May/June 2014 by Mechanical Business

PM #41536047

MAY/JUNE 2014 $6.95

w w w . m e c ha ni c a l bus i nes s . c om

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Contents

Options expand with

NEW VANS

50 Commercial Vehicle Review – Vans

From Ford’s full-size Transit to the Ram ProMaster and a rebadged offering over at GM, this year’s van offerings are a more varied mix than last year. Howard J. Elmer

72 Show in Print

More than 13,500 industry personnel hit the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in March for the 2014 edition of the Canadian Mechanical and Plumbing Exposition (CMPX), the biggest mechanical event in the country this year. Adam Freill

56 Cover story

The goal of many a contestant of MasterChef Canada is to open their own restaurant, a world full of mechanical systems and concerns, so who better than the show’s judges, Michael Bonacini, co-founder of Oliver & Bonacini Restaurants; Claudio Aprile, owner of the Orderfire Restaurant Group; and mechanical engineer turned three-star Michelin chef and restaurateur Alvin Leung, to weigh in on restaurants, mechanicals and reality TV. Andrew Snook

Ductless expected to continue trend UNDERGROUND ice hockey in Montreal

68 HVAC/R Case Study

When the City of Westmount, Que., decided to build a recreation centre in Westmount Park, local residents were concerned about their view of the landscape. To counter residents’ concerns, the city decided to go underground. Andrew Snook

22 The Cooling Report

Ductless mini-split air conditioners and heat pumps have enjoyed significant growth over the past few years, and according to several industry professionals, this cooling season will be no different. Andrew Snook

On the cover: When they’re not cooking up masterful creations in their restaurants, MasterChef Canada’s celebrity judges Michael Bonacini, Alvin Leung and Claudio Aprile are sizing up the country’s top amateur chefs to find out who is a cut above the rest. Cover Photo: CTV/Bell Media

THE NUMBERS ADD UP. THE ALL-NEW RAM PROMASTER IS BUILT FOR YOUR BUSINESS.

SPECIFICATIONS* STANDARD ROOF

CHASSIS CABS AND CUTAWAYS

3500

3500 Ext.

Vertical Interior Height

1500 1500 65

HIGH ROOF Vertical Interior Height

1500 2500 2500 3500 3500 Ext. 76

Overall Max Allowable Uplift Length

248

255

291

Overall Roof Height

101

Roof Height

Overall Body Width

82.7

Overall Body Width

82.7

Frame Height

25.5

82.7

5145 /5189

5123 /5167

5090 /5134

Cargo Volume (cu. ft.)

283

353

Cargo Volume (cu. ft.)

406

459

530

Body Width

Rear Door Swing (degrees)

260

Rear Door Swing (degrees)

260

Outside Frame Width

Max Payload (lbs.) (Gas Engine)

3922 3852

Max Payload (lbs.) (Gas Engine)

3794 4113 3998 4417

4280

Max Payload (lbs.) (Chassis Cab/Cutaway)

*Measurements shown in inches. To convert to millimetres, multiply by 35.4. Measurements shown in cu. ft. To convert to litres, multiply by 28.3. Measurements shown in lbs. To convert to kilograms, multiply by 0.45.

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RAM PROMASTER 2500/3500 159" WB EXT., HIGH ROOF

RAM PROMASTER 1500/2500 136" WB EXT., HIGH ROOF

RAM PROMASTER 1500 136" WB EXT., STANDARD ROOF

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RAM PROMASTER 1500 118" WB EXT., STANDARD ROOF

1 800 463-3600

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T a b l e f e a t ur e s 30 Plumbing

Fixtures reining in water usage Consumers want water savings. Denise Deveau

44 Find the fix

Seeking primary secondary

78 Conference preview

COHA coming to the capital Cleaner Heat 2014

80 Road Warrior: Dora Cote

Baking and breaking barriers Andrew Snook

82 Hydronics

Too much heat… or not enough? Helping frozen, or overheated, homeowners. Eric Riml

88 plumbing

Ice to the rescue Spot repairs with a unique kind of tool. Adam Freill

90 Ventilation

Ventilate right with the envelope tight Adequate ventilation is required to ensure good indoor air quality (IAQ). James Dean

92 HVAC

Like a bird on the wire Sometimes a part won’t work, but the fault may not lie in the component. Carol Fey

94 PUMPS

Walking down memory lane How housing influenced pumps for hydronic heating systems. John Barba

98 Refrigeration

EXV right sizing To gain the full benefit of an EXV it needs to be properly sized. Jonathan Holloway

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M B s P E C I AL I STS 36 REFRIGERATION

Economizing for efficiency Phil Boudreau Although an economizer circuit increases the installed cost of a system, the energy savings with this type of approach may result in some very reasonable paybacks.

40 HIGH PERFORMANCE HVAC

Duct design opportunities Gord Cooke HVAC industry professionals, installers, technicians, designers and even manufacturers, should take the time to review, revisit and recalibrate duct design basics to take advantage of opportunities stemming from changes to codes and standards.

46 HYDRONIC Report

In the zone, with a valve Bob “Hot Rod” Rohr Over the years, numerous styles of control valves have been created, and all have somewhat different ways of controlling the flow of fluids in a system.

60 PLUMBING

Commercial water pressure vs The Plumber Fred Bretzke When I became a journeyman I figured I was pretty much done with learning any more math, or even code. Little did I realize how important some of those facts and figures were in the real world.

64 MARKETING

Small talk. Big rewards. Doug MacMillan Spending a bit of time building a rapport is not only more fulfilling and interesting, but it can also lead to a better understanding of a customer’s needs.

66 ASK ROGER

A head start on the next job Roger Grochmal Unless you are one of the industry giants and have an unlimited budget to advertise for new customers, referrals are the best and most cost-effective way to grow your business.

d e p a r t m e n t s 08From the Editor’s Desk 10News 20Profile: Jonathan Beckett 107Crossword 108The Info Page 109Calendar 110By the Numbers

107 tool tip

A drill for every truck

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pr o duc t s 22,28,102 HVAC/R 48,106Hydronics 101Stuff you need 103Oil-fired 104,105Plumbing

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From Content Media Group Inc. 19 – 1525 Cornwall Road Oakville, ON L6J 0B2 Canada Tel: 905.465.2919 Fax: 905.465.2913 www.mechanicalbusiness.com May/June 2014 Issue Published 6 times per year. Editor: Adam Freill, ext. 224 adam.freill@mechanicalbusiness.com Associate Editor/Web Editor: Andrew Snook, ext. 225 andrew.snook@mechanicalbusiness.com National Accounts Manager: Jeff Superle, ext. 221 jeff.superle@mechanicalbusiness.com Controller: Liz Mills liz.mills@mechanicalbusiness.com Art Direction: JJM Graphic Ltd. davem@jjmgraphic.com Circulation Manager: Shila Naik (905) 272-4175 shila.naik@mechanicalbusiness.com Publisher: Bruce Meacock, ext. 222 bruce.meacock@mechanicalbusiness.com PM:41536047 ISSN 1916-0674 MB (Print) ISSN 1906-0682 MB (Online)

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the

editor’s

desk

The rules of attraction I was recently invited to sit on a panel about attracting young people to the trades, a definite challenge for this sector, and others. I’ve observed a few things over the past 14 years covering our market, but I wanted to bring more than casual observation to the panel session so I did a bit of research ahead of the session. Some of what I found was helpful – the reports on completion of apprenticeship programs, for example, and a discussion with a former apprentice who left the trade because of a layoff was particularly insightful – while other reports proved to be somewhat less useful – the Parliamentary Budget Office’s study on labour shortages that suggests there is no skills mismatch in Canada comes to mind. In my travels I found that the general mood, when it comes to finding new people, tends to vary from downright pessimistic to cautiously optimistic, and that’s not unusual. Between facing a generational divide in personality traits and definitions of job satisfaction, a lack of frontline trade experience in the halls of academia, and some rather negative stereotypes, our sector deals with challenges daily.

Starting young I know that my six-year-old son has a solid appreciation for the mechanical systems in a home. On a recent school project that asked him to build a house out of Lego, he included an air conditioner.

While questions and concerns are plentiful, solutions are more limited in supply, but solutions are not absent, and that is a promising development. I found myself encouraged by events like Future Building, an annual three-day event that introduces skilled trades to 8,000 youngsters from grades 7 through 12. I’ve also had a chance to speak with several high school teachers from across the country that are doing their best to keep trades training alive in our schools. And although these programs are an important part of the matrix that will help lead the next generation of tradespeople our way, we still need to work to expand our reach beyond our own walls. All it takes is a willingness to talk up our trades. Sharing a bit of information when the curious toddler asks, “Whatcha doin?” when you are doing the annual mechanical inspection at their home or replacing the faucet in their kitchen goes a long way. And don’t stop with the kids. Let their parents (your customers) know that “junior” was interested in the pipes under the sink or motor in the furnace, especially if they seem to have an aptitude for it. A short chat with a respectable, hardworking, front-line tradesperson goes a long way to correcting the assumptions and stereotypes that exist.

Notice: Mechanical Business is published for owners, managers and decision makers with mechanical contracting firms and the sector’s supply chain partners in Canada. While every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the information, Mechanical Business, Content Media Group Inc., its staff, directors, officers and shareholders (‘The Publisher’) assume no liability, obligation or responsibility for advertised claims, for errors and/or omissions, or for the results obtained from the use of this information. Manufacturers’ instructions take precedence over published editorial. The publisher reserves the right to publish a printed correction in a subsequent issue for editorial errors, omissions and oversights. Subscriptions are available for $90 plus taxes in Canada and the U.S. Single copies are $15.00. Outside Canada and the U.S., the rates are $150.00 (annual) and $25.00 (single copy).

Attracting young people is like any other marketing endeavour. It takes effort. A well thought out and crafted message helps. And the more positive exposure we can attract, through as many vehicles as possible to as wide an audience as possible can only help as we move forward as an industry.

From time to time, Content Media Group Inc. makes subscribers’ names available to reputable companies whose products or services may be of interest to readers. If you would like your name excluded from these mailings, please notify the publisher. © Copyright 2014. The contents of this magazine may not be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission of the publisher.

Until next time,

Proud members of:

Adam Freill

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Counterfeiting still under the radar for many Representing a $500 billion market segment, with a growth rate of 20 to 25 per cent annually, counterfeiting goods is a massive racket that is attracting the attention of criminals, but often eludes authorities. Terry Hunter of the CSA Group “In Canada, intellectual property discussed some of the counterfeit products that his firm has found in the crime is really low on the law market in Canada. enforcement priority list,” stated Terry Hunter, manager of anticounterfeiting and intellectual property enforcement with Canadian Standards Association during his presentation at the April business meeting of CIPH Ontario. “In Canada, our customs agents do not have the power to seize counterfeit goods.” Hunter showed several examples of products, and some of the problems untested and illegally marked products can cause in the marketplace. These products, he explained, can result in anything from simple product failure to fires that risk the lives of Canadians. Unfortunately, he says, the low risk of being caught and the minimal penalties that counterfeiters face if caught are resulting in a rise in products being illegally reproduced and sold throughout the country. “Anything you can think of is being counterfeited right now,” he said. “If you have a product that has value, it is being copied.” His organization has been pursuing counterfeit products, and has had some success in pulling limited amounts of product from the marketplace, but is trying to make counterfeiting part of the Criminal Code of Canada to provide authorities with more options to put a stop to the goods entering into the consumer channel. ciph.com

Leading the pipe trades David Hughes, associate chair (special projects) for the pipe trades programs at NAIT, leads a tour of the school’s Patricia Campus in Edmonton during the National Pipe Trade Joint Instructors’ Conference. The conference brought approximately 100 pipe trades instructors from across the country to NAIT to share training strategies and network. nait.ca

Reopened for business B&B Trade Distribution Centre’s sales and marketing manager Rob Kearns (middle) poses with inside sales rep Vahan Torikian and branch manager Kevin Guglick during the grand reopening celebration for the company’s Etobicoke branch in May. The location was damaged during flooding last year. bandbtrade.com

Follow Us on Twitter! It’s MB’s Twitter Roundup Caught the twitter bug? We’ve got you covered with tweets about everything that matters to the mechanical trades in Canada. Follow us @mechbusiness.

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March 25, 2014

March 21, 2014

Connecting at a homeowner’s level

Net zero and more on the agenda in Mississauga

Jack Nagy, president of mta360, conducts a sales training session for Daikin Comfort Pro dealers at Daikin Manufacturing’s offices in Vaughan, Ont., in May. Nagy stressed the need to focus on features and benefits to customers rather than technical details when engaging homeowners. Daikin offers a unitary lineup of products in Canada, including a recently introduced inverter-driven highefficiency air conditioner.

HRAI held the first of its 2014 biannual product section meetings in Mississauga, Ont., in April. The event brought manufacturers and wholesalers of mechanical equipment together to discuss industry issues and activities that the trade organization can undertake Andy Oding, of Building Knowledge, on behalf of its members. discusses net zero building in the Canadian market during the most Among the issues discussed recent HRAI product section meetings, were new and revised codes, held in Mississauga in April. such as the CSA F300 standard covering residential depressurization; a potential breakthrough on the campaign against do-it-yourself hydrocarbon-based air conditioning repair kits as the Ontario Fire Marshal’s Office has suggested that such kits may violate the Ontario Fire Code; and product stewardship plans in B.C., and several other provinces, as governments are taking a serious look at regulating product handling at the end of its service life. “The ministry has more knowledge of the consumer sector than the applied products sectors,” stated HRAI president Warren Heeley. “It is our position that most of the products from our sector do not make it to landfill.” He explained that the association is in discussions with the B.C. government to help guide them to a plan that will be appropriate for the mechanical industry. Also on the agenda was Andy Oding, of the firm Building Knowledge, who talked about the net zero building movement in Canada. “Net zero is coming to Canada, and Canada is preparing to take the lead,” he reported. A net zero home creates enough renewable energy on site, often through the use of photovoltaic panels, to fulfil the needs of the home and to offset any other energy used by the building on an annual basis. There are currently five large net zero projects in the works in Canada. What’s this mean for the mechanical sector? Well, says Oding, “The unintended consequences are very tight homes and very uncomfortable homeowners, and that’s where the opportunity lies for IEQ and ventilation contractors.” Also on the agenda was the association’s inaugural geothermal council meeting; a presentation explaining the federal regulatory process by the Office of Energy Efficiency’s Stephane LeBlanc; and an update on regulatory activity in the U.S. by Karim Amrane of the Air Conditioning Heating and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI).

daikincomfort.com

Canadian wins Lochinvar VIP Installation Showcase Lochinvar’s latest VIP Contractor Program winners have been announced, and it’s music to one Canadian’s ears. Charlie Sarkis, of A. Tech Mechanical in Welland, Ont., was named the winner of Lochinvar’s VIP Installation Showcase for the month of March, for his installation at a 10,000-sq.ft. home in St. Catharines, Ont. Sarkis and his team installed two Lochinvar Knight heating boilers with inputs of 150,000 BTUH for the job, which included five zones of radiant in-floor heating and two high-velocity air handlers. For his efforts, Sarkis will receive an all-expenses paid trip for two to Nashville, Tenn., including two tickets to the world’s largest country music festival as part of Lochinvar’s Nashville Experience. lochinvar.com

Learning about trades Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s (KPU) trades and technology campus recently played host to approximately 600 Grade 6 and 7 students from the Surrey, B.C., school district to showcase careers in the trades. The purpose of the trip was to expose young students and their families to the benefits and opportunities available to tradespeople. kpu.ca

hrai.ca

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App Alert Catalogue app The Gavazzi App from Carlo Gavazzi allows users to view or email brochures, data sheets and manuals from their smart device. They can also view available inventory and pricing. The app can be downloaded from the Apple App Store and Google Play. carlogavazzi.com

Jason Evanson, director of development for the Children’s Wish Foundation, accepts a $12,000 donation from Novo’s Denton Gaiser, John Cardiff and Bill Beedle.

Making wishes come true Novo Water Conditioning has raised $12,000 for the Children’s Wish Foundation of Canada. A cheque was recently presented by Novo to the foundation on behalf of the company and its wholesale partners from across Canada. The funds were raised through a sales promotion for Novo water softening products that ran at participating plumbing and heating wholesalers and their branches between Aug. 1 and Dec. 31, 2013. Well done Novo!

