Hot water scalding and the code!

In our February 28th meeting of IAPMO, Southern Nevada, Jordan Krahenbuhl talked about the dangers of hot water scalding and some of the solutions that are available to alleviate these issues. The most important thing is to talk to the end user or homeowner about the dangers of hot water and how easy it can be to get burned by a hot water system.

Here is a chart that shows the different temperatures and how fast a scalding burn can occur…

Scalding Temperature Chart

According to the 2009 UPC Code, Chapter 4, sections 413.1 and 414.5 Public Lavatories and all bathtubs, the maximum temperature discharged at such fixtures shall not exceeed 120 degrees fahrenheit. 416.3 also states that bidets can have a maximum temperature of 110 degrees fahrenheit. In both sections, it is stated that The water heater thermostat shall not be considered a control for meeting this provision, so a separate temperature controller or mixing valve would be required for these fixtures. Or a whole house mixing valve at the water heater, set to 110 degrees fahrenheit would be accepted.

At the IAPMO Meeting, Jordan gave a pretty good presentation about burn statistics and how important scald prevention can be, especially in the case of children and the elderly.

Southwest Gas Water Heater Rebate

Southwest gas has now approved their water heater rebate program for the 2012 year. They are giving $100 in rebates for any new water with an energy efficiency greater than .62. They are also giving a rebate of $200 for any tankless water heater installation. These rebates will be effective for 2012 or until the funds in this program run out.

You can read more about the rebates at Southwest Gas here…
SouthWest Gas

AllAces Plumbing Las Vegas and Pahrump

Major Water Leak!

We had a call from a company that stated their water bill went from 5,000 gallons one month to 70,000 gallons the next month and asked if could take a look at the property. After arriving we checked out the water meter and noticed the indicator was spinning constantly. After looking inside and insuring that nothing was running, we checked all the normal suspects including the toilets, lavatory faucets, drinking fountains, hose bibbs, water heater etc. We shut down the water heater to see if the water meter stopped, but it was still spinning meaning the leak was on the cold side of the system.

We then checked the irrigation control box and could feel water running through it causing it to vibrate. There were quite a few drip heads constantly dripping even the main control was in the off position. I immediately called the manager and informed him of the situation. He asked if we could take care of it. After replacing both diaphrams and 1 solenoid on the irrigation control valves which thankfully stopped the meter from spinning.

After giving the system a full checkthrough and insuring each irrigation station started and stopped correctly we notified that manager of the repair.

This is a perfect example of one avenue people can look into when they have a drastic change in their water bill. We have had quite a few calls very similiar to this. When a water statement shows such a large increase in water usage, a very likely suspect can be the irrigation system.

AllAces Plumbing Las Vegas and Pahrump

Hubbell Tankless Electric Heaters

We received a call to change out 2 older Sets Tankless Heaters for a residence. The Sets company was bought out by Hubbell. Homeowners with the older Sets tankless heaters have the option to purchase the newer electric tankless water heaters that are now made by Hubbell.

Once we arrived onsite, we gave the 2 systems a good walk through and analyzed the installation and what it would take to change the system out. The previous installation wasn’t bad, but the older Sets units were a bit outdated and the units themselves looked to be a bit shabby. The newer Hubbell electric Tankless heaters were better built, with a higher grade parts and a very top notch design.

Removing the old units proved to be quite a bear with the Sharkbite adapters that were used on the older units to connect to the plumbing pipes basically being totally siezed and impossible to remove, we had to cut the old plumbing out and re-run the supplies.

Once everything was done and we fired the units up, they looked absolutely beautiful! The good thing about tankless heaters, is they only fire when you need hot water which saves a substantial amount of money in energy costs, they have quite a small foot print and they are easily serviceable. Normally anything inside a tankless heater is replaceable which saves the homeowner money because they don’t have to purchase brand new units.

Here are some images for the Hubbell Model #280-3 and older Sets Electric Tankless water heaters…

AllAces Plumbing Las Vegas and Pahrump

Bosch Tankless Water Heaters

Finally finished piping the water, gas and T&P drains for the Bosch Tankless water heaters we installed at a custom home were doing. Personally I’m not a big fan of Bosch products, I would rather use Rinnai for tankless water heaters but it was a homeowner decision . The Bosch tankless heaters use 2 seperate vents for the combustion air intake and exhaust. Rinnai uses 1 single vent for both and its alot easier/ cheaper to install. The tankless water heaters really look great and save quite a bit of space. They are generally 20% more efficient than a storage tank type water heater and they are quite a bit more pleasing to look at.

Here is a picture of the Bosch piping system. I will post more pictures when we finish the venting system.

AllAces Plumbing Las Vegas and Pahrump

The Las Vegas Valley Water.

Las Vegas has some of the hardest and poorest quality of water in the country and can lead to very rapid deterioration in the plumbing fixtures, faucets, pipes and water heaters. According to the Las Vegas Valley Water District, the Las Vegas valley water is recorded to having a hardness of 17.5 grains of hardness. Most of the time when a technician is called to a house for a service call, we get a chance to look at the water heater. One quick way to analyze the condition of the water heater is to take a look at the water heater valve and water connections. If there are a substantial amount of buildup including calcium and minerals all around the connections or valves, you can usually bet the inside of the water heater isn’t looking to much better. There are a few things you can do to help protect your plumbing fixtures and pipes. One of the best ways is to install a whole house water filtering system that eliminates most of the sediment, iron, calcium and of course the chlorine. Most of the time, multiple filters will need to be used with a different amount of micron ratings and types of filters. Carbon filters are the best kind of filters for removing sediment, chlorine and VOC’s (volatile organic compounds). Usually the second filter in a house filtering system will contain an activated Carbon filter that will remove these kinds of contaminants. The first filter would normally be a sediment filter that concentrates on eliminating sand, grit, iron and other particulates.

Another kind of water filtering system is a soft water filtering system. There are a few different kind of soft water filtering systems and the most prominent is the salt or potassium soft water systems. These units are designed to remove the calcium and magnesium minerals from the water system and to give a cleaner water supply to the house. These kinds of systems add a small amount of sodium chloride or potassium chloride to the system but not in a very substantial amount. The soft water systems can make the water system provide cleaner clothes, cleaner dishes and better all around water for the home.

AllAces Plumbing Las Vegas and Pahrump

Solar Water Heaters

I received a call today from NV Energy from Las Vegas asking to do a quick survey on our relationship with each other and where they may be able to improve on their solar water heater program. NV Energy has done an outstanding job of keeping the plumbers informed, trained and in the loop when it comes to the package they offer for electric solar water heaters. One of the points that I brought up to them is the lack of support and service from the solar water heater manufacturers. I have personally contacted a few sales representatives and manufacturers support personnel in order to gain knowledge of their products but most often then not, I would run into a brick wall. Their information is scarce and not very descriptive. Its hard to sell and recommend a product when you can’t really find out enough information about it. I have recently contacted a sales representative I have known for years and he was genuinely excited to hear from me and where I wanted to go with the solar water heating program. I look forward to furthering the relationship with them in order to help get their product out on the market. With the $1500 rebate from NV Energy and Southwest gas program with gas solar water heaters along with the $1500 tax rebate from the government, home owners could get away with having a brand new solar water heater system installed for the price of a standard water heater, or close to it!

Hopefully with NV Energy of Las Vegas, SouthWest Gas of Las Vegas and the manufacturers advertising and marketing programs, more home owners will become aware of some of the new technologies in plumbing systems available to them.

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