and high-ef-ficiency toilets and urinals.

SPARKS, NEV. — Haws Corp. an-nounced that they have selectedCADdetails to help execute their on-line product library program. CADdetails is the only online li-

brary that fully integrates CAD draw-

Haws Corp. introduces agreement with CADdetailsings, CSI-formatted specifications, 3-D models, and product photographsand provides this information tospecifiers free of charge on theirwebsite.For more info, www.hawscorp.com.

OXFORD, CONN. — Eemax is intro-ducing the HomeAdvantage Series, afull line of premium electric tanklesswater heaters for the whole house.HomeAdvantage Series offers a digi-tal micro processing fingertip tem-perature control with LED displayand patented eco smart staged heat-ing module technology.The HomeAdvantage Series pro-

vides consumers with an endlesssupply of safe hot water and ensuresefficiency, using only the exactamount of energy needed. Eemaxpackages this patented technology

and intelligence in a compact sleek,durable stainless steel body.Flow activates the powerful heat-

ing elements in stages based on hotwater demand. The HomeAdvan-tage Series advanced design maxi-mizes energy and water usage, rated99% efficient and convenientlymounts on any wall for faster deliv-ery of hot water. The HomeAdvan-tage Series offers products rangingfrom 12kW for warmer climatezones to 38kW for larger capacitiesup to six gallon per minute forcolder climate zones.

Eemax introduces electric tankless with control

FALLS CHURCH, VA. — A. O. SmithWater Heaters announced the win-ners of two $2,500 scholarships forstudents pursuing plumbing-heating-cooling related studies. The Plumb-ing-Heating-Cooling Contractors(PHCC) Educational Foundation ad-ministers the scholarship program

and is responsible for selecting theaward winners. The scholarship pro-gram is designed to attract the newtalent essential to the future of theplumbing and HVACR industry.“A. O. Smith Water Heaters has

sponsored these scholarships for thepast six years. We feel that in a tough

economy it’s important that we helpyoung students receive the trainingthey need to be professional mem-bers of our industry,” said DavidChisolm, A. O. Smith brand manager. The 2009 scholarship recipients:• Austin Beery of Rittman, Ohio,

is enrolling in the University of

Akron to pursue a four-year degreein Mechanical Engineering. Lauren Sokolowsky of Cumming,

Ga.. is enrolling Georgia SouthernUniversity to pursue a four-year de-gree in Business Management. To qualify for a $2,500 scholar-

ship, students must submit a de-tailed application including a letterof recommendation from an activemember of the PHCC—National Asso-ciation and enroll in a plumbing-heating-cooling related course ofstudy or apprentice program.

A.O. Smith, PHCC Educational Foundation award scholarships

12 Phc News — OCTOBER 2009InDusTry news

www. f l owa ide .com 1 -800 -321 -8358

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Flow-Aide Descaler Kit for Tankless Water Heaters

In just a few months, scale can reduce the efficiency of tankless water heaters. Whitlam now offers a biodegradable solution for restoring flow to the system by safely dissolving lime, scale and rust. Our kit has everything you need, and it’s environment-friendly and safe for potable water lines.

Commercial systems need Flow-Aide every 3 months and residential every year, so Flow-Aide gets you back to your customers more often.

Got a web site? Call us for a free graphic link that shows customers how important regular descaling is for tankless systems.

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ANN ARBOR, MICH. — As of January 1,2010, new lead content requirementsin California (commonly known asAB 1953) will mandate a maximumweighted average lead content of ≤0.25 percent for plumbing products.Wilkins, a Zurn Company, is the firstbackflow preventer manufacturercertified by NSF International toNSF/ANSI Standard 61: Drinking WaterSystem Components — Health Ef-fects and Annex G low-lead require-ments, developed to help protect thepublic from exposure to lead.Backflow preventers are mechani-

cal plumbing devices that protectagainst pollution and contaminationby preventing unsafe water from flow-ing back into the public water supply.Manufacturers of backflow preven-

ters for potable water service, faucets,valves, water fittings, and other prod-ucts that come in contact with drink-ing water must meet the new leadrequirements, as set forth in the Cal-ifornia Health and Safety Code, byJanuary 1, 2010. After this date, anypipe, fitting, or fixture intended toconvey or dispense water for drinkingor cooking must meet a weighted av-erage lead content of ≤ 0.25 percent.The lead content requirements of

Section 116875 of the CaliforniaHealth and Safety Code (also knownas AB1953) were incorporated as anannex into the American NationalStandard for health effects of drink-ing water system componentsNSF/ANSI Standard 61: Annex G –Weighted Average Lead ContentEvaluation Procedure to a 0.25 Per-cent Lead Requirement.To obtain certification, Wilkins

demonstrated compliance with allof NSF/ANSI Standard 61, Annex Grequirements.

Wilkins first backflow preventermfr. certified by NSFto new lead requirements

Comfortable. Effi cient. Intelligent Heating.

5 Reasons Why

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The Buderus 125BE oil boiler systems are based on the high quality and superior reliability of the Buderus G115. Available in a conventional and condensing models the 125BE boilers feature the innovative BE burner. This LowNOx burner burns cleaner, resulting in ultra-high effi ciencies and less impact on the environment. All 125BE models include the Buderus Logamatic control and Tigerloop fi lter system. The AFUEs are 89%+ for the G125BE and 91%+ for the condensing GB125BE. The 125BE not only looks good, but offers higher effi ciencies and lower pollution output, making it the best choice for an effi cient and ecological oil boiler.

GB125BE Models Are Eligible for the U.S. Federal Tax Credit





MISSISSAUGA, ONTARIO— Uponor Ltd.announced that Jerry Leyte hasjoined the company in the role of

C o mm e r c i a lSales Engineer.Reporting to BillGray, GeneralManager, UponorLtd., Leyte willplay an integralrole in promot-ing Uponor’s ra-diant heating

and cooling products and servicesand conducting training and salessessions with engineers, architectsand contractor installers.

the appointment of Susan Samsonto the position of marketing man-ager. Susan has been with SRP for12 years and will be responsible forall aspects of the marketing func-tion at Superior Radiant and IR En-ergy as it continues to increase itsmarket share in North America andinternationally.

FAIRFIELD, N.J. — John Guest USA,Inc. has appointed Steven D. Rossas national salesmanager for itsPlumbing and Indus-trial Division. Ross isa plumbing industryprofessional withmore than 25 years ofmanagement experi-ence working through a network ofmanufacturers’ reps as well as di-rect industrial distribution.

MILWAUKEE — Patrick Appleby hasbeen named vice president industrysales at Danfoss Drives.In this capacity, he willbe responsible for in-dustrial OEM and distri-bution sales. Recently,he was the NorthAmerican distributionsales manager for GEmotors. Prior to that, he held the po-sitions of national account managerand industrial OEM market manager.

Uponor adds commercial sales engineer

InDusTry Movers


Leyte

STONEY CREEK, ONTARIO — KevinMerritt, president of Superior Radi-ant Products Ltd. (SRP), announced

Superior Radiant Products appoints marketing manger

EAST FREETOWN, MASS. — Heat Trans-fer Products (HTP), a leading manu-facturer of energy-efficient water

heaters and condens-ing-modulating boil-ers, has announcedthe appointments oft w onew re-g i o n a ls a l e sm a n -

agers — Michael Klasand Harold “Doug”McElwain.

HTP appoints regional managers

Klas

McElwain

John Guest appoints national sales manager

Ross

Danfoss names VP industry sales

Appleby

InDusTry news

BY KRISTINE SOBCZAK

The brightest young minds in ar-chitecture and engineering atthe University of Wisconsin —

Milwaukee (UWM) are waging a battlefor the sun, aiming to capture its pow-erful energy to sustain their newly cre-ated, ultramodern, carbon-neutralhome in the 2009 Solar Decathloncompetition in October.The Solar Decathlon, an educational

project of the U.S. Department of En-ergy, is a global contest held everyother year in which university studentteams compete to design, build and op-erate the most attractive and energy-efficient solar-powered house. Teamsmake every effort to be creative and in-novative, hoping their ideas will sparknew technologies and design elementsthat maximize energy efficiency.Of the 40 teams that applied for

consideration, 20 were chosen to buildtheir designs. This year’s teams repre-sent universities in the United States,Puerto Rico, Spain, Canada and Ger-many. After an extensive amount ofplanning and building, entrants will as-semble their homes at the Solar Villageon the grounds of the National Mall inWashington, D.C., where each homewill be judged and toured extensively.The UWM team has named its

home “Meltwater,” in tribute to theglaciers that carved out Wisconsin.Architecture and engineering profes-sors, along with more than 150 stu-dents, have been working onMeltwater for almost two years. In theprocess, they say they’ve learned tomelt a few of the barriers that cansometimes hinder their two profes-sions from working together in themost efficient manner. With all thelearning, researching, fundraising andbuilding that has taken place to keep

the project moving, they’ve learnedmuch about cooperation, collabora-tion, and speaking and understandingeach discipline’s technical language.By this fall, they’ll have a high-perfor-mance home that produces more en-ergy than it uses to show for theirefforts — and if all goes well, a goodshowing in the Solar Decathlon.Meltwater is the culmination of hun-

dreds of ideas, whittled down to themost workable, innovative, energy-ef-ficient solutions. The house will topout at about 800 square feet, the max-imum allowed in the competition. TheUWM team designed Meltwater for aretired couple, perhaps living nearfamily members in a sort of “carriagehouse” concept. It’s designed to with-stand Wisconsin’s harsh winters andsometimes steamy summers — allwhile taking advantage of the best inenergy-efficient technology.“My favorite aspect of the house is

the way we placed the energy-savingfeatures on the home,” said GregThomson, assistant professor of archi-tecture and faculty advisor for theproject. “You see many of them rightaway on the outside of the home. Itimmediately sparks conversation.”Another feature designed to get peo-

ple talking is Meltwater’s use of modulardesign and furnishings that can neatlyfold into the walls. Rooms can easilytransform from one function to another,maximizing space and practicality.“Being a small house, we wanted to

make it appear larger and more invit-ing,” said Eric Davis, student engineeringleader. “We also wanted it to feel like a‘social’ house.”One feature that helps them achieve

those objectives is a series of com-puter-programmed, custom-madedoors that face the west. The doors open

Quest for the sun: UW-Milwaukee studentsdesign home for 2009 Solar Decathlon

(Turn to Solar Decathalon, page 36.)

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HAMMOND, IND. — When the Ham-mond Marina on Lake Michiganopened for the season in May 2009,boaters were greeted with a pair ofnew dockside conveniences: twofloating bathhouses, each with sixbathrooms and a laundry room. Youwouldn’t know it, looking at themnestled into the dock today, but the

ADA-compliant, 15-foot � 42-foot fa-cilities were built in a factory morethan 400 miles away and trucked toIndiana on an 18-wheeler.

Installing the bathhouses was amuch needed upgrade to the maindock, and customer satisfaction wasthe project’s top priority. To helpmeet that goal, the Hammond PortAuthority, which operates the ma-rina, wanted to ensure the bath-house plumbing was top-notch.

The authority made the decisionto use macerating toilets from SFASaniflo Inc. in all 12 bathrooms, re-ducing the potential for clogging andother plumbing problems that arecommon in public restrooms. Thischoice was also based upon an un-usual plumbing configuration thatrequires effluent to be pumped 900feet from the dock to the sewer.

“This setup is unique,” said Ham-mond Harbormaster Keith Carey.“I’m not sure a conventional toilet

would have worked. If not for themacerating pumps, I would foresee alot of problems.”

Deborah Nattrass served as generalcontractor for the complex job. Sheis co-owner of Nautical Nature, Inc.,a Cincinnati-area company special-izing in marina products. “I’ve heardof harbormasters saying public baths

can be a headache formarina operators, so wetry to prevent that,” shesaid. “Whenever you doa marina project, it’sgood to have maceratingplumbing, because youdon’t want any issueswith a floating struc-ture.”

With more than 1,100slips accommodatingwatercraft as large as 80feet, Hammond’s is thesecond largest publiclyowned marina on LakeMichigan. Two thirds ofthe marina’s customerswill rely on the new fa-cilities. “On an averageweekend, the marinawill serve 800 to 1,000people a day,” saidCarey.

The late CharlieStricker, former head ofoperations and mainte-nance for the Port Au-thority, conceived theproject. He wanted toavoid building morestructures that wouldblock the view of theshoreline, and building

on pilings didn’t achieve the aes-thetic the authority wanted. “Afterlooking at a number of options,Charlie worked with Deborah Nat-trass to come up with the modularbathhouses, which look more likethe other structures in the marina,”explained Carey, who took over theproject after Stricker passed away.

Once the decision was final, Nat-trass selected and supervised multi-ple subcontractors to carry out thecomplex project, including ModularOne in Pulaski, Tenn., which sys-tem-built the bathhouses on-site andhandled their transport to Indiana.Merco Marine of Wellsburg, W. Va.,supplied the platform, floats anddecking to support the structures atthe Marina’s dock permanently.

Early on, macerating toiletsemerged as a key to the project’s suc-cess. “I’ve sold floating structures pre-viously, and macerating systems areexcellent for marine application,”

Nattrass explains. “When you have aboating community with lots of peo-ple, you don’t want any plumbingproblems. A regular toilet wouldn’t besufficient in that type of application.”

Nattrass recommended using San-iflo’s Saniplus model that has a built-in grinder, thus “eliminatinganything that’s coming off that struc-ture that could back up the system,”she explained. Using small-diameterdischarge piping, the Saniplus canpump effluent vertically 15 feet and150 feet horizontally.

Of course, that pumping distancefalls well short of the Hammond Ma-rina sewer, located 900 feet from thedock. Each toilet therefore connectsto a floating tank. When the tank isfilled, the contents are pumped to alarger lift station, which then pumpsit to the sewer.

“The plumbing is kind of a compli-cated, two-stage setup,” said Carey.“The grinders seem to do a verygood job of breaking down the paperand other solids to allow them topass easily through the pumps.Some of our other pumps have to becleaned once a month. I don’t fore-see any maintenance issues like thatwith the new macerating system.”

Modular One general managerTripp Weigel had not worked withmacerating plumbing technologyprior to the Hammond project. Infact, the bathhouses were his firm’sfirst marine structures. Each year, thecompany builds more than 200 sys-tem-built, or modular, structures inthe Pulaski factory. The vast majorityare single- or multi-family homes.

When the company was con-tracted by Nattrass to build the float-ing bathhouses, Weigel addressed thechallenge with research. “We wentthrough several different floor plansand layouts,” he said. “We also vis-ited a couple of boat manufacturers,because boats have a lot of the samecomponents as floating structures.”

It was during a visit to a boat man-ufacturer that Weigel saw macerat-ing plumbing in action. “We figuredif this company is still using it afterall these years, it’s worth trying, andthe model was competitively priced.When we went back to the Ham-mond Port Authority, they told usthey wanted macerating toilets.”

The bathhouses were fully con-structed in Pulaski, with the excep-tion of some exterior finish workdone after they were placed onto thefloats in the marina. “The port au-thority wanted to install the systemthis spring for their boaters, so mod-ular made sense because it greatly

decreases the construction time,”Modular One’s Weigel said.

Each bathroom has a toilet, sinkand shower, and each bathhouse hastwo handicapped-accessible bath-rooms. A laundry room and a me-chanical room round out each facility.

The entire construction took underthree weeks. “We set them up on aWednesday and boater could usethem by the weekend,” said Weigel,whose plumbers installed the macer-ating units. “We were a little nervousabout macerating plumbing, it beingnew to us. But it was a fairly easy andsimple installation. I was surprised athow compact the little pump was. Iexpected something that would stickout, but it looks good.”

While the bathhouses were under-way in Tennessee, Merco Marine wasbuilding the floats in West Virginia.Jon Meriwether started the businessin 1979 as a part-time operationwith his son. Today the company op-erates from a five-acre manufactur-ing plant, offering a wide array ofmarine products.

It took nine truckloads to trans-port the float materials to Ham-mond. Meriwether’s companysupplied the float, platform, metaltruss frames and decking. “Eachbathhouse weighs 39,000 pounds,”he said. “To support these struc-tures, we built units 130 feet longand 30 feet wide, with 330,000pounds of floatation. We designedthe float so that it sits slightly belowthe dock. These are first-class units.”

Meriwether, who lives in a floatinghouse, was already familiar withmacerating systems. In fact, hiscompany is now offering a new float-ing restroom product that also fea-tures the Saniplus. “I’m usingmaceration because I don’t want theplumbing to clog up,” he said.

Meriwether recommends installingmacerating technology in public rest-rooms that are heavily used on week-ends. “We’ve had a positiveexperience with macerating toilets,”he said. “There’s a call for these instate parks and private marinas.”

Weigel said the experience has alsoopened new doors for Modular One,which plans to build more floatingstructures, complete with maceratingplumbing. “We’ll be taking this proto-type coast to coast,” he said. “It’s easyto customize this type of deal forwhat any marina wants.”

