Newsletter - American Society of Plumbing Engineers

Newsletter April 2016
Volume 34 Issue 9
Chapters are not authorized to speak for the Society
AFFILIATE SOCIETIES COUNCIL
AMERICAN SOCIETY OF
PLUMBING ENGINEERS
SOUTHWESTERN OHIO CHAPTER
5100 Springfield Street
Suite 100
Riverside, OH 45431
www.southwestern-ohio.aspe.org
President/Facebook Master
Ronald K Bartley, PE, CPD, CPI/CPE
[email protected]
Tel 937-236-0981
Vice President, Technical
Robert R McGinnis, CPD
Heapy Engineering
[email protected]
Tel 937-224-0861
Vice President, Legislative
Brian C Fraley, CPD, LEED AP
Heapy Engineering
[email protected]
Tel 937-224-0861
APRIL CHAPTER MEETING
Date:
TUESDAY, April 19, 2016
Location:
NIBCO, 2800 Henkle Drive, Lebanon, OH 45036
Tel 513-288-0147
Cost:
$15 at the door
Schedule:
11:30 AM
12:00 PM
Reservations: Contact Bill Hutchinson through the Chapter Website link
or email Bill at [email protected] before noon on
MONDAY, April 18, so that a head count can be
established. As always, guests are welcome.
For WebEx connection procedure information, please
contact Bill Hutchinson through the Chapter Website link
or email Bill at [email protected]
Vice President, Membership
Ronald B Cobb, PE, CPD, LEED AP
SHP Leading Design
[email protected]
Tel 513-381-2112
Secretary/Affiliate Liaison
William G Hutchinson
BWA South
[email protected]
Tel 513-733-4867
Treasurer
Matthew T Sciarretti, PE, CPD, LEED AP
Heapy Engineering
[email protected]
Tel 937-224-0861
Newsletter Editor
James N Miller, PE, CPD
Herndon Engineering Services
[email protected]
Tel 513-248-1313
ASPE Young Professionals
Representative
Andrew M Hemmelgarn
SHP Leading Design
[email protected]
Tel 513-381-2112
Fundraising Chair
Jeffrey S Watern, CPD
Helmig Lienesch
[email protected]
Tel 937-228-4007
Board of Governors Chair
R Albert Fike, PE
[email protected]
Lunch
Propane Fuel Systems
MAY AYP MEETING
Date:
TUESDAY, May 10, 2016
Location:
University of Cincinnati Power Plant, 3000 Glendora
Avenue, Cincinnati, OH
Tel 513.558.1799
Cost:
None
Schedule:
1:45 PM. The event is open to all members and will
feature a tour of UC’s power generation plant led by the
Facilities Manager.
Reservations: Not required for this event. However, please RSVP to
AYP Representative Andrew Hemmelgarn at
[email protected] so a head count can be
established.
The ASPE Newsletter is published by the Southwestern Ohio Chapter of the American Society
of Plumbing Engineers. Opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not
necessarily reflect the views of the Society, the Chapter or the Editor.
LOOKING AHEAD…
All meetings will be held at NIBCO in
Lebanon unless noted otherwise.
Meeting program(s) may be subject to
change. For additional details and
location map, visit the Chapter website.
May 10, 2016
Double Containment Piping
May 10, 2016
AYP Meeting: Power Plant Tour, University
of Cincinnati, 1:45 pm
May 20, 2016
ASPE Night with the Dayton Dragons, Fifth
Third Field, Dayton, OH, gates open 6 PM,
game time 7 PM
June 3-4, 2016
ASPE Region II President’s Meeting,
Cleveland, OH
September 2016
CMPA Product Show, CMPA Training
Center, Sharonville, OH, 5 pm (Date TBD)
October 18, 2016
SWO Chapter Meeting (Program TBD)
October 28 – November 2, 2016
ASPE Convention and Exposition,
Phoenix, AZ
November 15, 2016
SWO Chapter Meeting (Program TBD)
Presidential prose…
● Spring has arrived…the weather is turning
more pleasant…another baseball season has
begun (most likely a LONG season where the
Reds are concerned) and all this comes after
our Chapter gathered at the NIBCO facility in
Lebanon for our monthly Chapter Meeting.
