Al Martin's Blog

February 1, 2012

Booster Pumps

Pumping systems can account for nearly 25% to 50% of the total electrical energy usage in certain industrial facilities. Significant opportunities exist to reduce pumping system energy consumption through smart design, retrofitting, and operating practices.

In particular, the many pumping applications with variable-duty requirements offer great
potential for savings. The savings often go well beyond energy, and may include
improved performance, improved reliability, and reduced life cycle costs.

Most existing systems requiring flow control make use of bypass lines, throttling
valves, or pump speed adjustments. The most efficient of these is pump speed control.

When a pump’s speed is reduced, less energy is imparted to the fluid and less
energy needs to be throttled or bypassed. Speed can be controlled in a number of
ways, with the most popular type of variable speed drive (VSD) being the variable
frequency drive (VFD).

The return on investment by upgrading to a VSD can be as little as 5 years in some applications.

If you are interested in finding how much energy can be saved please contact us and we will provide you with an analysis of your system.

Al Martin
General Manager

The annual OBPA Conference is coming up in November. Here is your chance to learn more about backflow prevention and meet some of the industry players.registration form – conference

As the Secretary/Treasurer of the OBPA, I can assure you that this is an excellent event to attend.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to call me.

August 15, 2011
Maintenance Budgets

Budgets season is here again and I have received many calls inquiring about maintainable equipment and associated costs.

Plumbing maintenance is not always considered a high priority. Some customers prefer the “on demand” or “emergency” services model. This is always the costlier method of dealing with plumbing issues as most of the labour is spent in travel (to the site or to suppliers for parts) and diagnosing the problems. To that end, our plumbers are instructed to look beyond the immediate problem to see if we can prevent predictable failures and related service calls. For example, if we are asked to repair an electronic flush valve and find that batteries are dead or a repair kit is required we ask if the customer would like us to service all of the flush valves in that washroom. The costs of the additional parts are insignificant in comparison to the labour required to return. At the same time, we test all of the fixtures and drains in that washroom to confirm proper operation and advise of any issues that should be addressed.

Certain items are to be maintained annually to satisfy authorities and others are a good practice.
• Backflow preventers must be tested annually (municipal bylaw requirement, CSA B64.10)
• Relief valves on pressure vessels (hot water tanks, boilers etc.) must be tested regularly for proper operation.
• Emergency eyewash and shower drench systems are to be visually inspected weekly and tested at regular intervals.
• Catch basins should be cleaned out every spring.
• Underground garages are typically swept and power washed twice a year.
• Sump pumps should be inspected annually to ensure the floats are set up with the proper sequence. High water alarms should be tested and the pit inspected for damage or debris.
• The strainer on area drains should be pulled out and cleaned twice a year while the associated drain snaked annually.
• Floor drains should be tested annually and the trap seal primer verified for proper operation.
• Grease interceptors should be inspected quarterly and cleaned as required.
• Kitchen stacks should be cleaned every two years with horizontals cleaned annually depending on usage.
• Irrigation systems and exterior hose bibs must be blown out in the fall and put into operation in the spring.
• Pilot operated pressure reducing valves (usually found on systems with booster pumps) should be inspected and repaired annually.
• Urinals should be taken off the wall and acid washed annually. The drain must be power flushed with a high-pressure jetter. At no time should chemicals be introduced to the plumbing system, as they are harmful to the pipes and are difficult to purify from our drinking water supply (it all goes in our lake).
• Automatic flush valves must be set up properly with the correct amount of pressure and flow

We have many customers who have the above services bundled into a maintenance agreement. We customize the service and frequency depending on your needs. This ensures that all of your requirements are met and important details are not missed or forgotten.

If we can help you with any of these services please call me.

Allan Martin

Recently an Oakville high school was closed due to a cross connection between the heating and potable water systems. Below is an article that appeared in the local paper.

Region working with school, after water contamination leads to closure
Related Stories

Iroquois Ridge High School closed today, daycare open

OAKVILLE BEAVER – Students and staff at Iroquois Ridge High School get an extra day off this Easter long weekend.

Halton Region is working with the Halton District School Board to ensure the safety of the water system at Iroquois Ridge High School, after it was closed due to contamination.

The school was closed Thursday, April 21, after an internal maintenance on the heating system was carried out the day before.

Chemicals in the cleaning process entered the potable water system and the school was closed for the following day.

The Region is working with the school to flush the water system and to test it.

The school’s on-site day care remained open, where bottled water was used.

“While the risk is considered low, possible health effects, which would have already occurred on Wednesday, April 20, could have included mild irritation of the eyes and skin and gastric discomfort. There are no long-term health affects expected,” said Dr. Monir Taha, the Region’s Associate Medical Officer of Health, in a press release.

The Region says it is confident the quality of drinking water to residents in the area has not been compromised.

“Halton Region has a Backflow Prevention Program in place that helps to prevent potential contaminants inside a building from entering the water distribution system,” said Kiyoshi Oka, the Region’s director of Water Services, in the release. “In this case, the appropriate device was in place to protect the Region’s water supply; however, staff are conducting localized water sampling as a precaution.”