Contractor estimating and invoicing Joist, Inc.’s Contractor Estimating and Invoicing Tool is a free downloadable app designed to offer contractors the ability to create professional estimates on the jobsite. Its features include calculating material and labour costs, building lists of commonly used items, customizable estimates and invoices with company info and logo, as well as the ability to attach a client’s contract and collect a signature on site. It is available on the App Store or Google Play. joistapp.com

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Caleffi acknowledges Canadian reps Caleffi held its latest manufacturer’s representatives’ meeting in New York City and two Canadian companies were recognized for their accomplishments. Equipco’s Jason MacKenzie of Coquitlam, B.C., was awarded the Pinnacle Award for excellence in sales, service and support; while Kim Butts and Al Zanidean of Mechanical Systems 2000 were presented with the Technical Support Rep of the Year award. Caleffi’s Marco Caleffi, Mark Olson, Dale Cikaluk and Fabio Rossi were on hand for the award ceremony. caleffi.us

Equipco’s Jason MacKenzie (middle) poses with Caleffi’s Mark Olson, Dale Cikaluk, Marco Caleffi and Fabio Rossi.

Trades future on display in Burlington

Rohith Ram, a Grade 7 student at Aldershot High School in Burlington, Ont., tries to score a goal at the refrigeration display during Future Building 2014.

More than 8,000 students from across Ontario were introduced to 20 construction trades, many of them for the first time, at Future Building 2014, a three-day interactive exhibit allowing students from Grades 7 to 12 to get hands-on experience in a variety of skilled trades. The event, held in Burlington, Ont., in April, attracted students from more than 160 schools. “We have grade 7 through 12 students from all over the province,” explained Jim Wright, the projects and communications co-ordinator for the Ontario Construction Secretariat, which hosts Future Building with Employment Ontario. “We really hit a huge target this year.” “For two or three generations, kids have been told that the only path to a career with a good salary winds its way through a university,” added Sean Strickland, chief executive officer of the Ontario Construction Secretariat. “But that is not the case. Entering trade school and becoming an apprentice is a path with career opportunities and good paycheque at the end of it.” futurebuilding.ca

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Talking security, incentives and ombuds

A changing state From regulations affecting refrigerants to systems that are merging cooling and heating with advanced controls, the world of HVAC and refrigeration is changing at a rapid pace. A number of these changes were key topics during Emerson Climate’s Natural Refrigerant Symposium, held in March at the CN Tower. “I’m now talking, as a refrigeration engineer, about how a heating system works,” said Paul Farrant, an industrial application specialist with the company, during his discussion about energy recovery systems that use the heat produced from a facility’s cooling system. emersonclimate.com

Navien wins CIPH Innovation Award Navien America left the MEET Show in Moncton, N.B., with a little extra hardware after being awarded CIPH’s MEET Innovation Award for the company’s NCB series combination boilers. A number of additional awards were handed out during the MEET Show, including the ASHRAE – NB/ PEI Chapter Innovation Award, which went to Neptronic for its SKD direct multi-steam injection humidifier with integrated re-evaporator. navienamerica.com

Mark Williamson, Navien’s Canadian general manager, poses for a photo after accepting the CIPH Innovation Award for the NCB series combination boilers.

Piping in the desert

Watts Radiant is now offering radiant floor cooling system design for commercial applications. The new service will include assistance to HVAC engineers and contractors with floor cooling system calculations, as well as layouts for piping and manifold design. wattsradiant.ca

uponor.ca

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Watts Radiant announces radiant floor cooling design services

Uponor played host to more than 800 industry personnel, including over 150 from Canada, when the company’s 2014 Connections Convention took to the Bellagio resort in Las Vegas in April. Here, Mechanical Business columnist Gord Cooke, of Construction Instruction, outlines some of the opportunities that exist in the building industry.

Industry professionals in Ontario with concerns regarding the Technical Standards and Safety Authority (TSSA) have a new avenue for voicing their concerns, thanks to the opening of the TSSA’s ombuds office, the main topic at HRAI GTA Chapter’s April 29 meeting in Vaughan, Ont. TSSA’s ombuds officer Sandra Cooke said TSSA’s ombuds officer Sandra Cooke she acts as a neutral discusses the opening of an ombuds party that has no office at the HRAI GTA Chapter vested interest meeting in April. in the outcome of complaints, and that her office will be independent of TSSA management and existing TSSA processes and structures. Also speaking at the meeting was Toronto Hydro marketing and communications officer Maja Boric, who discussed the current heating and cooling incentives offered by her company in its 2014 HVAC residential conservation programs; and Claudiu Popa, risk advisor for Informatica Security and Privacy, who discussed the upcoming Canadian Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) that is coming into effect on July 1.

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Moen adds value Scott McGillivray, host and executive producer of HGTV’s Income Property, and Garry Scott, Moen Canada’s vice-president of wholesale marketing and brand development at Moen’s annual media roundtable event. McGillivray, who has been featured in Mechanical Business twice, explained that faucet replacement is an excellent way to update a home, and increase its value.

Choose a product built for you. And your customers.

moen.ca

Aiming high for CIPH’s 81st ABC The sky will be the limit for attendees of CIPH’s 81st Annual Business Conference, taking place at the Delta Grand Okanagan Hotel in Kelowna, B.C., from June 22 to 24. This year’s theme is “Elevating your passion,” and will feature keynote speaker Warren Macdonald, who overcame a tragic mountain climbing accident in Australia. Trapped beneath a one-ton boulder due to a rockslide, the accident resulted in the loss of both of his legs at mid-thigh, but that didn’t deter Macdonald’s passion for reaching for the sky. Ten months after his accident he climbed Cradle Mountain in Tasmania using a modified wheelchair, and later became the first double above-knee amputee to reach the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro. Additional speakers scheduled for the event include Run for One Planet’s Matt Hill, B.C. business analyst Michael Campbell, National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors fellow Guy Blissett, brand innovation and sustainability specialist Marc Stoiber, and Sean Aiken of The One Week Job Project.

Just one look at the AirEase® line and you’ll see why hundreds of dealers across North America have chosen AirEase for their businesses. Our heating and cooling products are expertly crafted for long-lasting performance, and they’re built with features that meet the unique demands of your market. Give yourself the AirEase advantage. Learn more about becoming a dealer at www.alliedaircooling.com. ©2014 Allied Air Enterprises LLC.,a Lennox International Inc. Company

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Movers & Shakers www.mechanicalbusiness.com

Johnson Controls acquires Air Distribution Technologies Johnson Controls has reached an agreement with the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board to acquire its Air Distribution Technologies business for approximately $1.6 billion. Air Distribution Technologies produces a broad range of air distribution products, including Ruskin, Titus, Hart & Cooley, Krueger, PennBarry, Tuttle & Bailey. The acquisition is subject to limited conditions and is expected to close by the end of July. johnsoncontrols.com airdistribution.com

ABB sells Thomas & Betts/Reznor ABB recently divested itself of the Thomas & Betts’ HVAC business for $260 million in an all-cash transaction to Nortek, Inc. ABB will continue to supply its high efficiency electrical motors and industry drives as well as its low voltage products range to the HVAC industry. The sale was finalized in April. abb.ca

The Leader in Condensing Tankless Technology

Navien names new agents and reps

NEXT Supply adds location NEXT Supply opened its sixth Toronto area location on June 1. The 20,000-sq.-ft. warehouse is located at 120 Industry St. in Toronto. Plumbing industry veteran Dave Kellar will manage the mid-town location.

Navien has appointed The Tom Donaldson Company its rep for Northern Alberta and Westcan Mechanical Sales its agent for Saskatchewan. Air Solutions has been named Navien’s representative for southwest Ontario, the Greater Toronto Area and Eastern Ontario.

nextsupply.ca

Security Chimneys revises look

navienamerica.com

Security Chimneys has a new company logo and a redesigned website. The corporate literature has also been redesigned to offer improved visuals and layouts, including colour-coded catalogues and brochures. securitychimneys.com

The Master Group growing

American Standard creates DXV American Standard has created DXV, the company’s flagship luxury bathroom and kitchen brand. The product line is available exclusively in showrooms and features more than 70 product and style offerings.

master.ca

dxv.ca

Turning up the Super Heat

Zurn acquires Green Turtle Zurn Industries recently announced it has purchased Green Turtle Americas Ltd. and Filamat Composites Inc., which collectively form Green Turtle, a provider of composite wastewater pre-treatment solutions for commercial, institutional and industrial applications. zurn.com greenturtletech.com

M e c h a n i c a l

The Master Group recently purchased Eastern Refrigeration Supply Co. Ltd. The deal includes the Markham, Ont.-based company’s headquarters, distribution centre and Markham branch.

Mark Talma and Demetry Tselepakis recently formed Super Heat Sales, a manufacturer’s sales agency currently representing Hilmor, Lenox, Irwin Tools, Stelpro and The Clean Boot in Ontario, as well as UEI Canada in B.C., Alberta and Ontario. Mark can be reached at 416-801-9745 or mark@superheatsales. com, and Demetry can be reached at 905-870-2630 or demetry@superheatsales.com. superheatsales.com

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People in the news www.mechanicalbusiness.com Mechanical Business Magazine welcomes JEFF SUPERLE to the team as its new national accounts manager. Jeff comes to us with several years of wholesale sales experience and is looking forward to meeting all of the great people within the mechanical industry.

Taco Canada has hired MIKE MILLER as its director of commercial sales. Mike brings more than 21 years of experience to the role, including positions in sales, management, training, hydronics and as an HVAC contractor. He is the vicechair of the Canadian Hydronics Council and a member of HRAI, CGC and the Construction and Boiler Association. MARK WILLIAMSON has been promoted to Canadian General Manager for Navien. Mark has more than 25 years of sales experience, including holding senior territory sales manager and district sales manager positions.

Armstrong Fluid Technology has promoted WAYNE ROSE to the position of global marketing manager, pumps. He will be responsible for marketing of the company’s portfolio of pumps, suction guides and Flo-Trex valves. AL FIRT has been named the branch manager for ECCO Supply’s Edmonton North and South branches. Firt assumed his new role upon the recent retirement of ELAINE HODGINS, who had been with the company for 35 years.

M e c h a n i c a l

Carlo Gavazzi has appointed MICHAEL GRANT (left) its account manager for Western Ontario. Michael has more than two decades of sales experience in industrial automation and safety products. The company has also hired WAYNE HOLDBROOK as its account manager for the Western Greater Toronto Area and Northern Ontario regions. Wayne brings sales experience in the electrical and automation industry to the company.

JONATHAN LAZENBY has joined Trane Canada as its Ontario area leader. He will be responsible for growing the company’s sales and leadership team and expanding its business throughout the province. Jonathan has more than 20 years of progressive leadership experience within the HVAC and building controls sectors in the Toronto area. Goodman recently appointed BILL DAVIS (top left) as its Canadian divisional vicepresident. The company also promoted RYAN CLARKSON (top right) to the position of branch manager trainee. JACK WRATTEN (bottom left) has been promoted to the position of key accounts manager for the Southwestern Ontario region. Jack has been with the company for 10 years. HELENE DUFOUR (bottom right) has been named Daikin’s unitary sales manager for Atlantic Canada. She will be responsible for all Daikin unitary and mini splits sales in the region, as well as supporting Goodman and Amana sales.

B u s i n e s s

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Wolseley Canada recently appointed JOSEPH CARANCI as its director of strategy and business development for the company’s HVAC/R business. Joseph has more than 20 years of experience in strategic planning and budgeting, sales and operations management. He will report to Akbar Makalai, vicepresident, plumbing and HVAC/R, and will work out of the company’s head office in Burlington, Ont. KVC Industries has hired RANDY BLAIN as the company’s territory manager for southwestern Ontario. Randy has 15 years of experience in sales, customer service and quality control. Masco Canada has promoted BRAD CAMPEAU to the position of sales manager, designers and showrooms. Brad has been with the company for more than five years. Distech Controls has appointed JEAN-LOU PAQUET (right) its vice-president of corporate development. The company also named CARL BARNARD its director of sales, Americas.

Hired someone lately? Let the mechanical world know through the pages of Mechanical Business. To have your company’s personnel announcements included, free of charge, in an upcoming edition of Mechanical Business, simply send a note and a few details, to adam.freill@ mechanicalbusiness.com.

06.14

Profile Jonathan Beckett: Looking forward and back

Part of a historic family business that dates back three generations in the oilheat sector, Jonathan Beckett, and his brother Kevin, are continuing to build on the legacy that their father and grandfather built on the Beckett name. With a reverence and appreciation for the history and lessons learned by their family and the people who helped

build the company into the multi-division, multinational firm that it now is, the grandchildren of its founder are developing plans and bringing products to market that will help take the company through the next phase of its evolution. We recently caught up with Jonathan to talk shop, history, and future plans.

Q A

Tell us about your company.

R .W. Beckett is a privately held family business started in 1937 by Reginald Beckett. The company has expanded into multiple entities including: R.W. Beckett Canada, Beckett Gas, Beckett Air, and Beckett Asia Pacific. Although the companies have different management, strategies, and business objectives, they share core values of integrity, excellence and respect.

M e c h a n i c a l

Bio

I started in our commercial division, which gave me exposure to operations and manufacturing, engineering, sales and marketing, and general profit and loss responsibility. In 2006, I became the director of sales for the company, adding the marketing responsibilities in 2007. I became directly involved in the oversight of Beckett Canada in 2006 and became general manager in 2009, when Garth Hunt retired.

You and your brother Kevin represent the third generation. Was it a given that you would join the family business?

I was involved in the family business from the time I was 16 years old – cutting grass, working in production, and in sales in Ontario, during high school and college. It was never a given that I would join the family business, and I did not necessarily plan on joining the business, but when the opportunity became available that matched my skillsets, it became a great fit.

• Jonathan’s mother was born and raised in the Toronto area and all of his grandparents lived in Canada. • He is a huge Toronto Maple Leafs fan, despite living in the Cleveland area. “Hopefully I will see Lord Stanley’s cup in Toronto in my lifetime,” he says.

What roles have you had since joining the company full time?

FAST FACTS

Q A

Name: Jonathan Beckett Titles: Director of sales and marketing, R.W. Beckett Corporation General manager, R.W. Beckett Canada Ltd. Resides: Avon, Ohio (Cleveland Area) Family: Wife, Kelly Beckett, and children Christian (13) and Isabella (10)

Did you know? A Beckett CF1400 commercial burner was used in the Batmobile in the 1989 Batman movie to provide the flame that projected from the back of the vehicle. B u s i n e s s

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What are some of the bigger challenges that R.W. Beckett faces in the current marketplace?

T he biggest challenge for R.W. Beckett is to continue on our path to diversify the business. Although we remain very committed to serving the oilheat industry, we are aggressively working to expand our business into the broader HVAC market. We are very focused on new product development and continue to put a strong emphasis on advanced HVAC controls.

Q A

Who is the biggest influence on your career?

W ithout a doubt, the biggest influence in my career is my father, John Beckett. He taught me the importance of having integrity in everything I do.

Q A

Why is your company such a strong supporter of COHA?

C OHA continues to be a significant advocate for the oilheat industry in Canada. It has emphasized the importance of training with the GreenTech certification, and has promoted to consumers the benefits of oilheat as a safe, efficient and clean fuel.

Making the world more comfortable every day Navien leads the industry in condensing technology with high efficiency tankless water heaters and combi‑boilers. Navien not only keeps customers comfortable with an endless supply of heating and DHW. We also help keep contractors comfortable with easier and faster installations, convenient, lower cost PVC venting options, ½" gas connections and a strong warranty. Plus the ultimate in comfort for everyone — reliability. Discover how Navien can make your world more comfortable for retrofit, commercial or new construction at NavienAmerica.com.

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Advanced water heater with exclusive

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technology (built‑in buffer tank and recirculating pump).

The Leader in Condensing Technology

T A

The cooling Report

B y A n d r ew S n o o k

Ductless trend expected to continue Ductless units are a practical option in homes that are hydronically heated or heated with electric baseboard heaters.

uctless mini-split air conditioners and heat pumps have enjoyed significant growth over the past few years, and according to several industry professionals, this cooling season will be no different.

“It’s more price competitive than it was 10 years ago,” says Cantin. “It does cooling and heating so it’s kind of a universal type product.”

Norm Mierkalns, HVAC national sales and marketing manager for Mitsubishi Electric Sales Canada, says the product has been popular in applications where people want one outdoor unit with multiple indoor units.

He adds that many homes in that region of Canada are hydronically heated or heated with electric baseboard heaters, so ductless units are a practical option.

“When you have an application where you want to condition more than one room, it gives you that flexibility,” says Mierkalns. Napoleon’s Mike Cantin agrees that the ductless offerings seem to grow in popularity every year. He says ductless units have been particularly popular for new installations in Quebec and the Maritimes due to their price point, and the number of homes that do not have existing ductwork.

