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.
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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.