The Region’s Health and Public Works departments are continuing to work with the school board on the matter.

http://webaps.halton.ca/news/mediashow.cfm?MediaID=2011-04-21-03-17-20

http://www.citytv.com/toronto/citynews/news/local/article/126258–water-contamination-closes-oakville-high-school

If you have any questions about how we can protect your potable water please contact me at the below number.

June 6, 2011
Catch Basin Maintenance
With the extraordinary amount of rainfall we had this spring I thought it was appropriate to address catch basins and their maintenance. For those who have a maintenance program your efforts paid off this spring. For those without maintenance programs well…

Definition

“A cistern or vault at the point where a street gutter discharges into a sewer, to catch bulky matters which would not pass readily through the sewer.”
“A receptacle at the entrance to a sewer designed to keep out large or obstructive matter.”
“A reservoir for collecting surface drainage or runoff.”

Catch basins are everywhere. It is through their design and proper maintenance that our roads, parks, and parking lots drain away so effectively. Catch basins are installed at a low grade point on a property so that water runoff finds its way to the basin. Through its design it allows the solids (leaves, garbage, sand, etc) to sit at the bottom of the pit while allowing the water to drain away.

It is critical that the basins are cleaned out each year to ensure that the solids do not rise to the level of the sewer pipe (see above diagram). Without this maintenance the drains would fill with debris and clog the pipe. The result is large bodies of water in your parking lot or park areas. Cleaning a clogged catch basin can be up to 20 times the cost of maintaining it.
When I was an apprentice we maintained these basins with a “spoon” (large shovel with an upright blade) and elbow grease. Today the most common method is with the use of a vacuum truck. All debris must be disposed of at a Ministry of Environment approved site.

If you have any questions or comments please contact me.

Let’s hope that it stays dry and warm for a couple of months.

Al Martin

Traps are installed on a plumbing system to prevent sewer gases from entering the occupied space.  To perform this function effectively the trap must have water in it (primed).  When the trap runs dry the sewer gases infiltrate the occupied space.  The result is usually a tenant or customer that places a service call to investigate the bad smell.

Most traps are served by fixtures that are in frequent use such as kitchen faucets or shower heads.  Traps that are not used frequently (floor drains) are required to have a means of maintaining the prime.  This is where the trap seal primer comes into play.  There are several methods of accomplishing this task.

We have all seen the ¼” tube that comes off the back of a toilet or flush valve.  This tube disappears into the wall and remerges below ground into the side of the floor drain.  When the toilet or flush valve is used some of the water makes its way to the trap thus keeping the floor drain primed and the sewer gases at bay.  This is an effective way of priming the floor drain, however, we find more and more of these lines abandoned for one reason or another.

Sometimes the flush valve or toilet is replaced and the line is not reconnected.  Other times the line begins to leak and is abandoned.  Even when this line is working effectively we must ensure that it is connected correctly as a floor drain trap is constitutes a HIGH Hazard risk to the potable water system according the CSA B64.10.  The line that feeds the trap must protect against backflow as we do not want the water from a floor drain coming back into our potable water supply.  Fortunately most toilets and flushvalves have backflow preventors in the form of an Atmospheric Vacuum Breaker (A.V.B.)

Another common method is the Pressure differential trap seal primer.  This device is located near the floor drain and opens and closes based on pressure fluctuations in the distribution system.

This device works well as long as there are regular pressure fluctuations.  If the device sits idle for too long then the parts inside seize and we lose our prime.  Once again we must install these devices with backflow prevention in mind.

The future of trap seal priming is solenoid activated valves.  These devices are installed on a cold water feed near the floor drain.  They are set to open once a day for approximately 30 seconds.

The schedule and duration are both programmable.  The device can be plugged in to a regular electrical outlet or hard wired.  With these devices an air gap is the most effective method for backflow prevention.

The next time you have a complaint of sewer gases or a bad smell please check if there is water in the floor drain.  If there is not, fill the trap with a bucket of water and start the investigation.

Trap Seal Primer

Typically expansion tanks are installed on closed loop hydronic systems.  With the introduction of the premise isolation backflow preventor it is hard to find a building that does not have an expansion tank.

When water is heated it expands.  This expansion results in an increase in pressure.  In all systems we have safeties to prevent over pressurization.  These are typically relief valves installed on the pressure vessel, hot water tank, boiler, etc.  When the system hits a predetermined pressure the relief valve opens and discharges the excess pressure until the system is below the relief set point.  Rather than rely on the relief valve to relieve the additional pressure we install an expansion tank.  The expansion tank provides an outlet for the excess pressure.  A properly sized expansion tank can handle the expansion from the system.

Once the tank is installed it must be set correctly to match the pressure of the system.  If we overcharge the tank then we will have too much air thus not allowing sufficient expansion.  If we undercharge the tank then there will not be enough air thus not allowing enough expansion.