James Honyotski, sales manager for LG Residential Air Conditioning, expects that growth to continue across the Atlantic region, and adds that ductless HVAC will continue to gain ground throughout the rest of Canada as well. “As the industry’s product offerings continue to offer enhanced heating performance at ever-lower outdoor temperatures, we see the flexibility of ductless heat pumps as a year-round solution, growing across the country,” says Honyotski. “Auxiliary heat compatibility will also grow this market.”

Commercial rooftop

Evaporator units

Trane’s Foundation light-commercial rooftop units are offered in 15- to 25-ton models. They are built with a tubular heat exchanger, gas ignition system and an aluminum microchannel condenser coil. Other features include a discharge line thermostat and an electrical phase monitor. The units are compatible with multiple roof curbs without adapters or other modifications.

Mitsubishi Electric’s P-Series wall-mounted evaporator units have a total cooling capacity range from 10,680 to 30,438 BTUH and a sensible cooling capacity range from 9,676 to 24,229 BTUH. They have a sensible heat ratio of 80 to 90 per cent and are designed to operate effectively when outdoor ambient temperatures reach -40°C.

trane.com

mitsubishielectric.ca

C ooling

Air conditioner Rheem’s 14AJM single-stage air conditioner has efficiencies up to 16 SEER and 13 EER in 1-1/2 to 5-ton sizes. Features include a steel cabinet and a scroll compressor.

rheem.com

Pr oducts

• T e c h n o l o g i e s o n t h e r ise • DIY cam p aign cat ch es fir e

Technologies on the rise Technologies such as motion sensor setback, low-ambient heating operation, smartphone apps for system control and central system offerings are expected to grow rapidly, says LG’s Honyotski. Top-moving technologies in the present and near future are home automation with wireless technology, indoor air quality with HRVs and high efficiency air cleaners, thermostats with wi-fi that connect to a smartphone, and humidifiers and thermostats that have the ability to control humidity in the space where the thermostat is located and humidity is most needed. A spokesperson from Carrier reports that variable speed compressors, home automation, communicating stats, and internet home connectivity will be driving forces.

DIY campaign catches fire HRAI’s consumer awareness campaign to raise public awareness and create regulations to prevent the retail sale of do-it-yourself (DIY) hydrocarbon refrigerant kits for use in residential and commercial air conditioning systems has picked up major steam recently, with help from the office of the Ontario Fire Marshall, reports HRAI president Warren Heeley. He said his organization met with the Ontario Fire Marshall’s office in July to discuss the potential dangers surrounding DIY hydrocarbon refrigerants, including the potential risks that flammable refrigerants being contained in residential and commercial air conditioning systems pose to emergency response teams responding to fires. The result of that meeting was a pleasant surprise to Heeley. “Their interpretation to that is if you added a highly combustible or hyrdrocarbon refrigerant [to an A/C system] it could be considered that you are contravening part of the fire code,” said Heeley. He says the next step will be taking the campaign to a national level with the Canadian Council of Fire Marshalls and fire chiefs across the country.

The Cooling Report continues on page 24

Mini-split heat pump

Rooftop units

Fujitsu’s RLFF and RLFFH floor-mounted mini-split heat pump systems are offered with maximum cooling capacities of 9,000, 12,000 and 15,000 BTUH. Units are available in single-zone models or for multizone configurations. They offer efficiencies up to 26 SEER and feature a wireless remote control and built-in condensation pump. RLFFH systems are equipped with a base heater.

Allied Commercial’s Z-Series packaged rooftop units are offered in 3- to 12.5-ton sizes in gas and electric models, and up to 10-ton sizes on heat pump models. The units are designed to fit most curb sizes without the need for an adaptor curb. Optional single-zone VAV technology and BACnet are offered on units sized 7.5-ton and up.

The DX20VC inverter split system air conditioner from Daikin is available in capacities ranging from 2 to 5 tons. The unit offers efficiencies up to 24.5 SEER and 15 EER. It features an inverter compressor and comes with a factory-installed sound blanket. The unit has noise levels as low as 56 dB.

fujitsugeneral.com

allied-commercial.com

daikin.com

C ooling

Split system A/C

Pr oducts

The cooling Report continued from page 23

Cooling Products

Upcoming Challenges Mitsubishi Electric’s Norm Mierkalns says the U.S. exchange rate will create challenges for this year’s cooling season. “I think it’s going to be a tough year,” he says. “The U.S. exchange rate is going to be a problem on product. Pricing has to go up. The economy is going to be okay, but the exchange rate is going to slow things down a bit.” Although the exchange rate could create some challenges, Mierkalns reminds readers that the true driving force is always the weather. “We know that the weather drives our sales,” he says. “A cool summer and we’re in trouble.” Looking beyond weather, and back at pricing, Napoleon’s Mike Cantin says contractors should not focus their sales on selling at the lowest price if they want to grow their businesses. “Charge a premium price on a premium product and separate yourself from everyone else,” he says. Of course, the race to return a customer’s phone call first is still one of the biggest opportunities for a contractor to land new business, but the ability to inform potential and existing customers about the latest and greatest technologies is what will untimately land the sale, says James Honyotski of LG. “Ideally, contractors have the appropriate technological tools on hand at the sales visit, including laptops, and are able to produce a proposal in real-time,” he says. “This ability to produce a quote or proposal in realtime is how contractors can truly get ahead.”

Through-wall heating and cooling Napoleon’s Condo Pack self-contained heating and cooling units for condominium buildings offer heating efficiencies of 95% AFUE and cooling efficiencies of 12.5 SEER. The units are pre-wired, pre-charged and feature a slide-out chassis. They feature a tubular, aluminized steel heat exchanger, independent metering and temperature control, wall sleeve power venting and an isolated condensate drain.

napoleonheatingandcooling.com

The Cooling Report continues on page 26

OPTIMAX™ 400 LED Leak Detection Flashlight This super-compact leak detection flashlight features a high-output violet light LED that causes dyes to fluoresce far more brilliantly and with greater contrast compared to conventional blue light lamps. It makes all AC&R leaks easier to spot, slashes diagnostic time and puts money where it belongs — in your wallet! • • • •

Power comparable to high-intensity 150-watt lamps! Inspection range of 25 feet (7.6 m) or more! Works with all popular universal/POE dyes Comes complete with a lanyard, belt holster, three “AAA” batteries and fluorescence-enhancing glasses. Also available in the OPK-40EZ/E Leak Detection Kit Kit includes EZ-Ject™ dye injector, hose/coupler with check valve and purge fitting, (2) EZ-4/E universal/ POE dye cartridges, (3) drip plugs, GLO-AWAY™ dye cleaner, fluorescenceenhancing glasses and rugged carrying case.

To learn more, call ONTOR LIMITED at 416-781-5286 or visit www.ontor.com

M e c h a n i c a l

B u s i n e s s

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The KeepRite® Observer® Communicating System. From the pros who know comfort.

Give homeowners the power to control up to six zones of home comfort.

Easier to sell

• Intuitive and easy-to-navigate touchscreen display • Fully programmable • Adjusts system for maximum performance and energy efﬁciency* • Provides maintenance reminders • No batteries required

See warranty certificate for details.

Timely registration required. See warranty certificate for details and restrictions.

Easier to install* • • • •

Self-conﬁgures for optimized airﬂows Less opportunity for errors No dip switches to set No need to refer to wiring diagrams

*When installed as part of a complete Observer® Communicating System, including the Observer Wall Control.

Heating & Cooling Products To learn more, visit: GoKeepRite.com.

The cooling Report continued from page 24

Cooling Products

DIY campaign catches fire When managing the phase out of HCFC refrigerant, equipment manufacturers will likely endorse specific replacement refrigerants to honour their warranties, says Trane Supply’s Ray Koepke. “Consult the manufacturer of the product and go with their recommendations, as they have tested these products and will be able to stand behind the warranty,” he says. “Make sure to follow any retrofit guidelines that are offered.”

R-22 is best for R-22 equipment. If you need to change,

Light commercial units Raider light commercial rooftop units from Lennox are available in 3- to 12.5-ton sizes with efficiencies up to 13 SEER, 11.5 EER and 13.2 IEER. The units are built to fit most curb sizes without the need for an adaptor curb on many replacement models. They are available in gas/electric and electric/electric models.

lennoxcommercial.com

Arkema has your R-22 Retrofit Solution

R-407C Air Conditioning R-427A All around solution for both A/C and refrigeration R-407A Refrigeration

Split System A/C Coleman’s Echelon AC8B split system air conditioners offer capacities of 2 to 5 tons and efficiencies up to 18 SEER. They feature an ECM fan motor and a metal coil guard. The compressor is safeguarded against abnormal pressures and temperatures by an internal pressure relief valve, an internal temperature sensor, and factory high and low pressure system controls.

colemanhvacdealer.com

Heat pump The Constant Comfort SXC single-stage heat pump from KeepRite has efficiencies up to 9.0 HSPF, 15.5 SEER and 12.5 EER. Unit features include a single-stage compressor with shell enclosure and sound blanket, a galvanized steel cabinet, high and low refrigerant service ports, and coated inlet grilles. It is available in 1.5- to 5-ton capacities.

For more information call 416-614-3610 or 1-800-567-5726 x 230 or visit us on the web at

www.R22retrofits.com

keeprite.com

M e c h a n i c a l

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Our new 3D i-see Sensor gives you

752 reasons to choose Mitsubishi Electric. M-Series | MSZ-FH • Industry-leading SEER rating of 30.5

• Available in 3 sizes, including a new 15,000 BTU/h unit • Absence Detection provides greater energy efﬁciency

Introducing another brilliant advancement from the leader in comfort innovation. The 3D i-see Sensor from Mitsubishi Electric analyzes the temperature profile of a living space to identify human presence and deliver optimal comfort. By dividing the entire room into 752 zones, the 3D i-see Sensor locates people based on their unique body temperature. With this thermal data, the MSZ-FH then directs the perfect amount of heating or cooling towards those who need it. That’s comfort innovation in action.

*When installed by an Authorized HVAC (Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning) Installer.

MseriesHVAC.ca

HVAC/R Products P Motor starters Carlo Gavazzi’s CGP Series of enclosed motor starters are available for single and three phase motors up to 600V/200 hp and are housed in NEMA 4 metallic enclosures. Options include a range of control and pilot light layouts, an integrated control transformer, and fused and nonfused disconnects. Non-metallic NEMA enclosures are available upon request.

gavazzionline.com

Air handlers RedZone’s line of air handlers are available in three models with a heating capacity range of 22,000 to 45,000 BTUH. They feature high-efficiency ECM motors, and achieve a CAN/CSA P.9-11 rating when used in combination with specified high efficiency Rinnai and Bosch tankless water heaters. They have dimensions of 17” x 35.5” x 23” and weigh 109 lb.

redzone-products.com

Air exchanger Venmar’s AVS Series S10 ERV air exchanger has a maximum continuous air flow of 115 cfm at 0.2” pressure and 102 cfm at 0.4” pressure. The unit features pressure taps to balance air flow, balancing dampers and fan efficacy of 1.2 cfm/W. It has a port diameter of 5” and dimensions of 9” x 27-1/8” x 20”.

venmar.ca

Venting system Ipex’s System 636 flue gas venting system of pipes, fittings and cements meet the demands of the ULC S636 venting standard. System 636 PVC venting is designed for use on appliances with flue gas temperatures up to and including 65°C. It is available in five sizes ranging from 1-1/2” to 4”. System 636 CPVC venting is suitable for use on appliances with flue gas temperatures up to and including 90°C. It is available in seven sizes ranging from 1-1/2” to 8”.

ipexinc.com

Smoke duct detector The SL-2000 Series smoke duct detector from Air Products & Controls is designed to prevent the recirculation or spread of smoke by air handling systems, fans and blowers. The ionization and photoelectric models are listed for velocities between 100 to 4,000 ft./min, and are designed for high-temperature applications. Up to 30 units can be interconnected for common functions.

ap-c.com

M e c h a n i c a l

B u s i n e s s

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WITH R-410A,

SMALLER IS SMARTER! WHICH TUBING SIZE OPTIMIZES R-410A REFRIGERANT? Today, you can choose from several HVAC brands that offer different sizes of condenser coil tubing. But which one optimizes the heat transfer properties of R-410A refrigerant… and your profitability? Introducing SmartCoil™, our 5mm copper tube, aluminum fin condenser coil. Our engineers are convinced that the thermo-physical properties of R-410A refrigerant match exceedingly well with regard to the heat transfer characteristics of 5mm copper tubing. Looks like we must have discovered another smart idea for our dealers. Think SMALL and look to Goodman for BIG profits. For complete product and warranty information, contact us at www.goodmanmfg.com or call us at 1-877-GOODMAN.

Goodman Distribution locations: Ottawa 613-745-3846 Calgary 403-250-6579 Vaughan 905-760-2737 Brantford 519-757-0965 Longueuil 450-674-3883

Mississauga 905-564-9791 Burnaby 604-420-1331 Pickering 905-420-4001 Laval 450-681-2220 Edmonton 780-443-3072

Saskatoon 306-651-7350 London 519-453-1200 Winnipeg 204-633-9133

Standard 3/8’’ Copper Tube

Goodman’s New SmartCoil™ 5mm Copper Tube

Water with the wave of a hand. MotionSense™, only from Moen. Wave over for a pot-filling stream. Reach under for a quick rinse. It’s water how you want it, when you want it.

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improvements. “In the early 2000s, half of the six-litre toilets couldn’t flush 250 grams,” Gauley notes. “Now most 4.8-litre models can flush 800 grams.” Simple engineering approaches, including fine tuning the amount of water used to refill the bowl; replacing 90-degree bends in the toilet with curved pipes; increasing flapper sizes from two to three inches; and adjusting the configuration of rim holes so water is directed at the waste rather than swirling around in the bowl, all helped improve performance. The best part about all the innovation is that consumers are on board 100 per cent. “There is no sacrifice. If a 4.8-litre toilet can flush four times better now than a six-litre toilet could four years ago, or a 13-litre toilet could 15 years ago, it’s a win-win,” says Gauley. “Better performance; more savings.”

1220 South Powell Road Independence, MO 64057-2724 tel 816.796.3900 fax 816.796.0875 watcomfg.com

Moen

M e c h a n i c a l

B u s i n e s s

When it comes to demand for low-flow toilets, Gauley says the internet can be thanked for driving innovation from manufacturers. “Now pretty much everyone searches the web to find the best toilet. There’s more than 2,700 models listed on our website, map-testing.com, so consumers are getting pretty savvy.”

Consumers are more than happy to get on the water savings bandwagon, as long as the right products are there to be had at the right price, says Garry Scott, vicepresident of wholesale marketing and brand development for Moen Canada. A 2013 study in Canada about consumer attitudes and desire for water saving products turned up some interesting findings, he says. “It appears that environmentalism is really part of Canada’s DNA. Consumers really value sustainability. But they don’t want to pay too much for it.” The one deal breaker for even the diehards who go out of their way to look for water savings is that they’re simply not willing to sacrifice performance. “That’s not a surprise,” Scott says. The good news is, pretty much any faucet you will find on the shelf today will meet WaterSense criteria and there’s no premium for choosing the water saving option. “You get the same price and performance, which makes it a compelling and popular offer,” Scott says. The numbers so far are favourable for water-conscious consumers. Bath faucets, for example, now consume 32 per cent less water. Faucets can now run as low as 0.35 gpm, versus 2.2 gpm, which was common five years ago. And while there is no WaterSense standard for kitchen faucets, manufacturers are voluntarily offering water saving options. “It’s not a requirement but it’s what consumers want,” Scott says.

Patented and Patents Pending See www.watcomfg.com for details

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2/13/14 8:54:06 AM

There’s also growing interest in handsfree faucets, especially in healthcare and commercial environments as well as kitchens. continues on page 34

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Refrigeration

B y P h il J. B o udreau

Economizing for efficiency

echanical subcooling methods have been used for many years to increase the net refrigeration effect (NRE) of refrigerant circulating within a system. By subcooling the liquid refrigerant before it enters the evaporator the capacity of the system will be greater. For example, at an evaporation temperature of -20°F and a condensing temperature of 100°F, R404A offers approximately 40.61 BTU per pound of latent heat when the liquid leaves the condenser with 5°F subcooling. If we can further cool this

Phil Boudreau is the Ontario sales manager for Bitzer Canada Inc. and provides training and technical support for Bitzer’s clientele. Phil is also a refrigeration instructor at Humber College in Toronto, Ontario. He can be contacted at pboudreau@bitzer.ca.

liquid to 75°F, the latent heat increases to 47.97 BTU per pound, which is about 18 per cent higher. If you need to get some extra capacity out of a system, it is certainly possible to achieve this by adding some subcooling. Although an economizer circuit increases the installed cost of a system, the energy savings with this type of approach may result in some very reasonable paybacks.