Rob Lloyd, Piping Systems Consultant of
Lubrizol gave our group all the highlights of
CPVC piping systems. Once again, thank
you, Rob and Bill Hutchinson of BWA
South, for a most informative presentation.
● On Friday evening, May 20, our Chapter will
converge on Fifth Third Field in downtown
Dayton for our annual Night with the Dayton
Dragons. This year, the Bowling Green (KY)
Hot Rods (Class A affiliate of the Tampa Bay
Rays) will provide the opposition.
Preparations are in full swing, with Ticket and
Food Sponsors very much needed. To
sign up for one of these important
programs or for additional information,
please contact our Fundraising Chair, Jeff
Watern of Helimg Lienesch, at
937.228.4007 or at [email protected]
● Spring is here and here’s hoping you will
be able to join us for the April meeting,
when we learn about propane gas systems. I
hope you will make plans to join us, whether
in person or WebEx, for what promises to be
yet another informative get-together.
-Ronald K Bartley, PE, CPD, CPI/CPE
Through the pipes…
● Time is running out to apply for ASPE's
Board of Directors. To run for one of the 12
national officer positions for the 2016-2018
term, you must complete the application and
submit it to the Nominating Committee by May
31.
● The Society is now accepting proposed
changes to the current ASPE Bylaws.
Please submit changes to Executive
Director/CEO Billy Smith at [email protected]
by June 30, 2016. Final Proposed Bylaw
Amendments will be presented to the
membership by September 13, 2016
● In May, Plumbing Engineer magazine is
spotlighting the hospitality market and is
looking for technical engineering and
design articles on the subject to feature as
the cover story as well as two-page spreads.
Submissions should be 1000-1500 words, to
four high-quality images, graphs, or charts,
and have limited usage of bulleted or
numbered lists. Submissions will be accepted
through Friday, April 8,
via [email protected]. Please
note: This opportunity is not open to
manufacturers supplying product-specific
case studies or advertorials.
● On October 28-November
2, #ASPEflowswest to Phoenix for the
year's biggest industry tradeshow
dedicated uniquely to the needs of plumbing
system designers, engineers, specifiers, and
contractors. If you are planning on attending,
check out our new Toolkit (on the Society
website), which is full of ideas on how to
maximize your experience cost-effectively.
To learn more about the exciting events
planned, watch our new video featuring ASPE
Executive Director/CEO Billy Smith, FASPE.
Registration will open in May at
aspe.org/ecpo.
● ASPE's new Mentoring Program
matches emerging industry professionals
with established leaders. The Women of
ASPE are excited to introduce ASPE's new
Mentoring Program, which is available to all
ASPE members in good standing. The
program is designed to connect ASPE
members who have a particular skill set
(mentor) with individuals who are looking to
acquire the same skills to develop and make
progress toward their personal and
professional goals (mentee). You can learn
more and sign up to be either a mentor or a
mentee at aspe.org/aspe-mentoring-program.
If you have additional questions about the
program, please contact Stacey A. Kidd
at [email protected].
● Education experts are needed to help
develop plumbing engineering curriculum.
ASPE is interested in collaboratively
developing a Bachelor of Engineering with an
emphasis on plumbing engineering or
expanding an existing Bachelor of
Engineering degree curriculum to include
plumbing engineering as a technical option.
For more information or to participate, contact
Donna Novickas at [email protected].
Specifically, we are interested in:

Partnering with a college/university that
currently has ABET accreditation

Utilizing curriculum experts in the
engineering area to develop a curriculum
that prepares candidates for successful
completion of the NCEES-sponsored
Professional Engineer exam

Developing a National Science Foundation
(NSF) grant proposal for October 2016
● ASPE is looking for interested parties to
help develop an American National
Standard on hot water temperature and
control. For the application form, contact
Director of Publications and Standards,
Gretchen Pienta, at [email protected] for
more information.
● On Saturday, March 12, the State
MATHCOUNTS Competition was held at
Columbus State College. Middle School
teams and individual competitors squared off
to see who would represent the Buckeye State
in the National Competition on May 7th in
Washington, DC.