“We’ll definitely go with macera-tion when we do more of these boat-houses,” Nattrass agreed.

For harbormaster Carey, theproof was in his customers’ re-sponse. “I’ve been talking to all ofour customers, and the feedbackhas been outstanding.” �

Smooth sailing for busy marine bathhousesField RepoRt

Each bathhouse weighs 39,000 pounds. A crane wasused to place the bathhouses onto the floats.

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18 Phc News — OCTOBER 2009Field RepoRt


Started in Las Vegas in 1999,Red Rock Mechanical (RRM)provides heating, ventilation,

and air conditioning (HVAC) servicesfor commercial and residential con-struction. The company has ap-proximately 300 employees andmaintains offices in Las Vegas andPhoenix. Greg Orr, Controller atRed Rock Mechanical, tells howMaxwell Systems™ American Con-tractor™ efficiently controls pay-roll for both Red Rock Mechanicaloffices.

Significant savings with in-house payroll

If you ask Orr what the best partof processing payroll with Ameri-can Contractor is, he’ll tell you it’s“fast, accurate and all done in-

house.” Orr, who oversees payrollfor Red Rock Mechanical, attrib-utes significant cost savings tomanaging payroll in-house. He esti-mated that Red Rock Mechanicalsaves in excess of 10%, which is thesurcharge of many outside payrollservice providers, using AmericanContractor Payroll.

“If all you did with AmericanContractor was Payroll, it wouldstill pay for itself,” Orr said. “Amer-ican Contractor is custom-made forcontractors.”

Bridging the multi-statepayroll gap

With almost identical organiza-tions in Las Vegas and Phoenix, RedRock Mechanical has a unique pay-roll challenge. With American Con-

tractor Payroll, all payroll processingcan be handled in one office in justa matter of days. This includes pay-roll processing for subsidiary compa-nies owned by RRM. “Now we’re ableto save [outsourced] processing feeson a monthly basis and process effi-ciently for two different states,” saidOrr. “We also save money becauseRed Rock Mechanical doesn’t needto have a payroll clerk in two differ-ent states. One payroll manager canefficiently handle payroll for the en-tire company.”

Determining actual job costs with payroll data

An added benefit of AmericanContractor Payroll, according to Orr,is the ability to determine the actualcost of each project with payroll pro-cessing that integrates with job costaccounting.

“By doing payroll in-house, youare able to scrutinize how muchlabor is going into each one of yourjobs,” said Orr. “In American Con-tractor, you know exactly who’sworking on a job, for how long, who’sbeing productive and who’s not. Pay-roll helps us make sure that all laborcosts are properly applied to jobcosts.”

American Contractor Payroll in-cludes everything needed to processand report construction payrolls.This robust component helps con-tractors record work and calculateearnings, benefits, fringes, insuranceliabilities, taxes, and more.

“American Contractor Payroll is afull-service application,” said Orr. “It’sgot everything you need to get the jobdone.” Orr appreciated that dataentry is fast and efficient with “hotbutton” features that help payrollclerks quickly complete their tasks.

Specific construction industry fea-tures also contribute to payroll effi-ciencies for Red Rock Mechanical.Orr said that certified payroll report-ing is a “snap” and piece rate paysaves time for the new constructionside of Red Rock Mechanical.

“American Contractor Payrollhelps us control and improve effi-ciency with piece rates. All you haveto do is enter the job number for aparticular house, for example, andthe piece rate is applied,” Orr ex-plained. “It’s very convenient to usepiece rates that are programmedinto job budgets.”

For repairs and maintenance,Red Rock Mechanical uses theAmerican Contractor Work Ordercomponent. The work order laborinformation is automatically used inPayroll, which eliminates any addi-tional data entry.

“Basically the service departmentaccomplishes their own payroll,”Orr said. “For example, if Bill spentan hour fixing Jones’ furnace, thathour is automatically inserted into

Bill’s timecard for the day. It’s veryfast and very efficient.”

Minimal Learning Curve for Amer-ican Contractor One of the greatestbenefits of American Contractor isthe ease of use and minimal learningcurve. New payroll clerks can bebrought up to speed on AmericanContractor in no time at all with thetutorials and online help providedwith the system.

“Employees who are familiarwith computerized payroll find itvery user-friendly,” Orr said. Andwhen employees need help, Orrsaid that they turn to the CustomerZone, which is a comprehensivecollection of answers for product-related questions. “It’s a beautifulthing — very quick and reliable,”he said. “I encourage employees torefer to it for instant answers totheir questions.” �

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Management software helps mechanicalcompany manage payroll in-house

With American Contractor, it’s easy to manage the complexities of construction payroll.For example, employee records can be used to track completed training certificationsand required tax information, including associated images and documentation.


BY MATTHEW KUWATCH

Alot is taken for granted whensteel fire sprinkler systemsare specified. That’s because

there is an assumption — justified ornot — that metal can meet mini-mum requirements, without under-going testing, for such criteria astemperature, flammability, pressure,etc. As a result, metallic piping is notsubjected to the same performancetesting as other piping materials.Rather, it is often grandfathered.

Plastics are a very different story.Since they represent a newer tech-nology than steel, they are scruti-nized to a much greater degree. It isimportant to note, however, thatwhen discussing plastic piping mate-rials and their performance capabil-ities, not all plastics are the same.Nor should they be grouped togetherwhen discussing their fire safety per-formance or any other performanceattributes, for that matter.

Despite the fact that CPVC and PEXare both approved for use in variouspiping systems, including potablewater pipe and NFPA 13D multipur-pose fire sprinkler systems (althoughPEX is not approved for stand-alonefire sprinkler systems because its in-terior diameter precludes adequatewater delivery), their performance

characteristics are very different.One of the biggest differences be-tween CPVC and PEX relative to use inlife safety applications is fire safetyperformance.

CPVC outperforms PEX in all threecategories that help define a prod-uct’s fire safety performance--smoke,flame and toxicity resistance. In eachcategory, CPVC repeatedly earns topmarks as proven both by strenuouslab testing and years of successfulfield performance.

CPVC is less flammable than a

number of other common buildingproducts. In contrast, PEX is muchmore susceptible to ignition thanCPVC. This is due to CPVC having a sig-nificantly higher Limiting OxygenIndex (LOI) than PEX — 60 as op-posed to 17. LOI is the percentage ofoxygen needed to support combus-tion. Since the earth’s atmospherecontains 21 percent oxygen, anymaterial with an LOI above 21 per-cent will not burn under normal at-mospheric conditions. That meansCPVC will not burn by itself. It will notignite unless a heat source is presentand will stop burning once the heatsource is removed or extinguished.

Contrary to popular belief, thereare many other commonly installedbuilding products with much lowerLOIs than CPVC. Cotton and woodenfir studs, for instance, both have anLOI of 15. Red oak and carpet areequal at an LOI of 20 — all of whichare substantially lower than the 60LOI of CPVC. More importantly from asafety perspective, with LOIs lowerthan 21, they are more likely to sus-tain combustion and continue burn-ing even after the heat source hasbeen removed.

Also important to note is that CPVC

piping systems have a flash ignitiontemperature of roughly 900° F de-pending on the manufacturer. Thisis the lowest temperature at whichsufficient combustible gas is evolvedto be ignited by a small externalflame. Many other ordinary com-bustibles, such as wood, ignite at500°F or less. Consequently, CPVC

systems cannot be the ignitionsource of a fire.

When CPVC is exposed to a flame,it will simply char. This char layerthen becomes a thermal barrierwhich restricts the flow of heat intothe pipe and reduces the rate ofburning. PEX, on the other hand, ishighly flammable and will continueto burn even after an external flamehas been removed.

Tests additionally show that CPVC

pipe does not contribute toflashover, which is the sudden, ex-plosive development of a flame front.

Along with flammability, smoke isa serious concern since it contributesnot only to property damage but,more importantly, has an adverse ef-fect on air quality and overall safety.The reality is that all organic materi-als — natural or synthetic — gener-ate some type of toxic gas whenexposed to heat and fire. CPVC,through numerous tests, has demon-strated a comparatively better per-formance with regard to its smokegeneration characteristics. In fact,

the gases given off by CPVC haveproven to be no more toxic thanwood and much less toxic than manyother frequently used materials, suchas wool and cotton. Because of itsoutstanding fire and smoke genera-tion qualities, CPVC fire sprinkler pip-ing systems are approved for use inplenum spaces in accordance withNFPA 90A: Standard for the Installa-tion of Air Conditioning and Ventilat-ing Systems. PEX piping is notapproved for use in plenum spaces.

As a specially Listed material byUnderwriters Laboratories (UL),CPVC has undergone more “fitness ofpurpose” tests than nearly any otherpiping material found on the markettoday. These strictly administeredtests are designed to subject CPVC

pipe and fittings to extremes well be-yond what would likely be encoun-tered in the average residential orcommercial application. During fireperformance testing, for example,CPVC pipe has been exposed to flamesreaching above 1400°F for extendedperiods of time. It is only by passingthese tests, which are designed toevaluate mechanical strength anddurability, pressure and temperatureresistance, that CPVC has qualified forthe UL and Factory Mutual (FM) List-ings approvals it has today.

In addition to its third-party List-

ings, CPVC is approved by all majormodel building and mechanicalcodes. In light-hazard (NFPA 13) or res-idential (NFPA 13D and 13R) occupan-cies, CPVC sprinkler systems may evenbe installed exposed. PEX pipe is onlyapproved per NFPA 13D for multipur-pose systems CPVC is the only UL

Listed, non-metallic material that canbe used in an exposed application forall light hazard applications.

There are many reasons why in-stallers and specifiers prefer one pip-ing material over another. Often itcomes down to personal preference.But with something as important aslife safety, it is facts that most oftendictate which piping material will beused. CPVC has a 25+-year trackrecord of solid performance in awide variety of residential and com-mercial applications that require

fire-safe sprinkler piping. Today, infact, CPVC fire sprinkler piping is in-stalled in more than 60 countries,easily making it the most specifiednon-metallic material used in fireprotection applications.

In addition to its proven field per-formance, CPVC has the added dis-tinction of having been tested andapproved by a variety of third-partylabs, including UL and FM — not justin the U.S., but also in Canada, theUK and China.

Even under some of the most ex-treme conditions, CPVC performs re-liably and safely. As a result, it hasmore Listings and is approved formore applications than any othernon-metallic piping material. Thisprovides greater versatility for in-stallers, as well as a higher level ofconfidence. �

Matthew Kuwatch is the globalmarketing manager for BlazeMas-ter® Fire Sprinkler Systems, whichis part of The Lubrizol Corp. He cur-rently serves as the executive direc-tor and chairman of the Board for theOhio Fire Safety Coalition. He is amember of the NFPA, American FireSprinkler Association, InternationalFire Sprinkler Association, Societyfor Fire Protection Engineers and theHome Fire Sprinkler Coalition.

Evaluating the fire safety performance of non-metallic fire sprinkler systems

CpVC Vs. peX

CPVC pipe chars at the end and thenstops burning once the ignition sourceis removed.

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Steam traps trap steam

One of the things I loved about this business whenI was first coming up was that the name of a com-ponent nearly always defined its function. All I

had to do was reverse the word order to figure it out. Con-sider the title of this article, for instance. Steam traps trapsteam. So simple!

Or think about condensate pumps. They pump conden-sate. It’s right there in the name. Isn’t that delightful?

How about air vents? Air vents, well, they vent air.Wonderfully simple!

Differential-pressure regulators? Why those little beau-ties regulate differential pressure, of course. All I had tofigure out then was what differential pressure was.

And then there’s my all-time favorite: P-traps. Goahead; figure it out on your own.

But I digress. With the exception of some of the older vapor systems,

thermostatic radiator traps belong on all two-pipe steamradiators. They go down low, on the side opposite the ra-diator’s supply valve. These wonderful automatic valveswill respond to temperature, which is great because,within the radiator, steam is hotter than the condensate

that forms when the steam turns back to water. That’swhat opens and closes a thermostatic trap.

They’re normally open and air will pass through themahead of the steam and vent from the system somewheredownstream. When steam arrives, the thermostatic ele-ment will expand because it’s partially filled with alcoholand under a vacuum. Alcohol boils at a temperature that’slower than the temperature at which water boils. Whenthe element expands, it pushes the pin into the seat andtraps the steam inside the radiator.

Condensate builds up and flows into the trap. At thispoint, we need a drop in temperature of about 10-15°Fahrenheit before the trap will reopen. When it does re-open, the differential pressure across the trap will movethe condensate from the radiator into the return so it canmake its way back to the boiler.

Thermostatic radiator traps nearly always fail in theopen position because this is the position that will causeyou the most grief. But because they are sensitive to tem-perature, you can check a thermostatic radiator trap witha thermometer. Go ahead; take its temp on one side and

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then the other. You’re looking forthat 10-15° difference, and you’llneed to keep in mind that this tem-perature is relative to the steampressure. Steam at 1-psi pressure isabout 216°, so on a low-pressure,space-heating system, the traps willopen when the condensate is some-where between 200° and 205° F.That’s nice.However, if you’re a running, say,

10-psi pressure on that space-heat-ing system because you happen tobe a knucklehead, the steam tem-perature will be 240° F. and the trapwill vomit condensate at about 225°into the return lines, where some ofit will immediately flash back intosteam, defeating the purpose of thetrap altogether. If you’d like to have more fun that

a laser thermometer can provide,you can make yourself a trap-testingstation out of a pot. Seriously. Iheard of a guy who did this. I evenhave a photo of it. He welded a nip-ple and an elbow to the lid of the potand tested his traps by screwingthem into that elbow while boilingwater. It worked like a charm andspeaks well for American ingenuity.Thermostatic radiator traps will

open and close hundreds of thou-sands of times each heating season,and manufacturers give them abouta 10-year lifespan. They get checkedabout every 50 years or so, and onlybecause the building is coming apartfrom the water hammer. But you and I can understand

why this is so. The problem withchecking traps is that we sometimescan’t get at them without breakingthings. And the wealthier the ten-ants, the worse this problem seemsto be. I’ve been in some Manhattan

apartment buildings where the richfolks thought it was a fine idea tohave their radiators encased inmarble, leaving no access to thesteam traps (or to the air). The mar-

ble looked marvelous, I have toadmit, but since air couldn’t get tothe radiators to warm the rich folks(which is why I was there), and be-cause the radiator traps were en-tombed better than Ulysses S.Grant, all I could do was just look atthe rich people. They looked back.I smiled.Around 1975, when I was working

for a manufacturers’ rep on the Isleof Long, we sold hundreds of ther-mostatic radiator valves to the peo-ple who ran a cooperativeapartment building. We also soldthem an equal amount of new ther-mostatic radiator traps. This wasright after the first OPEC oil embargoand NYC was abuzz with talk of sav-ing fuel. A combination of new radi-ator traps and TRVs seemed like justthe ticket. Now when do you suppose they

decided to do this complicated heat-ing work? Do you think they did itduring the summer when the steamheat was off? Nah, that’s a silly timeto work on heating. It’s too warm!Summer is the time to work on airconditioning, so that’s what they did.They were no different from anyoneelse.So they were adding these TRVs

and new steam traps to lines thatwere under steam pressure. They’disolate one line at a time, of course,so as to not get burned, but theycouldn’t get into all the apartmentson that line on the same day, andthey didn’t want the tenants to com-plain, so they turned the line off dur-ing the day, and opened it again atnight.Now think this through. That

steam line rises though, say, the liv-ing room of all the stacked apart-ments. It goes from the first floor tothe 20th floor in that Manhattan

apartment building. We’re going toinstall new TRVs and radiator trapson the first three floors today. That’sabout all we can get done becausewe’re using our own building super-

intendent to do the work and thetenants aren’t always answering thedoor when he knocks. He also worksslowly. Now the last time anyone worked

on these traps, F.D.R. was sitting inthe Oval Office. There’s been steamin the return lines, raising hell andthe fuel bills since the Kennedy ad-ministration. The building super in-stalls the new TRVs and traps in thosethree apartments and turns on thesteam that night. The TRVs close ontemperature, and so do the newtraps. The steam condenses insidethe newly refurbished radiators andtraps and forms a vacuum becausethe radiator is now closed on theinlet side (thanks to the TRV) and onthe outlet side (because of the closedtrap). With me so far? Great. Now keep in mind that traps work

on pressure differential and thathigh pressure goes to low pressure –always. When the new steam trapsopened, the steam in the return linewas waiting for it. Steam rushedbackwards into the radiators be-cause there was a bit of a vacuum inthere. This created water hammerwithin the trap, which turned thetrap elements into paperweights in amatter of moments. Oh, and the re-turn-line steam also overheated theradiator, even though the TRV wasclosed. Nature hates a vacuum.I spent a lot of hours on that job

with the factory guy from the TRVcompany. We were both young andwe got a good education right thereat the start of America’s first energycrisis. The tuition sure was expen-sive, though. The main thing we learned that

winter was that summer is the timeto work on TRVs and traps. �

Holohan

Heating Help


One of the things I loved about this business when I was first coming up was that the name

of a component nearly always defined its function. All I had to do was reverse the word order to figure it out...