A lower ratio In a mechanical subcooling application, a separate refrigeration circuit generally provides the subcooling effect, and a compressor that operates at a lower compression ratio is used to accomplish the subcooling. By operating at a lower compression ratio, compressor efficiency is increased. Additionally, higher saturated suction temperatures result in higher mass flow rates, as shown in the chart for a 6,462.6 CFH compressor.

DID YOU KNOW? A lower compression ratio allows the subcooling compressor to operate at a higher suction pressure, and perhaps even with a different type of refrigerant.

continued on page 38

M e c h a n i c a l

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top performer

Industry-leading Genetron® Performax™ LT refrigerant is the clear leader in its field. If your bottom line is a better bottom line, no other supermarket refrigerant comes close. From keeping fresh food fresher longer to energy savings to eco-friendly performance, the list of reasons to choose Genetron® Performax™ LT over R-438A or R-407A refrigerants goes on and on. Genetron Performax LT offers industry-leading capacity, industry-leading efficiency and low GWP values versus other popular supermarket refrigerants. This saves money in new installations and in R-22 retrofit projects. Plus, a mass flow that identically matches R-22, eliminates expensive expansion valve changes and adjustments in retrofit applications while maintaining superheat performance which protects costly compressors. So go with the gold standard. Go with Genetron Performax LT.

Maximize Performance with Performax LT.

Brenntag Canada Inc. Exclusive distributor of Genetron® refrigerants in Canada Ontario & Western Canada: Tel. No. (416) 243-9615 Fax: (416) 243-9731 Quebec & Maritime Provinces: Tel. No. (514) 636-9230 Fax: (514) 636-8229 To learn more, call 800-631-8138 or visit www.genetronperformaxlt.com. © 2010 Honeywell International Inc. All rights reserved.

continuedfrom frompage page3236 Refrigeration continued

Playing with pressure When determining the overall efficiency of a system, the ratio of the useful output to the energy input to the system is calculated as:

EER=

Net Refrigeration Capacity Total Power Input

With mechanical subcooling the increase in efficiency can be quite substantial. The benefits of higher capacity and efficiency may also be achieved in single-compressor systems where there is access to an intermediate pressure point on the compressor. The actual pressure will depend on the location of the port in relation to the compression process, the compressor construction, the low and high side pressures, and the refrigerant type.

Economizing with a subcooler

Three mass flow rates are shown in the graphic “Economizing with a Subcooler.” A mass flow rate of 8,861 lb./hr flows through the evaporator, a shell and tube chiller in this case. These same 8,861 lb. of refrigerant leave the condenser at a temperature of 110°F and are further subcooled to 86.3°F inside the subcooler. The subcooler, in this case, is simply a plate-type heat exchanger. Note that 1,110 pounds per hour are passing through the opposite side of the subcooler. This refrigerant boils and superheats as it absorbs heat from the 3,813 pounds per hour that eventually pass through the main evaporator. Since 1,110 lb./hr from the subcooler are drawn away by the economizer port on the compressor, this flow is added to the main evaporator flow rate of 8,861 lb./hr. The high side mass flow rate of 9,971 lb./hr is the sum of the economizer and main evaporator mass flow rates. The compressor used in the diagram has a displacement of 14,338 CFH at 60 Hz.

For example, two-stage compressors can be fitted with a subcooler to improve performance. The subcooling of the main liquid line is achieved by evaporating a portion of the system’s mass flow at the intermediate pressure. After this refrigerant is fully vapourized and superheated, it is then drawn into the economizer or inter-stage port of the compressor.

Note that when the economizer mode is not used, the actual mass flow rate of this compressor will be 8,861 lb./hr. The reason for this is that when we operate the compressor at the same SST and SDT, the mass flow rate into the suction port of the compressor does not change. In this case, the capacity of the compressor is 523,000 BTUH. In economized mode, this same compressor has a capacity of 598,000 BTUH, and the overall efficiency is increased by approximately 10 per cent.

Intermediate Pressure=

Note that the approximate pressure at the inter-stage for most two-stage compressors will be the square root of the product of the low and high-side pressures in psia. This is because the displacement of the low-stage cylinders is approximately double the displacement of the high-stage. However, the actual inter-stage pressure will often vary somewhat as a result of the various dynamics involved with the compression process. With many screw compressors, it is possible to access an intermediate pressure point within the helical rotors in order to provide a suction point for the vapourized refrigerant that exits the subcooler. This is also known as economizing.

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√ Suction Pressure+Discharge Pressure

High-performance HVAC

B y Go r d C o o ke

Duct Design opportunities

Gord Cooke is a professional engineer who has spent 20 years helping builders and HVAC contractors implement innovative technologies into high-performance homes. He has particular expertise in IAQ and air flow management in houses, and can be contacted at gcooke@airsolutions.ca.

ver the past few articles I have been recounting the changes and advancements related to the new CSA F280 residential heat loss and heat gain standard. In my travels and workshops, as I demonstrate how application of the new standard may significantly reduce the size of furnaces and A/C units, specifically in new homes, most contractors are quick to point out that there isn’t much of a savings opportunity in the price of smaller furnaces or A/C units alone. However, smaller equipment typically also means lower airflow requirements and, therefore, an opportunity for smaller ductwork and perhaps even fewer duct runs in new construction, renovations and additions. The combination of new heat loss/gain calculations and electronically commutated motors (ECM) becoming a building code requirement (at least in Ontario) by January 2015, presents savings opportunities for contractors through revised duct designs, as well as savings in money, time and space. HVAC industry professionals, installers, technicians, designers and even manufacturers, should take the time to review, revisit and recalibrate duct design basics to take advantage of these opportunities.

Sizing by the equal friction method In residential applications in Canada, the most common duct design method is referred to as the equal friction method. The methodology is outlined in the HRAI Digest, in the Residential Air System Design Manual. This is referenced in Canadian building codes as a document that represents good engineering practices. The basis of the equal friction method is to find the duct run that has the longest effective length – the actual dimension length plus the equivalent length of each fitting and accessory along that duct run path – and then design the entire system using a static pressure (resistance) developed when delivering the required airflow to the longest, or most restrictive, duct run. Since resistance of other duct runs in a system will be less than the longest run, equal friction systems rely heavily on the need for balancing dampers (and actual balancing or commissioning) and thoroughly sealed ducts. If ducts aren’t sealed, then balancing dampers at the end of duct runs aren’t very effective.

Did you know? A compromise between pressure and noise may be required when replacing a furnace since the old duct system is likely to remain intact.

Recalibrate your thinking By recalibrating your duct design thinking by committing to air sealing, thoroughly balancing or commissioning systems, and comparing actual pressure drops across forced air elements to the design numbers that were assumed or anticipated, you will be ready and accepting of the downsizing opportunities presented by the new CSA F280 residential heat loss/heat gain standard. continues on page 42

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Jeff House is an experienced industry professional and hydronics trainer. He handles the sales territory from the Niagara region to the Greater Toronto Area for Jess-Don Dunford, a manufacturers’ rep in Ontario. He can be reached at jhouse@jessdondunford.com.

Desperately seeking primary secondary The nine-suite apartment has a single 300,000 BTUH atmospheric boiler with a separate water heater, both vented up the chimney. You talk the owner into two small 105,000 BTUH mod/con boilers so that he will have redundancy. A quick heat-loss calculation was done to confirm that the smaller input could cover space heating and the 80-gallon indirect tank that was added for domestic hot water needs. The radiators are cast iron and even with the old boiler running at 180° the units are never warm. You install the new system as shown and call the manufacturer’s rep to review your install since this is your first time for a job like this. The rep looks, smiles, and politely says, “Why did you pipe it this way?” 1) The piping is neat, straight and installed as per the boiler installation manual. Everything fit in the small space provided. You show the rep the piping diagram in the manual and say, “See, just like this drawing.” A) There is nothing wrong. It should work fine. B) You look again at the drawing and say, “I have done it this way before and it works fine.” C) You realize the drawing is a modified moose antler primary secondary with the boilers injecting into the system, but you added an extra pipe and created a primary loop that doesn’t have a circulator. D) The secondary loads and piping are correct, so it should work. 2) The boilers have 1” fittings but you pipe them with 1-1/2” each because the old system was 1-1/2” and you want the primary to be 1-1/2” to match up. Will this work? A) Yes, no problem because you have a high performance air/dirt eliminator installed. B) No, size of the pipe doesn’t matter. You should have stayed with 1”. It is cheaper. C) 1” would have worked. D) 1-1/2” would be fine. 3) The rep suggests an easy fix. What is it? A) Cut and cap the right side of the primary loop and move the two returns from the loads at the top to the bottom of the primary. B) Cut it all out and start again. C) You still think it is fine and aren’t changing anything. D) Where the boilers attach to the primary, cut between the Ts and cap each side. You now have the boilers on the primary loop and the two loads as secondary piping.

4) After a couple days with the new system working, the owner tells you the old system never got the suites above 70°F but the new system has the suites cooking at 76°F. How does he get the suites to satisfy at 72°F? A) Hook up the outdoor reset control, program the boilers for lead/lag rotate, and install an aquastat on the return line from the building. If it reaches 72, it will turn off the building pump. B) Install a thermostat on the second floor and set it at 72°F. This will give you an average temperature of the three floors. C) Tell the owner the tenants can adjust their temperature using the double hung window zone valves in each suite. D) There is nothing you can do. You put in smaller modulating boilers and if they are too big, he should have had an engineer do a proper heat loss and design.

Cutting and strutting! We recently gave away a Milwaukee M12 Fuel 1/2” Hammer Drill to Wade Berard. He found the fix, can you? This month we are going to tell you to cut it out… with an M12 Fuel Hackzall! Send your solution to the quiz above to adam.freill@mechanicalbusiness.com by July 15 for your chance to win. And be sure to pick up the next edition of Mechanical Business for the next installment of Find the Fix!

Looking for answers? The answer key for the March/April quiz is: 1-A; 2-E; 3-B; 4-B or D. If you need the quiz, check it out in our issue archive, available at www.mechanicalbusiness.com.

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HYDRONIC

Products Temperature controllers Control Products’ TCA-9102 series of surface temperature controllers accommodate input voltages from 12 VAC to 240 VAC and offer sensor options ranging from -40°F to 600°F (-40C to 316°C). Features include single or dual stage models with independent relay control; high and low temperature alarm set points with audible, flashing visual and relay output alarm capabilities; as well as programmable set points, differential, short cycle delay time, and a temperature sensor calibration mode.

Suction diffusers Taco’s suction diffusers are available for 125 psi or 250 psi working pressures and can be ordered with flanged or grooved-flange connections in sizes ranging from 2” x 1.5” (system side x pump suction side) to 16” x 14”. The integral cast straightening vanes are designed to ensure uniform flow to the suction inlet of the pump while the oversized body cylinder is designed to minimize pressure drop. The unit’s metering port allows for the monitoring of system conditions.

www. controlproductsonline.com

The CSA B214 Installation Code for Hydronic Heating Systems sets out the minimum provisions for the installation, extension, alteration and renewal of hydronic heating systems.

www. taco-hvac.com

PEX stapling system The SmartTool stapling system from Malco Products can be operated from a standing position and attaches SmartClips to a 10-ga (3.5 mm) wire grid. It features a top-loading magazine that holds more than 40 clips that accommodate 1/2” PEX tubing.

www. malcotools.com

Watts Radiant’s SmartTrac radiant panel solution is a single-panel modular system designed for use with the company’s 3/8” RadiantPEX+ and RadiantPERT tubing with standard 8” spacing. It is compatible with other SDR-9 PEX/PERT tubing. The system works underneath hardwood, tile, stone, laminate, vinyl, and carpet, and can be installed on walls or ceilings, or over concrete.

Combination boiler Sime’s Format.Zip non-condensing, modulating wall-hung combination boiler offers efficiencies up to 85% AFUE and inputs ranging from 53,600 to 133,800 BTUH. Features include a stainless steel plate heat exchanger for the production of continuous DHW at a flow rate of up to 4 gpm at a ∆t of 30°C. It has a builtin circulator, expansion tank and air eliminator, and operates using natural gas or LP.

www. wattsradiant.ca

www. simenorthamerica.com 48

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The Evolution of High Efficiency Condensing Boilers High efficiency stainless steel boiler Models from 46,000 to 151,000 BTU/Hr Available in a combi version Fully modulating with 5:1 turndown Advanced outdoor reset control Venting to 150' 2" venting on all models up to 100'

Commercial van roundup

B y Ho war d J . Elmer Howard J. Elmer is a PowerSports editor, writer and author, based in Brampton, Ont. He has a transportation, newspaper and radio background, and is a member of the Truck Writers of North America, the Automotive Journalists Association of Canada and the creator of the Canadian Truck King Challenge. www.canadiantruckkingchallenge.ca.

Options expand with

NEW VANS F

Cab style: Engine size:

Van 3.7L V6 (base), 3.5L EcoBoost V6

3.2L Power Stroke diesel

Max. towing capacity:

5,000 lb.

Van interior:

2015 Ford Transit

Sales of this game-changer of a van have begun. The Transit was born and raised in Europe and Asia but is now also being built in Kansas City, Mo.

500 cu. ft. max.

Cargo space dimensions: Height: 81.4” max. Width: 69.8” Length: 171.5” Dimensions:

Length: 266.1” max. Width: 82”

or the past two years we’ve talked about the Ford full-size Transit coming to Canada and it’s been a bit of a wait, but wait no longer, it is finally here. Look for this to be the Mercedes Sprinter’s greatest competitor, which should mean some sharp pricing for those of you in the market for a new, large sized van. A bit of a surprise out of the Ford camp is that the E-series vans are still available this year – all of them. They obviously changed their minds about retirement. Over at Ram, the Fiat-sourced ProMaster is here and for sale, but Ram is also pushing hard to offer all sizes of van and has already announced the 2015 arrival of the ProMaster City. This is again sourced from Fiat, and this new van will give the company a nice assortment of offerings next year. Over at GM a new small van is being offered. If it looks familiar it should – it’s built by Nissan. The NV200 has been rebadged as the Chevrolet City Express. Meanwhile, the Savana and Express full size vans have vanished from GM’s media website – all except for the larger chassis-cab cutaways.

It’s a typical front engine, rear-wheel drive configuration. Ford claims that the Transit will average 25 per cent better fuel economy than its current E-series vans, and variations of this vehicle will include three body lengths; two wheelbases; three roof heights; and bodies that include van, wagon, chassis cab and cutaway variations.

Cab style:

2.5L I-4, 1.6L EcoBoost I-4

Max. payload:

1,600 lb.

Max. towing capacity:

2,000 lb.

Van interior:

130 cu. ft.

Door opening near height:

While Ford has not yet rated the engine outputs, each is paired with an automatic six-speed transmission.

Rear Height: 52.1”

Cargo space dimensions:

Height: 59.1” Width: 48.1” Length: 72.6”

Dimensions:

2013 Ford E-Series

Length: 189.7” Width: 70.7”

2014 Ford

E-150/E-450

With the arrival of the Transit, the E-series was to be retired, or so Ford said two years ago. Last year they backtracked and said the E-350/E-450 Cutaway E-series vans would remain, however this year, without any real announcement, they are simply continuing to offer all the E-series variations – they must still be selling.

Van

Engine size:

Transit Connect

Cab style:

Van, Cutaway

Wheelbase:

138”, 176”

Engine size:

4.6 L V8, 5.4L V8, 6.8L V10,

Power (hp/torque):

225/286, 255/350, 305/420,

Max. towing capacity:

This small van, introduced in ’09, really started the trickle that has become a flood of new van product here in Canada. The Transit Connect got a nice makeover late last year, taking it into this model year. As part of the makeover, it got two new engines, a tow package, two wheelbases and new trims. It can be ordered with second-row seating, a rear-view camera, 6.5-inch touchscreen display with navigation, and SYNC with MyFord Touch. Ford suggests that the 1.6L EcoBoost I-4 will get in the 7.8L/100km range.

10,000 lb. continued on page 52

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EXTRA ROOM FOR YOUR GROWING TEAM. Ford Fleet has the lineup of compact and full-size vans to suit any need. The all-new full-size 2015 Transit offers a selection of configurations. Choose between the full-size cargo van, passenger wagon, cutaway and chassis cab, as well as three length choices and low, medium or high roof versions. For a compact van to handle big jobs, the 2014 Transit Connect offers cargo van or passenger wagon models, and features standard dual sliding rear side doors, with up to 1,710 lb of payload capacity.* With so many options to choose from, these vehicles are a versatile addition to any team. Make Ford Fleet the team behind your team. Contact us at focfhq@ford.com or 1.800.668.5515

2014 TRANSIT CONNECT

2015 TRANSIT

Vehicles may be shown with optional features. *When properly equipped. Cargo and load capacities limited by weight and weight distribution. ÂŠ2014 Ford Motor Company of Canada, Limited. All rights reserved.

