nest egg. The gift of the materials, Haldeman’s expertise and the installation of radiant tubing by the guys was an answer to our prayers,” said Randy.
A fast-paced workout The weekend when the tubing was
installed was one that the Steffys won’t easily forget. Randy and Deanna’s part was to supply the tools and fuel for the masses. “Hey Big Ned … aaaall right Big
Dave … hey Big Brett,” Steffy greeted the crew at the door. “Big” was right; a bunch of Manheim’s heavy-hitters were ready for action. The crew warmed up by pulling fiberglass batting out of the joist bays, exposing the subfloor. A few could barely squeeze into XL asbestos abatement suits donated for the ugly job of insulation removal. Others began drilling perimeter holes according to Haldeman’s staple-up plan. Hours later, a crew of brawny
dudes uncoiled 200-foot rolls of Onix tubing donated by Watts Radiant. The tubing was ideal for the task. It was doubled up and recoiled so it could be pulled twice as fast, from the center of the loop; a time saving tactic only possible with Onix. While drilling holes in the floor
joists, Big Brett accidentally demolished an industrial, half- inch right angle drill, one marketed as “indestructible.” Between Brett’s massive forearms and a large nail stopping the 21/4" bit, the drill’s front assembly proved the weakest link. Mangled chunks of drill were picked out from the wood shavings and bagged for return to the manufacturer. “Wait’ll they do the forensics on that one!” quipped Randy. The workers were educated and
amused along the way. “No tubing here,” were Dodson’s instructions, avoiding heat under the refrigerator and kitchen cabinets. And they all admired and laughed at one helper’s neatly stapled flexible tubing in two
“We wanted the system to be as simple as possible from the start.”
other places, arranged in a tighter pattern to double the heat where bare toes would be warmed when the commodes were in use. “Look, overhead tricep extensions!”
said one helper as he pulled an entire loop through joists the whole way
across the basement. On deck for lunch on the big installation day: mountains of baked beans, a bushel of spuds, 15 or 20 feet of sausage and buckets of BBQ chicken parts, all washed down with gallons of Gatorade.
Big on efficiency Long before the radiant makeover,
mechanical system needs and heat load numbers were given to the manufacturers. Bradford White
manifolds and to purge and fill the system. “We wanted the system to be as simple as possible from the start,” said Dodson. “Taco and Watts Radiant helped design the control panel while spec’ing the parts perfect for the job. One key function was variable-speed flow control for both zones (main living area, master bedroom and spare bedroom). Initially, we considered outdoor reset, though Taco’s VDT pumps, tied to programmable t-stats would provide gradual, steady circulation — the next best thing.” Internal temp for the
CombiCor1 was set to 120 degrees (mixed to 110 F for DHW delivery). The unit’s 72 gallons of stored water easily exchanges heat through the large, stainless steel coil, with source heat outbound for the 10-loop, two-zone radiant loops at a steady 111°F At the manifolds, 10 additional supply and return ports remain.
“Randy’s an optimistic guy,” said Dodson. “Someday, he’d like to enlarge the gym and add a great room to the house. He can easily add radiant loops to the system.” When the installation was
Tavi Nistor (standing) and Bill Aller install the control panel and manifolds for the 2,000 feet of Onix tubing the project required.
donated their newly-redesigned CombiCore1 water heater, now the Steffys’ source for domestic water and space heating. In addition to the Onix tubing,
Watts Radiant began preparation of a small, preassembled, two-zone HydroControl panel. Following Haldeman specs, Taco provided two variable-speed, sT pumps, a 4900 Series air separator and a zone control. Watts provided a backflow prevention/auto-feed valve; a two- gallon expansion tank; ISO valves; pressure, temperature and relief valves and balancing valves. There wasn’t a foreign-manufactured part in sight. When the last of the mechanical
system packages arrived, the Haldeman crew — installers Bill Aller, Tavi Nistor and Gary Forry — arrived at the Steffy home in mid- December. They quickly set out to install the LP-fired CombiCor1 and connect it to the control panel and
complete, Aller stood back to admire the work. “This is hydronics in its simplest form, perfect for what it’s meant to do. The combination of the dual- function water heater and the panel is ideal. I sure wish I had one of these systems for my home.” “We have a strong connection to the community,” added Dodson.
“When we heard about Randy’s mission among athletes from the
area, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to help him out.”
Local recognition Haldeman Mechanical has been
serving the Lancaster County region since 1939. The 11-person firm focuses on residential and light commercial installation, replacement and service. Lancaster Newspapers recently
published an article about Steffy’s gym and new mechanical system.
“It’s the season of giving,” said the reporter when she visited with the Steffys. “How fitting that, after years of giving to the community, the community’s given back.” “Of course, we’ll be paying for
propane,” said Steffy, “but it won’t be anywhere near the amount of money we’ll save on electric. And for the first time in my life, Deanna and I will be comfortable all winter long, even with bare feet!”;
47
phc february 2011
www.phcnews.com
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