Monday, December 29, 2008

How a differential bypass valve works

The Taco Differential Bypass Valve maintains a regulated path of flow to prevent velocities that are too high or too low from being pumped through the zones (these zones remain open during reduced demand periods). This eliminates the noise caused from the velocity in standard valves while maintaining the designed heat transfer of each zone, which works to boost the overall system performance. Differential Bypass Valves should also be used to prevent dead heading of the circulator pump in systems where parallel piped heat emitters are controlled by thermostatic radiator valves.

Taco Pumps and Pressure Valves can be found at www.supplyhouse.com

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Joining PVC Pipes

As with any pipe connection, make sure to have straight, clean cuts before attempting to make a fitting. Apply PVC Primer to the hub of the fittings and the end of the pipe. Wait for the primer to dry, then apply PVC Cement to the fitting and glue to the end of the pipe. Push the pipe into the fitting while turning the pipe approximately 1/4 turn. Hold the parts together for a minute or so until the glue has dried. Wipe off the excess glue from around the joint and wait another 2-3 minutes for the connection to dry before putting it to use.

PVC fittings and other plumbing supplies can be found at www.supplyhouse.com

Monday, December 22, 2008

Boilers or furnaces

A boiler and a furnace are not actually the same thing. A boiler is used for hydronic heating systems while a furnace is used for hot air systems. If you have a furnace, it means that your heat is through air, and the furnace will heat the air before sending it off to different parts of your home. If you have a boiler, you are using hot water to heat your home. The boiler will store the hot water and then send it through pipes to heat your home.

Boilers & Heaters and Weil Mclain Boilers can be found at www.supplyhouse.com

Friday, December 19, 2008

Pump sizing

When sizing a pump for a radiant heat application, you will need to take the loop length of your runs of tubing into consideration. By determining the pressure loss in your system, you can size the correct pump for everything to run smoothly. Other factors that affect pressure loss include types and materials of the other components and the outside temperature and desired inside temperature.

Pumps & Flanges, Taco pumps and other radiant heat supplies can be found at www.supplyhouse.com

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Can towel warmers be left on all day?

Amba Towel Warmers are made to be on all day and night. The units have a built in thermostat and internal thermal cutout, so the unit will cycle itself to an average temperature of 154 ° Fahrenheit. The towel warmers will switch themselves on and off just like a hot water tank. If for any reason one of the units overheats, there is a safety cutout switch and the unit will shut itself off.

Towel Warmers and Amba Towel Warmer can be found at www.supplyhouse.com

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Loop length in radiant heat systems

There are some common guidelines that people follow when running PEX tubing, one being to keep loop length under 300 feet. While this is a good rule of thumb, it is not always true. If (after finding the Heat Loss Report for your home) you have a heat loss higher than 15 BTU's per square foot, you should keep your loop length under 225 feet. The higher the heat loss, the shorter your loops must be to accommodate for more rapid cooling. The difference in water temperature between the water leaving your pump and the water returning after it has circulated through the loop should be no more than 20 degrees.

PEX Tubing for radiant heat and other Radiant Heat supplies can be found at www.supplyhouse.com

Monday, December 15, 2008

Fittings and rings for the Viega tool

When using the Viega PEX Press Tool, you will need to use the Viega PEX Press Fittings and Viega PEX Press Sleeves. To install, first slide the PEX Press Sleeve over your tubing (1/2" for 1/2" tubing, 3/4" for 3/4" tubing, etc). Insert the PEX Press Fitting and then use the tool of the corresponding size to tighten the sleeve onto your tubing with the fitting inside. Upon tightening, the tool will create two circular grooves in the stainless steel PEX Press Sleeve.

PEX Tubing, PEX Tools and PEX Fittings can be found at www.supplyhouse.com

Friday, December 12, 2008

Tekmar 369 Control

From the Tekmar Catalog- The Tekmar Controller 369 is designed to control the temperature in up to six heating zones using Room Temperature Units (RTUs) or indoor sensors. The 369 zone control allows one stage heating zones, two stage heating zones, or a combination of one stage and two stage heating zones. PID zoning logic allows for staggering and synchronization of multiple zones in order to minimize boiler short cycling. The 369 is capable of operating a single cooling output and can provide automatic or manual heat / cool change over. When the 369 is used with a tekmar Reset or House Control, the 369 provides indoor temperature feedback that automatically adjusts the supply water temperature in order to satisfy the zone with the highest heat load. A large Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) is incorporated in order to view system status and operating information. The LCD and user key pad are used to set the adjustments and to monitor zone running times, outdoor high and low temperatures, minimum zone temperatures, and many other useful items.

