Water Heaters
Water heater selection and type of water heater is a major issue. This is a major topic of discussion on its own. However, it must be noted that placement of the water heater is not an easy task in many of the facilities described. High efficient water heaters with no conventional flue ducts are the most favorable water heaters. First, the efficiency of the water heater pays back the added cost of the unit. Second, the flexibility in the PVC (for flue discharge) piping is absolutely the selling point of this type of water heater. The efficiency of the water heater reduces from 98% to 94% as the length of the PVC piping increases, and yet it still is nearly 14% more efficient than conventional water heaters (i.e. American Water Heater, Polaris). The size of the water heater is generally questioned by the health department.
Many Engineers and many health departments do not use the insta-hots or the tank-less water heaters in the restaurants. In both cases, the volume of the water heater required will not suffice and multiple units are required. In addition, the interior heater piping heat exchanger chamber of the tank-less is very small and in bad water quality areas, the maintenance of the tank becomes extremely frequent. In addition, the tank-less water heaters do not work with water circulation piping. They are wall hung and thus the food service designer saves valuable floor space. This debate will not end with this report.
Water softeners
The water softener discussion raises multi-tier issues. Availability of the space is the number one issue. Second, the water quality must be measured before omitting this component of the design. Last, the presence of dishwasher or use of clear glass, or china in the restaurant becomes a decisive factor. In a tightly spaced kitchen facility, lack of proper space for placement, maintenance and contiguous chemical feed of the water treatment equipment is nearly an impossible task. If the water quality is bad, the life expectancy of the entire piping system (specially the hot water piping) is under question. And lastly, the customer’s perception of the quality of the restaurant becomes evident by observing residues of the dishwasher and spots on clear crystal glass and china and thus affecting the sales and potential clients.
Gas Piping
Depending on the types of restaurants and their locations (i.e. Islands or remote locations), the gas piping is very frequent in restaurant design. The engineer must do their best to convert the water heater to be high efficiency gas water heaters. The foremost advantage is the reduction on the electrical panel load of the space. In most cases, the gas piping system design and coordination is relatively simple. However, in a case of hot dog stands on the other side of the stadium or on the other side of the mall (nearly 600 ft away from gas meter) provides challenges. Gas Company during certain hardships may provide medium pressure gas with the pressure reducer to be on roof near the restaurant. In case of cities such as San Francisco, the pressure reducers are in basement and the overflow venting is piped to the exterior of the building.
In water pipe sizing, once the total fixture count is evaluated, based on the plumbing code, the allowable pressure drop per 100 ft of the pipe within the restaurant is determined, hence the pipe sizing of the system can be determined. Note that the maximum speed of the water within the hot water and cold water piping must be accounted for.
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