HYDRONICS e Continued from p 54
looks better, but it’s more stable, tighter and, because of the care taken during fabrication, more efficient. For the past decade, Lakes has also
served the area as Bradford White’s service rep. In 1990, Akron-based Famous Supply, a distributer of Bradford White water heaters, needed a nearby service and installation firm with an excellent reputation. Lakes was chosen because they have an established service division, long experience with water heaters, and the ability to troubleshoot gas valves and other water heater components. According to Brian Jr., their technicians respond to a handful of service calls each month to fix and fine-tune water heater operations.
The ClimateMaster systems that Lakes installed have all the bells and whistles. Both have desuperheaters and they also incorporated ClimateMaster’s ClimaDry dehumidification system.
56
company in Akron, Ohio, asked Lakes for help with the climate control system for their “grow room” or mushroom house. Although the building was only 550 square feet, the control requirements were daunting. To grow mushrooms, indoor humidity would need to be exactly 95 percent, 100 percent of the time. The owner didn’t want to spend
the money for an ERV system but demanded nearly two air changes per hour. A high-performance HEPA filter was needed to make sure that there was no risk of contamination from the fresh air. To simulate night and day, temperature would need to fluctuate from 68 to 85 degrees. Otherwise, the fungi won’t fruit. “We installed a two-ton split system
with an electric heat strip for the building,” said Lakes sales manager Brad Miller. “Cooling and ventilation are the main needs, since mushrooms produce heat and carbon dioxide through their metabolic process.” The heat strip serves as back-up
heat for the dead of winter and is still unused. A 33-gallon-per-hour steam humidifier was installed to keep the building moisture-rich. This, of course, created another challenge. “We needed to use poly duct because of the risk of rust,” said Miller. The collars were all coated with a waterproof paint, and the registers are aluminum. On the opposite end of the dew-
point spectrum, when Canton Seed Company needed to expand their seed storage capacity, Lakes was hired to keep indoor air quality conditions at optimal levels. Inside an
existing warehouse, a super-insulated structure was built as a seed vault. The walls were two-by-eight construction with a heavy rubber vapor barrier. “At any given time, there’s a million
dollars worth of seeds in the vault,” said Miller, “and they’re extremely sensitive to atmospheric conditions.” Canton Seed insists that at no
point should the humidity and temperature combined ever reach 100. For example, if the room is at 70 degrees, the humidity can’t exceed 30%. A 2.5 ton air-source heat pump was installed to maintain optimal temperature, while a dehumidifier keeps the dew point in check. Special controls with remote sensors were also needed.
Custom work “Besides specializing in geothermal,
we do other work that many residential HVAC contractors aren’t interested in,” said Brian Jr. Since he was old enough to reach the shop tables, Brian has helped his father in their duct fabrication shop. He got his feet wet bending Z-irons to hold up ductwork. Not only does Lakes build
ductwork from scratch for all of their own jobs, they also serve as ductwork subs for other contracting firms. “Jim Craiglow runs the fab shop,” said Brian Jr., “and he’s top notch; we’re all very proud of the work he does.” Once installed, the bright,
perfectly fitted ductwork can’t be confused with factory stock; that’s often the first comment from anyone that looks at an installation by Lakes. Their custom ductwork not only
The family’s own pressure relief valve “I joined the company full-time
after graduating from college 11 years ago,” said Brian Jr. Summer breaks throughout his time at John Carroll University were also full of Lakes work. Brian’s sisters, Jennifer Pinion and Julie Hill, do the company’s accounting, financing and payroll.
The ClimateMaster systems are connected to two 80-gallon Bradford White electric water heaters.
“We love the work, but we also
enjoy getting away as a family too,” said Brian Jr. Years ago, Brian Sr. and his wife bought a 40-acre farm in rural Ohio. The property has a five- acre lake full of trout, bass and walleye. “Camping, fishing, swimming and
taking the John Deer Gator rides has become a great outlet for all of us,” said Brian Jr. l
phc october 2011
www.phcnews.com
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