...And then there’s my all-time favorite: P-traps. Go ahead; figure it out on your own.

(Continued from page 22.)

26 Phc News — OCTOBER 2009radiant insider

Request for change

BY PAUL ROHRScontributing writer

When you opened up your very first computer, youmethodically went through the set up and hadto contend with this new concept called a

mouse. “Hey look, when I move this device, the cursor fol-lows it.” It may have seemed like an innovative thing at thetime, but now it is commonplace. Along those lines, every-one had access to a game called Solitaire, a common cardgame to be sure, but why have it on my new computer?The real answer is that Solitaire is placed on computers toget users comfortable with the concept of click, drag anddrop to quickly navigate files, folders and application soft-ware. What in the world does this have to do with hydron-ics? We’ll come back to this at the end of the article.Now fast-forward to the reality of our current economy.

There are a lot of plumbers and hydronic contractors thathave stayed in the residential market, but the residentialnew construction market nationally is in the “crapper,” touse a plumbing term we all understand. These plumbersand hydronicians need to grease the wheels of their bankaccounts by putting as much ink on a deposit slip as pos-sible, but what to do? Diversify in your market, as well asstart bidding commercial projects. These businessmenand women are accustomed to proficiency and autonomyin residential projects, directly dealing with the owner andbuilders to accept changes and make course correctionsas needed to give the end user the desired product. To recap, we are going to accept that there are a lot of

primarily residential plumbers moving into the commer-cial arena just to stay afloat in economic times. Commercial projects have a clearly laid out set of plans

that are followed, and if there is a change to be made,there is a protocol that must be followed if the plumbingcontractor is going to maintain profitability in the project.Let’s say that the contractor on the job is completing theseparate phases of a project but notices a category-3boiler with zones of radiant heat. The radiant floor heatzones will feature outdoor-reset with variable-speed in-jection-mixing. The contractor notes that this is going tochew up a bunch of money as it requires installing AL29stainless vent pipe and the additional piping for the VSIM.A better solution would be to install a Cat IV boiler thathas outdoor reset as a standard feature and vents with PVCSch40. Does the contractor just eat the difference and in-stall the Cat IV condensing boiler? Of course not. Thecontractor has to submit a Request for Change (RFC) sothat this change-order can be reviewed by the engineerand accepted. At this time, the RFC can call out the cost

changes so that the contract can be altered. A request forchange is not that difficult to write and submit, althoughit might take writing a few drafts to get comfortable withthe process, kind of like playing Solitaire on the computer.You are learning to navigate the commercial project withchanges that can enhance or maintain profitability.To start, you are going to want to list the current date,

the name of the project with the architect and engineerlisted. You also will want to list the print you are workingoff of, and who you are. Additionally, ask how many copiesto submit, and it should usually be in a binder with thespecification and submittal of the product to which you arerequesting to change. A quick and simple written overviewof what was slated to be installed and why this new productor process will be the same, or better outcome.I have submitted on boiler changes before, as well as

submitting an RFC to use Pro-Press ™ fittings as opposedto wrought-copper sweat fittings. Be aware that time frames are always critical. Waiting

until the final phase of a project is not advisable unless aproblem manifests itself that requires the change be madein the first place. If you can identify problems or foreseeissues that can enhance the project early in the process,it will help the process along and will identify you as thequalified and professional contractor that you are. The old saying is that “The only constant is change.”

Be prepared for these job-site changes by knowing howto write a Request for Change. You can prepare yourselfand your business for these changes by having a RFC tem-plate prepared so that you can be ready to insert the per-tinent information and submit. If you would like to seecopies of RFCs that I have submitted, email me [email protected] and I will email them to you. Writ-ing these changes is not hard, but it takes a little practice,just like learning how to use that computer mouse for thefirst time. Now…back to that game of solitaire. �

Paul Rohrs welcomes your comments. Contact Paulat [email protected].

We are going to accept that there are a lot of

primarily residential plumbersmoving into the commercialarena just to stay afloat

in economic times.

CORRECTION In Paul Rohrs’ September column, “Don’t leave me

Hangin’,” Paul stated that Frank Wilsey and his com-pany, All Steamed Up, were located in New York. Theyare located in Baltimore, Md. Also, Frank Wilsey’s part-ner’s name is Gordon Schwiezer. Paul Rohrs and PhcNews regret the error.

BREWSTER, N.Y. — Matco-Norca, Inc. is offering a seasonalspecial on a variety of heating products. Special prices arevalid through the end of this year.Special pricing is available on these brass and other

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radiant insiderPhc News — OCTOBER 2009 27

28 Phc News — OCTOBER 2009solar solutions

BY BRISTOL STICKNEYcontributing writer

Fewer tanks mean simpler plumbing, simpler controlsand a lower cost solar heating installation.Because water has a higher heat storage capacity than

concrete, but has a lower density, while the concrete isoften available in a much higher volume, the comparisonbetween the two heat storage systems is not obvious. It isno wonder that people have trouble visualizing how muchheat is involved and at what temperatures. Let’s look atthe difference in performance of direct solar heated con-crete compared to the more common solar heated watertanks by comparing two hypothetical heating systems in

Because water has a higherheat storage capacity than concrete, but has a lower density, while the concrete is often available in a much

higher volume, the comparisonbetween the two heat storage

systems is not obvious.

In previous columns I have mentioned thermal massand its application in solar hydronic heating systemsmany times. Thermal mass is any dense material that

is used to store heat. Water and masonry materials arethe most common. It has long been standard practice inthe solar heating industry to store all the solar heat in in-sulated water tanks before sending it out in response to acall for space heat. In our region we have found that largeheat-storage water tanks are only necessary when hotwater baseboards or fan coils require it but not when thehouse is all-mass-floor hydronic heat. Insulated hydronicslab floors contain a tremendous amount of heat storagecapacity, and when controlled properly this can reduceor eliminate the need for water tank solar heat-storage.

Property Water Concrete Units CommentsSpecific 1.0 0.2 Btu/lb.-F Heat stored in one pound when Heat the temperature rises 1 degreeCapacity F.Density 62 120 Lb./cubic ft. Weight per unit volume. Water

is 8.3 lb./gallon.Earth Temp. 50 50 F degrees Earth temperature 6 feet below

the house is similar to theaverage annual temperature.

Heat Load 7 7 Btu/square Average hourly heat load on a foot floor cold day in a well-constructed

house.R Value 15 15 Ft2-F-Hr./Btu Insulation value surrounding

the tank and under the slabfloor.

Room 70 70 F degrees Typical Average Daily RoomTemp AirSlab Temp 73 73 F degrees Typical Average Daily Slab

Surface

Table 15-1Physical Properties and Conditions Assumed for Comparison

Item Tanks Floor CommentsSize 640 3200 Assume cylindrical tanks containing boiler fluid

Gallons Sq. Ft. (low pressure water).Weight 5312 128000 Weight of slab 4" thick.

Pounds PoundsHeat 5312 25600 Heat stored when average temperature rises 1Capacity Btu/F Btu/F degree F.Heat Loss 1693 4907 Tanks lose heat to the mechanical room. Floor

Btu/hr Btu/hr loses heat to the ground.Solar 320 Ft2 320 Ft2 Eight flat plate panels, 4' x 10' each.PanelSolar Heat 320000 320000 Useful solar heat delivered to the house on a

Btu/Day Btu/Day clear day. (1000 Btus per square foot per day)Boiler 80000 80000 Minimum hydronic boiler output size typical for

Btu/hr Btu/hr this type of house.

Table 15-2 Specifications: Sample 3,200-Square-Foot Solar Heated House

Bristol’s six principles of good solar hydronic designThermal mass for space heating — water vs. concrete

(Turn to Thermal Mass, page 30.)

our climate (Santa Fe, N.M.). The following simplified analysis is intended to estab-

lish the general magnitude of the solar heat storage effectsto allow the reader to get a realistic feeling for the amountof heating energy involved. I round off the numbers andmake assumptions based on my own experience in orderto get us into the “ballpark” for a reasonable comparison.Please review the previous columns in the Plumbing

Engineer.com archives for more details regarding themany other factors that make up a complete solar heatingdesign.

Water and concrete by the numbersA good snapshot of these two heat-storage systems

must include the storage capacity as well as the heat lossfrom the different configurations. The storage capacity isdefined by the specific heat capacity and the density ofthe heat storage material. The heat loss is driven by thetemperature difference between the warm mass materialand the environment, the insulating value, and the sur-face area. Table 15-1 lists a summary of the key condi-tions needed to make a comparison.Heat loss is calculated by multiplying the surface area

by the temperature difference and dividing by the “R”


value. Heat storage is calculated bymultiplying the specific heat by thedensity and then by the temperaturerise (or drop) in the material.

A sample solar heated houseLet’s consider a residential house

with 3,200 square feet of heated liv-ing space that is well constructedwith the energy use and perform-ance temperatures as seen in Table15-1. The owner decides to includeeight large (4510 flat plate) solarheat panels to supplement the heatfrom a hot water heating systemusing a hydronic boiler. One planproposes storing all the solar spaceheat in water tanks and anotherplan uses “direct” heat storageusing insulated “slab on grade” hy-dronic radiant concrete floors. Thesize of the collectors is typical ofsystems installed in our area, usingabout 10% of the floor area in col-lectors. A water tank system wouldbe typically sized in our climate toprovide 2 gallons for each 1 squarefoot of collector, or 640 gallons. Set-ting aside the other obvious designissues such as integrated DHW, roomtemperature control strategies andover-heat protection, let’s focus onhow much heat is involved and howthe thermal storage systems reactto it. It is interesting to note that even

though the concrete floor weighs 24times as much as the water, its totalheat storage capacity is only about 5times that of the water. The backupboiler is capable of burning theequivalent of about 1 gallon ofpropane per hour at full output. Thesolar collectors deliver about 4 timesthis amount of heat per day.

Thermal response of water vs.concrete heat storage

Using the data shown in Table 15-2, we can calculate the temperaturerise in the thermal mass driven bythe available solar heat. We also cancalculate the heat loss from thetanks, the heat loss from the floor,and the heat needed by the build-ing. The net solar heat deliveredcan then be determined and thesolar savings compared. These re-sults are summarized in Table 15-3.Note that the water tanks must op-erate at a much higher temperaturerange than the concrete floors inorder to store the daily ration ofsolar heat. The tanks can gain over50 degrees of net temperature risewhile the floors gain less than 8 de-grees. If the tank begins the day at100ºF, it will be 150ºF at the end ofa sunny day. The concrete floor sur-faces will typically stay below 80ºF.Lower temperatures are generallyassociated with higher solar ther-mal efficiencies.The direct floor system is capable

of providing over 25% more solarsavings than the storage tank systemwith the same solar collectors in thisexample, based on the daily heatingsummary.When the thermal mass of the

concrete floors is used directly, theconcrete becomes the solar heat ac-cumulator. Even though the con-crete has a lower specific heatstorage capacity, because there is somuch of it, the temperatures can bemaintained easily within the rangeof human comfort. The room tem-perature can be allowed to drift asmuch as 8 degrees from day to nightwithout exceeding the limits of thehuman comfort range. Using pro-grammable 2-stage thermostats, thiscomfort range can be controlled tothe user’s needs on a room by room

basis. In some rooms, a wider tem-perature fluctuation can be toler-ated, and this will result in highersolar savings in those rooms.Keep in mind that a solar heated

house must be well constructed toachieve a high solar heating fraction.The solar collectors provide a finiteamount of heat each sunny day. Inthis example, the solar heating frac-tion does not exceed 40% on thiscold hypothetical day. During mildercold weather, the solar contributionwill be higher. It is possible to designbuildings with solar collectors wherethe heating energy balance is engi-neered to provide a high solar con-tribution.

Regional results will varyThis example is intended only to

illustrate the concepts involved insolar heat and thermal mass whenused for solar space heating. Tables15-1 and 15-2 show only a shortsummary of all the variables that canaffect the performance of a solarheated building. These and othervariables will change in different re-gions, resulting in different solar per-formance results. �

Letter to the editorHidden Radiators, August

2009

Dan Holohan,I continue to thoroughly

enjoy your articles and I scanthe index of Phc News that I re-ceive hoping I will find one ofyours.Last November I turned 80

and I believe that I am a bitsenior to you. Having said that,I believe you must have readsome historical articles onthe Hidden Radiator system. Ifirst heard about such a sys-tem in a Presbyterian churchin Chattanooga in the 1950sthen again along about1980. The later one was here inAugusta, Ga.in an very upscale“old” residence.Augusta’s background is that

in the very late 1890s and theearly 1900s some very well-to-do “Yankees” discovered thatthey could come down to Au-gusta in the winter and playgolf. President Taft was one ofthose.Florida was still undeveloped

and remained that way untilMr. Flagler built a railroad thatwent down the East Coast towhat is now Fernandina Beachand Ponte Vedra Beach.Needless to say the Hidden

Radiator systems were terriblyinefficient but coal was cheapand there were plenty of handshere to get up early to start fir-ing the furnace and keep theoccupied spaces warmthrough the day and night. Wedon’t have the extreme win-ters that exist “up North.”The “Yankees” still like our

area because they still comedown and lots have retiredhere. They are really prettynice folks.There is an uncomplimen-

tary saying here: “The Yankeesare like hemorrhoids — it’s notso bad when they come downbut it sure is great when theygo back up.” Bathroomhumor?My regards to Maid Mari-

anne, and keep up the goodwriting.

Clay Coleman

Thermal mass

solar solutions

Item Tanks Floor CommentsTemp. 60.2 12.5 Maximum average temperature rise in Gain F rise F rise storage possible in one sunny day.Temp. 7.7 4.6 Typical temperature drops in the storage.Loss F drop F drop mass due to heat loss through the insulation

per dayTemp. 52.5 7.9 Useful temperature rise available per sunnyNet Gain F rise F rise day for space heating.Net Solar 161120 202240 Floor loses heat to the ground. Tanks lose Heat Btu/Day Btu/Day heat to the mechanical room and also to the Delivered ground when heat is finally delivered to the floor.Boiler Run- 2.01 2.53 Boiler running at full output (80000 Btu/hr).time Saved Hours/Day Hours/DayBoiler Run- 6.72 6.72 Boiler runtime with no solar at full output on time No Hours/Day Hours/Day a cold day.SolarSolar 29.9% 37.6% Solar heat contribution expressed as aPercent percent of the normal boiler routine.

TABLE 15-3 Daily Solar Heat Response: Sample 3,200-Square-Foot Solar Heated House

In this series of articles, I have been

making the case that the key ingredients

for solar/hydronic design and installation

can be divided into six categories, listed

below, roughly in order of their impor-

tance.

1. RELIABILITY

2. EFFECTIVENESS

3. COMPATIBILITY

4. ELEGANCE

5. SERVICEABILITY

6. EFFICIENCY

The success of any solar hydronic

home heating installation depends on the

often-conflicting balance between any of

these six principles. Finding the balance

between them defines the art of solar heat-

ing design.


32 Phc News — OCTOBER 2009Plumbing business

10 Questions you should ask yourself

BY RICHARD P. DiTOMA, L.M.P.contributing writer

The contracting business arena is laden with pitfallsthat hinder good people who go into business withdreams of success. A major pitfall is ignorance of

the reality of that which is needed to succeed in the con-tracting business environment. Every one of us is ignorantabout something because no one knows everything. But,those who enter the contracting business should knowabout that which pertains to running a business properly.One of those obstacles is fear. Fear of losing a job often

leads to the bad practice of buying work at any pricerather than selling services profitably. Another impedi-ment is the propensity of humans, even those with intel-ligence, to do foolish things. Many contractors pay, in partor totality, for the tasks they perform for their clientelewithout even realizing that fact.When blended with a misguided ego, these traits lead

to absurd business protocols, which make proper returnson the monetary and sweat equity investments contrac-tors pour into their businesses impossible to attain.As a contractor, or contractor to be, you should ask

yourself the following 10 very important questions beforeopening the doors tomorrow, which is the first day of therest of your business life.

Why am I — or do I want to be — in business?Profit is the only reason business exists. Profit is that

amount of money that remains after all the legitimate ex-penses to run your business (including your own salary)are subtracted from the revenue you get from consumersfor the services you provide. Before you can earn a properprofit, you must recognize all the costs you incur, andapply a proper profit margin to those costs to arrive atselling prices that will allow you to reach your goals. Ifyou don’t use the correct numbers, you will get the wronganswer. That is, a loss, no profit, or less profit than youreally deserve.

What does it cost me to be in business?You incur many costs to be in business. Government

laws, rules, regulations, mandates and tariffs create andadd to those costs. Salaries and salary-related expenses,licenses, trucks, tools, insurances, advertising, to name afew budget items, cost you a good deal of money beforeyou can even bring in your first dollar of any business day.If you partially or totally neglect to include all your costsof operation in your selling prices, you will be paying forthose items which are a reality even though you forgot toinclude them in your price to the consumer.

