The beginnings of Brondell

Brondell, Inc. was established in 2003 and is based in San Francisco, CA. The company was named after John F. Brondel (spelled with one "l"), who invented the flush valve toilet in 1783. His invention utilized a valve to control the amount of water flushed with the simple push of a lever, creating a more hygienic solution than the traditional "out-house" and moving us toward the modern bathroom we know today. Brondell sells innovative bathroom products such as the heated toilet seat.

Brondell toilet seats and heated toilet seats can be found at www.supplyhouse.com

Never let the water run?

Sometimes it is OK to let the water run, just not for too long. After you have just installed a new faucet, it is recommended to remove the aerator and let the water run for a few minutes. This will clean out anything that might be in the lines and also flush out any cleaners or anything else left over from the manufacturing process.

Kitchen faucets including Delta kitchen faucets and Kohler kitchen faucets can be found at www.supplyhouse.com

Long-lasting pumps

Bell & Gossett pumps have been known to last for thirty years and longer without needing to be repaired or having any parts replaced. These pumps have seal faces made from specially-formulated carbon graphite material to forms a perfect seal. These seals are so powerful that they withstand 225°F temperatures without any warping or distortion.

Bell and Gossett pumps and other pumps and flanges can be found at www.supplyhouse.com

Thermostat not working properly

If you have a mechanical thermostat that reads a different temperature than what you feel, take a look at its placement on the wall. Mechanical thermostats are much more sensitive than digital thermostats in placement, and if they are tilted or not perfectly level, they can display a different temperature than what the room actually is. Take a level to be sure that your mechanical thermostat is perfectly straight, and that just might solve your problem.

Thermostats such as Honeywell thermostats and Lux thermostats can be found at www.supplyhouse.com

Lifetime of a thermostatic radiator valve

The thermostatic radiator valve (TRV) is one of the longest lasting pieces of heating equipment in your home. With their simple, steam-powered design of a normally open spring loaded valve, bellows (coated in thin plastic) and mounted operator, these units have been around since the 1920's and hardly ever break.

Thermostatic Radiator Valves (TRV's) and other heating valves can be found at www.supplyhouse.com

What is a damper used for?

Dampers are used in HVAC to cut off the heating or cooling to a certain room. This allows the temperature to be regulated within a room or within the whole house. Honeywell Retrofit Round Dampers are easy to hook up in an existing system and installation can be done with conventional thermostat wire.

Dampers and other HVAC products can be found at www.supplyhouse.com

Replacing your Honeywell aquastat

To find out what models you can use to replace the aquastat on your boiler, you will need to find the model number of your existing unit. You should look for this number on the unit itself, not on the cover. On Honeywell aquastats, the last four digits indicate the range of the dial and the length of the capillary. This information is important for choosing the correct replacement. The first part of the model number tells you the series.

You can find many different models of Honeywell Aquastats at www.supplyhouse.com

Warm up on a cool night

If it's a bit chilly outside on a nice night, you can still enjoy your patio. A Schaefer Patio Heater will add instant warmth and a comforting glow to any backyard or outdoor restaurant. With its sleek look and warm glow, it will even make your patio look nicer. If you live in a colder climate, these patio heaters are also great for utilizing backyard spaces in the months where you might have been able to in the past.

Schaefer Patio Heaters and other Portable Heaters can be found at www.supplyhouse.com

Pump "head" is different than height

The term "Pump Head" describes the force that a circulator pump uses to overcome pressure drop. When working with closed hot water heating systems, "Pump Head" has nothing to do with the height of the building. It has only to do with the circulator's ability to overcome friction. That is because the system is completely filled with water. Height, as far as the circulator is concerned, does not exist. The circulator does not know (or care!) if the building is 100 feet high and ten feet wide, or ten feet high and 100 feet wide. All it knows is friction.

Grundfos Pumps including Bronze Grundfos Pumps can be found at www.supplyhouse.com

Last steps in refrigerant line set installation

Once your refrigerant line set has been installed, turn on the system and keep it running for 15 minutes to test. Check for proper superheat for capillary tube and accurator systems, and check for proper sub-cooling for thermal expansion valve systems and adjust the refrigerant if necessary. Then, check for proper temperature drop across the evaporator coil and check static pressures in both the supply and return plenums. At this point, you can correct any airflow problems that have been found.

Line sets and other HVAC products can be found at www.supplyhouse.com

Where to install your air conditioner

When deciding where to install an outdoor condensing or window unit air conditioner, it is smart to consider the sun. If possible, place the air conditioner on the north or east side of your house to avoid direct sunlight. If it has to go in the sun, you can build a screen or create some shade for the unit to hide under. This will greatly increase the efficiency of your air conditioner and extend its life.

