Triangle Tube Install

JStar

So nice to take a break from dragging steam boilers up and down a flight of stairs to be able to work on a little hydronic system. Here's a Triangle Tube PT-60 Solo and SMART-40 IDT.

JStar

We've switched from Taco's BumbleBee to their VDT mod. circulators. MUCH QUIETER!

Also, the pictures were taken before we added more zones to the system, so some more supplies and returns were installed later.

ChrisJ

Propress!?!?!? Zero skill!

Sorry, I give Charles Garrity a hard time over it so I need to be fair.

Beautiful install as always Joe.

JStar

We did it. We sold out and invested in ProPress. No more torches in attics and crawlspaces. No more hours of time wasted on one leaking fitting. Bah humbug.

Rich_49

Tis a smart man that realizes his time is money . I could teach a monkey to solder nicely , and have . Soldering is not like painting the Mona Lisa guys . You didn't sell out you have given your shop time enough to complete 2 entire projects per year per crew and lessened your exposure to liability .

Nice job Joe

JStar

Money or not...every minute of labor I save by using ProPress is another minute that I get to see my kids.

Alan (California Radiant) Forbes

Even though I'm old school and still solder, that is a sweet install, Mr. J.

hot_rod

Alan (California Radiant) Forbes said:

Even though I'm old school and still solder, that is a sweet install, Mr. J.

Have you seen the soldering monkey out in the bay area?

jonny88

Very nice (pity about the pro press)joke ok.Seriously though a ? for myself,is the Taco pumps orientation ok going to the indirect? and also what about potable expansion tank,do you think they are fine horizantal or would you rather vertical.Finally did you have to adjust your price for PP or just factor it in to a quicker install.Beautiful work as always and thanks for sharing.

JStar

I go back and forth on the position of the expansion tank. Sometimes, we're just squeezed for space and have little choice. Here, I suppose we could have added a handful more fittings and hung it off to the side.

jonny88

OK thanks how about price vs labor time?I am coming to the crossroads where I might get a PP

JStar

It usually evens out for us. I do charge more for parts and a little less for labor. For water heaters, it's a no-brainer. I actually figured out that the time to cut, sand, flux, and solder costs me more than the price difference in PP fittings.

ChrisJ

JStar said:

We did it. We sold out and invested in ProPress. No more torches in attics and crawlspaces. No more hours of time wasted on one leaking fitting. Bah humbug.

Rich said:

Tis a smart man that realizes his time is money . I could teach a monkey to solder nicely , and have . Soldering is not like painting the Mona Lisa guys . You didn't sell out you have given your shop time enough to complete 2 entire projects per year per crew and lessened your exposure to liability .

Nice job Joe

Strange being most plumbers I see can't solder very well.

BTW, Joe knows where I live so he doesn't need any help defending him self.

jonny88

Disagree, soldering is an art form ask Stephen Minnich or any NYC licensed plumber who can pass the soldering test.I am not talking about 1/2 in or 3/4 lets go to 2 inch and above and see how your monkeys do Rich.

Rich_49

My monkeys solder more nicely than 755 of the plumbers that brag about their 35 to 50 years of experience . Pretty intelligent , those primates . And they don't even fling pooh on the walls like some guys primer dawber got out of control . LOL .

I would like to point out that there was another skill that took talent which I don't hear anyone complaining about going by the wayside . That would be pouring lead joints for DWV .

The guys who were plumbers before the early 40's also hated copper because that required less talent than threading brass .

jonny88

We still pour lead on occasion but I get your point,progress.Also in some NYC buildings super often requires brass on all potable water.PP and mega press I guess I am still having a hard time with especially when it was displayed to us by a viega rep who never worked in the field.Thats my problem i guess taking the skill set away.Your PP will not help you when you have to use a TP adaptor,I believe tradesmen should know the basics before they learn how to pull the trigger.I remember my friend soldering 6 inch copper in a hospital,I stood in awe.

RobG

jonny88 said:

We still pour lead on occasion but I get your point,progress.Also in some NYC buildings super often requires brass on all potable water.PP and mega press I guess I am still having a hard time with especially when it was displayed to us by a viega rep who never worked in the field.Thats my problem i guess taking the skill set away.Your PP will not help you when you have to use a TP adaptor,I believe tradesmen should know the basics before they learn how to pull the trigger.I remember my friend soldering 6 inch copper in a hospital,I stood in awe.

Kind of like someone entering the trades and only learning PEX and Sharkbites. I actually know of a guy that was hired by a local company who was a painter for twenty years and was hired on the spot and given a service truck. The only thing they taught him was to sell replacements of anything he encountered. In Virginia the only thing required for a company is to have ONE licensed person on file and they can hire and send as many hacks on the road as they want.

SWEI

Can't do that here in the mechanical or electrical trades. Two apprentices per journeyman on commercial, three on residential.

OTOH, a general contractor can hire anyone who does pretty much anything and send them out to run the job.