What pricing method should I use?There are two types of pricing methods utilized in the

contracting business: time & material pricing and con-tract pricing. To answer the question of which to use inyour business, you should remember that you are a con-sumer as well as a contractor. Just ask yourself, as a con-sumer, if you would rather have the price beforeauthorizing a vendor to sell you a product and/or service,or have that vendor give you the surprise price after thefact. Hint: Any sane person would want to know the costfirst. That should give you the answer.

What should I charge?Before you can correctly decide what to charge, you

must first identify and calculate all your tangible and in-tangible operational costs. Regarding your selling prices,you only have three choices in business. You can sell your

services at, below or above your cost. If you consciouslysell any of your products and/or services at or below yourproportionate cost for those products and/or services, youshould have your head examined. If you sell at or belowyour cost because you don’t really know your cost, seekhelp to rectify the situation. Without knowing your truecosts, you can only guess at your selling prices. When youguess the odds are that you will be selling your services ator below your cost. Therefore, intelligent behavior dic-tates that you know all your costs. Don’t guess! Only a foolwould quote a price without being certain of his/her cost.

What profit margin should I use?Before you can correctly choose a profit margin, you

must know a few facts. Besides knowing all your costs,you also must take into consideration the risks you takebeing in business. Regardless of the size of the contractingbusiness, no contractor, including the one-person shop,sells all their available technician time for all their tech-nicians all the time. That presents a risk. Another issueto consider is the value you deliver to the consumers youserve. Without accuracy regarding these issues, you willbe using wrong numbers, and you will get wrong results.

What type of work do I want to do?As a PHC contractor, you have three choices. You can

do service work, which includes anything from the small-est repair to the replacement of whole plumbing, heatingand/or cooling systems. Or you could choose to go intothe new construction and/or remodeling arena. The issueto keep in mind is that if you want to do more than oneof the choices, the budgeting of your time will become aproblem without separate personnel for service, new con-struction and/or remodeling. You would not be able toserve your clientele who need you when they need youfor service tasks if you are contractually obligated to anew construction or remodeling project. Conversely, youwill not be able fulfill your new construction and/or re-modeling contracts in a timely professional manner whilerunning off to do service jobs.

In what geographic area do I want to perform my service?

It is very important to choose your geographic businessarea carefully. Napoleon stretched his luck — and his sup-ply lines — too far when invading Russia, which led to hisdefeat. Keep your area to a size that will allow you to takecare of your clientele in a professional, timely and excel-lent manner.

What do I need to know about hiring employees?The answer to this question depends upon whether you

want good employees or are willing to settle for mediocrepersonnel who know which day is payday and little else.Candidates for employment must possess traits that helpyour business team to be a winning team. Integrity andloyalty are two assets all employees must have regardlessof the position you are trying to fill.

What type of advertising should I consider?That’s the million dollar question. The simple and fast

answer is the type that works. Word of mouth is said tobe the best kind of advertising. However, if the personbestowing praise upon your company doesn’t have yourphone number or Web address on the tip of their

When blended with a misguidedego, these traits lead to absurdbusiness protocols, which makeproper returns on the monetaryand sweat equity investments

contractors pour into their businesses impossible to attain.

(Turn to DiToma, page 34.)



tongue, the person seeking yourservices may not be able to get intouch with you. There are manyways to advertise. Yellow Pages, In-ternet, mail, business contacts,etc., are common ones for contrac-tors. But before deciding whichtype, or types, to use, ask yourself

where you, as a consumer, wouldlook for someone if you neededtheir services. Since each type ofadvertising costs money, it is ex-tremely important to monitor thereturn from each ad to be certain ofits value to your business.

What do I need to know to be in business?

Most contractors know the tech-nical end of the industry. Unfortu-nately, that is not enough knowledgeto be a person who manages a suc-cessful contracting business. Thefirst thing to do before starting yourbusiness, or opening up your exist-ing business tomorrow, is to askyourself the 10 aforementionedquestions. Answer them honestly.Then, utilize the following 10 properbusiness protocols needed to man-age a business in a businesslikemanner.• You must realize the basic truths

about the contracting businessarena. • You must strive to deliver excel-

lence to consumers.• You must know how to identify,

calculate and control your costs. • You must know how to choose

a proper profit margin for yourservices.• You must develop properly prof-

itable selling prices for your services.• You must be able to address con-

sumer questions with integrity andintelligence.• You must develop a business

game plan with logical and easilyused management protocols.• You must hire employees who

want to deliver excellence to yourclientele. • You must evaluate employee

performance to assure proper com-pensation.• You must play the game to win.

[Hint: Playing the game not to losewill make you lose.]If you need help and/or if you want

to get my book “SOLUTIONS Man-agement Theories and Methods forthe Contracting Business,” which ad-dresses the issues I have put forth

herein, give me a call at 845-639-5050. As always, I wish you good health

and much prosperity. �

DiTomaPlumbing business


The color of green is blueVIENNA, VA. — One of America’smost traditional types of home heat-ing is being transformed from heat-ing homes with blue clean water, tobeing recognized as one of thegreenest heating systems available.Why is green blue? Take a look atthe earth from afar and see the twocolors: blue oceans and green col-ored land. Hydronic heating sys-tems have been using this cleanwater to provide comfortable heat-ing throughout the home and hotwater for all home uses. They havean added safety factor with radiantsnow melting around accessibleareas of the home to help preventfalls on the ice and snow.This type of space and water heat-

ing offers some of the “greenest” sys-tems available. Most manufacturershave products that are energy effi-cient and ENERGY STAR® rated. Hy-dronic heating can be deliveredradiantly through the floor, in base-boards and radiators, and with Euro-pean-styled towel warmingbathroom heaters. The indoor airquality remains comfortable withvery low or few particulates movingthroughout the home.

Compelling benefits of hydronic heating

Hydronic heating systems use aboiler to heat water, which is theheat transfer medium. The heatedwater is then circulated to heat dis-

tributors located throughout thehome. These heat distributors canbe radiators, finned tube base-boards, radiant tubing, bathroomand towel warmers and kick spaceheaters. In addition, the boiler canbe used to indirectly heat domesticwater and hot tubs and can also beused to melt snow and ice on side-walks and driveways. • Hydronic heating dramatically

cuts home heating bills becausethere is only one burner for homeheating and water heating.• Hydronic heating makes it easy

to set up numerous heating zonesthroughout the house.• Hydronic heating delivers gentle,

silent heat, with no hot or cold spotsin the home.• Environmentally-hygienically

clean hydronic heating does not cir-culate air, so it does not scatter dust,mites, or other allergenic materialsthroughout the house. • Efficiency can be improved by

using new energy efficient pumps tomove the water throughout thehome.• Hydronic heating systems do not

require duct work, but high velocityair conditioning can be installed innew and older homes. Recent advances in hydronic

heating technology include condens-ing boilers that are vented throughthe wall, have modulating burnersand up to 98 percent ENERGY STAR®

efficiency ratings that qualify for thenew energy-efficient tax credits.These high efficient systems allowfor a 30 percent of the total cost taxcredit, which includes the cost of theproduct plus installation up to$1,500 maximum cap per home-owner for all improvements made in2009 – 2010. Indirect water heaterscan be paired with solar water heat-ing systems to qualify for tax credits,as well. The Hydronics Industry Alliance

is a coalition of 34 manufacturerswho are members of the HydronicsIndustry Section of the Air Condi-tioning, Heating and RefrigerationInstitute. One of the activities ofthe Alliance is to conduct outreachto trade allies to promote the newtechnologies of a mature business.In addition to the extensive list oftrade shows, which include the Na-tional Association of Home BuildersIBS Expo, the AIA Build BostonConference, The American PublicGas Association Marketing Confer-ence and the Southern Gas Associ-ation Builder’s Conference, theAlliance has developed a web site(www.myhomeheating.org) with aspecial section for home buildersand remodelers. For more informa-tion on hydronic heating systems,contact Mary Smith Carson [email protected]. Photosand list of members listed atwww.myhomeheating.org.

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to make the home feel more invitingand airy, but they have an impressivehigher purpose.“It’s a totally novel, new shading sys-

tem that tracks the sun, with the doorsclosing just enough to provide optimalshading,” said Vishal Rana, one of thedesigners of the shading system and

mechanical systems project lead.To further assist with energy effi-

ciency and also help with the quick as-sembly of the home, the team is usingstructurally insulated panels, or SIPs.“They’re highly efficient and are

prefabricated to fit the walls,” saidRana. With the tight 97-hour time-frame the team has to assemble thehome at the decathlon, they’re eagerto find the quickest, most efficient

ways to build their home.In choosing the best solar water heat-

ing system for the house, the Meltwaterteam turned to Caleffi, Milwaukee.“Since water heating is one of the

biggest users of energy, we knew weneeded a well-designed system to han-dle the job,” said Rana. He said theteam will be judged on its ability tomaintain a 110° water temperature for45 gallons of water for 30 minutes —

at any point in the day during whichthe judges decide to check the water.Thomson said the team opted for

Caleffi’s solar thermal system becauseof its user-friendliness.“We really like the way Caleffi’s sys-

tem is put together as a package,”Thomson said. “The panels, tank, con-trols and everything we need come asone unit, so we don’t have to pieceanything together.”The UWM team is grateful for com-

panies like Caleffi and WE Energies,the large public utility serving much ofWisconsin and the project’s lead spon-sor, that have extended their financialand product support. With a total proj-ect budget of $650,000, funding fromcorporate sponsors and individuals hasbeen vital.Just before midnight on Sept. 30,

teams could begin assembling theirhomes. A large crane was brought ontothe National Mall to help the UWMteam snap together Meltwater in asomewhat “Lego-esque” fashion. By11:59 p.m. on Oct. 4, the assemblymust be completed.Each team will be evaluated in 10

categories, from which the decathlongets its name. Judging categories in-clude: architecture, engineering, mar-ket viability, communications,comfort, appliances, hot water, light-ing, home entertainment and energybalance.Adding a practical element to the

competition, each team will host neigh-boring contestants for a dinner partyand movie night in its home, further ex-hibiting the structure’s livability.At least 150,000 people, from engi-

neers and designers to political figuresand the general public, are expected totour the homes this fall, receiving aneye-opening demonstration of the pos-sibilities of solar energy.As for their chances of winning, the

students from UWM are hopeful.No matter who takes the top prize,

there will still be a lot of winners. Newtechnology emerges from the compe-tition and more people are exposed tobetter energy options for the future.As for Meltwater, it will find a perma-nent home in Milwaukee’sMenomonee Valley at the Urban Ecol-ogy Center where it will likely becomea conference site or remote class-room. It will be a showcase for someof the best technology commerciallyavailable, as well as a glimpse of brightconcepts to come. �

Editors note: This story was pub-lished prior to the 2009 Solar De-cathalon.Kristine Sobczak is a freelance

writer and corporate communicationspecialist based in Germantown, Wis.Sobczak Communications can bereached at [email protected].

Solar decathalon

36 Phc News — OCTOBER 2009industry news


Phc News — OCTOBER 2009 37beschloss beat

Commercial construction sees brighter days ahead

BY MORRIS R. BESCHLOSSPVF & economic analyst emeritus

Although the wide gamut ofcommercial developmenthas come under severe finan-

cial pressure during the currentdeleveraged recession, brighter dayslook to be increasingly forthcoming.Even as hotels, motels, restau-

rants, shopping centers, religiousinstitutions, office buildings, andhigh rise apartments have faced asevere downturn, hospitals and re-lated facilities, assisted living domi-ciles, and educational institutionsseem to be benefiting from the $800billion stimulus plan’s educationaland healthcare-related financial al-locations.While major cities like New York,

Chicago, Los Angeles, San Fran-cisco, and the Northeast in general

are suffering increasing vacancies inoffice buildings, as well as rental fa-cilities, this scenario in changing inthe Southwest and Southeast, as wellas the Mountain states.The geographical shift of commer-

cial activity is reflective of a reawak-ening of business activity, and itsdisproportionately positive impacton the Southern and Western quad-rant of the United States.Also relevant to these changes is

the emphasis that the Obama Ad-ministration is placing on those sec-tors having impact on America’smechanical contractors.An important aspect of these geo-

graphical locations is the greaterproportion of America’s changingpopulation growth. This segment ofthe United States is also more ac-tively involved with energy develop-ment — both the conventional kind,oil and natural gas, as well as suchrenewable energy aspects as windand solar. The latter is especially sig-nificant in California, which domi-nates in the availability of sunlightfrequency as well as "wind tunnels"in Southern California and the San

Francisco areas.The influx of additional population

is especially significant in SouthernTexas, where San Antonio has nowbecome the “Lone Star” State’s sec-ond city, forging ahead of Dallas andFort Worth. This will translate into amajor increase in rental housing,typified by high-rise apartmentbuildings.The Midwest and Middle Atlantic

states are suffering from permanentreductions in automotive and com-ponent parts mfg. What is left afterthe government/UAW control of GMCand vestiges of Chrysler will be onlya shadow of its former self. Evensome of that reduced volume willfind itself redirected to the tax-ad-vantaged Southern states, where

most of the foreign automakers’ pro-duction is taking place.Coal producers located in Penn-

sylvania, West Virginia, Indiana, Illi-nois and Montana would be totallyout of business, if it were not for theability to export nearly all their pro-duction to China and India — dueto the EPA’s airtight stricturesagainst the use of coal in power gen-erating utilities.Wherever the changing political

and economic winds lead this nationin the years to come, the need for,and indispensability of the plumb-ing-heating-cooling-piping mechani-cal contractors will continue to growexponentially.

Will commercial development be the next shoe to drop? One of the brightest spots in the

slow, but steady recovery from thedeleveraged recession abyss lastsummer has been the impressive im-provement of credit availability, atleast to businesses and individualswith satisfactory credit ratings.Having almost weathered the hur-

ricane of the residential construc-

The geographical shift of commercial activity is reflective of a

reawakening of business activity, and its disproportionately positive

impact on the Southern and Western quadrant of the United States.

tion implosion and the severe short-age of commercial paper to smalland medium-sized businesses, thecombined efforts of the U.S. Treas-ury and the Federal Reserve Boardseemed to have paid off. Even thetoxic assets, represented by mort-gage-backed securities derivativesare no longer a devastating threat tothe nation, indeed the world’s finan-cial stability.However, a new major financial

tidal wave has been welling up re-cently, and is sure to present a newthreat to banks and the business sec-tor alike — commercial real estate.Since this sector covers a multi-

trillion dollar collection of such di-verse properties as multi-storyapartment buildings, shopping cen-ters, hotels, motels, restaurants, of-fice centers, schools, churches andhospitals, etc., a major financial up-dating of their true value could sendnew shock waves throughout thevarious strata of America’s financialsystem.It means that banks and other

loan agencies will have to put a newprice tag on their balance sheet col-lateral backed by such bricks-and-mortar edifices. Since much of thesebuildings are backed by multi-yeardebt, calling of such loans will likelyinstigate a new fling of bankruptcies.These will be particularly painful be-cause the developers and investorsowning commercial real estate willbe unlikely to come up with theamounts called for as banks attemptto call outstanding loans.Although such programs as TALF

were initiated earlier this year tostem the tide of massive loan recall,especially in the current era of tightmoney, these will hardly prove to besufficient against a simultaneous on-slaught of loan recall demand.If this happens, the ugly specter of

credit unavailability may once againcome forth, adding a new obstacle toa fragile economy.

China’s U.S. trade deficiteclipses all others

China and the U.S. are two eco-nomic giants locked in a death grip.Each needs the other so badly thatthey can’t let go, even if geopoliticaldifferences would indicate a moreobjective diplomatic approach,based on fair trade.This would include China’s up-

ward revaluation of its export cur-

rency, the renminbi, eliminating en-ergy subsidies on exports, and Chinaceasing its constant attempts to un-dercut World Trade Organizationagreements by dumping on the U.S.markets.China is now neck-and-neck with

Japan as the world’s second-largesteconomy, after the U.S.. Expandingat a globe-leading 8% rate, driven bya massive consumer-oriented stimu-lus plan, Beijing could easily widentheir ports to a much greater influxof American industrial and agricul-tural goods.What may surprise most readers is

that China’s share of America’s non-oil goods trade deficit has reached83% of the total, based on the lateststatistics available, through May ofthis year. This eclipses every year ofChina’s increasing dominance of itsimport/export trade with the UnitedStates.From a 26% trade deficit between

the two economic superpowers inthe year 2000, China has steadilyexpanded its portion of the morethan two trillion dollars of non-oilimports that Beijing had supplied toAmerica’s ever-expanding importappetite. This included the hundredsof American companies that haveestablished low-cost manufacturingfacilities in the Han Empire.The full-year peak of the Sino-

American non-oil trade deficit wasreached in 2008, when it reached69%. At the present much lower totalpace, 2009 will almost surely finishup at or near the ongoing 80% pluspercentage.And the economic interdepend-

ence described heretofore is furthercomplicated by the close to the tril-lion dollars China has invested inU.S. Government Treasuries— plusseveral hundred million dollars morein America’s fixed assets, businesses,and stocks and bonds. �

Morris R Beschloss is a 53-yearindustry veteran and chief econo-mist and PVF sector analyst for PhcNews, as well as The Wholesalermagazine.