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Commercial van roundup continued from page 52 Chevrolet City Express

2015

2014 Ram Cargo Van

This workhorse returned again in 2014 without changes – with no end in sight for production either. It was last updated in 2012.

Based on the Nissan NV200 this 2015 Chevy model will be available come fall. This addition is no doubt part of a larger van plan moving forward – and it does bring a courier sized city van into the Chevy fold. That’s good for Cab style: Van their dealers and loyal Chevy Wheelbase: 121.2” buyers. Engine size:

3.6L V6

Power (hp/torque):

283/260 1,800 lb.

Cab style:

3,600 lb.

Wheelbase:

139”, 159”, 177”

144.4 cu. ft.

Engine size:

4.8L V8, 6L V8, 6.6L V8 turbo-diesel

Van interior:

Van

Wheelbase: 115.2” Engine size:

2L I-4

Power (hp/torque):

131/139

Max. payload:

1,500 lb.

Van interior:

Max. payload: Max. towing capacity:

Cab style:

Van, Cutaway

Cargo space dimensions: Height: 48.2” Width: 49.03”

Power (hp/torque):

Dimensions:

Max. payload:

Length: 202.8” Width: 78.7”

122.7 cu. ft.

Cargo space dimensions: Width: 4’6” Length: 6’10” Dimensions:

Length: 183.” Width: 68.1”

285/295, 342/373, 260/525 1,800 lb.

2014 Chevy Express Cut Away 3500/4500

This year the Express van quietly disappears. Look at the GM website and the only Express still being offered is the larger Cut-away body. Trucks are rear-wheel drive with four-wheel disc brakes. LPG powered versions are available.

Cab style: Wheelbase:

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261/281, 317/385

NV200 RK HA

SHARKBITE 2XL AVAILABLE IN SIZES 1-1/4" – 2"

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2014 Nissan

NV1500 to NV3500

The Nissan NV continues on as before – slowly Max. payload: 3,858 lb. building market Towing capacity: 9,000 lb. share. Its entry Van interior: 234.7 cu. ft. (std.), 323 cu. ft. (high roof) into the commerDoor Opening Rear Width: 61.6” cial van market Cargo space dimensions: Width: 70.2” Length: 150.2” has offered a Dimensions: Length: 240.6” Width: 79.9” broader choice to buyers, and its design and options are well suited to its purpose. Power (hp/torque):

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The NV200 is going up against the Ford Transit Connect and the coming ProMaster City. Unlike the others, it has already scored a market by being named the preferred taxi of New York City. Its small frontwheel drive platform lends itself to fleets and individual business functions.

Cab style:

Van

Wheelbase:

115.2”

Engine size:

2.0L I4

Power (hp/torque):

131/139

Max. payload:

1,500 lb.

Van interior: Cargo space dimensions: Dimensions:

122.7 cu. ft. Height: 4’6” Width: 6’10” Length: 186.3” Width: 68.1”

Accommodate more. Consume less. The All-New 2014 Sprinter. Starting at $39,900.* We don’t just measure efficiency in litres. We measure it in time saved. And thanks to the All-New 2014 Sprinter, you’ll get more out of both. Learn more about the Sprinter’s efficiencies at TheNewSprinter.ca. /mbcanadasprinter

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©2014 Mercedes-Benz Canada Inc. *National MSRP is shown and is intended for information purposes only. Prices do not include taxes, levies, fees, freight and delivery charges, insurance and licence fees, as well as any other products or services not listed that may be available to you through your selected Mercedes-Benz dealership. Vehicle prices subject to change. Dealer may sell for less. These prices do not apply in provinces with total/all-in pricing requirements. Please contact your local dealership directly for exact pricing details and total pricing applicable in those provinces.

COVER STORY

By Andrew Snook

Can you take the heat? Casting for Season 2 of MasterChef Canada is now open. To audition to become a competitor on the show, visit masterchefcanadacasting.com.

Photos: CTV/Bell Media

here can someone witness a plumber, chemical engineer, realtor, journalist, personal fitness trainer and a stay-at-home mom working together and competing side-by-side? The MasterChef Canada kitchen, of course! Selected from thousands of applications from across the country, the top 50 home cooks, including a plumber from Alberta (see Road Warrior on page 80), competed for a chance to claim the prestigious title of MasterChef Canada and a $100,000 grand prize. The inaugural cooking competition was won by Eric Chong, a 21-year-old, chemical engineer from Oakville, Ont. Judging the dishes of the would-be chefs was a panel of chefs: Claudio Aprile, owner of the

Orderfire Restaurant Group, including the Toronto-based Origin brand restaurants; Michael Bonacini, co-founder of Oliver & Bonacini Restaurants; and mechanical engineer turned threestar Michelin chef and restaurateur Alvin Leung. We caught up with the celebrity chefs recently at CTVâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s headquarters in Toronto to talk restaurant mechanicals and sinking their teeth into their roles on MasterChef Canada.

For Alvin Leung, who was a mechanical engineer for more than 20 restaurants around the world, the biggest challenges

Serving up savings

DID YOU KNOW? MasterChef Canada judge Alvin Leung studied engineering science at the University of Toronto and completed his degree in mechanical engineering at South Bank University in the U.K. Leung worked as a mechanical engineer in Hong Kong, specializing in building services and acoustics.

Communication a key ingredient Chef Michael Bonacini says one of the key selling points for convincing restaurant owners and operators to invest in the most efficient equipment lays in communicating how these tools work, and how they will help the operator. “Often in our industry, I sometimes think we’re dinosaurs,” he says while laughing. “Give me a gas stove, give me a big cast iron pan, salt and pepper, and we keep moving.” Bonacini says there is great technology available to create savings for owneroperators, including building automation systems, and the ability to remotely monitor various aspects of one’s business via a smartphone, such as fridge temperatures and exhaust fan options. “I think those are the kinds of initiatives that I would embrace, and need to embrace,” he says.

With the rising costs of energy, finding the most energy efficient kitchen equipment and employing energy efficient practices are always top of mind for the judges of MasterChef Canada. “We’re always looking for efficiencies in everything we do, from finding efficient cooks to efficient purveyors to efficient equipment,” says Aprile. “Every Sunday, one of the jobs that we do in the restaurant is vacuuming all of the condensers so they’re more efficient and use less energy.” “I think any business owner-operator owes it to themselves to find those efficiencies and bring them all to bear as quickly as they can,” adds Bonacini. “We’re always experimenting with new rev-low hoods that use low amounts of air volume, ecologizers, LED lighting, cooking using induction. We are constantly looking at these sorts of things in order to increase our efficiency to improve our operating income.” For Leung, who operates restaurants in eastern and western parts of the globe, air conditioning is a massive expense. His restaurants in the east require air conditioning nearly year-round. “Being in the [mechanical] business, we use a VAV [variable air volume] system, which gives us better control and lower energy costs,” he says. Leung added that keeping a restaurant’s ventilation system properly maintained is vital to a healthy bottom line. In some countries, the gas valves are connected to the ventilation system, so if there is a system failure the gas will shut off, which means the restaurant is closed for the day. “These days if you lose a day that’s a lot of money,” he says. “It’s always good policy to maintain and have energy efficient equipment; not just because of the savings, but because you don’t want it to break down, ever.” Leung adds that a healthier bottom line isn’t the only reason for employing energy efficient practices. “We have a responsibility to be green,” he says. “Not just for saving money, but for saving the environment as well.” continues on page 58

years before changing careers and becoming a celebrity chef with still exist in navigating code requirements.

COVER STORY By Adam Freill

MasterChef surprises The contestants of MasterChef Canada have served up a fair number of surprises to all three judges. For Michael Bonacini, the diverse caliber of talent that made it on to the show was impressive. “It has represented our country tremendously well,” he says. “It has been great to see them develop from these timid individuals who have this great ambition to fulfill their culinary dreams. They’ve grown as the days and weeks have gone by. That, to me, has been very satisfying.” For Claudio Aprile, the intensity that the cooks brought to the show really surprised him. “They really wanted this,” he says. “I know this is a reality-television show, but they sincerely wanted to win. And when you’re on the set, it’s palpable. You feel it.” Bo Innovation restaurant owner and celebrity chef Alvin Leung adds that just because you’re a mechanical engineer, a plumber or an HVAC technician, that doesn’t mean you can’t make it big on MasterChef Canada. “We had a plumber and an engineer that went quite far,” he says. “The possibilities are there, so please come and audition [for season two].”

Advice for competing cooks When asked what advice they would give to home cooks looking to audition on MasterChef Canada, the judges agree that watching the first season of the show, doing research, cooking, eating, studying and bringing a high level of energy level and focus are the keys to a successful audition. “And if you can fix a stove, that’s always good,” Leung adds.

Judge Alvin Leung talks technique and ingredients with competitor Eric Chong.

Kitchen nightmares With his parents operating restaurants and hotels in South Wales, and then becoming a star chef and restaurant owner himself, Michael Bonacini has witnessed his fair share of mechanical system failures. “One of the worst was a union in a sprinkler line that gave,” he says. “You’re getting hundreds of gallons of water per minute coming through. It floods the kitchen. It floods the dining room. And three weeks later you still have floorboards that are cupping and popping, it’s a real disaster.” MasterChef Canada judge Claudio Aprile says fire suppression is always a serious issue chefs need to consider. “You’re taught from a very young age in the world of the kitchen

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that your fire suppression needs to be working, and to make sure that you don’t have, literally, a live flame underneath one of your sprinkler heads. The whole system can be triggered off, and then your kitchen fills up with foam and you lose an entire day of work,” says Aprile. For Alvin Leung, who was a mechanical engineer for more than 20 years before changing careers and becoming a celebrity chef with restaurants around the world, the biggest challenges still exist in navigating code requirements. “The codes are different in every single country, so you have to be aware of that,” he says.

WARNING: Using Aquatherm pipe does not give you superhero powers, even though you may feel like it. Do not attempt to fly or stop trains. Seriously.

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PLUMBING By F re d Br e t z k e

Commercial water pressure vs The plumber

ne of the most common pet peeves that I get from plumbing apprentices is their dissatisfaction of having to learn math again in postsecondary school. Most apprentices have come to school to train in the pipe trades to do hands-on projects.

I must admit that when I became a journeyman way back in 1985, I figured I was pretty much done with learning any more math, or even code. Little did I realize how important some of those facts and figures were in the real world. I’ve learned the hard way since my time in school – usually through some expensive failed process – that I should have been more dedicated back then.

Remember to do the math One always learns from costly mistakes. The best plumber is the one who uses the knowledge of his trade to his advantage. A simple math formula could save you or earn you thousands of dollars on a jobsite, so when some students complain that they didn’t come to school to be engineers, I always recant this story.

A costly lesson One of my more expensive lessons happened on a jobsite that I had quoted and run in a 30-storey commercial building in downtown Calgary about 10 years after I finished school. The job consisted of changing four commercial hot water tanks that were piped in parallel to a high efficiency exchanger system that was much more efficient.

Later that day the system was on and running, supplying hot, fresh potable water to every tap in this very busy building. Unfortunately, later that evening our 24-hour servicemen were getting calls and complaints of the water either being too hot or no hot water being produced throughout the building.

These new exchangers and boilers required many piping changes to adapt to the new system. All this had to be done with minimum shutdown time and, of course, as expediently as possible in order to make a profit.

This particular system was a downfeed system. The water is delivered and boosted to the top floors to feed the mechanical rooms where the potable water is heated and returned back down the building through downfeed pipes.

Since I had set up the job and had excellent servicemen who would take care of everything once it started, I knew I was in good hands. I was very pleased to be right, as it took just a few nights for the job to be pretty much done.

When I learned about the hot water problems, I immediately went to the site with the lead journeyman and commenced questioning his startup procedures. Despite a proper purge, it was still evident that there was a pressure problem in the building.

The next few days became an embarrassing nightmare.

And the job looked awesome. I’m one of those plumbers who likes to stand back and look at the finished product with pride, and this one looked like hospital piping. All that was left was the last day to do the final hook-up and fire up Everything is straight, level, the new system.

Hospital piping:

I was busy that day so I did not have time to go to the jobsite, but I knew it was in good hands.

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labelled and looking very perpendicular.

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continues on page 62

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PLUMBING

continued from page 60

exceed the maximum pressure allowed â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 80 psi â&#x20AC;&#x201C; in a building. Since the building was about 300-feet high, we needed to find wherever they installed those PRVs, but when dealing with a 40-year-old, 30-storey building, the chances of having a current blueprint are minimal to none, as we found out in this case. On this downfeed system, the water was boosted up to the top (30th) floor with an average pressure of 75 psi to feed the mechanical room and restaurant. After the water was heated it returned downward where it gained excessive pressure. This could be enough to cause water hammer problems in the system. This is why we install PRVs (pressure reducing valves) on the downfeed pipes.

We had two plumbers search everyday for PRVs throughout the building. We looked everywhere for those PRVs. They had to be somewhere, and they had to be plugged.

Fred Bretzke is a full-time pipe trades instructor with SAIT Polytechnic in Calgary and the general manager of A&B Plumbing. He can be reached at fred.bretzke@sait.ca.

After two weeks of customer complaints, my very frustrated plumbers finally found them. We had searched everywhere, on almost every floor, and finally discovered them on about the 20th floor in a secluded closet that was half drywalled over.

Usually all we needed back then was a minimum of 25 psi per floor to run the system. As such, we would normally install 75 psi to 25 psi PRVs in the top floor mechanical room. This would ensure that, as the water fed down the system and grew in pressure, it would take several floors for it to

Did YOU Know? In commercial water supply, some of the biggest problems stem from water pressure and expansion in the system.

One simple formula

My costly lesson (see page 60) taught me something, but had I been able to remember one simple formula that I had been taught in school, I could have saved many hours of searching for those elusive PRVs. A one-foot-tall column of water produces a pressure of 0.433 (or 0.434 psi, depending on what book you read). That basically means that as water rises it loses almost a half a psi, and as water goes down it gains approximately a half a psi. With this simple formula, we could have figured out that as each storey was about 10-feet high, that our 25 psi on the 30th floor would have gained at least 43 pounds of pressure by the 20th floor, or 68 psi. This would explain why they installed 75 psi to 25 psi PRVs on the 20th floor, so as to return the psi to 25 again. By isolating the area, it probably would have only taken a day to find and clean these plugged valves instead of the approximate two weeks of cost, plus hours it took the plumbers to find them. This lesson was very costly.

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Feeling the pressure The pressure problems that happen in most start-ups in old buildings are caused by sediment plugging part of the piping system. When we start up a water system, the plumbers remove most of the aerators or screens on most of the taps, and attempt to purge the water, air and sediment through bathtub spouts, as they are bigger and screenless. This usually takes care of any possible plugging in the pipes or faucets.

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Marketing with Doug MacMillan

Small talk.

Big rewards.

ack when I was in journalism school we learned about the art of the interview. I tended to be an efficient interviewer. Not one for chit-chat, I would jump into the story: understand the situation, get my quotes, confirm my facts and move on. It was a point of pride that I didn’t waste my subject’s time.

Doug MacMillan is president of The Letter M Marketing in Guelph, Ont. To reach him, email doug@thelettermmarketing.com.

While there are times in journalism (and in business) for a cutto-the-chase approach, I was quickly cautioned against moving too quickly. “Take time to build a relationship. Establish trust. That’s where you’ll find the human part of the story,” I was told. It was sound advice that prompted me to spend time understanding the person I was interviewing, building a rapport by asking about seemingly irrelevant aspects of their life, and establishing common points of interest. It took more time, but the quality of the final interview was typically more authentic and the story that much better. Often I found my lead – the opening of the article – in the small talk, rather than in “the big story.”

The art of small talk

It’s another in a list of examples of how J-school trained me for a career in business. The same advice holds true for a contractor’s front-line team. Spending a bit of time building a rapport is not only more fulfilling and interesting, but it can also lead to a better understanding of a family’s needs. This helps when recommending the best products and systems. “Teenage girls, you say? Let’s talk larger water heaters.” “You’re setting up a granny flat? We should discuss indoor air quality.” And so forth.

Start with a genuine and warm greeting. A firm and lingering handshake, strong and sustained eye contact, and a broad smile all set the right tone and begin to establish trust. I’ve heard people mention how infrequent real eye contact is in business; it is important to connect without darts and scans of the room. These may seem inconspicuous but are usually obvious.

Be observant of the physical environment and use it as a connecting point. You may see golf clubs, a lovingly-tended garden, evidence that grandchildren visit often, a specific artist’s work on the walls. Build

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on what you see to start a conversation that lets you get to know the customer on a more personal level. (Naturally, there’s a fine line between observing and snooping...)

