Send us your thoughts! Visit our Feedback Page to write your letter to the editor.

More On Press Systems

I read Julius Ballanco's fittings column with great interest (“Pressing Or Pushing In The New Year,” January 2005).

Currently, we have the only purpose-built valve available in the United States for cold copper crimp systems. Other valves available on the market are merely being adapted to accommodate press fittings.

Our firm has manufactured our CimPRESS valve line for nearly eight years and is the largest supplier in Europe of valves with integral press connections. We currently stock nine valve variations to offer unique timesaving flexibility in installation.

I hope the omission of referencing our product was due to our relative newness in the U.S. market, and I look forward to further articles highlighting the benefits of the press systems along with the unique items that make it possible.
James McHugh
Cimberio Valve Co. Inc.
Malvern, Pa.

Julius Ballanco responds: I am very familiar with your quality valves. I did not include mention of your valves because the thrust of my article was on the concept of press and push fittings.

I used a reference to the ISH North America show as an introduction into my column. While I am always cautious about naming manufacturers, I made reference to companies because of the large volume of people at their booth at ISH North America. Again, that was merely a personal observation.

I mentioned valves because this was a part of the presentation of these companies at ISH. It was not my intent to ignore your company or other valve companies.

No Substitute For A Professional

I read [Jim Olsztynski's] Jan 2005 op ed piece with great interest (“Things We Know & Don't Know About CO”). I would like to offer an anecdote in response to the statement that only 27 percent of U.S. homes have CO alarms.

While working as a service manager for a residential HVAC firm in Maryland about 12 years ago, I received a call from one of our contract customers who was panicked about her CO detector alarming.

I raced to the customer's home only to find her home was heated with a heat pump system. There were no hydrocarbon fueled appliances anywhere in the home. The homeowners had not followed the installation instructions and had located the detector in the kitchen. The steam from cooking operations had set off the alarm.

The point of this story is that some of the devices on the market are cheap and unreliable and or sometimes misapplied. There is no substitute for periodic maintenance and inspection by competent HVAC professionals.
Steve Smith
Summerville, S.C.

Texas-Sized Student Chapter

After reading a past issue about work done by MCAA student chapters, I would like to inform you about the Texas A&M University Mechanical Electrical Contractors Association (MECA), which is the largest student construction organization in the nation with more than 375 members.

This group focuses on mechanical, plumbing, pipefitting, sprinkler fitting and electrical contracting at the school's Construction Science program, and the group hosts a number of different majors of study in its role sheet, including architecture, construction science and engineering.

The group is larger than any other student general contracting, residential or other specialty group including student chapters of the AGC, ABC, NAHB or DBIA. The leaders run their organization in an effective manner, which is hard to do with 140 students at one meeting.

The faculty advisor to the group, Dr. John Bryant, has a long standing history in the mechanical field and is aligns the students with organizations like ASHRAE and MCAA.

The group owes its success to organizations such as the MCAA, companies such as Dynamic Systems and TDIndustries, and individuals such as Craig Lewis (REC Industries, PHCC), Sam Langlitz (SkiHi Mechanical), and Glenn Rex (MCAA - Texas) and Wade Silvey (Morrison Supply).

As a former leader of this group (now graduated), long-time reader of this magazine, and licensed master plumber, I feel that the current and past work of this group should be brought to light to show contractors that a new generation is coming up into the business and has chosen the plumbing and mechanical field of construction first.

The choice of these students to focus on this specialty field, over the more common side of general contracting, is exemplified by the sheer numbers that the group has at regular meetings.

Please, check out the group's Web site at http://archfile.tamu.edu/Student Organizations/MECA/ or e-mail the group at ag_m_e_c_a@hotmail.com.
A.B. Saccoccio
Halliburton

CORRECTIONS

IPEX Inc. was listed in the 2005 Radiant Flooring Guide and would like to provide PM readers with its U.S. contact information in addition to its Canadian offices.

IPEX WarmRite Radiant Systems
Established more than 50 years ago, IPEX is a world leader in plastic piping systems including a range of hydronic heating products and solutions. IPEX offers an extensive choice of composite PEX-AL-PEX and barrier PEX piping, manifolds, accessories, controls and design software. IPEX manufactures a unique selection of pre-assembled CSA-certified control panels providing a professional specification package for distribution systems. IPEX also provides a low-cost building automation system allowing Internet control of the complete HVAC system.
IPEX
9940 East 47th Ave.
Denver, CO 80238-2604
Phone: 800/473-9808
www.warmrite.com

Hacker Industries' Gyp-Span® 3310 Radiant floor underlayment was incorrectly listed in the 2005 Radiant Flooring Guide. We apologize for any confusion.

Gyp-Span 3310 Radiant
With over 83 UL Listings, Hacker Industries' GYP-SPAN Radiant is the premier floor underlayment for radiant heat projects. GYP-SPAN Radiant evenly distributes heat, providing a smooth, flat and warm surface ready for a variety of finished floor coverings. Like all Hacker floor underlayments, GYP-SPAN Radiant is installed by trained, licensed applicators.
Hacker Industries
610 Newport Center Drive,
Suite 250
Newport Beach, CA 92660
Phone: 800/642-3455
www.hackerindustries.com