Highlights
- The Blumengart Hutterite Colony in Manitoba needed a hot-water delivery system that would stand up to the harsh elements and groundwater conditions in their area.
- Uponor’s Ecoflex® pre-insulated pipe system provided the durability they needed for the application as well as the ease of installation they required to get the job done.
- Sam Tschetteer, colony electrician and plumber, was impressed with how easy the product was to work with, stating the pipe was installed in just two days.
Background
The Blumengart Hutterite Colony, located about 100 miles south of Winnipeg, Manitoba, needed an advanced system to distribute water from a central heat plant to their livestock barns.
They wanted a system that was easy to install and would effectively retain heat, remain watertight and stand up to harsh direct-burial environments.
Uponor’s Ecoflex® pre-insulated pipe was their solution. Ecoflex features durable Uponor PEX tubing protected by multi-layer insulation and a waterproof corrugated jacket.
The Blumengart colony was confident in handling the installation with some assistance from an Uponor sales agent and wholesale representative. Sam Tschetteer, colony electrician and plumber, was impressed with how the product was moved and installed.
Ecoflex is lightweight, rolls out easily, and features a tight bend radius to meet even the most compact areas. Far simpler to install than traditional rigid pipe, it can be easily routed around onsite obstacles.
“The nice thing is, you don’t have any elbows or joints to add with changing direction on your main lines,” says Tschetteer. “Just curve your trenches, add your base, slide the pre-insulated pipe down and make the connections.”
To speed the installation process, they used an Uponor tube uncoiler. The installers tied the uncoiler to the back of a half-ton truck to easily and effortlessly uncoil the pipe beside a five-foot trench. A bulldozer gently pushed the pipe over the edge then covered it with back fill.
“All we did was trench and lay pipe,” says Tschetteer. “It was that simple. Two days and everything was buried.”
Workers at the Blumengart Hutterite Colony install 4,600 feet of Ecoflex® pre-insulated pipe for their hot-water distribution system.
Benefits
Energy Efficient
The watertight HDPE outer jacket provides long-term thermal efficiency, and the closed-cell PEX insulation foam retains its insulation capability for the entire service life of the pipe.
Easy to Install
Cost Effective
Durable
Project Data
Type of Construction:
Wood-frame commercial buildings
Outside Design Temperature:
-22°F (-30°C)
Room Setpoint Temperature:
70 to 85°F (21 to 29°C)
Heat Plant Type/Size:
7.2 MBTU coil boiler, 80% efficiency
Amount of Tubing:
4,000 feet of 4" Ecoflex Single; 600 feet of 2" Ecoflex Twin
Average Bury Depth:
5 feet
System Flow:
350 gpm with one of two pumps
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