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BY ELLEN ROHR

Ioffer a half-hour phone visit ifyou want some business adviceor a swift kick in the butt. I am

here to serve! No charge…you justhave to fill out a little questionnaire

and we set up a date to chat. One ofthe questions is, “How did you hearabout me?” This answer got my attention: “I

started reading your articles when Iwas in prison.” Starting, fixing, growing a business

is a challenge. Even if you have start-up capital, a loving and supportivecommunity of family and friends,and mentors who pick you up whenyou stumble. Even if you don’t havea felony record. Chris Koch was notset up to succeed. And he is suc-ceeding anyway. I asked if I could see his business,

meet his team and tell his story. Ialso asked if it was okay to discusshis past. He bravely said, “Yes,” so Iheaded to Orlando, Florida to seeTop Notch Plumbing, Inc.

Over coffee and green tea, Chrisshared his journey from criminal toentrepreneur. The two professionshave a lot in common.

The knockdownChris is smart with an adventure-

some spirit. He remembers scoring a13.9 grade level reading score whenhe was in the first grade and had bigdreams of being an Air Force pilotand an astronaut. Like a lot of smartkids without proper adventuresomefulfillment, he was bored at school.That can be a recipe for trouble. AsChris shared his story, he was clearthat his parents had done the bestthey could do. There were struggleswith addiction and dysfunctionalfamily relationships — raise yourhand if you have some of that inyour life — and he is appreciative ofhow far his family has come. Then,however, he was rudderless. Hedropped out of school. (He did earnhis GED. As soon as he turned 15) “I started hanging out with other

kids who quit school. With too muchunsupervised time on my hands, anda little peer pressure, it’s little won-der things turned out the way theydid. I started stealing, vandalizing; Idid it for the thrill of it, recalledKoch. Chris cooked up lots of trou-ble and dozens of arrests in a shortamount of time with very little to noconsequences from the legal system. Inevitably, Chris wound up in

prison. A week after he turned 17, hemade the poor choice of stealing apurse from the back seat of a lockedcar. The purse, containing a gun andpolice badges, belonged to an under-cover officer. The Florida legal sys-tem sent Chris to prison as an adultwhere he started a 14-year sentence.

Survival steps“At first I couldn’t comprehend

what I had done to myself. I had justturned 17, was currently sentencedto do almost as many years as I hadbeen alive, and placed in this envi-ronment of society’s worst peopleand unspeakable violence.

“It was a combination of my pri-mal will to survive and fate lookingout for me that I earned the respectof a group of lifers who showed methe ropes, and who basically becamemy mentors and gave me the insid-ers wisdom to survive the worst ofmy sentence,” said Koch.

Plumbing as a path“They also got me on an inside

plumbing crew. This meant some re-sponsibility and freedom. And Istarted learning plumbing skills Ithought were useless at the time. Butfor the most part, I liked the work. Itwas one of the few things that gave asense of accomplishment and some-thing in which to take pride. “Not long into my new assignment

on a large retrofit plumbing job, theybrought in a crew leader, a “free”man named Richard Speacht, whostarted teaching us real plumbingskills and techniques. The right wayto do things. Hope started to growfrom a very small seed. “People and projects came and

went. Around year seven, I started torealize that I might get out of prisonsomeday and had no idea what I wasgoing to do with the rest of my life.Along the way I met a unionplumber on a new construction proj-ect who added a lot to my arsenal oftrade knowledge. But what finallycaught my attention was the factthat he had made a lucrative careerfor himself. Prior to this, I had neverreally thought about and had no ideahow much plumbers in the freeworld were paid. And I had only hadtwo legitimate jobs in my life, bothmaking a whopping $5.00 an hour,so when I learned you could makequadruple, I thought I would get richon wages!“I could see how plumbing could

The Turnaround Cover Story

The Top Notch Plumbing, Inc. team consists of Chris Koch (l), founder and presi-dent, Glen Decker, boiler technician and Dawn Decker, client services representative,the right combination of friendly and “let’s get it done.”

Chris Koch and Glen Decker proudly exhibit their vehicle and its logo.

Phc News — OCTOBER 2009 41

be a path to financial freedom andstarted seeking knowledge with anew passion. Formal training wasnot available so I read whatever Icould get my hands on and interro-gated everyone I came across whohad a clue as to what they weredoing. I read Mathematics forPlumbers and Pipefitters by LeeSmith and devoured every page; didevery exercise. Read boiler mainte-nance manuals, you name it. “I started to find some friends, in-

mates who inspired me to dream ofa better life. That little bit of hopestarted growing. I met Jeremy andTerry and Joe the Plumber (no, not

that Joe.) They liked to talk abouttheir business ideas. Terry had abusiness prior to getting arrested.He recommended Rich Dad, PoorDad by Robert Kiyosaki and The EMyth by Michael Gerber. There wasno way I was going to read businessstuff! But they wore me down and Iread the books. And, I started sub-scribing to a plumbing magazine.That’s how I met Ellen Rohr andDan Holohan, and learned so muchabout the industry. I started readingphilosophy books, too. There is aScandinavian belief that a person isremembered for his or her actions.Glory comes from doing glorious

things. I realized I didn’t want to diewithout doing something great,something amazing,” said Koch.

The turnaroundAfter 10 years served, Chris was

released. He wanted wealth and suc-cess — the world! — and he wantedit right away. However, the worldwasn’t instantly responsive. His firstjob was plumbing tract homes. Thework was uninspiring and he waspaid $8 per hour — not the hoped-for mega-bucks. Without verifiableexperience and a clean record, no-body wanted to pay what he wasworth. And the “job-site politics”were confusing and frustrating. Hiseffort was unappreciated. Hethought getting out and getting richwould be — easier. “I thought I deserved better and

wasn’t making it on my wages. So, Igot into dealing drugs and, rightaway, I got busted. I thought I hadscrewed my life up for good. Then,the charges were dropped. I couldn’tbelieve it. Instead of making a quickfortune, I barely avoided going backto prison and put myself deeply indebt. Yet, things were working outfor me. I was completely humbled. Itwas up to me to make the best of it.It got my ego out of the way. I wasstill free and I wasn’t going to blowup my life again. I put a plan to-gether to pay off my debt and start asuccessful plumbing business. I gotmy plumbing license (which was anaccomplishment in it-self with a felonyrecord) and I startedTop Notch Plumbing in2007,” said Koch.” Like so many entre-

preneurs, Chris haslots of ideas and a zil-lion things he wants toaccomplish. While wewere together, we up-dated his Master To DoList and Top ProjectsList. (It’s the motherand the consultant inme.) We had a blast! Imet his team. Theybelieve in Chris. Juana Kelly is thebookkeeper, and Chris’ mom. I wasimpressed with her first-rate ac-counting work. The financials arespot on. Dawn Decker is the clientservice representative and dis-patcher. She’s just the right combi-nation of friendly and “let’s get itdone.” Glen Decker and DemetriusDozier are service technicians. AndChris’ younger brother, Travis Koch,just signed on as the newest servicetech. The techs are, well, Top Notch— willing, inspired and ready togrow.

Defining freedomI asked Chris what advice he

would give to others who are incar-cerated, and looking forward to free-dom. He replied, “Walk, don’t run.Celebrate the victories. Don’t getfrustrated if things don’t happen fastenough. I came out of prison with somuch pent up energy. ‘Digest’ thatenergy. Transform it and put it togood use. As a kid, I was resourceful.You can tap into that resourcefulnessand use it to grow your business andbecome a better person.” Solid advice for soon-to-be ex-

cons. And entrepreneurs. Then he said, “Just before I was

released, I met a guy named An-thony. He was another person whohelped me believe in myself. I cansee now how many things went rightfor me, in spite of all that wentwrong. I visited him the other day. Itwould be cool if he could come towork with me once he gets out. He’sgot to play it straight. We drug test.We are licensed and insured. Thereis a place here for him if he is readyto hold to our high standards.“I have my own definition of free-

dom. It’s not just living outside of in-carceration. It’s not just financialfreedom, because money in itself ishollow. It’s not owning materialisticthings either, because if you’re notcareful, those things can own you.It’s having the freedom to experi-ence people, places, and things. I’lltake memorable experiences over

material riches any day. (Although Iwould like a Ferrari, a boat, and ahouse on the beach someday — Icould easily grow tired of them.) Here’s to freedom! �

Overwhelmed by too much to do andtoo little time? Join Ellen for the Step byStep Success program. The power ofone simple, focused action…one step ata time. Reach me at 417.753.1111 [email protected]. Check outthe Step by Step Success program atwww.barebonesbiz.com.

Cover Story

Ellen Rohr was thoroughly impressed with Chris Koch’s story, so much so she wentto Florida to hear it first-hand.

Innovative money-making means: Bible Bowling for dollars! Intrepid! That’s a good word to describe Chris and his family. They have

overcome so many challenges and found creative ways to succeed. Growing up, Chris’ younger sister Katrina Brunson, saw that college was-

n’t on the table for her. Not enough money and no connections. Juana andKatrina heard about Bible Bowl, a Christian competition, through a friendat church. Katrina studied and placed in the top five at Bible Bowl Nation-als, several years running. She earned more than $108,000 in scholarshipmoney and graduated with an Associate of Arts degree from Florida Chris-tian College.

The Top Notch boys show their plumbing strength.

42 Phc News — OCTOBER 2009Truck use surveyWhat make truck do you utilize?

Other –7

%

Isuzu –

1%

Sprinter –

2%

Toyota

–1%

Dodge–

6%

Chevy/G

MC –

36%

Ford –4

6%

Today’s economy has forced me to:Consider the truck’s fuel economy – 48%

Change driving behavior – 36%

Purchase smaller trucks – 11%

Reduce fleet – 24%

Do nothing – 23%

In a surprise reversal, this year respondents report using more Ford trucks thanChevy/GMC, and Dodge dropped considerably; perhaps this change reflects contrac-tors’ doubts that GM and Chrysler will remain in business. One contractor reportedkeeping a restored Volkswagen Microbus that they send on service calls.

Although fuel prices have retreated significantly, mostrespondents consider fuel costs a top priority whenbuying trucks. More have reduced their fleet size, whilefewer report changing driving habits.

Contractors report using about the same mix of vehi-cles as last year, with pickups remaining the most use-ful and popular truck. Step vans and dump trucks arethe most utilized in the “other” category.

The amount contractors spend when buying trucks hasremained steady, with most feeling comfortable in the$15,000 to $35,000 range, while a small percentagego for either the frugal end or the high end.

What type of vehicle do you use?

Pickup 65%

Van 59%

Stake 10% Other 10%

Box/Cube31%

How much do youspend on a truck?$50,000+ .......2%

$35,000 - $50,000 ...14%

$25,000 -$35,000................33%

$15,000 – $25,000 .............35%

$10,000 – $15,000 ..............8%

$5,000 – $10,000 ..................5%

$1,000 – $5,000................1%

The same number of contractors use GPSthis year after a big jump for 2009.

More contractors opted for four-wheeldrive this year compared to 2008.

Compared to 2008, about same numberof contractors prefer gasoline enginesover diesel.

Slightly more contractors this year re-ported that they prefer to buy new.

Does your firm utilize GPS systems?

Yes 41% No 59%

What type of engine do you prefer?

Gasoline 78%Diesel 22%

Do you prefer 2WD or 4WD?

2WD 74%4WD 26%

Do you purchase new or used trucks?

New 76%Used 24%

How many trucks doesyour firm operate?

1 – 5: 52%

6 – 10: 20%

11 – 19: 15%

20 – 49: 8%

50+: 5%

Results for this cate-gory are in line withlast year. The bulk ofrespondents operatefleets in the one-to-10-truck range.

How long do you operate your trucks?

6 - 9 years 46%

15+ years 3% Until they die 1%

1 – 5 years 18%

11 – 15 years14%

10 years 17%

More contractors operate their trucks six to nine years, which is a good balancebetween reliable service, easy maintenance and good trade-in value. One contractornoted that aluminum bodies on Ford frames are good for 20 years.

Economy continues toimpact contractors’ choices Last year contractors faced a

double whammy of escalatingfuel costs and shrinking busi-

ness, both the result of a worldwideeconomic meltdown. This year thesituation has stabilized somewhat,but business volume still is making apaltry showing compared to the hal-cyon years when contractors rodethe housing boom like a surfer on aperfect wave.After two hard years of making dif-

ficult decisions and scurrying to con-tain costs, contractors have appliedthe lessons learned to their fleets.While gasoline prices have retreatedfrom their 2008 highs of $4+ per gal-lon to the $2.50 range, nobody issanguine about fuel prices. Dieselfuel roughly matches gasoline in costbut could jump if a harsh winter di-verts fuel production to heating oil.Consequently, contractors now

consider fuel economy the main fac-tor in choosing a truck. Also, more

than a third of respondents say theyhave changed their driving behaviorto conserve fuel, while a quarterhave reduced their fleet size.The harsh economy also seems to

have caused a shift in brand prefer-ence among contractors. Chevy/GMC trucks, long a favorite, for thefirst time have slipped to secondplace behind Ford, while Dodge,which had enjoyed steady growthduring the past few years, plum-meted 16%. Contractors might notbe confident GM and Chrysler cansurvive the recession.Despite the shift in brand purchas-

ing behavior, contractors still lovethe pickup, with the van a close sec-ond in preference.Slightly more contractors reported

installing GPS systems in their vehi-cles after a big increase in 2007, in-dicating that this technology ismaturing. Contractors that do install

(Turn to Trucks, page 46.)

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46 Phc News — OCTOBER 2009Power Tool survey

Do you performfleet maintenance?

No 64

%

Yes 3

6%

Fleet maintenance continues to be pop-ular only with a third of contractors.

What products do youcarry on your trucks?

Power Tools: 95%

Toilet repair kits: 65%

Faucet repair kits: 65%

Faucets: 45%

Pumps: 43%

Pressure reducing valves: 43%

Shower valves: 40%

Hydronic equipment: 31%

Water heaters: 23%

Toilets: 21%

Virtually all contractors carry power tools on their trucks “just in case.” As always,repair products constitute the bulk of stock on trucks, indicating that most of re-spondents’ business remains service and repair. Percentages match last year’s.

Price is by far the main determining fac-tor when contractors shop for trucks.

What are thetop 3 thingsyou look forwhen buying

a truck?

Price – 72%

Payload – 61%

Fuel economy – 54%

Engine – 46%

Brand – 38%

Warranty – 31%

Towing – 20%

2WD vs. 4WD– 13%

GPS systems report greatly reduced“extra” miles driven — perhapstechs think twice before drivingacross town for coffee or swingingout of their way to pick up “some-thing they forgot” at home.The percentage of contractors that

buy used trucks has decreasedsomewhat, signifying that ownerssee more benefits to owning new ve-hicles. This follows a gradual trend.Slightly more contractors save

money by performing their own fleetmaintenance, continuing last year’sincrease over 2007. A maintenancefacility is a big capital expenditure,and only the biggest shops can see a

good return on investment.More contractors are choosing

four-wheel-drive vehicles. As 4WDvehicles become “civilized” and offerall the amenities and convenience of2WD, the useful features of 4WD offsettheir greater cost.The underappreciated diesel en-

gine, once touted as an answer tohigh fuel costs, gained only slightlyin popularity over last year. Diesel

fuel no longer enjoys a wide advan-tage in price over gasoline and oftencosts more, and contractors can’tjustify the higher initial cost. Also,with today’s gasoline engines lastingtwo and three times as long as theyonce did, the diesel’s inherentlongevity isn’t an advantage.Longer vehicle life has encouraged

contractors to keep their truckslonger, with more running them six

to nine years, the most commonusage. A tiny percentage still runtheir trucks into the ground, butthey might be the cheapskates whobuy $2,500 “beaters” with most oftheir service life behind them.As always, we at Phc News thank

those contractors who participatedin this year’s truck survey, and welook forward to even more of youjoining us for next year’s survey. �

Trucks(Continued from page 42.)

Rough economy impactstool choices, but contractorsstill demand quality, power

What type of tools do youcarry on your trucks?

Wrenches — 99%

Drills — 98%

Pipe/tube cutters — 96%

Torch kit — 95%

Saws — 95%

Tool kits — 85%

Pipe threaders — 60%

Chemicals — 58%

Drain cleaners — 53%

Radiant tools — 34%

Drain inspection — 23%

We asked contractors to check all the tools they carry in a typical truck.Virtuallyall carry pipe wrenches, drills, tubing cutters and saws, while fewer include themore specialized tools such as drain inspection equipment. This indicates thatmany contractors are missing a great opportunity to develop business based ondrain inspection and cleaning/repair.

