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.”
Read the Full DTV case study here.
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Installation Site Overview
Wyoming Life Resource Center is a licensed, Intermediate Care Facility for people with disabilities. Each person served has an individual plan for training, work, healthcare, and recreation. Residence homes are for three to nine individuals each.
The Center offers a comfortable, family-like setting in an accessible neighborhood. Independence is promoted in life skills, community access, social interaction, and leisure activities.
The older buildings were demolished to clear land for the new Center with ten new client cottages, day programming buildings, a clinic, a recreation center with an indoor pool, and a facilities building.
The Opportunity
Cody Cline, Vice President of GW Mechanical, had the opportunity to use ThermOmegaTech’s thermostatically controlled Drain Tempering Valves (DTV) in the new construction of the Wyoming Life Resource Center in Lander, Wyoming.
These Drain Tempering Valves (DTVs) are typically used in applications where a high-temperature discharge flow to a drain or sewer must be tempered with cold water to meet plumbing code requirements and prevent PVC piping damage due to over-temperature conditions.
“This healthcare facility has 14 separate buildings where we used the drain tempering valves (DTVs)” said Cline. “All the buildings have commercial dishwashers [installed] underneath the counters because we are working with limited space, [all the DTVs were] installed within cabinetry underneath the kitchen sinks.”
Each new building has one commercial dishwasher with discharge flow to a drain that needs to be tempered down; therefore, one DTV was installed in each location.
The Installation
“We had used [DTVs] on another application, and we liked it because we could modify the piping to work for the application. For this installation, I think [the engineer] chose [DTV] because it was so small and had to fit under the counter, in a very limited space,” explained Cline. “I would have chosen these DTVs anyway because it is the right application for the space.”
The dishwashers’ discharge temperature is 180 (degrees) Fahrenheit, so the water needed to be cooled down before reaching the PVC piping underground to comply with the plumbing codes.
The DTVs installed had a set point of 120 (degrees) Fahrenheit. These valves will automatically open to allow the injection of cold water to temper down the discharge fluid before it reaches the drain if the valves sense fluid temperatures above 120 (degrees) Fahrenheit.
Watch The Testimonial Here!
The Result
“In this specific job, the DTV sped up the process because of its size and adaptability to that space. It made it easy. Other than that, the only way I know [how to temper the water is by] using a drain cooler. Drain coolers are big and bulky, you need the space to put them in, and there are more requirements,” Cline mentioned.
When asked what advantages the DTV has compared to other options on the market, Cline said, “Size and simplicity.” DTVs are small, have minimal moving parts, and are easy to maintain.
“It comes down to space and the fact that [the DTV] is mechanical; there are no moving parts, which is nice. There is nothing really to maintain,” said Cline.
“I recommend the product for functionality and space requirements. The DTV works great,” said Cody Cline, Vice President of GW Mechanical.
For more information on the Drain Tempering Valve, visit here.
Download the Wyoming Life Resource Center Case Study.