Look for parallels in your own life. Define the things about you that you’re comfortable sharing, and use those references to establish a common connection.

Be an active listener. We’ve all been in conversations with someone who seems to be preparing the next question or comment rather than actually hearing what we’re

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saying. Be attentive – not only because it’s polite, but because the best nuggets of information to build rapport, or to identify a selling opportunity, come out of what we hear in the moment.

Avoid over-using the person’s name. I know, I know, it’s what all the sales courses tell us to do. However, a long-standing pet peeve of mine has been a salesperson’s tendency to drop my name into the conversation at every possible opportunity. Most certainly use the person’s name a few times during the visit, but if every other sentence includes my first name it comes across as phony and practiced.

Your best foot forward If you’re competing against others for the sale, and you probably are, if your prospective customer likes you and feels a connection, there

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Be careful with the jargon. Discussions about AFUE or direct power venting or a condensing furnace will come up, but offer a quick, plain-language explanation. Don’t go overboard about the technical stuff that likely matters more to you than to customers. Remember, to most customers, benefits like warmth, reliability, durability and operating cost matter a whole lot more than the features or how a system works.

Wave. Finally, a neat tip I heard many years ago that I’ve practiced religiously is to wave as you drive away, even if you don’t see anyone at the door or window. You never know for sure if they’re watching, and an energetic wave as you roll-out is a terrific final impression.

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with Roger Grochmal

A head start on the next job

“Roger, I’d love to build my business as a result of the work my guys are doing, but don’t know how best to do this. How do you go about getting referrals?” Frank A., Winnipeg, Man.

T Roger Grochmal is the CEO of AtlasCare in Oakville, Ont. To submit a question about your company, business practices, or the industry in general, send an e-mail to Mechanical Business Magazine’s editor, Adam Freill, adam.freill@ mechanicalbusiness.com.

his is a great question. Unless you are one of the industry giants and have an unlimited budget to advertise for new customers, referrals are the best and most cost-effective way to grow your business. The obvious answer to this problem is simple – just ask for them. I think sometimes our “Canadian modesty” prevents us from going there, but you have to! It’s not about ego; it’s about building your business.

Most customers have a vested self interest in seeing you stay in business, and will be more than happy to provide a referral if you have earned it. But you have to ask for it. And believe it or not, you will not stay top-of-mind with your customers forever, no matter how much good work you have done for them. Change is such a big part of all our lives that no one assumes a company will stay in business or a salesman or technician will still be at the same company when the need comes up again. The key is to stay in touch. Thankfully, with today’s online tools and strategies, this is easier than ever. Remind them how good you are. A little shameless self promotion from time to time is a good thing. Make it personal and create an emotional attachment. Referrals don’t happen all on their own. It all starts with good service but you can help improve the outcome by following a 7-step process.

7 steps to developing a strong referral program

Are you missing opportunities? You wouldn’t invest considerable time and attention to a wonderful sales presentation only to leave and not ask for an order. Unfortunately that’s what most contractors do with referrals. We do great work for a customer, often going above and beyond but never ask them to refer us to the people they know.

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1. Establish your USP (Unique Selling Proposition). What makes you different than someone else? There are lots of choices out there. Why should someone buy from you rather than someone else?

detractors to give you a score. The people in the middle are called passives and they do not give referrals, only promoters do. Our NPS score is at the top of the performance list we strive to achieve every month.

2. Make a public promise. Call it your mission statement, or your service guarantee. Whatever you call it, customers need to know what they can expect from you. But the most important part is that you have to live up to that promise. Every day.

5. Be up front. Tell customers that you will be asking for a referral when the work is finished. Our best people tell our customers that our goal today is to deliver service that will inspire them to give us a referral when we are done. This can be introduced in every communication. It just becomes part of your culture.

3. Deliver. Build business processes that deliver on your promise to not only meet but exceed expectations. Good enough isn’t good enough, and the bar needs to be revisited and raised regularly to exceed expectations today, and in the future. 4. Survey your customers to find out how you are doing. We use a program called Net Promoter Score (NPS). It is a simple measurement that takes the number of promoters and subtracts the number of

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6. Ask for the referral. It sounds simple but we so often skip this step. Help them. Give your customers tools and instructions so they can give referrals and recommendations. 7. Thank them. Provide feedback to the person who gave you the referral. This may be the most important step. Thank them for the referral and close the loop. They will reward you with more referrals.

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Funding facts The overall cost of the WRC project was approximately $38 million, which included a $33.5-million design-build contract that was awarded to Pomerleau. Funding for the project stemmed from $20 million in government infrastructure grants, with the remaining costs coming from a combination of donations and Westmount taxpayer dollars.

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hen the City of Westmount, Que., decided to build a recreation centre in Westmount Park with two NHL-sized ice hockey rinks, local residents were concerned that their view of the landscape would be obstructed by bricks and mortar. “If the recreation centre was above ground, they would be looking directly at walls,” explains Carolyne Van Der Meer, director of communications for Pomerleau, the construction company awarded the $33.5-million dollar design-build contract. To counter residents’ concerns, the city decided to build the recreation centre underground – 8.5 metres below grade – with a 65,000-square-foot green roof covering the top. Although building the Westmount Recreation Centre (WRC) underground presented many challenges for both Pomerleau and Beaudoin Hurens, the lead mechanical contracting firm on the project, it offered significant advantages and savings for the city. “The building is like a large geothermal system because at this level the temperature of the ground is always around 15 degrees Celsius,” explains Pomerleau’s Louis-Philip Bolduc, LEED AP and project manager for the WRC project. This will have a significant impact on the energy consumption levels.

WRC Rundown • • • • • • •

1 outdoor pool, 20 metres x 25 metres 2 NHL-sized rinks 13 locker rooms 3 exercise rooms 1 youth lounge 1 lounge area in the pavilion at roof level Administrative offices

Feeling the Heat Most of the heat supplied to the building is provided by the waste heat generated by the refrigeration system. A 240 kW electrical heating coil is available for backup, but despite the colder-than-usual temperatures experienced this year, and hitting the system’s design condition at -24˚C, the backup system was never activated over the entire winter. “The heat rejected by the compressor can go up to 1,173 kW,” explains Maxime Boisclair, mechanical engineer for Beaudoin Hurens, and lead engineer for the WRC project. The heat rejected from the refrigeration system is used for under slab heating to avoid permafrost, radiant floor heating for the spectators’ area, heating of the fresh air, heating of the tempered water for water-to-air heat pumps, to pre-heat domestic hot water, and for heating the pool. continued on page 70

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Green savings

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SPLASH

continued from page 68

The heat from the refrigeration system is also used to heat the snowmelt pit. “This is very important since there is no other way to remove the snow,” says Boisclair. The WRC is also equipped with 20 heat pumps throughout the building that can provide up to 50 tons of cooling. “The whole building has a tempered water network to supply heating or cooling to decentralized water-to-air heat pumps,” says Boisclair. “It was the most affordable way to bring energy to a wide building. Instead of bringing air ducts to all rooms, we only have to bring small piping and hook it up to the heat pumps.”

The heating system for the outdoor pool allows the WRC to open its pool at the beginning of June instead of late June, and close in late September instead of the last week of August, which is typical of outdoor pool operations in Montreal, says Boisclair. “It adds almost two full months of operation,” he says. “It doubles the season. A total of 630 kW can be supplied to the pool through the heat rejection system.”

WRC project manager LouisPhilip Bolduc says one of the objectives in the construction of the recreation centre is to obtain LEED Gold certification in the new construction category, which he expects the facility to receive from the Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC) in the near future. “This building is an example of green building with a high level of energy efficiency that will represent real savings for the City of Westmount, based on the electricity consumption,” says Bolduc.

Acceptable exhaust Venting for the underground ice rinks was set up in a similar manner to an underground building. “All ventilation for the mechanicals is located at the centre of the building and we have built a small pavilion on the roof for fresh air entering and outdoor exhaust,” says Bolduc. One challenge experienced during the installation of the venting involved the transferring of air into the locker rooms. “There are many locker rooms for both the ice rinks and the pool,” explains Boisclair. “All those locker rooms need to be exhausted as per ASHRAE standard 62.1. When we finalized our calculation, we found out that we needed to transfer air from everywhere in the building – even through the mezzanine – to be able to have enough exhaust for the locker rooms.” As a result, a fan was installed to bring air down to the locker room.

No pumping allowed The owners of the WRC did not want a sewer pump inside the building. This created additional challenges for the design-build team. “Underneath the lower level we have an important sewer network for showers, toilets and lavatories,” explains Boisclair. “We had to find a way to hook up to the municipal sewer system even if our network was very low below grade.” By going with larger sewer piping his team was able to reduce the slope, and thus avoid the pump.

Coordination challenges

Maxime Boisclair, lead engineer on the WRC project, and Louis-Philip Bolduc, project manager for Pomerleau, stop to discuss the main water entry during a tour of the facility.

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Pomerleau’s Bolduc says the biggest challenge in the WRC project was the coordination involved in ensuring all materials, such as the refrigeration units, were sized correctly and installed at the right time. “The units had to be sized exactly according to plans, otherwise the units wouldn’t have fit between the steel beams already erected in the facility,” he says.

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What: CMPX Show 2014 Who: Presented by CIPH & HRAI Where: Metro Toronto Convention Centre When: Wednesday, March 19 to Friday, March 21 Attendees: 13,500+ Exhibitors: 500+

CMPX 2014 show hits targets More than 13,500 industry personnel hit the Metro Toronto Convention Centre between March 19 and 21 for the 2014 edition of the Canadian Mechanical and Plumbing Exposition (CMPX). Despite a change of dates and some traffic chaos, show attendance matched expectations and was in line with the 2012 event, known then as the CMX-CIPHEX Show. “It is the major event for the mechanicals industry in Canada,” remarked Warren Heeley, president of HRAI, one of the main trade associations that organize the event. “We have got the largest attendance, the largest subscription from the standpoint of exhibitors and it is literally the focus of the industry for a three-day period.” The show sold out the available floor space, attracting more than 500 exhibitors and filling 200,000 sq. ft. of booth space with information about new products and the latest technologies for the HVAC, refrigeration and plumbing sectors. Among the presentations held as part of the event’s learning forum were sessions by Mechanical Business contributors

Gord Cooke of Air Solutions and Building Knowledge, who discussed the newly published CSA F280 heat loss/ gain standard; Andre Patenaude of Emerson Climate Technologies, who talked about modern components that can be incorporated into refrigeration systems; Kaveesh Padiachy of Uponor, who looked at low temperature heating and high temperature cooling; and Rainier Bratsch-Blundel, president of the Ontario Plumbing Inspectors Association and program coordinator for the plumbing program at George Brown College in Toronto, who updated attendees about changes to the Ontario Plumbing Code. One particularly excited attendee at this year’s show was Ron Van Brenk, project manager for Hobbs Welding & Boiler Service in London, Ont. He drove home with a GMC 2014 Savana 2500, the grand prize in the CMPX raffle that was open to attendees. Plans for CMPX 2016 are underway, with the show returning to the Metro Toronto Convention Centre from March 16 to 18, 2016. cmpxshow.com

1. Darryl Sittler signs the wall of the Mechanical Business magazine booth. 2. Gerry Cellucci (right), CMPX show committee chair, and CIPH chair Robert Whitty open the show. 3. From left: Andrew Dyck of Barclay Sales, Malcolm Bradbury of A.O. Smith Canada and Tim Main of Xylem - Applied Water Systems. 4. Mechanical Business contributor Andre Patenaude of Emerson explains how technology is expanding the capabilities of components, like compressors. 5. CIPH executive and committee members don hardhats at the build site of the next industry-sponsored Habitat for Humanity Canada build, in Burlington, Ont.

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6. Paul McDonald (Bradford White Canada), These Dates Jessica Circle Holmes and Robert Whitty (Bartle & March & 27, 2010Gala in support of Gibson) at 25, the 26 CIPH Charity Habitat for Humanity Canada. 7. Mechanical Business columnist Gord Cooke talks heat loss. 8. From left, Brent Cornelissen of OS&B, Maple Leafs legend Darryl Sittler, and Bob Evans of OS&B. 9. A night at Ripley’s Aquarium, courtesy of Emerson. Canada’s National Tradeshow For the Air Conditioning, Heating (Forced Air and Hyrdronic), Hearth, Plumbing, Industrial, Waterworks, Water Quality, Piping, Refrigeration and Ventilation Industries.

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Building brainpower. Be Part of Three Days of Industry Action That Set the Pace For Your Business.

This Show Has it All… and education At HRAI, we take training • 500 Exhibitors with the latest products and the newest technology. • All of today’s trends under one roof, in one place. very seriously. • Network with technical reps and product developers. • Stay in touch with the latest applications. • Source the products you need to do the job right. • Live demos and product presentations at the CMX•CIPHEX Theatre.

Don’t miss the Learning Forum - the hot topics, the best advice and the real know-how from the pro’s who know.

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Visitor Registration $10 in Advance, $20 At the Door. Deadline For Advance Registration: March 18 @ 6:00 p.m.

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What Best Describes Your Company's Business? Choose One Only ( ) Contractor ( ) Architect ( ) Building/Construction ( ) Building Management ( ) Consulting ( ) Consulting Engineering ( ) Manufacturer/Manufacturer's Agent ( ) Service/Maintenance ( ) Home Builder ( ) Government ( ) Wholesaler ( ) Other (specify) _______________________

Which Best Describes Your Job Function? Choose One Only ( ) Owner/Partner ( ) Designer/Architect/Specifier ( ) General Manager ( ) Project Manager ( ) Service/ Maintenance Manager ( ) Service Technician ( ) Apprentice Plumber, Gas Fitter, Electrician ( ) Purchasing ( ) Sales/Marketing ( ) Other (specify) _____________________

Check One ( ) Please send my completed badge via mail ( ) Hold my badge for pick-up at the show Company ___________________________ Name_________________________ Address _________________________ City________________________________ Prov/State _____________________ Code/Zip ________________________ Email ______________________________ Phone ________________________ Fax ____________________________ Payment By Mail: Make cheques payable to CMX·CIPHEX and mail to: CONEXSYS Registration, PO Box 283, Malton, CSC Mississauga, ON L4T 3B6 or By Fax: 905-405-9870 Total $ ______ ( ) VISA ( ) MasterCard ( ) AMEX - Card # ________________________________ Expiry: _____ /____ Name of Card Holder ____________________________________________ Signature ___________________________________ Please Print Clearly

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With saveONenergy incentives, we installed energy-efficient equipment in the building to save energy and money for our tenants Vladimir Niderman Property Manager, 212 King West Holdings Inc.

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Circle These Dates 10. Dave McPherson and Natasha Fisekovic of March 25, 26 &the 27,winner 2010 of a limited edition Rheem Canada pick painted water heater. 11. Mike Cantin (right) talks about the Napoleon Heating and Air Conditioning Condo Pack at the Napoleon booth. 12. Jay Matkovich, district sales manager with Allied Air (left), discusses Armstrong Air’s latest technology with a group of student attendees. 13. Liborio MetroMendolo, Toronto Convention Centre, North of Emerson, petsBuilding a shark at Ripley’s Aquarium. 14. Warren Heeley presents the HRAI CMS Award for educational achievement to Gary Struhar of Belle River, Ont. The award was shared by Struhar and Brendan Myers, of Kanata, Ont., for obtaining the highest marks in Canada for the 2013 Be Part of Three Days of Industry Action That Set the Pace For Your Business. Certificate Member Specialist (CMS) examinations. This Show Has it All… 15.with Chris Caswell installs a furnace as part of the • 500 Exhibitors the latest products and the newest technology. • Allheating of today’s system trends under one roof, in one place. technician competition. 16. Laurie • Network reps and product developers. andwith Billtechnical Palamar welcome friends and guests to • Stay in touch with the latest applications. the the Aqua Tech • Source products youSales need to& doMarketing the job right. party at the CN • Live demosTower. and product presentations at the CMX•CIPHEX Theatre.

