Luke Paschall, owner of Aquious, a family-owned plumbing business in Reno, Nevada, faced the challenge of balancing the domestic hot water recirculation system (DHWS) at the newly constructed Canyon’s Edge Apartments.
This residential complex, consisting of two three-story buildings with a mix of one-, two-, and three-bedroom units, required a reliable and efficient solution to ensure consistent hot water delivery to all apartments.
Aquious, known for its expertise in plumbing and tankless water heater services for residential and commercial properties, is led by Paschall, a third-generation plumber. Regarding this project, Paschall turned to his long-time friend and business associate, Matt Reilly of Zurier Company in Livermore, California, for advice. Reilly recommended using CircuitSolver thermostatic balancing valves, a suggestion Paschal was eager to explore.
The Solution
Canyon’s Edge Apartment complex.
The Canyon’s Edge Apartments complex has two buildings, each housing 24 units. To achieve optimal balance in the DHWS, Paschall installed eight ½” CircuitSolver thermostatic balancing valves in each building.
The first phase of the apartment complex was completed in May 2024, and Paschall was immediately impressed by the ease of installation and the effectiveness of the valves.
Paschall remarked that the installation process was incredibly straightforward. “I turned on the hot water, waited a bit, and everything was automatically balanced. I walked away happy! I would tell [contractors] to install and walk away; no training or special equipment is needed.”
Installed CircuitSolver thermostatic valve.
Paschall noted that the CircuitSolver valves eliminated the need for manual adjustments, which had been a challenge with previous projects.
“We have used manual valves before; typically, we would set each one to 1 gpm and let it run. However, in larger systems, we do have to go back and adjust them if it seems like the flow isn’t proper or there are temperature variations,” he explained. “It is not the most scientific way of doing it. With CircuitSolver, we did not have to set flow rates – we could plug and play.”
The Outcome
Six months after the installation, the Canyon’s Edge Apartments have been fully leased, and residents have not complained about hot water availability. The system has performed flawlessly, reinforcing Paschall’s confidence in the CircuitSolver solution.
Paschall and his team at Aquious plan to continue using CircuitSolver thermostatic balancing valves in future projects, and they are confident in their ability to provide reliable, dynamic balancing. “We have bid on several multi-family and commercial properties using CircuitSolver. It has become our go-to solution for balancing hot water recirculation systems,” Paschall stated.
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Have you specified or installed a CircuitSolver thermostatic balancing valve in hospitals, stadiums, restaurants, dormitories, or other facilities? If so, we could do a case study on your experiences.
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During the renovation of its maternity floors in 2023, UH St. John’s Medical Center in Westlake, Ohio, enlisted the expertise of Project Manager Adam Podway from Gorman-Lavelle Corporation to address the need for hot water distribution throughout the hospital.
With over five years of experience installing CircuitSolver balancing valves,
Podway utilized them again for this project, citing personal preference and their straightforward installation process.
Throughout the renovation of the two maternity floors, Podway oversaw the installation of 5-7 CircuitSolver assemblies on each floor. The extensive renovation involved a complete overhaul of the maternity area, necessitating the removal of the old manual valves.
Reflecting on the challenges encountered before implementing CircuitSolver valves, Podway recalls, “It was another added level of stress until the water was turned on and we started testing the return hot water system.”
The CircuitSolver valves streamlined the installation process by automatically adjusting the flow rate, eliminating confusion regarding valve placement and preset flow rates.
Podway emphasizes, “Not every balancing valve on any floor is supposed to have the same flow rate, and the CircuitSolver takes care of that for you.”
Adopting CircuitSolver valves resulted in significant benefits, including preventing rework associated with misplaced or incorrectly preset valves.
Podway elaborates, “The final result is eliminating rework of replacing balancing valves installed in the wrong locations or incorrect pre-set flow rates. There’s labor savings and peace of mind knowing that the balancing valves are correct.” He was introduced to CircuitSolver by Phil Errington at Pinnacle Sales and now advocates for its use, highlighting its effectiveness in saving labor and ensuring project success.
In his recommendation, he asserts, “Do it and save yourself the headache; CircuitSolver is in a league of its own.”
David Texter, Lead Plumbing Engineer at Browne Engineering, discusses the benefits of specifying CircuitSolver® Thermostatic Balancing Valves for an installation project at the Twin Lakes Assisted Living Facility in Montgomery, Ohio.
The two-story building was new, but the balancing valves were installed incorrectly, and Texter’s team had to retrofit the valves.
Texter stated that before using CircuitSolver®, the system was experiencing hot water issues. One portion of the building would get plenty of hot water, and another would not have any hot water.
The balancing issues for this project were easy to identify because there was a lack of installed balancing valves on all the loops. CircuitSolver® valves were chosen to help minimize the amount of individual balancing in the system.
Since CircuitSolver® is a thermostatic balancing valve, it automatically adjusts to temperature changes, making balancing an intricate design much more straightforward.
The team experienced significant time savings during installation by not needing a third-party balancer to balance the system. The contractor installed 20 CircuitSolver valves and turned on the system, and it automatically started to balance itself.
Texter said he didn’t hear from the contractor after the installation. It comes back to the balancing contractor and the extra effort they must put into starting the system. CircuitSolver® sped up the installation significantly by saving them the time typically set aside for balancing.
“CircuitSolver® has always been a leader in the industry,” Texter says. “The ease of balancing these valves far outweighs any benefit of a manual balancing valve.”