No doubt about it, contractorsare passionate about theirtools. In answer to the ques-

tion “What is your most trusted tooland why?” on the Phc News PowerTool Survey questionnaire, we re-ceived more than 100 answers. Weprinted a representative sample onpage 48.This year’s brutal economy has

many contractors looking for cre-ative ways to keep their people

working while maintaining their bot-tom lines, and one means of copingis to cut back on tool purchases; fully66% of respondents report they arebuying fewer tools.However, contractors are exacting

as always and demand that the toolsthey do buy are durable and can dothe job. They rely on old-line manu-facturers like RIDGID and MilwaukeeTools to deliver quality. Contractors’ (Turn to Tool survey, page 48.)

When looking for power tools, more contractors rely on RIDGID than other brands,with Milwaukee Tools a close second and DEWALT a respectable third. Each brandhas a long history of reliability and quality that contractors trust.

Other 6%

5% 9% 22% 25% 29%

32% 34%

66%

79% 83

%What brand power tool do you rely on?

Plumbing: 81%Piping: 60%HVAC: 46%Radiant/Hydronics: 42%Drain Cleaning: 35%

Other: 8%

Fewer contractors listed their mainbusiness as hydronics, although usagein other categories remained the same.

You use yourtools mainly

for whatmarket?

As always, contractors want their toolsto stand up to hard use and do thejobs they are made for.

Durability: 95%Handles the job: 81%Price: 64%Technology: 43%Warranty: 42%Ergonomics: 28%

When buying atool, what

characteristicsdo you

look for?

© 2

008

The

Stan

ley

Wor

ks

The Stanley® VIRAX® P20+ cordless pressing tool has 360 ̊head rotation and a narrow profile to get into tight spots. It also features a four-second cycle time, jaw stabilization technology, a seriously attractive retail price and an ironclad, full lifetime warranty. Take one for a spin. Call +1 800-827-7558 or visit www.stanleyvirax.com for a free on-site demo and complete war-ranty details.

THE P20+ CORDLESS PRESSING TOOL FOR

1” TO 4” TUBINGSERIOUS PLUMBING TOOLS™


of powerful tools that go anywhereand perform most jobs corded toolscan handle without needing genera-tors and tangle-prone extensioncords that were a tripping hazard inthemselves. Fully 76% of contractorssurveyed preferred cordless tools.

Not surprisingly, most contractorsuse their tools for plumbing jobs,and virtually all carry drills, tubingcutters, wrenches, torch kits andsaws in their trucks.

As ever, among the contractor’s fa-vorite power tool is the reciprocatingsaw; it’s so popular that it has gener-ically become called “Sawzall,” theMilwaukee Tools trade name, regard-less of brand. That is a fine tribute toa fine brand.

As always, we wish to thank all thecontractors who participated in thisyear’s survey. See you next year! �

Tool Survey(Continued from page 46.)

48 Phc News — OCTOBER 2009Power Tool Survey

1-5: 62%

6-10: 13%

11-25: 9%

26-50: 5%

51-100: 5%100+: 3%

The number of people employed by contractors has re-mained fairly steady for the past four years, but therehas been some slippage in the 11-25 and 26-50 ranges.

How manypeople do

you employ?

Brochure

s/Cata

logs:

13%

Word

of mo

uth: 1

5%

Intern

et: 17

%

Local S

upply

House:

21%

Trade Pu

blicatio

ns 34

%

What is the best resourcefor tool information?

Trade publications remain the contractor’s favoriteplaces to find information on tools. After some yearsof growth, the internet has stabilized as a resource.

comments about the major brandswere full of praise for those manufac-turers that listen to the customersand build tools that work hard, dayin and day out.

As always, most busy contractorsturn to trade publications most forinformation about the tools theyneed to buy, then they purchase thetools from their local supply houses,where they receive personal atten-tion, reliable service and solid war-ranty coverage

The big news in tools during thepast few years is cordless technol-ogy. From a few handy but insuffi-cient battery-operated screwdriversand drills 25 years ago, the markethas blossomed into a smorgasbord

What is your most trusted tool and why?A selection from the many fine responses contractors sent.• RIDGID K-60 Machines: We service them every two yearsand never have a problem.• My good old plumbing hand tools: I use them everyday allthe time they are the money makers.• 18-volt cordless drill: It is used all the time on any job site.• Milwaukee Sawzall: 17 years and still working.• My Brain: Without it nothing else matters!• DeWALT cordless hammer drill: It is used most often.• RIGID ProPress: One of our most faithful tools.• Sawzall: It has not failed me and keeps working after manyyears. I have had it repaired and relubricated a couple timesand it still performs well.• Our computers: Everything we do in our company relieson good working computers.• Roto-zip: Can be used for many different jobs.• RIDGID: Great tool for the money my snake is 20+ years old.• DeWALT 18v cordless hammer drill: Power to spare andeasy to use.• Channellocks: I use them all the time.• General Drain Cleaner.• Flashlight: Can not see a darn thing without it.• Klein nut driver set: Never wears out.

The latest technology in cordless tools is meeting contractors’ desires for powerfulportable tools with long battery life, that are easy to use in the field.

As always, contractors prefer the selec-tion and knowledge of supply houseswhen buying their power tools.

“Be prepared” is the motto of most con-tractors, who make sure they have theright tools right at hand at all times.

No question about it, cordless powertools have revolutionized the industry.

The recession has had its effect, prompting many contractors to buyfewer tools, watch for bargains, and maintain/fix their tools.

Power — 79%

Ease of use — 73%

Battery technology/life — 69%

Portability — 64%

Warranty — 42%

Ergonomics — 34%

Gadgets — 14%

Other — 5%

When checking out new tooltechnology, I look for:

Do you carry the bulk ofyour tools in your truck?

No: 23%

Yes: 77%

Other [not at all; buy as needed] — 6%

Forego expensive tools — 21%

Secure tools on site and in trucks — 28%

Repair rather than replace — 36%

Better care and maintenance — 38%

Look for rebates/promotions/discounts — 38%

Buy fewer tools — 66%

How has theeconomy

affected yourtool buying?

Manufac

turer

— 17%

Hardw

aresto

re —

28%

Intern

et —

38%

Big bo

x — 40%

Supply house —

86%

Where do youpurchase yourpower tools?

Corded — 24%

Cordless — 76%

Do you prefer cordedor cordless power tools?

The Push-Fit Solution for Plumbing and Heating Systems

IAPMO UNIFORMPLUMBING CODE

pw rfh

NSF 14NSF 61

ASTM F 877CSA B137.5ASSE 1061

Yes, We are LEAD FREE!Yes, We are LEAD FREE!

...and always have beenVirtually all of John Guest Speedfit® push-fit fittings and pipe have always complied with both The Federal Safe Water Act and the upcoming AB1953 Lead Law. John Guest is dedicated to service, quality and engineered performance in the manufacture and distribution of our products. Our ongoing commitment to our customers (and yours) means our products comply.... even before they have to.

For a complete listing of our lead-free products contact us toll free at 1-800 94-JG USA or via email at [email protected].

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Ford F-150With its standard 4.6L V8 enginemaking 248 hp (5.4L, 310 hp V8available), the F-150 handles 1,710lb payload and max towing weight of5,300 lb while offering 15/12 mpg.Standard trailer sway and integratedbrake controls. Features independ-ent double-wishbone front suspen-sion. Boasts the most usable cabspace in its class with a fully flat loadfloor, 30+ storage places and quietride. Available box side steps andconvenient tailgate step (shown)make jobsite activity easier. Ford.

www.fordvehicles.com/trucks/f150/

Truck rePorT

Chevy Silverado HybridBlends the efficiency of a hybridwith dependable power and per-formance. Vortec 6.0L V8 delivers

332 hp, yet the hybrid drive systemyields 21/22 mpg (4x4 gets 20/20)with up to 6,100 lb towing capacityand payload up to 1,459 lb. Towingpackage standard, along with dual-zone automatic A/C and one-yearOnStar, Bluetooth wireless, cruisecontrol and StabiliTrak stability con-trol and folding-bench rear passen-ger seat. Chevy Trucks.

www.gm.com/vehicles

Dodge Ram Crew 1500With its standard 5.7L Hemi V8 with390 hp, the Laramie offers 8,700 lbtowing capacity with 14/20 mpg.

Standard with 4-wheel antilock diskbrakes, power adjustable pedals anda hydroformed, fully boxed frame.RamBox® cargo management sys-tems on outer side of box holds toolsand equipment for ready access. Ex-clusive rear in-floor storage bins holdmost anything including ice. High-bolstered, wide seats provide com-fort after a long day. Dodge.

www.dodge.com

SprinterAs of Jan. 1, Mercedes-Benz USA willoffer Sprinter vehicles through itsown dealer network and appoint asmany as 120 dealers to sell them.Now sold by Dodge, all Sprinters willbe removed from Dodge dealerships.This popular van’s 3.0L V6 common-

rail, direct injected turbo diesel de-livers 280 ft lb of torque to haul apayload up to 5,509 lb and max tow-ing of 5,000 lb with good fuel econ-omy. Has a 5-speed automatictransmission and adaptive electronicstability plus traction control. Ahigh-clearance right sliding door and270° rear opening door provide easyaccess, while a high ceiling allowsplenty of standing headroom. An ex-tensive list of options lets you cus-tomize your vehicle for any desireduse. Mercedes-Benz USA.

No web site yet available

Toyota TundraTundra’s standard 4.0L V6 with vari-able valve timing generates 236 hp(5.7L, 381 hp V8 available) for 15/19mpg and towing weight of 4,580 lband 5,200 max payload. Standardfeatures include ABS, electronictraction and stability control,

chrome bumpers, A/C, front side-curtain and knee airbags, micro-fil-ter ventilation, tilt-adjust steeringwheel, full-size spare wheel andmore. Optional no-frills work-truckpackage deletes less-necessaryitems and offers matte-blackbumpers, heavy-duty bench seat,rubber-type flooring. Toyota.

www.toyota.com

Isuzu N-SeriesChoose a 5.2L or 7.8L diesel, or a6.0L Vortec gasoline engine to tailoryour N-Series truck as you require.A wide variety of configurations pro-vide GVWR from 12,000 lb to 19,500lb. A scientifically designed cab pro-vides safety while a sturdy frame ac-commodates bodies to 20 ft. Exhaustsystem has particulate filter and ex-

haust gas cooler to meet emissionsregulations. Isuzu.

www.isuzucv.com

Mazda B-SeriesContractors wanting a no-frills, inex-pensive truck will appreciate the B-Series. A standard 2.3L 4-cylinderengine provides an adequate 142 hp

and frugal fuel economy, while thetruck’s compact size and nimblehandling makes it easy to drive onand off road. Available in two trimlevels; the B4000 features a 207-hp4.0L V6 and extended cab body with5,600 lb towing capacity. Mazda.

www.mazdausa.com

International StarsThe Dura-Star Hybrid diesel-electricmedium-duty truck provides fuel

savings of 30% to 40% with reducedemissions and can operate equip-ment such as cherry pickers on bat-tery power alone with the engineshut off, eliminating idling emis-sions. Batteries provide a powerboost for climbing hills. For you big-rig fans, the striking new LoneStar

takes its inspiration from the 1939D-Series of half-ton pickups that re-defined trucks in the minds of Amer-icans. Classic aerodynamic designhelps deliver excellent fuel econ-omy; offers superior ride, handlingand comfort. International.

www.internationaltrucks.com

Honda RidgelineWith independent suspension andsophisticated 4WD, the Ridgelinehandles hard work and play with acivilized ride. Designed for towing,its 3.5L, 250 hp V6 engine withheavy-duty 5-speed automatic trans-mission provide plenty of power,while a unit body with integratedclosed-box frame delivers rigidity forsecure handling and 5,000 lb towingcapacity. Pre-wired for a brake har-ness with an integrated Class IIIhitch, extra cooling capacity, largebrake rotors and electronic brakedistribution. A spacious interior of-fers comfort for five passengers,while folding seats and flat rear floorallow carrying and storage. Honda.

automobiles.honda.com

Kenworth hybridLarger trucks can greatly benefitfrom hybrid technology, and theT270 shows how. Its 340-voltlithium-ion battery pack and dedi-

cated power management systemprovide an extra 310-ft-lb kick to re-duce startup load on the engine,while regenerative braking recoversenergy that would otherwise bewasted. For 2110 the PACCAR en-gine will achieve near-zero NOxemissions by means of sophisticatedexhaust technology. Kenworth.

www.kenworth.com

Mitsubishi FusoA 6-speed automatic transmissionand 4.9L, 175 hp intercooled turbodiesel make the Fuso easy to drive ,

while its forward swing doors andside openings are convenient for asmany as seven employees to use.Open-grate front steps providesafety. Mitsubishi.

www.mitfuso.com

(800) 475-8629 • www.plumberex.comBEST BUY® is not affiliated with Plumberex. Best Buy does not sponsor, endorse, approve or have any responsibility for this promotion. BEST BUY, the BEST BUY logo and the tag designs are trademarks of BBY Solutions, Inc.

Install Plumberex Handy-Shield MaXX or Trap Gear Safety Covers receive a Best Buy Gift Card equal to $1.00 per kit (minimum $5) at Best Buy.

Fastest ADA Systems Install Fast & Easy with Velcro*!

Flexiblility for New Code Installation Requirements!

Total Code & Standards Compliance•Fire Rated & Tested ASTM E84 25/450 Flame/Smoke•IBC International Building Code Sec. 719•Material Durability-ASTM G153, D412, D50•Fungal/Microbial Resistance ASTM G21, 0 Growth•IAPMO PS94 2008 •US Army Corps of Engineers-Military Facility Specification-ASTM E84

Promotion Rules•Promotion for Licensed Contractors Only.•Promotion Dates: September 1 thru November 30, 2009. •Mail in invoice from Plumberex Authorized Wholesaler or Barcode Labels from valid Handy-Shield or Trap-Gear Kit's.* to P.O. Box 1684, Palm Springs, CA 92263.•Offer good for Kit Model Numbers* 2002, 2003, 2004, 350, 396, 427 only.•Best Buy Gift Cards issued in the amount of $1 per kit ($5 minimum)(w/valid barcode or invoice.)•Not valid on OEM or Private-Label products.•Please allow 4-6 weeks delivery.

Proudly Made In U.S.A.

© 2009 Plumberex Specialty Products, Inc.*Velcro is a registered trademark of Velcro USA

ADA Fire Rated PVC Protectors Meet ASTM E 84 25/450 for Building Code Compliance

Contractor Promotion Install ADA Trap Covers That Save Labor & Earn Gifts!

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srotroec!yt



54 Phc News — OCTOBER 2009Tool Crib

Vehicle chargersNew M12™ and M18™ AC/DC walland vehicle chargers for LITHIUM-ION

batteries combine the functionalityof a wall charger and vehiclecharger into one unit to increaseutility for the user. You go from onejob site to another all day long orare on job sites with limited power.Now you can charge M12™ andM18™ LITHIUM-ION batteries in a tra-ditional wall outlet or your vehicle.Milwaukee Tools.


Soil pipe cutterThe Press Snap™ soilpipe cutter expandsthe capabilities ofRIDGID standard presstools by providing a fast and easy way to cut castiron soil pipe. Eliminates manual ratchetingwhen it is connected to a RIDGID presstool. To make a cut, the Press Snap cutteris attached to the press tool, the PressSnap chain wraps around the pipe, andthe user presses the trigger to make the cut. There is no need to score thepipe beforehand. The Press Snap cutter cuts most 11/2" to 4" no hub andservice weight soil pipe. It works with all RIDGID standard press tools, in-cluding the CT-400, 320-E, RP 330-B and RP 330-C. RIDGID.


Presented by

� Phc News tool of the month �Hammer drill/driverVersatile SB18 LTX hammerdrill/driver is ideal for rugged appli-cations requiring a reliable, high-performance, long-lasting cordless

power tool. Users that require hightool performance and rugged opera-tion, such contractors, remodelers,cable installers and HVAC techni-cians, can take advantage of the newhammer drill/driver’s power and bat-tery capabilities, plus the size andweight benefits. Metabo.


Lithium ion power toolsNew launch of compact lithium ionpower tools, the small, lightweightdesign of these tools is ideal for HVAC

professionals as well as electrical,mechanical and general contractors

who perform overhead drilling andfastening applications. The compactlithium ion battery (DC9181)charges in 30 minutes and is com-patible with the existing system of18V power tools, providing userswith more options to pick the rightbattery for the job. DeWALT.


Handheld pressing toolThe M20+ and the P20+ profes-sional-grade pressing machinesbring increasedproductivity, timesavings and ease ofjob execution tothe skilledt r a d e sman .VIRAX M20+is a compactpistol grip pressing machine the sizeof a cordless drill. See www.phcnews.com for a chance to win aM20+ pressing tool! Stanley VIRAX.