Among the competitors from the Dayton
Region, Magsig Middle School (Centerville)
placed eleventh in the Team Competition.
Congratulations on a great 2016
completion, Magsig Mathletes!
● Did our Chapter make it to the Second
Round of the ASPE Chapter Membership
Tournament? Unfortunately, despite VPM
Ron Cobb’s best efforts, the San Diego
Chapter (our competitor for the Opening
Round) posted a larger gain in membership
which advanced them to the Second Round to
face the Oklahoma City Chapter.
So it was off to the Consolation Round for us,
where we faced the Miami Chapter. While
both Chapters posted the same increase in
membership, the Southwestern Ohio Chapter
won the tie breaker in that we posted no loss
in membership during that time. So during
March/April 2016, we are matched against the
Denver Chapter. Let’s see if we can
increase our membership numbers and
create our own Rocky Mountain (or is it
Ohio Valley) high!
Around the water cooler…
● Welcome again, Coolers. April showers
bring May flowers…and more plumbing and
fire suppression items for us to ponder. A
couple of months ago, we kicked around a
question concerning the placement of food
waste disposals. Let’s check out a follow-up
to that discussion…
Is it against code or inappropriate in any way
to install a garbage disposal in a church
building breakroom sink? I haven’t done it
before and we are being asked to specify one
on a project. It looks like the plumbing code
refers to them as domestic food waste
grinders and requires them to have a water
connection with backflow
prevention. Anything else unique about food
waste grinders that I need to watch out for?
Unless the local Authority Having Jurisdiction
has some restriction, no there is no code
prohibition in the OPC about a food waste
disposal.
However, you are actually asking two
questions: one about disposals in general and
one about commercial disposers.
Most residential disposals (which are typically
used in breakroom sinks) do not have a water
connection, except the sink faucet itself.
However, commercial disposers are generally
mounted in a “pre-rinse” bowl or well. It is the
“pre-rinse” bowl or well that has a water
connection. And yes, the water connection
needs to be protected against backflow or
back siphonage (usually by an atmospheric
vacuum breaker).
You may want to discuss the use of garbage
disposers with the local sewage waste
treatment provider, specifically the “pretreatment coordinator”. There has been an
effort by some wastewater treatment
providers to eliminate or greatly restrict the
use of garbage disposals. Their concern is
the introduction of undigested organic
materials into the waste stream. These
materials tend to plug up some equipment
and create maintenance issues within the
treatment process.
● “How big is too big…when it comes to
water closet drains?” That’s the question
we have here…
I have always designed underground sanitary
serving water closets to be 4". I just had a
contractor question if they could reduce the
size to 3" based on Table 710.1 in OPC. This
table allows for 36 DFUs at 1/8" slope which
translates to 9 WCs before it needs to
increase to 4". I remember in an older
version of the code that no more than 2 water
closets could be on a 3" line. Can you please
elaborate on this?
As it turns out, you and the contractor are
both correct. In a previous edition of the
OPC, there was a provision that no more than
2 water closets could be placed on a 3" line;
that provision is no longer in effect in the
current code. And the contractor is correct
that Table 710.1 (Building Drains) does
provide for 36 DFUs for a 3” line. Per
Subnote a, the size of the drain from a water
closet shall be a minimum 3". Table 710.2
(Horizontal Fixture Branches and Stacks)
places no restrictions on the number of water
closets on a 3" line other than a maximum of
20 DFUs for a horizontal drain.
There are trade-offs between the two
sizes. A 3" drain from a water closet can be
more prone to blockage where a 4" drain can
have issues with drainline carry (especially
with the lower flow fixtures in use today). It is
a judgment call on the part of the engineer/
designer.
● Power to the people…or, at least,
emergency power to the building. That is
the topic broached by a Cooler. Read on…
Is there anything in NFPA 101, Life Safety
Code, which addresses emergency power
systems and the acceptability of natural gas
or LPG as a fuel source? A question has
come up on what is required for the
healthcare project I am working on.
This is, at first glance, a common question.