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Congratulations Winners! Harder’s Heating & Cooling Inc. Mackay Heating & Cooling W.J. Barnes Limited Do the words “furnace, water heater and cool” go together? Most likely, the answer is no… unless you’re talking about the Rheem Custom Painted Furnace Contest and Custom Painted RHE Condensing Water Heater Giveway! Contractors across the country jumped at the opportunity to win one of these cool units. Three lucky winners joined Rheem at the CMPX Show in Toronto in March. Their stunning prizes stole the spotlight and amazed many at the Rheem booth. Congratulations to our two furnace contest winning Rheem dealers, both from Noble, and one lucky CMPX grand-prize winning contractor. Each has received a one-of-a-kind Rheem unit. Harder’s Heating & Cooling Inc., from Leamington Ontario won a new Rheem 360o+1 furnace and chose “The Great North”. Meanwhile, W.J. Barnes Ltd., from Sarnia, Ontario, selected his Rheem 360o+1 in “The Phoenix” design as his prize. The grand prize winner from the CMPX show, Darryl Meisel from Mackay Heating & Cooling, won the “Truly Canadian” RHE Residential Condensing .80EF Power Direct Vent water heater. Rheem would like to thank all dealers who participated in the Rheem 360o+1 furnace contest and dear customers, wholesalers, dealers, contractors and loyal Rheem supporters who visited the Rheem booth at the CMPX Show. Eric Harder (top right) of Harder’s Heating & Cooling knows he can lean on his new Rheem 360o+1 and it will support him for years. Jeremy Abrams and Jason Barnes (middle photo) of W.J. Barnes Ltd. surround their grand prize at the CMPX show in Toronto. Ryan Metz (bottom photo) of Independent Supply Co. congratulates Darryl Meisel of Mackay Heating & Cooling on his new brand custom-painted RHE water heater.

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rom a young age, Dora Cote always enjoyed working with her hands. While riding shotgun with her father, a journeyman plumber who worked on jobsites in the Edmonton area, she witnessed the trade first-hand. In 1999, she decided to follow in her father’s footsteps and enrolled in NAIT Polytechnic in Edmonton, becoming the first woman in 17 years to obtain tickets as a journeymen plumber and gasfitter second-class from the trade school. Working on the tools for 15 years, she never would have guessed she’d end up on a Canadian version of MasterChef, one of her favourite shows of all time. “It was kind of crazy,” she says. “I’m a huge fan of the American version of MasterChef. Literally one week before advertising for MasterChef Canada competitors I was watching and complaining ‘Why don’t we have a Canadian MasterChef?’” Facing off against the top 50 home cooks, vying to make the

initial cut, Dora had an impressive run on the show, ranking in the top 16 on the first episode, and then placing 11th, just missing out on being ranked one of the top 10 amateur chefs in the country. The transition to a high-end commercial kitchen was one of Dora’s first challenges. “I’ve installed plenty of stoves and sinks in commercial kitchens,” says Cote. “But I had never cooked in a commercial kitchen.” Her biggest win on the show came when she and her team were catering to artisans, with a need to make the food look like art. Not only did she perform her tasks, she led her team to victory. “To win it, I was just like ‘yeah!’” Dora is looking to build on her success on the show back home in Rocky Mountain House, Alta. If you are in the area, check out the Rocky Mountain Roadhouse, where Dora will be when she’s not on the tools.

Name: Dora Cote Nickname: Dora The Destroya Company: Pipin’ Hot Mechanical Job title: Owner/operator In the mechanical industry since: 1999 Trade school: NAIT Age: 37 Born in: High Prairie, Alta., grew up in Edmonton. Lives in: Rocky Mountain House, Alta.

DID YOU KNOW?

• Dora travelled with the carnival for a few years. • She loves to crotchet. • Dora draws clothes and is in the process of designing women’s workwear.

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Favourite tool in your toolbox: The SeeSnake from Ridgid. What’s your favourite thing about the job? Boilers have always been my favourite. My dad was a boiler guy. Service area: All over Alberta.

Tell us about your latest jobsite. My next jobsite is

Favourite cartoon as a kid: Flintstones

Favourite place to hang out: At home with the family. Favourite local restaurant: It will be the Rocky Mountain Roadhouse. My kitchen is my favourite place to eat right now. Favourite food: Anything in a pie, or New England clam chowder.

going to be my restaurant. My last job was swapping out a tankless hot water heater.

Favourite beverage: Milk, or rum and Coke, depends on the time of day. Favourite sport: Hockey

What’s your fondest memory on the job? Whenever people assumed I didn’t know what I’m doing because I’m a girl. Then they started talking boilers with me and they knew that I knew what I was talking about.

Favourite website to browse: Google

Favourite tool in your toolbox: Anything with Ridgid on it is my favourite. The SeeSnake is probably the most fun one I have. What radio station do you listen to during the day? Toss-up between B94 in Rocky Mountain House or Kraze 101.3 in Red Deer, Alta. Best concert you ever attended? Pink Floyd’s The Division Bell Tour.

M e c h a n i c a l

Favourite musician: B.B. King

Favourite car: It’s a favourite truck. The big Ford Super Duty coming out now. They’re beautiful.

Do you have a favourite area to get dispatched to? Nope. I just pray to god it isn’t a clogged toilet call.

Favourite magazines (aside from Mechanical Business): Scientific American and Popular Science.

Play any sports? No, crappy knees. I used to love softball. Favourite sports team: Edmonton Oilers Favourite TV shows: I would say MasterChef Canada, The Curse of Oak Island and Pawnstars. Favourite Movie: Oblivion Biggest pet peeve: Clients who don’t pay. If you could be an animal, what would you be? A dragon.

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Hydronics Eric Riml is a certified hydronic designer working in Calgary, Alta. He can be reached at feedback@hotwaterheating.info.

By Er i c Ri m l

Too Much Heat not enough?

here are countless hydronic system installations that suffer from problems where design and installation diverged. It’s not uncommon to find a zone, or even just a room in a zone, with too much or too little heat. Unfortunately, the problem is rarely addressed until the drywall is on, and the homeowner lives in the house through a winter. Just before their oneyear warranty expires, in comes the complaint. No one wants a fix that involves ripping up drywall, so what do you do? Well, not all solutions require tearing walls apart, but don’t expect to take a one-size-fits-all approach. Here are a few possible solutions to investigate the next time you get the call from a frozen or overheated homeowner or building owner.

Check your balance The first issue to check is the possibility that the various loops in the system are not balanced. Perhaps one or more areas, usually the ones that are too cold, have been created with longer piping runs and the circulation pump feeding them is shoving most of the flow down the shorter piping runs nearby.

Adjust the system temperature

In many installations, to “save money,” the original contractor doesn’t install a manifold with builtin balancing valves or flow gauges, and simply uses a copper pipe with a few shutoffs. In residential installations, if the entire assembly is accessible, replacing it with a more sophisticated, pre-built manifold with balancing valves or flow gauges would be a solution.

With proper balancing, it’s possible to add more heat to select areas by increasing the upper limit of the system temperature, or vice versa. The trade-off is increased cycling to the equipment, or in the case of a temperature drop, you risk leaving the occupants with insufficient heat in the coldest weather. In both cases, I recommend installing an indoor-outdoor (outdoor reset) control, and setting the outdoor design setting to “pretty darn cold,” rather than “the coldest day I have ever heard of.”

If heat is the problem, and if you can isolate the piping that is delivering an excess of heat, you can isolate the zone with a pressure-balancing valve, increasing the head along that circuit and diverting flow back into the other areas. Alternately you could install a pressure bypass, diverting some of the excess flow back into the main circulation loop.

The most common mistake with the setup of reset controls is to prevent the system from reaching its highest design temperature early enough. continues on page 84

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Plumbing By Ada m F r e i l l

ICE to the rescue

nyone who has been in the plumbing business for any length of time knows the hard reality is that leaks happen and valves seize, and when they do, you also know that customers want the problem to go away as quickly as possible, preferably without a major disruption to the building or its occupants. And while some repairs will require a full shut off of the water supply, there are some applications where a spot repair can be done, provided you have the right kind of tool. “We had a multi-residential building where we needed to work on one unit, but all the units shared a common supply line,” says Jay Milne, a plumber with J. Plumbing in Barrie, Ont. His company’s solution was to isolate the problem through the use of a pipe-freezing kit. “It is very common to use the freezing machine so that we don’t disrupt service to all the other units,” he says. “We can get a valve in, and that’s usually all we have to do, so that we can isolate a unit so that we can do our work without affecting the rest of the building.” Most of the time that his company reaches for the kit it is because a shutoff valve is not working, or was not installed ahead of the part that has failed. “At one multi-residential building, we were replacing an old backflow preventer that didn’t have a shutoff valve on the line going to it. All we had to do was freeze the line, solder on a valve, shut it off and then go and do our work,” he explained. By not having to do a full building shut down and drain down to the point of the problem, the repair took less time, and minimized the inconvenience to the occupants. “The owner saves money; the tenants don’t get disrupted, everybody benefits out of it. Plus they now have a valve there for future work,” says Milne.

Handling heat and flow If you are planning to freeze hot pipes, it is necessary to cool the pipe first. “One time that we did it this past winter, we took snow and put it on the pipe to cool the water in the pipe before applying the CO2 to it,” says Jay Milne. The other challenge, and one that is not likely to be overcome, is flowing water in the pipes, since flowing water will not freeze. Pipe-freezing kits are designed for use on pipes where the water is not

flowing.

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Jay Milne, a plumber at J. Plumbing in Barrie, Ont., illustrates how to use a pipe-freezing kit.

How the kit works

The pipe-freezing kit used at J. Plumbing uses CO2 that gets fed to a pair of clampstyle freeze heads to rapidly cool a portion of pipe. Heads are sized for 1/8” to 2” diameter pipes, and can be used on steel, copper, cast iron, lead, aluminum and plastic pipes. According to General Pipe Cleaners, the equipment manufacturer, the ice pack that forms in the pipe is capable of withstanding a pressure of approximately 7,000 psi.

For optimal freezing When using a pipe-freezing kit: • Ensure that the pipe is clean and smooth, without drips of solder on it. • When soldering a fitting in place, use a wet rag to remove the heat between the flame and the ice blockage. •

Look for visible frost. “If you don’t have frost on both sides of the clamp, it is not frozen,” advises Milne. “You don’t want to cut into the pipe until you know it is frozen.”

• Using a cloth around the freeze heads may help speed the freezing process. • The tool manufacturer advises to not work with an open flame within two feet (50 cm) of the freezing point. • Place the freeze heads a safe distance (two feet when possible) from fittings. You don’t want the fittings freezing. • Make sure that you cut on the right side of the ice.

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Ventilation

B y Jam es Dean

Ventilate right with the envelope tight

ith rising energy prices and changing codes and standards, better insulated residential buildings with tighter envelopes are being built. These advancements have been effective in reducing energy consumption by minimizing heating and cooling losses from the building. But, a resulting effect of the tighter envelope is significantly less fresh air infiltration through cracks in windows, doors and wall penetrations. Adequate ventilation is required to ensure good indoor air quality (IAQ) and prevent Sick Building Syndrome.

A multi-family housing approach Traditionally, ventilation in many condominium and apartment buildings was achieved by positively pressuring the corridor of the building. Fresh air was pumped through the elevator shaft into the corridor of each floor, which found its way through the crack under the front door of each apartment or suite. However, the latest standard for ASHRAE 62.1-2013 Ventilation for Acceptable Indoor Air Quality states, “Outdoor air must be supplied or distributed to the breathing zone in the occupiable space or spaces within a ventilation zone.” This means that each individual room in the apartment or condo suite requires a supply of outdoor air. As such, a ventilation system that delivers outdoor air to only one location within a residential unit does not comply with the mechanical ventilation requirements of the standard. It is now up to code officials to adopt this standard.

Problems in the air Concerns stemming from poor ventilation can include: •

Health issues from the build-up of contaminants due to off-gassing of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from paints, furniture and other fixtures, and harmful chemicals such as formaldehyde;

Subhi Alsayed from Tridel, a leading Toronto real estate developer, explains that, “One of the challenges with the centralized ventilation

DID YOU KNOW? Through independent testing, the Home Ventilating Institute (HVI) certifies and verifies the performance claims of manufacturers of HRVs and ERVs. The HVI Certified Products Directory aids design engineers and builders with viable product choices to meet the new ASHRAE standards. To check out the HVI Certified Products Directory, visit www.hvi.org.

• Increased “stale air” associated with human occupancy, including elevated levels of carbon dioxide; • Damage to building construction and mould problems from high humidity and condensation or low humidity causing cracking of wood; and • Unpleasant lingering odours.

Applicable standards ASHRAE 62.2 and 62.1 are important standards for prescribing minimum ventilation rates in residential and commercial buildings. The adoption of these ASHRAE standards by some building codes officials in North America has been a challenge, however.

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• A multi-family approach to ventilation approach or ‘pump and dump’ is that it not only results in poor indoor air quality, but also uncontrolled air infiltration/exfiltration leading to an additional load on the HVAC system and higher energy costs.” Tridel was one of the first developers in Canada to move to compartmentalization of suites in multi-unit residential buildings, providing ventilation directly to each apartment via in-suite energy recovery ventilation (ERV) units. “It was found that one of the best measures to protect the in-suite environment from the adverse effects of stack effect was by sealing off the condominium by weather stripping doors, and sealing electrical outlets and receptacles when installed on the demising wall between suites and corridors,” he said.

James Dean is a Member of the Home Ventilating Institute’s H/ERV Committee. For more about ventilation and the HVI’s activities, visit their website, www.hvi.org. To contact James, send an e-mail to hvi@hvi.org.

By Definition

Stack effect is the uncontrolled movement of air in and out of the building causing an imbalance of flow and pressure on different floors within the building, affecting ventilation rates.

Compartmentalization strategies Warren Knowles’ company, RDH Building Engineering in Vancouver, B.C., recently upgraded the envelope of an existing multiunit residential building and monitored the ventilation throughout the suites. “The traditional approach of supplying makeup air through suite entry door undercuts and pressurized corridors does not work well,” Knowles says. In the project building, the traditional approach resulted in an inadequate supply of fresh air in many areas, as well as migration of air to areas where it was not needed. “Buildings are subject to a variety of ever-changing loads, including stack effect and wind. There is a need to better control the impact of these loads, by adopting passive means such as effective compartmentalization,” says Knowles. “Dividing the spaces into smaller volumes results in reduced air pressure differences, making it easier to incorporate balanced ventilation systems. Smaller, direct supply and exhaust systems could be adopted.” through a ventilation system, and stale room air is extracted from both rooms and enters an energy recovery ventilator (ERV) system prior to being exhausted. Fresh outdoor air enters the other side of the ERV before being supplied to both rooms. “In contaminant transport experiments, gases and VOCs were generated in one room and measured at exhaust and supply points on the ERV, as well as in both the generating and sensing rooms,” said Huizing. “The efficiency of ventilation was demonstrated through carbon dioxide emission experiments. Once the carbon dioxide gas supply was shut off, the concentration in the room decreased rapidly in proportion to the air change rate.”

Minimizing cross-contamination Ryan Huizing, a PhD candidate at the University of British Columbia, referenced a recent study on ventilation and cross-contamination in airtight buildings conducted at a Vancouver-based laboratory. “The testing laboratory was built to measure gas, odour and VOC transport in building ventilation systems,” Huizing explains. The laboratory consists of two separate sealed rooms. One room acts as a “generation room” and the other room as a “sensing room.” The rooms are connected

In another test discussed by Huizing, he outlined a study that measured cross-contamination through an energy recovery ventilation system. “During contaminant crossover testing, carbon dioxide was continuously released in the generation room so that a steady state concentration, approximately 15,000 ppm above atmospheric concentration of CO2, was achieved at a constant ventilation rate,” he said. “The concentration of carbon dioxide in the sensing room was measured over time at steady state and found to be less than one per cent of that in the generation room, when the baseline atmospheric concentration was accounted for.” This level of transport is consistent with exhaust air transport ratio (EATR) testing that is completed as part of the product performance certification program through the Home Ventilating Institute. M e c h a n i c a l

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Hydronics

B y Jo h n B ar ba

John Barba is the contractor training & trade program manager with Taco, Inc. He can be reached at johbar@taco-hvac.com.

The European way Roughly 90 to 95 per cent of the homes in Europe are heated with hydronics, while less than 10 per cent of homes in Canada are. The typical European hydronic heating system is made up of panel radiators with thermostatic radiator valves (TRVs). These radiators are installed using a homerun parallel piping system, meaning there’s a direct supply and return line to each radiator from a centrally located manifold, using small diameter PEX or PEXAL-PEX tubing.

John Barba (left) and Eric Aune work on installing a pump that matches to the system requirements.

Walking down memory lane

In PUMPS Why the homeruns? Looking at a typical European residential hydronic heating system, have you ever wondered why Europe does it that way? Turns out there’s a very simple, very logical and incredibly practical reason. Starting in the late ’60s and continuing into the ’70s, many older homes in Europe were modernized with oil or gas-fired central heating systems. There were several reasons for this modernization, not the least of which was an increase in anti-pollution legislation. Coal was pretty dirty back then. As anyone who’s ever done it can attest, retrofitting an old home with central heating is a bear of a job. Technology came to the rescue in the early ’70s, with the rising availability of natural gas, the development of small, wallhung boilers and the advent of that new-fangled (at the time) flexible PEX tubing. The really small stuff could be fished through the walls and timbers to each room. All you had to do was hook those homeruns to a radiator, slap a TRV on it and call it a day.