He emphasizes that the CircuitSolver® team facilitates easy purchases, specifications, installations, and technical support.
Comparing CircuitSolver® with manual balancing valves, Texter highlights that the intelligence integrated into CircuitSolver® allows the valve to balance itself automatically in response to system demands and temperatures. Texter concludes that CircuitSolver® is markedly superior in this regard.
CircuitSolver® can help you with any balancing needs; even if your project was installed with manual balancing valves, CircuitSolver® will eliminate those balancing issues with a retrofit installation. See the full CircuitSolver® line here.
Want to be featured in a case study using CircuitSolver? Contact us here!
Joe Sargent, Onsite Plumbing Superintendent of W.E. Bowers of Beltsville, Maryland, recently completed a project where he installed CircuitSolver balancing valves in the hot water recirculating system of a large e-commerce company’s headquarters in Arlington, Virginia. This new construction project began in June 2020 and consisted of two 22-story office buildings. The first phase of the project opened to the public earlier this year.
“I chose CircuitSolver valves because of the ease of installation and the lack of maintenance needed for this product,” Sargent explains. “We installed around 70-80 CSUAS.”
The site for the new e-commerce HQ2 in Arlington, Virginia.
The CircuitSolver® Union Assembly with Strainer (CSUAS) features a union with an optional check valve built into the body of the CircuitSolver, particulate filter, and isolation ball valves on either side to reduce the number of system components to be installed and minimize potential leak points.
“I like that they come fully assembled, so there’s not much that my guys or I have to do to install them in-line in the piping,” he says.
Sargent explains that the valves were installed quickly and balanced the system quickly. “Once the rough-in was done and all the equipment was energized, we could circulate hot water immediately,” he said. “They eliminate extra work, extra time, and extra walking around and coordination. I haven’t had any problems with them at all; it’s hard to mess up. Just look at the direction of the flow.”
Before using CircuitSolver balancing valves, he and his team would have to wait for the water balancers to go to every location and balance the circulating water. Now, they can skip that step of the process.
The new e-commerce site HQ2 in Arlington, Virginia.
About eight years ago, Sargent learned about CircuitSolver when he first saw them in a water piping submittal. He now recommends them due to their ease of installation, plus lack of maintenance.
“I have installed them on my last three projects in the past eight years. I would recommend CircuitSolver to anyone who wants to listen to me! They won’t be disappointed. Once they are installed, there will be no reason to go back to them for maintenance,” he notes. “CircuitSolver eliminates the amount of work you must do in the field.”
A three-story pharmaceutical laboratory in La Jolla, California, underwent a complete remodel in 2017. The rooftop HVAC unit was replaced, and humidification was required, which presented the need to cool the drainage water.
“The roof was constructed oddly. Due to where the drain had to terminate, we had minimal fall to work with,” said Ed Parisi, Plumbing Design Manager at ICS (Industrial Commercial Systems), the contractor on this project.
“I had to get on the roof of the building to see what conditions we had to deal with. It was tough logistically to get the slope from the unit to the receptor; we had about eighty feet to travel.” Parisi needed an eighth of an inch per lineal foot to complete the drainage and had about nine and a half inches of fall available.
“We had been using typical devices for cooling humidifier drain water. Some had a tank or odd configurations, but none would fit correctly.” Parisi notes. He needed a better solution.
Parisi was previously introduced to the CircuitSolver product line by Chrissy Hamm of Specification Sales in Southern California. When Parisi was investigating other drainage devices, she suggested the DTV (Drain Tempering Valve). This was Parisi‘s first time using a DTV from ThermOmegaTech. “I didn’t even know it was available!” he said.
“Because [the DTV] just slips into the bottom of the pipe, it made it easy to overcome the lack of fall. Previously, there had been no device for the condensate drain for the steam humidifier at this location. The DTV worked perfectly because it’s such a compact installation. The DTV fits into a tee with the sensor probe extending into the drain flow at the bottom of the drainpipe,” says Parisi.
“The compactness of the DTV makes it a good solution. The technology is more complex but a simpler installation,” said Hamm.
Parisi’s team installed three Drain Tempering Valves for this project. “We installed one DTV on the roof and one in the first-floor laboratory ceiling for a humidifier with limited fall. A DTV was also installed for the lab’s autoclave in their wash/wear room,” he said.
The whole renovation project took about a year. “It was very complex, with eleven different piping systems,” he explains. “The three DTVs worked well. The lab had no issues with drain water that would have been too hot for the drainage piping systems,” Parisi says.
Parisi was very fascinated by this Drain Tempering Valve. “It is one of those valves nobody else would appreciate without understanding the simplicity of this solution and installation,” Parisi explains. “…the DTV is our automatic solution for these systems.”
Compared to other options on the market, Parisi says ThermOmegaTech’s DTV is his favorite. “Their products are first class, extremely reliable, well-engineered, and well-manufactured.”
“I would recommend the DTV for the ease of installation and the lack of needing special conditions (like extra space) or other equipment. [You can] thread it into the drainpipe, connect the water supply, and it’s complete,” Parisi added. “The availability and convenience of getting the product from ThermOmegaTech are also well appreciated.”
Have a specific drainage system project? The DTV can help! Contact us today.
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The two-story building was new, but the balancing valves were installed incorrectly, and Texter’s team had to retrofit the valves.