But there is nothing common about the
answer. A check of NFPA 101 offers the
following items…
9.1.3 Emergency Generators and Standby
Power Systems. Where required for
compliance with this Code, emergency
generators and standby power systems shall
comply with 9.1.3.1 and 9.1.3.2.
9.1.3.1 Emergency generators and standby
power systems shall be installed, tested, and
maintained in accordance with NFPA 110,
Standard for Emergency and Standby Power
Systems.
9.1.3.2 New generator controllers shall be
monitored by the fire alarm system, where
provided, or at an attended location, for the
following conditions:
(Article 700) and legally required (Article
701)…
1) Generator running
2) Generator fault
3) Generator switch in non-automatic position
5.6.1
So switching to NFPA 110, we find the
following concerning acceptable types of
fuel…
5.1.1 The following energy sources shall be
permitted to be used for the emergency
power supply (EPS):
(2) Liquefied petroleum gas (liquid or vapor
withdrawal) as specified in the appropriate
ASTM standards and as recommended by the
equipment manufacturer.
(3) Natural or synthetic gas.
Chapter 5 of NFPA 110 also offers a few
specifics on dedicated supplies, on-site
storage and the like.
Don't forget that gas-fueled generators
typically have lower power outputs than those
units that are supplied by fuel oil.
From the NFPA 110 Handbook (highlight
ours)…
5.1.1 Exception
Although on-site storage is common, on-site
storage of the requisite amount of fuel is not
directly required except as covered by the
exception. Approval of an off-site fuel source
is a matter that can be addressed only by the
Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ). Ideally
an on-site fuel source should be provided,
which is the norm when using diesel or
liquefied petroleum gas. The use of an onsite supply minimizes the disruption of the fuel
supply. The supply should be sufficient for
the EPS to operate, for the duration of its
class, at its rated load without refueling.
Natural gas is often piped in, and the
exception for a Level 1 EPS permits this
method unless there is high probability that
the supply will be interrupted…
5.2.5
The NEC has two specific for standby power
systems addressed by NFPA 110: emergency
Since NFPA 110 is primarily a performance
document, it is expected that the installation
of the prime mover (combustion engine, gas
turbine, etc) follow the general requirements
of NFPA 37, Standard for the Installation and
Use of Stationary Combustion Engines and
Gas Turbines for the other aspects of EPS
installation…
And if we turn our attention to NFPA 70, we
find a few more items to consider…
700.1 Scope
Informational Note No. 2: For further
information regarding performance and
maintenance if emergency systems in
healthcare facilities, see NFPA 99-2012,
Healthcare Facilities Code.
700.12 General Requirements
B) Generator Set
(2) Internal Combustion Engines as Prime
Movers. Where internal combustion engines
are used as the prime mover, an on-site fuel
supply shall be provided with an on-premises
fuel supply sufficient for not less than 2 hours
full-demand operation of the system. Where
power is needed for the operation of the fuel
transfer pumps to deliver fuel to a generator
set day tank, this pump shall be connected to
the emergency power system.
(3) Dual Supplies. Prime movers shall not
be solely dependent on a public utility gas
system for their fuel supply or municipal water
supply for their cooling systems. Means shall
be provided for automatically transferring from
one fuel supply to another when dual fuel
supplies are used.
Exception: Where acceptable to the authority
having jurisdiction, the sue of other than onsite fuels shall be permitted where there is a
low probability of a simultaneous failure of
both the on-site fuel delivery system and
power from the outside electrical utility
company.
701.1 Scope
The requirements for legally required standby
systems are much the same as for
emergency systems, except for a few
differences. When normal power is lost,
legally required systems must be able toi
supply standby power in 60 seconds or less,
instead of the 10 seconds or less required of
emergency systems…
At the watering hole…
ASHRAE. The tour will be led by the facilities
manager, and will follow the May ASPE
Chapter Meeting, at 1:45 pm. We hope that
this will enable more of our Dayton members
to attend, as they will already be in the area
for the meeting. Afterwards, feel free to return
to work, or come up to Short Vine and have a
drink and chat.
Hope to see you then!
-Andrew M Hemmelgarn
Regionally affiliated…
● On March 11th, World Plumbing Day was
celebrated. And to commemorate the
occasion, I spoke that day to students at
Parker Woods Montessori School (pictured
above), spreading the word about our
discipline in general and ASPE in particular
(after all, inquiring minds wanted to know).