Tekmar controllers, and the 369 Tekmar control can be found at www.supplyhouse.com

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Measurement of tees

Tees are named end - end - middle, so a 1" x 1/2" x 1" is 1" on one end, 1/2" on the other end and 1" in the middle. a 1/2" x 1" x 1" tee is exactly the same as a 1" x 1/2" x 1" tee- if you just flip the tee in your hands, the ends will swap.

Copper Fittings and copper tees can be found at www.supplyhouse.com

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Underground sewage

If you are adding a new toilet (or laundry sink, etc) in a basement below your current sewage line, you will need a sewage pump. Sewage pumps will force the liquids and solids up toward your main line. The further the distance, the more powerful you will need the pump to be (with higher horsepower). The Grundfos sewage pumps also vary based on cord length and voltage.

Little Giant pumps, sewage pumps, and other plumbing pumps can be found at www.supplyhouse.com

Tuesday, December 09, 2008

Boiler Reset Controls

Boiler Switching Relays are designed to improve performance in your hot water heating systems by regulating the supply water temperature of a single boiler based on outdoor temperature. The control utilizes a heating curve to set the relationship between outdoor temperature and supply water temperature to provide optimum control and comfort. Thanks to its integral microprocessor, it is able to continuously adjust the boiler differential to avoid boiler short-cycling and large temperature swings. Standard functions include warm weather shut down, minimum boiler supply temperature setting, and a starting water temperature setting.

Boiler Switching Relays, Boilers & Heaters can be found at www.supplyhouse.com

Monday, December 08, 2008

Sending cooler water to faucets and fixtures

Your boiler (or tankless water heater) might produce water at a higher temperature than what you want flowing to your faucets and fixtures. If this is the case, you will need to install a mixing valve. A mixing valve will take your hot water on one end and take cold water in on another end. A dial is set to the temperature you desire, and the valve will mix the hot with the cold to produce water of that temperature.

Tekmar Mixing Valves, Taco Mixing Valves, and other mixing valves can be found at www.supplyhouse.com

Friday, December 05, 2008

Thermostat Height

When mounting a thermostat, it is best to place it at chest level. Since heat rises, placing the thermostat too high will make it read a higher temperature than what you feel. If the thermostat is placed too low, it could read too low, raising the heat more than you had planned for and wasting energy. Placing your thermostat at chest level will provide optimal comfort in your home.

White Rodgers Thermostats and Honeywell Thermostats can be found at www.supplyhouse.com

Thursday, December 04, 2008

Viega Snap Panels

Viega Snap Panels can be used for easy installation of PEX Tubing. Simply snap the PEX into place and it will stay down securely. Viega Snap Panels also act as a vapor barrier, but do not have an R value and thus cannot be used as insulation.

Viega Snap Panels and other Radiant Heat Panels can be found at www.supplyhouse.com

Wednesday, December 03, 2008

Sharkbite Adapters

Sharkbite Adapters have one end with a SharkBite connection and the other end with pipe threads. A Pipe to Female Pipe Thread Connector (example: U072) has female threads and will thus connect to a male pipe fitting while a Pipe to Male Pipe Thread Connector (example: U120LF) has male threads and will connect to a female pipe fitting. Put simply, an adapter with female in the name has threads on the inside while an adapter with male in the name has threads on the outside. To make a connection, you will need one of each of these adapters.

SharkBite Fittings can be found at www.supplyhouse.com

Tuesday, December 02, 2008

Filling small baseboard gaps

If you only have a few inches of space to fill between pieces of baseboard, a filler sleeve is the perfect solution. Made to join two baseboard units, a filler sleeve is a 7" piece that will seamlessly create one long unit of baseboard against your wall. Be sure to match your filler sleeve to the style of baseboard that you are using- Fine/Line with Fine/Line 30A Baseboard Heaters, Baseline with Baseline 2000 Baseboard Heaters, etc.

Slant/Fin Baseboard Heaters and Runtal Baseboard Radiators can be found at www.supplyhouse.com

Monday, December 01, 2008

Sweat flanges

Most flanges come with threaded connections to thread onto your pipe. If you need sweat connections to attach your pump, you will need to use Webstone sweat isolator flanges. These flanges are available in 1/2", 3/4", 1", 1-1/4" and 1-1/2" and designed for residential or commercial use.

Pumps and flanges including Taco pumps and Webstone Isolation Flanges can be found at www.supplyhouse.com