These will result in the relief valves discharging the excess pressure.  If we correctly set the tank pressure there will be a balanced amount of water and air in the tank allowing for expansion and contraction to take place without triggering pressure relief.

Situation:  We were called in to check a leak in a boiler room.  We determined that the relief valve had popped off.  Our technician checked the rating on the valve and found it was set to relieve at 100 PSI.  Upon further investigation we were informed that this was a recurring problem and that the previous fix was to install the higher rated relief valve.  (We will not even address the safety issues related to such system pressure changes!)  The customer had paid for three to four new relief valves each with a higher relief set point over the past several years.  After a complete analysis our technician determined the system was operating at a higher pressure than necessary.  The reason for this was that the expansion tank had lost its charge.  Further to that there was no way to check the actual pressure without dropping the heating system.  We installed a shut off valve with a drain port on the expansion tank side of the system.  We then set the tank to the correct pressure and installed the originally rated relief valve.

The system has been operating properly since.  It is a simple procedure but when overlooked can result in unwanted service calls and unnecessary repairs.

Trusting this information to be useful; should you have any questions about the above issue or any other problems please call me and we can discuss it further.

Expansion Tanks

Recently I was asked by a customer about the code requirements in regards to hot water storage tanks.  Specifically the customer was inquiring about the requirement for a drain pan underneath a suspended hot water tank.  They were also inquiring about the discharge pipe off of the relief valve.

Below is the response I received from the Building Code Advisor, Building Services Specialist Code Advisory Unit, Building and Development Branch, Ministry of Municipal Affairs & Housing.

Hi Al,

Q1.    Is there a code requirement to install a drain pan underneath a hot water tank that is suspended in a ceiling? If yes can we discharge the relief valve into that pan as long as we meet the requirements of 7.6.1.12 (5).

A1.    Please be informed that, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing is responsible for administering the Building Code Act, 1992 (BCA) and Building Code (Code).  The Code establishes minimum requirements that must be met when a building is constructed, renovated or undergoes a change of use.  You may wish to consult with the local authority having jurisdiction pertaining to an existing installation based on the Building Code requirements at the time of construction and if the installation has obtained a permit or not.

If this installation is new and has obtained a permit, the current applicable Building Code requirements are as follows:

7.6.1.12. Relief Valves

(1) Every pressure vessel that is part of a plumbing system or connected to a plumbing system shall be equipped with a pressure relief valve designed to open when the water pressure in the tank reaches the rated working pressure of the tank, and so located that the pressure in the tank shall not exceed 1100 kPa or ½ the maximum test pressure sustained by the tank whichever is the lesser.

(2) Every hot water tank of a storage-type service water heater shall be equipped with a temperature relief valve with a temperature sensing element,

(a) located within the top 150 mm of the tank, and

(b) designed to open and discharge sufficient water from the tank to keep the temperature of the water in the tank from exceeding 99ºC under all operating conditions.

(3) A pressure relief valve and temperature relief valve may be combined where Sentences (1) and (2) are complied with.

(4) Every indirect service water heater shall be equipped with,

(a) a pressure relief valve, and

(b) a temperature relief valve on every storage tank that forms part of the system.

(5) Every pipe that conveys water from a temperature relief, pressure relief, or a combined temperature and pressure relief valve shall,

(a) be of a size at least equal to the size of the outlet of the valve,

(b) be rigid, slope downward from the valve, and,

(i) terminate with an indirect connection above a floor drain, sump or other safe location, with an air break of not more than 300 mm, or

(ii) terminate at a distance not less than 150 mm and not more than 300 mm from a floor and discharges vertically down,

(c) have no thread at its outlet, and

(d) be capable of operating at a temperature of not less than 99ºC.

(6) The temperature relief valve required in Clause (4)(b) shall,

(a) have a temperature sensing element located within the top 150 mm of the tank, and

(b) be designed to open and discharge sufficient water to keep the temperature of the water in the tank from exceeding 99ºC under all operating conditions.

(7) No shut-off valve shall be installed on the pipe between any tank and the relief valves or on the discharge lines from such relief valves.

7.4.3.2. Restricted Locations of Indirect Connections and Traps

(1) Indirect connections or any trap that may overflow shall not be located in a crawl space or any other unfrequented area.

A drain pan is not required by the Building Code, but a lot of designers are using them to minimize the risk of hot water tank leakage impact.  If a drain pan is provided by the designer, the designer has to assure the drain pan is large enough to prevent from overflowing above the ceiling.

The local authority having jurisdiction can accept either an applicable Acceptable Solution in Division B, or an applicable Alternative Solution that will achieve the level of performance required by the applicable Acceptable Solution in respect of the Objectives and Functional Statements attributed to the applicable Acceptable Solutions in Supplementary Standard SA-1.

Under the Building Code Act, the local municipality is the authority having jurisdiction for enforcing the Act and its

Regulations, and the permit applicants should contact the appropriate official with respect to any specific proposal.

I hope you find this information useful and if you have any questions about the above response please give me a call and we can discuss further.  If there are other issues you would like me to research please feel give me a call.

Hot Water Tanks – 2011