Simple Solution for a Serious Problem

We just returned from Chicago where ASPE (American Society of Plumbing Engineers) held their biannual conference and trade show.  This year ASPE celebrated their 50^th anniversary with a great turnout of members and attendees for the four day conference. We exhibited for the first time and met a lot of great engineers and contractors!

The ASPE show floor exhibit is a great place to see all the latest and up and coming plumbing materials, fixtures and appliances. It’s one of if not the best plumbing trade show I have attended. You can read Jim Kendzel’s guest blog for more info about the conference here. Pipe, valves and fittings have a strong presence along with plumbing fixtures and appliances but this year I saw something that grabbed and kept my attention more than anything else at the show.

Our visit to the Viega booth was most memorable because of a new piping system and concept they’ve got coming down the pipeline. They’re launching a new water quality campaign aimed to educate contractors and engineers on the very serious issue of water quality as it pertains to buildings like hotels, schools and hospitals. They were displaying a loop type of water distribution system with proprietary fittings that are designed to keep water flowing constantly in a potable water distribution system to rid the possibility of bacteria growth such as Legionella.

This is huge! The piping on display offered a solution for contractors installing PEX or copper systems along with multiple arrangements of fixture loads and layouts. I gotta hand it to Viega for focusing on the educational aspect of this issue rather than simply offering up their newly engineered fitting system. The new system will be coming in early 2015 as we understand it. Product launching and testing has already started in Europe.

Derek Bower, product director for Viega’s metal systems walked us through the system explaining how important this initiative is  and that Viega will first concentrate on educating engineers and contractors on ensuring water quality can be maintained throughout commercial potable water systems such as hospitals, schools, sports stadiums, hotels etc. The recent issues of legionella outbreaks stemming from limited or infrequently used plumbing systems have been under the close watch of the public eye. It seems as though Viega is on their way to providing us a simple solution. Check out some of the pictures from the show by clicking here.

The “Double Drop” elbow from Viega allows for constant circulation and equal flow from either side of the piping loop.