The ’70s were a different time. Loud pants, long hair, pork chop sideburns. Hydronic heating was different back then, too – especially in Europe. There’s a tendency in our industry to look at Europe as the “gold standard” for hydronics. “Well, that’s how they do it in Europe,” is an oft-repeated phrase by those who are said to be “in the know,” as if European origin is somehow automatic validation of superiority or, at the very least, an indication of the latest, greatest and most efficient. So, are European heating systems “better” than the heating systems we have here in North America? Well, they’re different. I’ll give you different. But better? For that we need to dig deeper, beyond hearsay.

These types of heating systems became common throughout Europe simply because they were the easiest, most convenient and least expensive to install. It’s not that they were better, more comfortable or more efficient than series loop baseboard systems, mono-flow systems, or two-pipe reverse return systems like we were installing here in North America. They were just the easiest and the least expensive systems to install in the types of structures they had.

continued on page 96

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• S y st e ms a n d t h e i r i n f l u e n c e o n p u m p s • P u m p s in No r t h A merica and other components and you’re looking at around 12 feet for the worst case loop. The total load was 100,000 BTUH, so at a 40° Delta-T, the required flow rate would be five gpm. Your pump requirement would be five gpm at 12 feet of head. See where it fits? Right in the wheelhouse of the low-flow, high-head, steep “European” pump curve.

Meanwhile in North America Looking at the growth of suburbia in North America, and at the homes being built during the depression, many had either two-pipe hydronic systems or venturi-tee systems. Reading through the B&G Hydronics Design Handbook published in 1940 is fascinating; a design example shows a venturi-tee system requiring 12.5 gpm (120,000 BTUH, using their math) with an estimated four feet of head. High flow, low head. After The Second World War, buying a home in the suburbs was less expensive than renting an apartment in the city and suburbia exploded, and many of those homes had hot water heat with venturi-tee systems or two-pipe systems with cast iron baseboard, radiant floor heat or another new-fangled development: fin-tube baseboard zoned by circulator or zone valve. These homes shared relatively high heat loads, and since the design standard of the day was a 20° Delta-T, the required flow rates were high. But since the pipe was large (3/4” or 1” copper or black iron), the head losses were fairly low – ideal for a flat curve circulator, no?

The bottom line In both North American and in Europe, circulators were developed to work in the systems most commonly installed in those markets. There’s nothing inherently better about a high head circulator or a low head circulator. The best circulator is the one that fits the job you’re working on.

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www.hi-velocity.com By Energy Saving Products Ltd. - Proudly Canadian, Family Owned and Operated since 1983

M e c h a n i c a l

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Refrigeration

Jonathan Holloway is the marketing manager with Danfoss. He can be reached at jonathan.holloway@danfoss.com.

By Jona t ha n H o l l o w a y

Electrically Operated Expansion Valves:

Right sizing the components A s you well know, expansion valves regulate the rate of refrigerant liquid flow into the evaporator. While thermostatic valves have precise and specific operational parameters, electronic expansion valves (EXVs or EEVs) offer a wider range of capacities, and can hone in more tightly to ever-changing operating conditions. This brings the prospect of energy savings and reduced operating costs. The capacity of an EXV can be regulated by means of pulse-width modulation (PWM). In a PWM valve, a voltage signal from the controller is transmitted to and removed from the valve coil. This pulse makes the valve open and close for the flow of refrigerant. The relation between this opening and closing time indicates the actual capacity, and can vary from a partial portion of the pulse to almost the full period. If there is an intense need for refrigeration, the valve will remain open for almost the full pulse capacity. If the required amount of refrigeration is modest, the valve will only stay open during a fraction of the period. The amount of refrigeration needed is determined by the controller. When no refrigeration is required, the valve will remain closed and thus function as a solenoid valve. Of course, to gain the full benefit of an EXV in a system, it needs to be properly sized and matched to the refrigeration system.

Valve sizing To obtain an expansion valve that will function correctly under different load conditions, it is necessary to gather certain system information, and the sequence in which this information is used will impact the

Pressure drop across the valve The pressure drop across the valve directly determines the capacity. This figure is normally calculated as the condensing pressure less the evaporating pressure and other sundry pressure drops in the liquid line, distributor, evaporator, etc. It is indicated in the formula: Δpvalve = pc – (pe + Δp1 + Δp3 + Δp4) Where: Δpvalve is the pressure drop across the valve; pc is the condensing pressure; pe is the evaporating pressure; Δp1 is the pressure drop across the liquid line; Δp3 is the pressure drop across the distributor system; and Δp4 is the pressure drop across the evaporator. Take the example of a system using R-407C refrigerant where the condensing temperature is 35 °C (pc = 13.5 bar), the evaporating temperature is 0 – 6 °C (pe = 4.1 bar), and Δp1 = 0.2 bar; Δp3 = 0.8 bar; and Δp4 = 0.1 bar. Using our equation, this will give us 13.5 – (4.1 + 0.2 + 0.8 + 0.1), or 8.3 bar.

choice of valve size. When sizing the valve, the following assessments are needed, in this order: 1) Evaporator capacity. 2) Pressure drop across the valve. 3) Correction for subcooling. 4) Correction for evaporating temperature. 5) Determination of valve size.

1 98

Evaporator capacity The evaporator capacity will be found in the specifications provided by the evaporator supplier.

Note: The pressure drop across the liquid line and the distributor system must be calculated on the basis of the maximum capacity of the valve, as the valve operates with pulse-width modulation. continues on page 100

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SPOTLIGHT PROFILES

Sophisticated and simple to use The AirEase Comfort Sync Wi-Fi communicating, programmable thermostat offers sophisticated system management featuring a simple-to-use touchscreen display. The thermostat can be controlled remotely via smartphone, tablet or desktop, and allows the customer to receive email notifications as alerts happen. It features advanced technology for simplified installation with no external hardware necessary. Experience Comfort Sync at www.airease.com/comfortsync.

www.airease.com HERU Heat & Energy Recovery Unit The HERU provides exceptional efficiency rates, up to 86%. The moisture produced during the process is recovered up to 50%, eliminating water drains. Install the HERU in either warm or cold locations. It comes standard with a built-in heater. The use of fine mesh filters, and a MERV13 rating, ensure clean air, exhaust and intake.

www.ostberg.com Gas-Fired, Separated Combustion Unit Heater UH Series gas-fired, tubular exchanger, induced draft hot air heaters are now available for use in commercial, industrial, agricultural and residential applications. This line of heaters features a low profile design with a durable exterior, operational troubleshooting lights and integrated mounting brackets for installation. The UH Series can be used as separated combustion or power-vented combustion right out-of-the-box.

www.brantradiant.com Electric P-Series Mitsubishi Electric’s P-Series is a commercial grade ductless system designed specifically for durability and to maintain consistent temperature for server room cooling applications. They operate in temperatures as low as -40°C, with systems that have been in continuous cooling operation in Canada for over two decades – that’s 175,000 running hours and still counting!

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Refrigeration

continues from page 98

Correction for subcooling If subcooling deviates from 4 Kelvin, the evaporator capacity used must be corrected using a correction factor that the valve manufacturer will provide in the valve’s manual. Simply multiply the evaporator capacity by the correction factor to obtain the corrected capacity. For example, if the evaporator capacity is 5 kW, and subcooling is 10 K, the correction factor according to the table is 0.94. As such, the corrected capacity is 4.7 kW.

Note: Too little subcooling may cause flash gas.

SIZETHELINE It is worth noting that the liquid line leading to the EXV should not exceed a flow rate of one metre per second, and the dimensional size of this line needs to be based on the capacity of the valve at the pressure drop, not on the evaporator’s capacity.

100

To obtain a correctly dimensioned valve, it is important that the application be considered. Some applications will require that the valve have an overcapacity enabling it to cope with the extra amount of refrigeration needed during certain periods, for example, during the defrost recovery process. In this way it is ensured that the valve will have a sufficiently wide regulation range so that it can manage changed loads at or near the normal working point. Here’s an example of the correction factors that you might find in the field. They are based on the evaporating temperature.

B u s i n e s s

There are three factors that have an influence on the choice of the valve: • The pressure drop across the valve • The corrected capacity (correction for subcooling) • The corrected capacity for evaporating temperature First, multiply the “corrected capacity” by a value stated in the valve’s table. Then use the new value from the capacity table in combination with the pressure drop value to select the valve size. For example, for a valve that will be used in a coldroom, where Δpvalve is 8.3 bar; and Qe corrected is 4.7 kW, 1.25 should be selected as the correction factor for the evaporating temperature, which will mean that the dimensioned capacity is then 1.25 x 4.7 kW, or 5.88 kW. From there, a valve size can be selected from one of the capacity tables, ensuring that the capacity of the valve selected matches, or is greater than, the capacity requirement of the system.

Correction for evaporating temperature (te)

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Determination of valve size

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STUFF YOU NEED

Service management software Dexter + Chaney’s cloud-based service management and dispatch software for contractors features full service request processing, dispatching and work order management features. The software works with the company’s Spectrum Construction Software and does not require a specific hardware device.

Bolt and screw extractors Knipex Tools’ line of double-edged bolt and screw extractors feature four double-edged cutting and gripping edges for eight points of contact, and are designed for left- or righthand threaded screws. The tools have a centre point for marking the drill hole. The extractors are available as individual pieces, or in three- and five-piece sets, with a range of sizes from one to seven.

www. dexterchaney.com

www. knipex-tools.com

Clamp meter

Drill bits Irwin Tools’ multi-material drill bits are designed for use on a wide variety of materials, including brick, block, tile, metal, wood, laminate, plastic and marble. The bits feature a diamond-ground, four-facet carbide tip and a double-milled flute. They are compatible with standard 1/2” and 3/8” chuck drills and are available in 3” to 5” jobber lengths, as well as 16” extended lengths.

The Flir CM78 is a 1,000A clamp meter that combines the capabilities of a true RMS digital multimeter and clamp meter with a non-contact IR thermometer and Type K thermocouple. The meter enables users to capture AC/DC readings up to 1,000A or 1,000V.

www. flir.ca

www. irwin.com

Flare and swage tool

Laser measure

Hilmor’s Quick-Engage flare and swage tool is built with a spring-loaded block with clothespin-like action, and ball detents for aligning the yoke. The block has permanent markings for tube size identification purposes. Other features include a tube-stop arrow and a comfort grip handle. The flare and swage kit includes a bar, quick-engage yoke, flare cone 3/16” to 3/4”, and swage heads 1/4” to 5/16”, 1/2”, 5/8” and 3/4”.

Milwaukee Tool’s 2282-20 Laser Distance Meter features five different measurement functions and can calculate lengths up to 260 ft. It is built with a timer delay for measurement accuracy and single-person operation, as well as a ±180° incline sensor. The unit is accurate to within 1/16”. Other features include memory storage, a back-lit display and threading for a tripod mount.

www. hilmor.com

www. milwaukeetool.ca xx

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B us in es s

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HVAC/R Products P Soft-starter Franklin Control Systems’ Energy Management Starter – Reduced Voltage (EMS-RV) soft-starter is built for use in HVAC motor applications. It is designed to limit the inrush of electric current, particularly on larger horsepower motors. The current limit, initial voltage and start-stop time are all adjustable.

www. franklin-controls.com

Residential thermostat The Smart Si thermostat from ecobee provides reports on how much energy a home is using, including month-to-month heating and cooling comparisons. It has a full colour 2.5” LCD screen and be controlled remotely using the company’s mobile app. The thermostat is compatible with a wide variety of residential heating and cooling equipment.

www. ecobee.com

Voice-activated thermostat Honeywell’s Wi-Fi 9000 with voice control allows the temperature setting to be adjusted by talking to the thermostat. The user can remotely monitor and manage a home’s comfort and energy usage. Other features include indoor and outdoor humidity information on the home screen, and automatic software updates. It has a customizable colour touchscreen.

Energy valve

www. honeywell.com

Belimo’s Energy Valve is now offered in 1/2” to 6” sizes. The two-way pressure independent control valve is designed to solve low Delta T syndrome by monitoring the differential temperature across the coil and adjusting the flow to maintain design Delta T set-point. It can show live and historic data from coil characteristics to the DDC control signal.

Air purifier

www. energyvalve.com

Continental Fan’s CX1000 portable air purifier is designed to provide up to 1,000 square feet of air purification for particle removal, chemical neutralization and living organism abatement. It has a maximum airflow of 265 cfm and a power consumption of 110 watts.

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www. continentalfan.com

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HYDRONIC

Products

Condensing boiler Fulton’s Vantage condensing boilers are offered with inputs ranging from 2 to 6 million BTUH and offer up to 96.9% thermal efficiencies. The units feature a stainless steel heat exchanger and operate on natural gas or LP. Operation on #2 oil is possible as a backup fuel.

www. fulton.com

The Crest condensing boiler from Lochinvar is available in models ranging from 1.5 to 5 million BTUH and has thermal efficiencies up to 99%. The unit is built with a stainless steel heat exchanger and a dual-system burner design with up to 25:1 turndown. It offers flow rates up to 350 gpm and can be direct-vented up to 100 feet.

High efficiency boiler

www. lochinvar.com

Combination boilers RBI’s Infinite Energy2 is available with inputs from 199,000 to 1 million BTUH with thermal efficiencies up to 98%. They feature a radial variable circulation (RVC) stainless steel heat exchanger. The units offer up to 20:1 single unit firing rate modulation. They are PVC, polypropylene and stainless steel vent capable.

www. rbiwaterheaters.com

B u s i n e s s

The TrinityTx condensing boiler from NTI is available with inputs ranging from 46,000 to 151,000 BTUH and offers efficiencies up to 93.1% AFUE. The boiler features a stainless steel heat exchanger, outdoor reset control and a 5:1 turndown. The unit is also available as a combination unit for providing DHW and space heating. It can be vented up to 150 ft.

www. nythermal.com

PEX tubing Heatlink’s PEX-a oxygen barrier tubing is available in ASTM sizes and is designed for use in radiant or hydronic heating applications. The tubing works with the company’s press connection system, and is UV stabilized for up to 12 month’s exposure to sunlight.

M e c h a n i c a l

Snow Melting Control 654 from tekmar is designed to operate hydronic or electric equipment to melt snow or ice from any surface. The controller can use in-slab or aerial-mounted sensors to automatically start the system whenever snow is detected. Features include tandem snow/ice detection, storm pre-warming, zone priority and tracking.

www. tekmarcontrols.com

Commercial boiler

106

Snowmelt control

www. heatlink.com 0 6 . 1 4

Select the Dryden™ Bath Collection and other water-efficient products from Delta. Making every drop count.™

The info page

deltafaucet.com/green

With its dramatically smaller footprint, the new KeepRite® SoftSound™ R410A condensing unit is a PAGE # beautiful thing. Homeowners will love it because they get the same quiet operation and63 high efficiency in a unit that’s up to 50% smaller than previous models. Give your customers a “little” excitement. To learn (905) 712-3030 more, visit GoKeepRite.com today.

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M e c h a n i c a l Industrial Fans

B u s i n e s s OEM Solutions

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CALENDAR of

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112

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M e c h a n i c a l

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MCA Canada AGM September 24-27, 2014 St. Johnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, Nfld. www.mcac.ca HVI Annual Meeting October 6-7, 2014 Niagara Falls, Ont. www.hvi.org

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Compiled by Mechanical Business

A LEED-ER in GREEN

1,631

The total number of LEED-certified projects in Canada as of April 2014.

COSTLY spending

$330 billion

The amount of money China plans to spend on an action plan to tackle pollution of its scarce water resources. The country has one-fifth of the world’s population but just seven per cent of its water resources.

canada’s Got Gas

13.7 billion cu. ft. Canada’s approximate daily production of natural gas, making the country the third-largest producer of the resource in the world.

Mechanical meet-up

13,500+ AGING influence

34%

2014 CMPX Show attendance. The event was held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in March (see page 72).

feeling the flooding

The projected percentage of senior-led households in Canada by 2036, more than double the current number.

11 million

The number of Canadians who know someone who was personally affected by flooding in 2013.

Water unaware >40% Sources: Air Canada Centre, RBC, Canadian Tire, CMHC, Statistics Canada, Industry Canada

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The percentage of Canadian homeowners that are unaware of the water supply, sewage, and storm management systems servicing their home. PM# 41536047 Postmaster: Please send all address changes or undeliverable copies to: Mechanical Business, 19 – 1525 Cornwall Road, Oakville, ON L6J 0B2

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A Watts Water Technologies Company