Case Studies Library

A mechanical contractor used aquatherm’s unique heat-fusion welding method to build a leak-free piping system and a McElroy DataLogger to ensure each connection was fused properly.

Location/Date
Tempe, AZ February 2015

Product
aquatherm blue

aquatherm Advantages

• Ninety-six percent of the aquatherm piping system was prefabricated, improving the contractor’s tight schedule.
• aquatherm’s Quick Check Estimator provided an estimate of the project’s total installed costs, showing how much the contractor could save on labor using aquatherm vs. carbon steel.
• aquatherm's unique heat-fusion welding technique created a leak-free piping system.

The mechanical contractor chose aquatherm polypropylene-random (PP-R) piping because its potential labor savings and natural insulation properties were greater than any offered by traditional materials.

Location/Date
St. Augustine, FL February 2015

Product
aquatherm blue

aquatherm Advantages

• aquatherm piping’s potential labor savings and natural insulation properties were greater than any offered by traditional materials.
• aquatherm’s Quick Check Estimator helped the mechanical contractor calculate labor savings using aquatherm vs. traditional materials pre-installation.
• aquatherm piping’s interior and exterior corrosion resistance staved off the negative effects of the aggressive local water.

aquatherm Pipe was a perfect fit because it is an environmentally friendly pipe, with an NSF approval for use on food grade applications.

Location/Date
Birmingham, AL November 2014

Product
aquatherm blue, aquatherm green

aquatherm Advantages

• Ownership realized significant materials and labor cost savings by using PP-R instead of steel.
• aquatherm Pipe won’t corrode, scale, wear out or clog—even after years of use, and is ideal for direct bury applications.
• aquatherm Piping Systems are completely free of heavy metals and toxic chemicals, which means they won’t leach any trace chemicals.

Chemically inert aquatherm’s light weight helped the project contractor install the PP-R piping system within a week.

Location/Date
Tennessee Fall 2014

Product
aquatherm blue, aquatherm green

aquatherm Advantages

• aquatherm’s light weight allowed workers to carry and lift 45-ft sections of pipe without rigging equipment.
• aquatherm is made of chemically stable, non-corroding polypropylene-random, which does not react with water or most dissolved chemicals.
• aquatherm’s quick heat-fusion welding process helped the mechanical contractor install the piping system in just one week.

aquatherm’s polypropylene-random (PP-R) pipe was chosen thanks to its stable pricing, lighter weight, resistance to corrosion, and easy installation.

Location/Date
Bay St. Louis, MS 2011-2014 (multi-phase)

Product
aquatherm blue, aquatherm green

aquatherm Advantages

• Flame-free installation offered ease and safety in tight spaces
• Branch connections via fusion outlets will allow for simple expansion if needed later
• Leak-free connections will ensure a high-performance system without risk of failure or delaying operations

aquatherm blue® was able to handle higher operating temperatures than most other thermoplastic systems and the entire system was leak-free, while offering a 10-year multimillion dollar warranty.

Location/Date
Minneapolis Spring 2014

Product
aquatherm blue

aquatherm Advantages

• Using heat-fused aquatherm eliminated the need for roughly 4,000 mechanical joints, most of which would be buried beneath the playing field.
• Designers liked that the entire field heating system, which included several hundred sections of pipe and thousands of fittings and manifolds would be seamless.
• aquatherm handled the required higher-than-normal temperatures necessitated by the aggregate substrate beneath the synthetic turf field.
• The design team liked the fact that aquatherm pipe has very low oxygen permeation and therefore did not require an oxygen barrier, saving additional cost.

After careful consideration, aquatherm was selected to meet those needs, and it also provided labor savings despite this being the first PP-R job for all parties involved.

Location/Date
St. John’s, MI, Summer 2013-Spring 2014

Product
aquatherm blue

aquatherm Advantages

• Ownership was drawn to PP-R's lifecycle benefits vs. other pipe systems.
• On a fast-track project, aquatherm provided labor time savings thanks to heat fusion and its lighter weight.
• aquatherm blue® was not insulated on several applications, whereas steel would have been.
• Ownership embraced the corrosion- and scale-resistance and exceptional flow rates PP-R offers.

aquatherm provided all that and more, including a 10-year multimillion dollar warranty and proven success in breweries.

Location/Date
Jacksonville, FL Spring 2014

Product
aquatherm blue

aquatherm Advantages

• The installer saved the owner 40-50% in material costs by using aquatherm instead of copper.
• aquatherm's natural R-value provided cost savings in the form of reduced insulation.
• aquatherm is nontoxic and corrosion-resistant, keeping the system clean and pure.
• The PP-R system is able to handle a 28˚F, glycol/water mix whereas some other plastic piping systems can become brittle and crack at such temperatures that low.

aquatherm blue® was an ideal solution thanks to its corrosion resistance and its light weight compared to steel.

Location/Date
Detroit Winter and Spring 2014

Product
["aquatherm blue"]

aquatherm Advantages

• aquatherm pipe provided labor savings thanks to heat fusion and its lighter weight compared to steel.
• For some direct-buried sections of the project aquatherm pipe didn’t require insulation, where steel pipe would have.
• Ownership liked the cleaner nature of PP-R and the reduced risk of theft that aquatherm pipe offer.

aquatherm red® provided an easy solution for this manufacturing office to have trustworthy sprinklers.

Location/Date
Tulsa Spring 2014

Product

aquatherm Advantages

• aquatherm red® is semi-flexible, which provided an advantage since this retrofit job required installation in the existing ceiling grid.
• The installation team liked that they didn’t have to use glues and sealants to join the pipe.
• aquatherm red® is connected by heat fusion, rather than traditional connections, which caused fewer workplace disruptions than other piping systems might have.