ProPress XL-C 2-1/2" to 4" �ttings.

ProPress 1/2" to 2" �ttings.

An unpressed connection with the Smart Connect feature allows liquids and/or air to pass by the sealing element during pressure test.

EPDM seal Fitting bead

ProPress fitting

ProPress XL-C fitting

Fitting bead

EPDM seal

PBT spacer

Stainless steel grip ring

The stainless steel grip ring is pressed, forcing the grip ring teeth against the tube, making a high-strength connection.

Pressed connection is pressed in front of, on top of, and behind the seal making a gas or water-tight seal. The Smart Connect feature is sealed during pressing.

Press technology... the inside story.

Why use Press Fittings over Sweat Fittings?In the study below it took 75% less time to install a typical restaurant bathroom with press technology over sweating fittings. This will allow for jobs to be completed quicker, on time or ahead of schedule.

Only Viega ProPress fittings and valves offer the Smart Connect® feature, a quick and easy way to identify connections that need pressing.

During pressure testing, water or air flows past the sealing element indicating an unpressed fitting. The Smart Connect feature has assured millions of leak-free connections for water and gas applications. ProPress is approved for potable water, fuel gas, marine and stainless steel applications. Viega ProPress fittings carry a 50-year warranty for copper.

For more information see our white paper on back or contact us at 1-800-976-9819.

Viega . . . The g loba l l eader in p lumbing and hea t ing sys tems.

W W W . V I E G A . C O M 1 - 8 0 0 - 9 7 6 - 9 8 1 9

Press Fittings vs. Sweat Fittings Sweat Fittings

Press Fittings

0 5 10 15 20 25 30

11

22.45

Note: PHCC labor calculators were utilized in the labor estimate

PHCC Labor Hours

i the Pres

inside techss

story.hnology

y...

y

ess Fit PrS t Fitti

ttings vs. Sweat Fittin22 454

ngs

PHCC labor

ess Fittin

Sweat Fittin

Pr

Note:50

tors were utilized in the labor estima

a

4

gs

ngs

r calcula t

22.45

11

25201510

PHCC Labor Hours

te ma 30

Viega

The g lob a . . .

ba l l eader in

n p lumbing

and hea t ing

g sys tems.

W W W

. V I E G A . C O

M

1 - 8 0 0 - 9 7 6 - 9 8 1 9

9 7 6 - 9 8 1 9


Water powered back-up pumpThe highly efficient, water-poweredSJ10A SumpJet®

b a c k - u ppump re-quires no elec-

tricity to operate andfeatures an inte-grated alarm andoptional auto-di-aler to call thehomeownerif the unit hasactivated. Thisv a l u a b l ewater-savingfeature is espe-

cially important if the mainsump pump fails whan homeownersare away for an extended period oftime. Liberty Pumps.


Heat transfer for commercial solarThe Commercial Solar Station(HCOM), is a packaged, plug and play,

closed-loop heat transfer applianceaccommodates large solar hot waterprojects of up to 100 flat plate collec-tors with a single module, while stilllarger projects can combine modulesin parallel for limitless sizing poten-tial. Heliodyne.


Ice & snow detectorsThe 605 Series programmable iceand snow detector uses inputs fromremote sensors to activate a single-

zone melting system only whendriveways and sidewalks requireheat for maintenance-free, safe, eco-nomic operation under severe con-ditions. Thousands of installations inNorth America. Incorporates twotypes of sensors embedded in a pro-tective polymer, measuring moistureand temperature for early detectionof ice and snow. Caleffi North Amer-ica, Inc.


Bracketing systemStrong Arm® bracketing system withPEX Bend Lock Block™ provides su-perior installation when stubbing out

with PEX tubing. Simple to learn andinstall for fast installation at the low-est cost, yet provides great strength.Solves problems with stubbing outPEX. American-made. Installers cannow stub out easily, securely andwith confidence. Sioux Chief.


No-hub couplingsSTAR no-hub couplings are independ-ently certified to ASTM standards forstandard and wide body heavy dutyapplications. Engineered for top per-formance and easy installation, theStandard 60, Heavy 80, and SuperHeavy 80 couplings feature all stain-less steel construction and premiumneoprene gaskets. The manufactureroffers a 5-year warranty for STAR castiron soil pipes, fittings and no-hubcouplings. Star Pipe Products.


Condensing residential hydronic boilerThe XPak wall-hung condensing res-idential hydronic boiler, features astate-of-the art extruded aluminum

alloy heat ex-changer. Initialmodel sizes are85 and 130.Other featuresinclude modula-tion with 4:1turn down, syn-chronized witha three speedGrundfos nonferrous pump;two section heat

exchanger to minimize condensatedwell time; 3" CPVC, stainless steel orpolypropylene vent, all U.S. Certi-fied; user friendly, easy access con-trols; ASME H stamp; and a 20 yearprorated warranty. Raypak.


Automatic explosion-proof pumpsHigh head pumps for submersiblesewage or de-watering ap-p l i c a t i o n s .Features includemotors FM listedfor Class 1, Divi-sion 1, Group C& D environ-ments plusdurable cast ironcover, motoradapter andpump housingwith stainlesssteel parts thatwill not rust orcorrode. Avail-able in 2" or 3"NPT flange dis-charge. ZoellerPump Co.


Tankless water heaterSuper-efficient N-0842MC condensingunit for residential use has new con-densing technology that yields 94%energy efficiency. Housed in a pow-der-coat casing with built-in PVCadapter. Priced to provide homeown-ers additional savings over tax cred-its that have been extended throughthe end of 2010. Noritz.


56 Phc News — OCTOBER 2009Product News

Intelligent control valveThe ICON System™ is a next-generation gas control valve, which will be stan-dard equipment on most of the manufacturer’s residential and light duty com-mercial products* with no additional cost. Developed in collaboration withHoneywell®, the new valve features advanced temperature control, exclusiveperformance software, intelligent diagnostics, pilot-on-indication, millivoltpowered operation, separate immersed thermowell, and an integrated Piezoigniter. Also available are universal replacement kits to retrofit the ICON Sys-tem™ control valve or a previous generation gas control valve on most of themanufacturer’s existing models. Bradford White.*All atmospheric vent and direct vent residential and light duty models ex-cept high performance and mobile home models.


� Phc News product of the month �

A Watts Water Technologies Company

Series RBFF, Designed for the Heating Professional

Save time by eliminating up to 11 threaded joints with our new RBFF service valve. The RBFF features a 3-port ball valve design to make servicing system

expansion tanks and fi ll valves a snap. A conveniently positioned pressure gauge is also included for easy fi ll valve adjustment. The integral drain port is used for relieving pres-sure from the expansion tank for accurate pre-charge measurement and can also be used for a variety of system draining and fi lling functions.

For more information, visit our website www.watts.com/rbff

Introducing the Residential Boiler Fill Fitting from Watts



Agood tool makes a contrac-tor’s life much easier on thejob site, delivering speed and

performance in a comfortable, easy-to-use package. But a tool’s potentialcannot be realized without acces-sories that are tough enough to han-dle the job.Until recently, plumbers and

other construction professionals

who use cordless impact drivershave struggled to find accessoriesdurable enough to withstand thehigher torque applications that im-pact drivers make possible. As a re-sult, they’ve been frustrated by drillbits snapping, nut drivers cracking,bit tips rounding, and other incon-venient and costly accessory fail-ures. Further, the limited numberof accessories engineered to with-stand the torque output of impactdrivers has limited the number ofapplications for which impact driv-ers can be used.That’s why DEWALT has tackled

the problem head-on with their newline of IMPACT READY accessories. IM-PACT READY accessories are engi-neered specifically for impactdrivers, and they are strong enoughto withstand high levels of torque.DEWALT’s IMPACT READY drill bits, forexample, are five times moredurable than conventional drill bits,which give contractors the long-last-

ing reliability they demand.

Listening to the prosIMPACT READY is not just a new

product line. Rather, it is a demon-stration of the partnership that DE-WALT knows professionalcontractors want to see from thetool manufacturers they rely on toearn a living. Plumbers and con-

struction professionals have plentyto say about what works on the jobsite and what falls short, so theyvalue a company that listens and re-sponds to their concerns.When DEWALT talks to plumbers,

HVAC professionals, electricians, me-chanical contractors, and generalcontractors in the field about whatthey need the most, a word thatoften comes up is “tough.” Contrac-tors need tough tools to stand up tothe challenges they face on everyjob, and that offer solutions for ac-complishing their day-to-day tasksmore efficiently. Those two priorities have driven

significant growth in cordless impactdriver sales over the last five years,as plumbers and other professionalcontractors have adopted the tool tosupplement the use of their cordlessdrill, or to replace it all together. Inspecific applications, the use of animpact driver can offer noteworthyadvantages over the use of a cordless

drill. For example, users of cordlessimpact drivers benefit from:• More power. An impact driver

with a 14.4-volt battery can deliverabout three times as much power asa cordless drill with the same battery.• More speed. While to some ex-

tent speed is a function of practiceand experience, many contractorsreport faster completion of largeprojects, as well as longer-lasting bat-tery life. • More flexibility. With its com-

pact design, an impact driver caneasily be controlled with one hand,allowing a contractor to movequickly even when angles are oddand working space is tight.• Less effort. It takes a fraction of

the pressure to seat a screw becausethe hammer-and-anvil power of theimpact driver takes care of the work. • Less weight. The typical impact

driver is much lighter than a com-parable cordless drill. That canmake a big job much less tiring, withless wear and tear on wrists andhands.

Tackling the problemDespite their good reviews, how-

ever, impact drivers are not prob-

lem-free. The most common com-plaints are not about the impactdriver itself, but rather the inabilityof accessories to stand up to thetorque output of impact drivers. Torespond to those concerns, DEWALTcreated an entirely new line ofdrilling, screw driving, and fastening,accessories, engineered specificallyto withstand the torque and powergenerated by impact drivers. IMPACTREADY accessories:1. Make it possible for plumbers

and other professional contractors toget more done with their impactdrivers, as a result of the wide rangeof IMPACT READY products DEWALThas introduced2. Reduce occurrences of acces-

sory failure, due to the durabilitythat has been engineered into IMPACTREADY products3. Save time, and allow contrac-

tors complete jobs more efficientlyIn today’s economy, plumbers and

other professional contractors knowthey have to make every minutecount and every investment in theirtoolbox pay off. With smart innova-tion, IMPACT READY accessories deliverincreased productivity, giving con-tractors the ability to use their im-pact drivers more often, and in moreapplications. �

David Lee is group product man-ager, DeWALT Accessories.

Power tools: Making a tough tool tougher

Power tool sPotlight

DeWALT created the first IMPACT READY® accessories specifically designed for IM-PACT DRIVERS.

With its compact design, an impact driver can easily be controlled with one hand,allowing a contractor to move quickly even when working space is tight.

Phc News — OCTOBER 2009 59

Chicago Tube & Iron Co. relocates Wisconsin Division

Industry news

SHIELD™ commercial water heater protects from energy-robbing lime scale buildup

LEBANON, TENN.— Since the introduc-tion of the innovative SHIELD™ com-mercial water heater, Lochinvar®Corporation has been making wavesby proving that sometimes it’swhat’s not inside that really counts.With inputs up to 500,000 Btu/hr,96% thermal efficiency and storageup to 125 gallons, SHIELD has every-thing it takes to provide the ultimategreen operation — without the riskof lime scale buildup inside the tank.Equipped with an advanced stainlesssteel heat transfer system located out-side of the tank, which provides a 100%defense against lime scale buildup within,SHIELD is designed to maintain the same highefficiency and low operating costs through-out its life cycle. For more information, visitwww.Lochinvar.com.

FOND DU LAC, WIS. — Chicago Tube &Iron Company officially relocated itsWisconsin Division from Milwaukee toa newly constructed 117,000-square-foot metals distribution service centerin Fond du Lac. The new facility em-ploys approximately 30 warehouse

and office workers who support thecompany’s customers throughout thestate of Wisconsin.“Especially during these difficult

times for the metals industry and themanufacturing sector, this new invest-ment underscores our long-term andgrowing commitment to the Wisconsin

industrial market,” said Donald R. Mc-Neeley, president and chief operating of-ficer of the company. “Our new centrallocation and state of the art facilities willsignificantly enhance our ability to pro-vide consistent, reliable service to ourcustomers throughout Wisconsin.”

The companysaid its total in-vestment in theWisconsin mar-ket now exceeds$15 million, in-cluding the newconstruction in

Fond du Lac together with equipment,inventories and other balance sheetcommitments.The new facility was designed and

constructed by MSI General Corpora-tion of Oconomowoc, Wisc. with proj-ect management provided by IPMCompany, Inc. of Burr Ridge, Ill.

Read Ellen’sMega-Makeovers

Blog online atwww.phcnews.com

today!


For more than 70 years, Wohlerhas been a synonym for qual-ity and progressive innova-

tions in the field of measuringinstruments, visual inspection sys-tems and cleaning equipment forheating, ventilation and facility man-agement applications.

Phc News recently spoke to PaulaBresnahan, inside sales/operations

manager at Wohler to give us an in-side look at the company.Phc: Please provide a brief his-

tory of Wohler.Bresnahan: It all started more

than 70 years ago. Here is timelineof significant events:• 1932 — William Wohler runs a

registered brush-making factory inBerlin, Germany;• 1948 — Hans Wohler continues

his fathers brush-making factory inWuppertal, Germany;• 1964 — Establishment of the

company in Wunnenberg, Germany;• 1965 — The company’s first flue

gas analyzers come to market;• 1995 — The chimney camera

opens up the market for video in-spection technology;• 2002 — The founding of Wohler

USA, Inc.; and• 2007 — Construction of new

corporate headquarters in Bad Wun-nenberg, Germany.Phc: How did you get involved

in the company and the industry?Bresnahan: Wohler offered me the

opportunity to utilize my wide rangeof business skills to facilitate the ex-pansion of the business. My diversebackground includes a degree in ed-

ucation, a strong background in salesmanagement and operations/cus-tomer service management in theHVAC industry was a perfect match.Phc: What are your initiatives

for the company?Bresnahan: My immediate focus

is on exploring and expanding theapplications for our visual inspec-tion systems. I am exploring various

markets that could benefit from alow cost, reliable visual inspectionsystem. Phc: What’s new & exciting hap-

penings at the company?Bresnahan: VIS Series of Visual

inspection systems with a 1" colorcamera head, 1½" pan and tilt colorcamera head or 2" color, pan & tiltcamera head. These compact, af-fordable cameras offer a tremendousway to improve the way business isdone and offers in inexpensive wayto diversify customer service.Phc: How is the company pro-

gressing through the sluggisheconomy?Bresnahan: Despite the eco-

nomic slowdown, business hasbeen steady. We are taking advan-tage of these slower times to inves-tigate a wide variety of markets sothat once the economy reboundswe will be in prime position forgrowth and expansion.Phc: How does the company

work with contractors/end users(rebates, training, etc.)Bresnahan: Wohler USA has in-

troduced the Wohler Institute ofTechnology (WIT). We offer trainingprograms in combustion analysis,

carbon monoxide testing and build-ing pressure testing. Additionally,our service department is there forall of their calibration and repairneeds with a guaranteed maximumof 72-hour turn around time.Phc: Green building is saturat-

ing the marketplace. Does yourcompany partake in the greenmovement?Bresnahan: Being a European

company, naturally energy conser-vation and the environment are apriority for us. Our electronic testequipment allows contractors tomeasure emission levels and we arethe only combustion analyzer man-ufacturer capable of measuring bio-fuel.Phc: Dominating the European

market, have there been any ob-stacles introducing product to theNorth American market?Bresnahan: Name recognition is

always an obstacle. Breaking into amarket with established competi-tion makes setting up distributionthe biggest obstacle. We have beenvery fortunate to have allied our-selves with some excellent Manu-facturers Representatives. We feelthat as a team we will overcome allof the obstacles.

Phc: What are some of the differ-ences between markets?Bresnahan: One of the major dif-

ferences is the way you go to market.In the United States, we go throughreps. and wholesalers. In Europethere is much more direct contactwith the contractor. The physicalsize of North America makes itmuch more difficult to get your armsaround. If you are from Europe andhave never traveled to North Amer-ica you are in for a big surprise.There is a big difference betweeneven the U.S. and the Canadian mar-kets. That is why finding the rightrepresentatives is so vital to any longterm success.Phc: Can you talk about cus-

tomer service? What is Wohler’sprotocol for service?Bresnahan: We pride ourselves on

our personal service to our customers.We do not have an automated answer-ing system here at Wohler USA. Whencustomers call they will speak directlywith either Peter Cullen, COO, Cather-ine Cullen, customer service repre-sentative, Walter Haines, our servicemanager or myself. Each and every-one of us will be more than happy toassist any way we can.All service/repairs are performed

here in Danvers, Mass. An RMA re-quest link is available on our websitewith pick up service available. Weguarantee a 72-hour turnaroundtime on all of our repairs. �

Wohler USA: Progressive innovation

MaNufacturer sPotlight

Paula Bresnahan, inside sales/operations manager at Wohler, works on the phonewith a customer.

