Chilled Water Manifold

rhl

Hi, Does anyone have a recommendation for a chilled water manifold that is either pre-insulated or can be easily insulated in a way that looks nice/works well?

hot_rod

good question.
I know we offer the insulation shell in other Euro markets. Probably find a Caleffi one online

rhl

I'm guessing its not certified in the US? Any other suggestions? Uponor makes an EPDM plastic manifold.. maybe that works better?

hot_rod

Pretty much any exposed metal surface will sweat, even the stem on a ball valve ! The insulation needs to be 100% vapor tight.
Those molded clam shell would be ideal.

I once warmed a cast iron pump volute with my torch and set it into a piece of blue foam board to "mold my down" insulation jacket. I'm did both sides and clam shelled it together.

rhl

Yeah. I think my best bet given this is just to build a manifold out of tees.

Caleffi/Uponor tech support said, you have to field insulate our stuff without any provided injection molded insulation. I'm not sure why I would buy the expensive manifold that wont work for the application.

hot_rod

I have a Caleffi polymer on my heat pump and it works great, but we do not sell it in the US. That is a super competitive market when priced against glue together PVC tees

rhl

For my application I am doing SpacePak, end units are fan coils. I am not sure there will be any flow control in the fan coil, so, the balancing valves will probably make the cost worth it.

hot_rod

Yes, a fan coil would benefit from a balance valve. They perform best most efficiently when both flows, air and water are exactly where they need to be. Coil kits are usually sold with all fan coils used in commercial applications.

If you know the flow rate a PIC valve is a good choice, it maintains a given flow rate across a wide pressure range, as other loads come on and off.

A manual valve allows future adjustment.

AND you can buy valves that serve as zone valves and balance valves.