● On March 15th, the Southwest Ohio Young
Professionals group met with the local
ASHRAE chapter for a tour of Rhinegeist
Brewery (again, pictured above). The tour
went extremely well, with all members leaving
with a greater understanding of the
engineering behind a brewery and a beer!
Group discussion followed as members
continued to meet one another and foster new
relationships.
● The next AYP event will be a joint tour of
the University of Cincinnati’s onsite power
plant with the Young Professionals group of
In my article last month, I told you about “The
State of The Society” video presentation by
Mitch Clemente. I hope you
had a chance to view it. If not,
please visit this YouTube link
to watch his ASPE video,
https://youtu.be/GrgEMxM792
M. There is a wealth of
knowledge packed into one-half hour.
Left standing in the Sweet 16 round of the
ASPE Chapter Membership Tournament, we
have Toronto. Eastern Michigan lost to Philly
by just 0.68%. It is nice to know our
remaining Chapters in contention are on
opposite sides of the bracket. Toronto takes
on Virginia Blue Ridge to enter the Elite 8.
Come on Region 2, we are rooting for you.
If you read, the recent ASPE Pipeline last
week you might have read about a cat that
slipped out of the bag prior to an official press
release, so I can now inform you that ASPE
and NSF International have signed an MOU.
Under this agreement, both organizations will
work cooperatively on many fronts and are
very excited to give ASPE members access to
so much new information. We can elaborate
on this opportunity once the press release is
official. Stay tuned.
I travelled to Evansville, IN recently to take
part in the third annual joint ASPE-JATC trade
show at the UA Local 136 training center. It
was an incredible event. There were upwards
of 425 apprentices, instructors, and building
officials that visited our manufacturers.
I was honored to able to take part in this
event. It was such a huge success; make
plans to attend the fourth annual joint ASPEJATC trade show in Evansville.
To top off the week, I was invited to present
an In-Depth Look into NSF to our Evansville
ASPE members. I count my blessings every
day.
Here are (L to R) Greg Farmer PE, VP Tech and
Samuel Schenk, CPD and Satellite President
Apprentices lining up to register and visit vendors.
Apprentices making their rounds.
- Dann Holmes
ASPE Region 2 Affiliate Liaison
NSF International
Business Development Manager
[email protected] or (734) 214-6222
March and April will determine the winner
and see who advances on. Stay tuned,
we are still alive in the Consolation
Bracket.
VP Membership…
Spring is finally here and it’s time to start
thinking about golf and baseball. In
additional there’s a national basketball
tournament that has just been whittled
down to the final four. Unfortunately, none
of our local teams have reached the final
weekend.
Speaking of tournaments, I would like to
give everyone an update on the ASPE
membership challenge and the inaugural
Chapter Membership Tournament. For the
months on November and December
2015 our chapter membership remained
the same with 0% growth and we were
defeated by the San Diego chapter which
achieved a 1.22% growth. But the
membership challenge did not end there.
We were placed in a consolation bracket
for the months on January and February
2016 and were paired against the Miami
chapter. Once again our membership
remained unchanged at 78 members but
the same was true down in South Beach.
Since both chapters experienced no
growth they had to revert to the tie
breaker system and since the
Southwestern Ohio chapter was never
negative in growth over the two month
period we were deemed the winner and
have advanced to the next round to face
the mighty Denver chapter. Results of
membership growth for the months of
Even though the chapter membership has
not grown over the last few months, we
have added a couple of new members.
Jamie Renner, a former member has
recently rejoined the ranks. Jamie works
at Keidel Supply, a stock and distributor
company of plumbing products in the
Cincinnati area. Also welcome aboard
Deana Thompson. Deana is a Plumbing
and Fire Protection Designer working in
the Commercial and Helthcare divisions
for Kerr-Greulich Engineers in Louisville,
Kentucky.
Our current chapter membership remains
steady at 78 which include 45 Full, 6
Associate, 19 Affiliate, 6 Special members
and 2 Retired members.
Ron Cobb VP Membership