The Wohler VIS3xx advance camera system utilizes a 1 ½” pan & tilt camera headto provide brilliant picture quality while inspecting pipes, air ducts, vents, cracks,chimneys and welding seams.

HOW TO INSTALL SLOANSTONE SINKSA Sloan video offers step-by-step instruction forinstalling SloanStone® 7000 series solid-surfacelavatory systems. Installation of the double- andtriple-station lavatories is a one-man job. The videoshows how all the serviceable components areunder the latched lid for easy maintenance.

SLOAN VALVE COMPANY

MIXING VALVES 101Leonard Valve’s "Mixing Valves 101” trainingpresentation explains what mixing valves are andwhere they are used, and how to maximize theirperformance. Leonard is committed to supportingcustomers’ increased technical demands with theresources they need to be successful.

LEONARD VALVE

PREPARE FOR MASS NOTIFICATIONFind out about the three critical components of acampus mass notification system from RJA, theexperts in safety and security consulting. RJA’s guidecan educate you about assessing, designing andimplementing multi-faceted plans for variousemergencies.

ROLF JENSEN & ASSOCIATES

HOW DO YOU PUT A TOILET ON A WALL?Learn more about the Geberit Concealed Tank andCarrier System, which enables off-the-floor toiletbowl design with no visible pipework. Geberit’sinformational video shows how the system worksand how to install the in-wall, steel-frame carrier to wall framing studs.

GEBERIT

To receive information on these and other companies, go to:www.Contractor-Resource.com

FIRE INFO ANYTIME, ANYWHERE Carry installation manuals and data sheets forSystem Sensor fire detection and notificationproducts wherever you go. Request a copy of an E-DOCS CD-ROM, your on-the-go, know-it-all guideon smoke, duct and CO detectors; horns/strobes;and more.

SYSTEM SENSOR

ELEGANCE WITH A PUSH OF A BUTTONThe BWO Literature and Video CD shows the varioustypes and finishes of Bath Waste & Overflowproducts available from Geberit, including thePushControl™ style. Specification and installationdetails tell how to add a touch of class to elegant bathrooms.

GEBERIT

VIDEO SHOWS CARTRIDGE CHANGINGLearn the basics of Sloan Waterfree Urinalmaintenance from this short, informational video.Waterfree Urinal cartridges can be quickly replacedin a few easy-to-follow steps. The video also showssimple cleaning tips.

SLOAN VALVE COMPANY

FAUCET INSTALLATION DVDChicago Faucets has released a product overviewand training DVD for its HyTronic™ electronic faucetline. The DVD demonstrates how to install faucets,make custom adjustments and change batteries.Product details allow contractors to choose theappropriate model.

CHICAGO FAUCETS

www.Contractor-Resource.com

Your Resource for Product TrainingVisit www.Contractor-Resource.com to learn more about the products

and services these and other companies can offer you.

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Founded in 1946 by the Segalfamily, and subsequently soldto Watts Water Technologies

in December 2005, Dormont Manu-facturing is a leading provider of flex-ible stainless steel connectors for

natural/LP gas and fluid conveyanceapplications, and is the only ISO

9001:2008 registered U.S. manufac-turer of gas connectors. In fact, Dor-mont was the first manufacturer tointroduce the stainless steel gas con-nector for residential applicationsand Dormont pioneered the Quick-Disconnect and commercial foodser-vice gas connector, specificallydesigned for McDonald’s in the1970s.

Current target markets includeDormont’s customers in commercialfoodservice, residential and appli-ance original equipment manufac-turers (OEMs). With more than 100million gas connectors sold world-wide, Dormont’s products safely con-nect a wide variety of appliances to agas supply. The following is a Q&Awith Joe Dykta, General Manager,Dormont — who oversees qualityand safety and provides the re-sources needed to achieve efficiencymaximization — and Jack Stein,Vice President of Sales, Dormont,who, collectively, share their viewsregarding Dormont Manufacturing.Phc: How has today’s economic

climate affected Dormont?Dykta & Stein: Dormont has been

affected by the economic climatejust like all other organizations. Wehave been challenged to do more

with less and pursue alternate pathsfor growth. Despite these challengesDormont has remained committedto their customers. Dormont stillprovides industry best customerservice levels. Additionally, Dormont

has made large invest-ments in new productdevelopment and cap-ital equipment inorder to fulfill marketneeds and increasevalue in the market-place.Phc: What is the

current competitiveenvironment in theindustry?

Dykta & Stein: Inthese very tough eco-nomic times, Dor-mont remainscommitted to provid-ing competitive prod-ucts withoutsacrificing quality.Dormont strives toadd value to our cus-tomers. Phc: Any silver lin-

ings in the cloudi-ness of the economy?

Dykta & Stein: I think there arealways silver linings. We have beenforced to work smarter, harder andmore creatively. As mentionedabove, Dormont has pursued alter-nate paths for growth including syn-ergy products with Watts. The EZQuick™ family ofproducts is a great ex-ample. This productline is aimed at savingtime for the installerand increasing reliabil-ity. Distributors want,and need, their vendorpartners to providethem with new ideas,new products and newways to promote thoseproducts to their tradeto generate new rev-enue and profitstreams; it helps themcreate an edge in theirmarket.Phc: What is Dor-

mont’s position/rolein the industry?

Dykta & Stein: Weare the preferred gas connector ofchoice by the gas installer. Dormontmaintains an active role in industryrelated codes and standards organi-zations including CSA.

Phc: How important is connec-tor safety? What does Dormontdo to enhance the safety of itsconnectors?

Dykta & Stein: Gas connectorsafety is Dormont’s number one con-cern. Dormont’s design and manu-facturing and quality processes are

developed around our concern forsafety. In our state-of-the-art produc-tion facility in Export, Pa., Dormontemployees commit themselves tomaking each gas connector as if itwere to be installed in their ownhomes. To ensure consistency, everyconnector is 100% leak tested andmanufactured to tolerances that ex-ceed the performance requirementsmandated by CSA.Phc: What unique value/benefit

does Dormont offer to the gas in-staller? Distributors? Consumers?

Dykta & Stein: The number-onevalue that Dormont offers is con-

necting with confidence. Our dis-tributors know that they will receivea consistent, high quality productevery time they order from Dor-mont. In addition Dormont offers:

• Strong brand recognition;• More than 60 years of experi-

ence with the broadest line of gasconnectors designed specifically forevery gas appliance application;

• The acceptance from major ap-pliance manufacturers;

• Strong customer service andtechnical support and competitivepricing; and

• Being a member of the Wattsfamily is also a benefit to our cus-tomers. We continue to offer the per-

sonal touches of a small companybut have the support and backing ofa large corporation. We also utilizethe expertise of the Watts sales force.Phc: Describe the importance of

a solid relationship with whole-salers.

Dykta & Stein: Dormont places astrong value on our distributionchannels. Dormont has relied on itssales team and manufacturer’s rep-resentatives to promote Dormontproducts to both distributors andcontractors on a local and nationalbasis. Dormont’s distributor partnershave been essential in the growth of

the company. They have provided,and continue to provide, productknowledge and inventory support totheir local and national markets.

Connect with confidence: Dormont Manufacturing ‘connecting’ with its mission

Corporate report

Jack Stein (l), Vice President of Sales and Joe Dykta,General Manager.

Dormont’s corporate headquarters, located in Export, Pa., features a state-of-the-art gas connector production facility

(Turn to Connect... page 64.)

On September 15, Dormont celebrated its 100,000,000 gas connector produced. Pictured is Dormont’sfirst shift and office crew.

Phc: What are some new and ex-citing happenings at Dormont?

Dykta & Stein: This is a big year atDormont, because we are celebratingmore than 100 million gas connec-tors that have been sold, manufac-tured and installed since the

beginning of the company. We arevery proud of our accomplishmentsand are looking forward to manymore years of growth. We continue toinvest in our business — from invest-ing new equipment to new productdevelopment — to maintain our po-sition as a major U.S. manufacturer.

To help celebrate this milestoneand to reinforce our value in the in-dustry, we have kicked off a new“Connect with Confidence” cam-paign. This campaign will illustratewhat sets Dormont apart from othermanufacturers — our quality prod-uct, our quality employees (cus-tomer service and technical support,on time delivery), and our qualitypartners (representative agents/dis-

tributors/suppliers). Phc: What are some of your most

popular markets/applications?Dykta & Stein: Dormont targets

all gas appliance installations inthe home or commercial markets.Dormont offers the broadest familyof gas connectors in the industryserving all residential, commercialand OEM gas connector needs. Dor-mont has manufactured and soldmore than 100 million gas connec-tors that have been safely installedworldwide.

Dormont provides gas applianceconnectors for nearly every gas in-stallation in the residential, foodser-vice, and commercial and OEM

markets. Our Supr-Safe™ residen-tial gas connector has expanded toinclude Safety Shield™ yellowcoated connectors and LV (Low-Vis-ibility) Hearth Gas Connectors.

LV™ was designed to hide the con-nector from view in the fireplace.We created the next generation LVproduct with WhisperFlex™ thateliminates the annoying whistlingsound that can occur in higher BTUapplications in the fireplace instal-lation. UltraFlow™, our signaturehigh BTU gas connector, has ex-panded greatly in the market due tothe tankless gas water heater instal-lation. Dormont is also known for“The Blue Hose™” moveable food-service gas connector.

With more than 60 years of expe-rience, Dormont is an engaged in-dustry participant, playing an activerole with customers, trade associa-tions and with standards organiza-tions. “We pride ourselves inon-time performance,” said Dykta.“And with our product precisionand manufacturing-lean initiatives,customers can now ‘connect withconfidence.’”

For more information, visit Dor-mont online at www.dormont.com. �

Connect with confidence

64 Phc News — OCTOBER 2009Corporate report

We pride ourselves

in on-time performance.

And with our product

precision and manufacturing-

lean initiatives, customers

can now “connect

with confidence.”

— Joe DyktaGeneral Manager


Phc News — OCTOBER 2009 65Classified ads

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To reiterate: thisjob affords methe luxury of vis-

iting new places andspeaking to, and meet-ing, interesting people

along the way. One such person is Stepehn Soifer,Ph.D., co-founder and board member of the Amer-ican Restroom Association (ARA), and an AssociateProfessor of Social Work at the University of Mary-land, Baltimore. The following is what I learnedfrom Mr. Soifer:In August 2004, the American Restroom Associ-

ation was founded as a 501(3)c non-profit grass-roots organization with the vision that the UnitedStates should be a toilet-friendly place wherever itscitizens choose to work, travel, shop, eat and play.While most communities have well-functioningsewer systems and most homes have excellent toi-lets, Americans have much more difficulty findingtoilets when they are away from home. The lack ofavailability of toilets has a huge impact on the phys-ical and mental health of Americans.According to Steven Soifer, Ph.D., an Associate

Professor of Social Work at the University of Mary-land, Baltimore, and co-founder and board memberof the ARA, “The United States is far behind mostAsian and European countries in its awareness of theimportance of adequate public toilet facilities fortheir people.” The availability and standards of publicrestrooms affects all Americans regardless of race, in-come, gender, age and other factors. Almost any in-dividual when approached could think of a timewhen they needed a bathroom and there was none

open to the public, or it was too unkempt to use.Clearly, it is an ignored issues in most cities andstates in the U.S., and becomes a public health issueand worthy of concern.ARA’s mission is to advocate for the availability of

clean, safe and well-designed public restrooms. Inorder to achieve its mission the organization focuseson four specific areas:• Restroom design and technology;• Restroom availability and accessibility;• Pertinent legislation and regulations regarding

public restrooms; and• Document the problems faced by people who

hesitate to travel or who avoid activities that putthem out of range of proper toilet facilities.In order to achieve the mission the ARA has set

fourth eight goals to focus on as an organization:• Generate public relations campaigns that result

in positive coverage by the press;• Address regulatory and legislative weaknesses;• Act as a health impact clearinghouse;• Survey and develop a Municipal Friendliness

Ratings system;• Communicate with other similar associations

around the world;• Develop brochures and other needed publica-

tions;• Serve as a focal point for companies and individ-

uals promoting these products and design; and• Develop lines of communication with malls and

building associations.The ARA website (www.americanrestroom.org) at-

tracts close to 100,000 hits per month with little orno publicity. The ARA began with only a $5,000 grantfrom its sister organization, the International Parure-sis Association (www.paruresis.org), which has al-lowed it to work toward the above stated goals as

much as possible on a completely volunteer basiswithout staff. America’s workers are guaranteed the right to use

the toilet under the Occupational Health and SafetyAdministration of the U.S. Department of Labor. TheARA believes the general public deserves the samebasic right as a public health issue under the U.S.government’s Department of Health and HumanServices. Moreover, every state, under either the In-ternational Plumbing Code (IPC), the UniformPlumbing Code (UPC) or the National StandardPlumbing Code (NSPC), requires cities to allow thepublic to use public restrooms pretty much any-where. However, these codes are rarely, if ever, en-forced. The ARA wants to see these codes universallyenforced. The ARA strives to implement provisionsbuilt upon research by IPC, reflecting studies by Dr.Sandra Rawls at the University of Virginia, theStevens Institute of Technology, the National Restau-rant Association and the ASPE Research foundation.This silent issue, especially in light of the H1N1 virusand other diseases, becomes a high priority publichealth issue. The ARA is working to be the spark tobring these concerns to the forefront of public con-sciousness and to the attention of policy makers atall levels of government. �

BY JOHN MESENBRINK,

editor

Difficulty finding well-designed public toilets?

next issue...

• Green Plumbing & Heating

• High Efficiency Toilets

• Drainage

66 Phc News — OCTOBER 2009In Our OpInIOn

Phc News (USPS number 022-074) is published 12 times yearly by TMB Publishing Inc., 1838 Techny Ct. Northbrook, IL 60062; tel. 847/564-1127; fax 847/564-1264. No part of this publicationmay be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical, photocopying, electronic recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of TMB Publishing Inc.Phc News is delivered free of charge to qualified subscribers in the U.S. and Canada. Others: U.S., U.S. Poss. and Canada, $100/yr.; two-year annual subscription rate U.S. and Canada, $155; othercountries, $200/yr. or $300 for two year (U.S. funds) plus $20 surface postage. Single copies, $15.Application to mail at Periodicals Postage Rates is pending at Northbrook, IL and additional mailing offices.POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Plumbing & Hydronic Contractor News, Creative Data Services, 519 E. Briarcliff Road, Bolingbrook, IL 60440. [email protected] mail agreement No. 41499518: Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to PO Box 503, RPO West Beaver Creek, Richmond Hill ON L4B 4R6

AHR Expo .....................................36www.ahrexpo.com

Accubid.........................................10www.accubid.com

Anvil Intl. ......................................43www.anvilintl.com

Bare Bones Biz..............................59www.barebonesbiz.com

Bell & Gossett.............................IBCwww.bellgossett.com

Bradford White .............................19www.bradfordwhite.com

BrassCraft .....................................35www.brasscraft.com

Buderus.........................................13www.buderus.net

Burnham.....................................IFCwww.burnham.com

Chicago Faucets ...........................17www.chicagofaucets.com

Contractor Resource ....................61www.contractor-resource.com

General Pipe Cleaners, a div. of General Wire Spring.......33, 54www.drainbrain.com

Grundfos..................................50-51www.grundfos.com

John Guest....................................49www.johnguest.com

Heatinghelp.com ..........................64www.heatinghelp.com

Heat-Flo Products.........................31www.heat-flo.com

Heat Transfer Products.................25www.htproducts.com

Liberty Pumps ..............................63www.libertypumps.com

Navien America ............................21www.navienamerica.com

Oventrop.........................................3www.oventrop-na.net

Plumberex.....................................53www.plumberex.com

RIDGID .........................................15www.ridgid.com

Sioux Chief .........................6, 14, 24www.siouxchief.com

Sloan Valve ..............................44-45www.sloanvalve.com

Smith Mfg. Co., Jay R. ..................18www.jrsmith.com

Stanley Virax ................................47www.stanleyvirax.com

Stiebel Eltron................................22www.stiebel-eltron-usa.com

Symmons ........................................9www.symmons.com

Taco ..........................cover wrap, 34www.taco-hvac.com

Utica Boilers .................................23www.uticaboilers.com

Versablock.......................................8www.versablock.com

Viega .............................................55www.viega.com

Ward Manufacturing .......................7www.wardmfg.com

Watco ............................................11www.watcomfg.com

Watts .............................................57www.watts.com

Watts Radiant ...............................29www.wattsradiant.com

Weldbend.................................38-39www.weldbend.com

Webstone....................4, Back Coverwww.webstonevalves.com

Weil-McLain....................................5www.weil-mcclain.com

J.C. Whitlam.................................12www.flowaide.com

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