commercial plumbing

[scotty plumber]

Ok so today i got sent to an old folks high-rise home to look over a pump,Turns out the pump in question was one of two very large pumps feeding an enormous h/w cylinder from an enormous c/w storage tank, all copper and fittings was done in 3"! Do any of you guy's touch this sort of stuff? Do you need to be specially trained? Was i right to tell my line manager i ad never touched this side of plumbing before? Cheers

 

[Mike Jackson]

The scope for disaster is enormous of you're not sure what you're doing so I'd say you were right.

 

[ecowarm]

If not confident to work on it you was right in saying so, what would he have said if you tried and messed up and flooded the place?

 

[WaterTight]

Do you need to be specially trained?

Can you name something in plumbing that it wouldn't be best to be trained on before you tackle it solo? This is only ever more the case the bigger and more complicated things get. Right decision on your part.

 

[scotty plumber]

Thing is my work know fine that i am a domestic plumber so i don't know why they sent me there in the first place, Just wondered at what point in your plumbing career you would class yourself as a commercial plumber?

 

[WaterTight]

We all take on some things we haven't taken on before but only when we judge them one step ahead of what we're used to or we've got a good idea of what to expect. You've got to push your boundaries now and then but I wouldn't dream of touching that sort of stuff unless I was working with someone who knows how to do it because as has been said the potential for what could go wrong justifies knowing what you're doing.

 

[scotty plumber]

Cheers watertight that is exactly what i wanted to hear, I am very confident in what i do but some times like today i looked at the h/w pump the size of a car engine feeding 30+ flats and thought to myself ( what the hell am i supposed to do with this????? )

 

[jackyp1234]

Just wondered at what point in your plumbing career you would class yourself as a commercial plumber?

i dont think it matters if you have been plumbing 2 hours or 20 years, if you aint commercial you aint commercial

 

[stevetheplumber]

some times you have to step up a gear and its best to do it on some one elses time.the theory is of plumbing doesnt realy change its just the size of the items
ive always been inquizative and the chance to play with big boys toys would have been to good to miss
what did the company want you to do ? was there a fault on some thing? if it was just a check over you probably just needed to switch from one pump to the other to check they were both working and if there were preasure guages present check delivery preasuese were similar
if there were inline strainers you may have needed to shut down and check they were clear
they good thing with comercial setups is you can see it all in front of you like a giant meccano set

 

[scotty plumber]

Basically it was to check over a possible faulty pump ( one of two ) feeding a h/w cylinder so that's what i did a ( visual check :drunk: ) seriously though some of the commercial stuff is scary

 

[justlead1]

Although you need to be capable of working/jointing this size pipework etc. Plumbing of the type you describe, is in most cases designed prior to installation, drawings and material description provided. With a structured labour force carrying out the work with instruction and supervision. Stand by pumps and plant is often the case but the responsibility of keeping all the tenants with water at all times can in its self difficult, with out even considering major leaks. Tread very carefully if you attempt to take it on.

 

[Destroyer2813]

Some times you need to learn when to walk away and when some times when to add another badge to your arm. years ago was subbing for a mate and the builder he was doing work for had a job at a school is was told it was change a water tank and i had to go drain down the old one, turns out i was gonna drain down the old one and a company was gonna install the new one which was so big it had to be bolted together but i had to reconnect the 3 inch copper pipes never done it before but thought what the hell i"ll give it a go. worked out all fine in the end

 

[SimonJohns]

The tank that holds the cold water is referred to as a break tank and the large pumps you have coming next are booster pumps
Mostly inverter driven (you will hear them ramp up and down depending on load) the pressure should be kept a constant on the discharge side (remember 1bar per 10m) so will vary depending on height of building

To check the pump over you want to be listening to the top and bottem to hear worn bearings (grinding noise)
Checking pressure on discharge, should remain constant with about a 0.3bar differential at most
Checking pressure vessel (charge should be about 0.4bar below working pressure
The it comes down to manufacturer. If its a Grundfos and the motor is rated >11kw then it will have 2 grease nipples. Of its a Wilo. Then it wint have any. Unless its an older unit then you'll have to have a look

 

[SimonJohns]

Btw no special tickets needed