Air conditioners and Rheem air conditioners can be found at www.supplyhouse.com

Keeping the efficiency up

Modulating-condensing boilers are typically over 90% efficient! After a few years of use, this number can drop down to 65% or lower without maintenance. In order to keep your boiler running as efficiently as it did when it was new, you will need to flush the system at least once per year. Flushing the system is a relatively quick and painless job that will assure that you get the maximum energy output from what you have spent.

Boilers and high efficiency boilers can be found at www.supplyhouse.com

Not all toilet fixes are difficult

The on/off valve in your toilet is regulated by a ball cock in your fill valve. If your toilet runs every once in a while, you could have an issue with the ball cock. A new toilet fill valve is only a few dollars and comes with a ball cock attached. This is a quick and easy replacement to get that toilet to stop running.

Toilet repair parts and other plumbing supplies can be found at www.supplyhouse.com

Save money on your air conditioning bills

Getting an energy efficient air conditioner is a great way to save money on cooling your home. There are a lot of other little things you can do to save money, as well. For example, if you live in a warm climate and paint the roof of your house white (or a light color), you can save between 5 and 20% on your energy bills.

Air conditioners, mini-split air conditioners and other energy efficient plumbing and heating supplies can be found at www.supplyhouse.com

Features of the Taco 1400 Series Pumps

Taco 1400 Series Pumps feature 2 electrical knockouts, permanently lubricated ball bearings that will be sealed for life, cooling fins to extend the life of the motor, and a precision balanced motor for quiet operation.

Taco 1400 Pumps and other Taco pumps can be found at www.supplyhouse.com

Why a washing machine shutoff valve?

The washing machine in your home has the power to produce a lot of water in a short amount of time. The potential for a flood if something goes wrong is too great to ignore. Installing an inexpensive http://www.supplyhouse.com/Washing-Machine-Shuttoff-Valves-610000 will give you the peace of mind that if anything goes wrong for any reason, the water will stop flowing and you will not risk getting a flooded basement.

Washing machine shutoff valves and other plumbing supplies can be found at www.supplyhouse.com

How to do auto-changeover

To have your thermostat automatically go from heating to cooling (auto-changeover), you will need an outdoor sensor. The outdoor sensor will communicate with your thermostat and tell it that it is warm enough outside to stop turning the heat on or that it is cool enough outside to stop turning on the Air Conditioner.

Thermostats such as Honeywell thermostat and White Rodgers thermostats can be found at www.supplyhouse.com

Tools to have at hand

It's important to always have a toilet plunger and a toilet auger in your house, just in case. If the toilet gets clogged (which happens from time to time usually due to a buildup of mineral deposits), try the plunger first. This is a simple and often effective way to release a clog. If the clog is stubborn and the plunger does not work, a toilet auger will almost always do the job. The auger works to actually break through the clog and can reach up to 3 feet into the pipes in order to find it. An auger can also be used to grab onto an item accidentally dropped into the toilet such as a toothbrush.

Toilet augers and other plumbing supplies can be found at www.supplyhouse.com

How to use a Watts Auto Air Vent

Series FV4 Watts Auto Air Vents are ideal for high temperature applications because of their high temperature rating and for systems (such as radiant heat systems) with glycol mixtures. These air vents can also be used as an anti-vacuum device or to separate and disperse air while fluid is circulating through the system.

Watts Air Vents and Air Valves can be found at www.supplyhouse.com

Osmosis vs reverse osmosis

Osmosis describes how solvent moves between two solutions separated by a semipermeable membrane to reduce concentration differences between the solutions. When two solutions with different concentrations of a solute are mixed, the total amount of solutes in the two solutions will be equally distributed in the total amount of solvent from the two solutions. Instead of mixing the two solutions together, they can be put in two compartments where they are separated from each other by a semipermeable membrane. The semipermeable membrane does not allow the solutes to move from one compartment to the other, but allows the solvent to move. Since equilibrium cannot be achieved by the movement of solutes from the compartment with high solute concentration to the one with low solute concentration, it is instead achieved by the movement of the solvent from areas of low solute concentration to areas of high solute concentration. When the solvent moves away from low concentration areas, it causes these areas to become more concentrated. On the other side, when the solvent moves into areas of high concentration, solute concentration will decrease. This process is termed osmosis. The tendency for solvent to flow through the membrane can be expressed as "osmotic pressure", since it is analogous to flow caused by a pressure differential.

In reverse osmosis, in a similar setup as that in osmosis, pressure is applied to the compartment with high concentration. In this case, there are two forces influencing the movement of water: the pressure caused by the difference in solute concentration between the two compartments (the osmotic pressure) and the externally applied pressure.


Reverse osmosis faucets and Tomlinson faucets can be found at www.supplyhouse.com