Taco 3350-T2 Cartridge Pressure Reducing Valves

When installing a fill valve, try a Taco 3350-T2 as well. This pressure reducing valve is used to automatically feed water to a system whenever pressure in the system drops below the pressure setting of the valve.

Pressure reducing valves and the Taco 3350-T2 can be found at www.supplyhouse.com

Paloma Tankless Heater Venting

Paloma PH-20 heaters are vented with 3" (Part # 2ZVWP03), Paloma PH-28 heaters are vented with 4" (Part # 2ZVWB04)

Paloma Tankless Heaters can be found at www.supplyhouse.com

How to use a ball wick

Ball wicks were much more popular in the past, but are still used by plumbers today to create secure fittings. To use a ball wick, take your nipple and carefully wrap it with the ball wick, then spread pipe joint compound over the entire area. This forms a secure and tight fitting for the nipple to the fitting.

Fittings, nipples, and ball wicks can all be found at www.supplyhouse.com

Checking the wiring

When replacing an old thermostat, you what to make sure to check the voltage powering your unit ( 24v or 110v ). A quick way to tell is by looking at the wire attached to your thermostat- if it is a thin (commonly seen in doorbells or speakers) wire it is most likely 24v. If it is a thick wire hanger it is line voltage 110v. Make sure to never wire a 24v thermostat into a 110v wire or a 110v thermostat into a 24v wire.

Honeywell Thermostats, White Rodgers Thermostats, Wirsbo Thermostats, RobertShaw Thermostats, Lux Thermostats and Tekmar Thermostats can be found at www.supplyhouse.com

Using HydroPEX fittings, again

If you are using a Watts Crimping Tool with copper rings to secure HydroPEX fittings and happen to make a mistake, you don't need to waste that fitting. Simply cut the ring with a PEX Ring Cutter, remove the fitting, and try again.

All tools and fittings for PEX Plumbing and Radiant Heat can be found at www.supplyhouse.com

McDonnell & Miller Flow Switches

Unlike most competitor flow switches which are normally closed, McDonnell & Miller Flow Switches give you the flexibility to have the switches either normally open or normally closed. This allows you to use them with virtually any application needing a flow switch.

Flow switches can be purchased online from www.supplyhouse.com

PEX, the environmentally friendly plumbing pipe

While it may seem hard to believe that plastic is better for the environment than metal pipe, PEX proves that it’s possible. Since copper tubing weighs more than PEX, it requires significantly more energy to both refine and melt into shape. And, once PEX is installed, the energy efficiency gets more prominent. There is less heat loss with PEX than copper, and PEX is freeze resistant so less energy is needed to heat the water running through PEX pipe. This adds up to a more environmentally friendly product that saves you money, too.

PEX Tubing can be purchased straight from the source at www.supplyhouse.com

Make sure that you run all of your wires before completing the walls in a new construction.

Most thermostats are two-wire, but Wirsbo set-points to control radiant heat systems are 4-wire (two wires for 24 volt power and two wires for heat call). Running all 4 wires (or 5 wires to be safe) before sheet-rocking will save you time and frustration later.

Thermostats for all applications can be found at www.supplyhouse.com

Drain-O-Tank Uses

Drain-O-Tanks are typically used with compression tanks on closed loop systems. It is not recommended that you use a Drain-O-Tank with a pre-charged diaphragm/bladder tank.

Drain-O-Tanks and compression tanks can be found on www.supplyhouse.com

Using a ball valve for shut-off

Ball valves are incredibly durable and are usually able to provide perfect shut-off after years of not being touched. However, it's generally a good idea to turn them once or twice a year, just to make sure that when you need to use it, it will work.

Ball valves of all shapes and sizes can be purchased from www.supplyhouse.com

How to simplify your radiant installation

PEX tubing can be difficult to lay out without help as the coils tend to want to stay in their ready-to-ship position. A tube uncoiler fixes this problem and makes laying out your PEX tubing a one-man job. The uncoiler allows your PEX to straighten out and makes it easy to handle to create your loops.

PEX Tubing and Tube Uncoilers can be found at www.supplyhouse.com

Plan Ahead for Pump Replacement

When replacing or installing a new pump, you should consider using shut-off flanges. These flanges make isolating the pump for repair or replacement easy because they literally shut-off the line, allowing you to change out the pump without needing to drain your entire system.

Pumps and flanges can be found online at www.supplyhouse.com

Adding radiant comfort to your home

Make your bathroom more comfortable with radiant heat. When laying out your tubing try placing the tubing under your tub/shower and in the exterior walls about 4 feet up from the floor. Make sure to insulate behind the tubing in the wall using a concrete barrier foil from www.supplyhouse.com.

Installing a Low Water Cut-Off with Pro Dope

When installing a low water cut-off make sure to never use teflon tape or paste containing teflon. The teflon can cause your low water cut-off to malfunction. Use Pro Dope to make your seal.

Both Pro Dope and Low Water Cut-Offs can be purchased from www.supplyhouse.com

Where can a Hot Dawg Heater be used?

The Hot Dawg Unit Heater was designed to provide heat to places where it normally wasn't found, particularly garages and woodworking shops. With a Hot Dawg installed in your garage, you can now work in a safe, heated environment. Whether you are simply taking your kids in and out of the car, leaving for work in the morning, or working on your hobbies, the Hot Dawg Heater makes the garage usable 24/7, 365 days a year.

Using a tankless heater for your space heating

Tankless heaters are designed for domestic use. A unit that says 199,000 BTU's will not give you 199,000 BTU's for space heating. That is just a rating on what the unit needs to deliver hot water at its listed gpm. To find out how may BTU's this unit will deliver for space heating, there is a quick formula you can use. Find out what GPM the unit will deliver (e.g. 5 gpm). As a rule of thumb, at a 20 degree delta t (the difference in temperature between the supply water and the return water) you can deliver 10,000 BTU's per GPM (10,000 BTU's X 5 GPM). This unit would give you 50,000 BTU's for space heating. This works for Takagi Tankless Water Heaters, Bosch Tankless Water Heaters, and Stiebel Eltron Tankless Water Heaters.