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April 2020 – MSD, Inc.
Monthly Archives

April 2020

Pre-Apprenticeship Course

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The Best invention is reinventing yourself. Can you answer these questions with a “Yes”?

Are you looking for a challenging career?

Do you want to work while you learn?

Are you looking for a career that is rewarded by working with your hands?

Then you should consider working in the trades. The HVAC & Plumbing Pre-Apprenticeship Course is aimed at prospective apprentices to provide them with more information about the p-h-c industry. Completing this course will help you determine if this is a Trade/Career for you!

Either of these trades can provide your family and you a wealthy life. Dream of a Boat, Motorcycle, or a Lake House you can reach all your life goals in the HVACR and Plumbing Trades.

For a limited time, you can take the Pre-Apprenticeship Course for free! This offer expires June 30, 2020.

This online educational program gives prospective HVAC and plumbing apprentices an opportunity to learn about the p-h-c trade before beginning a longer-term apprentice program.

During this six-module course, participants will learn what is required to pursue a career in the industry as well as key skills and techniques to help them succeed in apprenticeship.

This course is offered online through the PHCC Academy. It was created by the PHCC Educational Foundation, and developed by Adam Manley, PhD., Associate Professor of Career and Technical Education at Western Michigan University.

Click on this link below.

https://phccacademy.myabsorb.com/#/AddToCart?CourseIds=1bccec6f-5b00-4ae8-96d4-d37b219f1502

If you pass this course and seek employment. Please contact alute@msdinc.net.

Hot Water Systems

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At MSD, Inc. we believe our responsibility is protecting the Public Health. As part of that responsibility we wanted to share the following article posted by PHCC discussing the importance of maintaining the ongoing balancing act between Legionella Prevention and Scald Prevention in your Facilities Hot Water Systems. If you have any concerns, Team MSD is here to further evaluate your Facilities Hot Water System.  #PHCC, #TEAMMSD, #ProtectingPublicHealth…..

Source: https://www.phcppros.com/articles/6652-hot-water-systems

There has been a lot of confusion about how to properly design, install and maintain a domestic hot water system to simultaneously control both scalding hazards and Legionella bacteria growth. Many people mistakenly believe that controlling hot water system temperatures is like a balancing act performed by simply adjusting the thermostat dial on the water heater to somewhere between scalding temperatures and Legionella bacteria growth temperatures. Unfortunately, there is no middle ground temperature. Any temperature that will minimize scalding in accordance with temperature limits in the model plumbing codes will be in the Legionella bacteria growth temperature range. The only solution to this dilemma is to use hot water temperature control valves to keep storage and distribution temperatures above the Legionella growth temperature range and reduce the temperatures at the fixtures to a safe temperature for bathing, showering and washing.

Water heater thermostat accuracy

Many people have made the mistake of assuming the thermostat dial on a water heater accurately controls the outlet temperature that flows from a water heater, but the thermostat does not accurately control the outlet temperature. Using the thermostat on a water heater to prevent scalding is prohibited by the model plumbing codes because the industry knows the thermostat dial on a storage-type water heater is not designed to accurately control hot water coming from a water heater. There are several types of water heaters on the market and the most common is the storage tank type. Other tankless or instantaneous water heater types have their own unique temperature control versus flow challenges that typically result in the use of temperature actuated control valves as part of the equipment, or a tempering valve is required as part of the system design, or the tankless heaters may not be capable of reaching a disinfecting temperature. The thermostat on a storage-tank-type water heater, however, is not designed to accurately control the outlet temperature because it is located near the bottom of the water heater to sense incoming cold-water temperatures and “turn-on” the energy to the heating element or the fuel to the burner.

The thermostats do not sense or control the hot water that accumulates at the top of a water heater. The water heater thermostats are designed in a way that causes an inherent delay in sensing hot water temperature because the heat must flow from the heated water through a boundary layer of water adhering to the thermostat, through the wall of the thermostat, through an air space in the thermostat, and then to a metal rod that expands and contracts to open and close contacts in the thermostat device.

I was told this heat transfer delay causes a lag time and overshoot temperature of about 11 to 15 degrees depending on the manufacturer. One water heater manufacturer’s representative told me the technicians in their factory had witnessed temperature lags as much as 18 degrees on some water heater models tested. This thermal delay results in a temperature chart that looks like a roller coaster. The water temperature at the thermostat element drops below the set point before the burner comes on and rises above the set point before it shuts off. This is why two different water temperature tests of a water heater at different times can yield vastly different results even though no adjustments have been made to the thermostat setting.

Stacking

In addition to the above mentioned thermal cycling, there can be stacking of hot water at times when there are intermittent short draws of hot water. Stacking occurs when cold water is drawn into the bottom of the water heater intermittently and causes the burner to cycle on even when the hot water at the top of the heater is well above the desired temperature setting. With each consecutive short draw of hot water and resulting burner cycle, the hot water temperature in the top of the water heater continues to rise and the outlet temperature can be as much as 30 degrees or more, above the thermostat set point. Therefore, the model plumbing codes prohibit the thermostat on a water heater to control the outlet temperature for purposes of scald prevention at fixtures.

Please view the following website for additional information : https://www.phcppros.com/articles/6652-hot-water-systems

Keep Corona Away – Wash Wash Wash!

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The Importance of Hand Washing:

Source: https://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/why-handwashing.html

 

According to https://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/why-handwashing.html washing hands prevents illnesses and the spread of infections to others. Handwashing with soap and water removes germs from your hands. This helps prevent infections because:

  • People frequently touch their eyes, nose, and mouth without even realizing it. Germs can get into the body through the eyes, nose and mouth and make us sick.
  • Germs from unwashed hands can get into foods and drinks while people prepare or consume them. Germs can multiply in some types of foods or drinks, under certain conditions, and make people sick.
  • Germs from unwashed hands can be transferred to other objects, like handrails, table tops, or toys, and then transferred to another person’s hands.
  • Removing germs through handwashing therefore helps prevent diarrhea and respiratory infections and may even help prevent skin and eye infections.

 

Handwashing helps them and their communities stay healthy.

  • Reduces the number of people who get sick with diarrhea by 23-40%.
  • Reduces diarrheal illness in people with weakened immune systems by 58%.
  • Reduces respiratory illnesses, like colds, in the general population by 16-21%.
  • Reduces absenteeism due to gastrointestinal illness in school children by 29-57%.