EUROPE: Pre-rinse spray valve 1.6gpm or lower
Our project is an office bldg with a Kitchen Restaurant in Europe.
We are looking for pre-rinse spray valves of 1.6gpm (6L/min) or lower available in France/Switzerland/Germany...
Our Plumbing Engineer is having a lot of troubles finding a low flow version from the European manufacturers he knows.
Has anyone found an American manufacturer that distributes here or an European one?
Thank you all in advance,
Jean Marais
b.i.g. Bechtold DesignBuilder Expert832 thumbs up
October 7, 2013 - 4:25 am
I think you'll find that this is not the case. The flow rate just seems lower because it is given at a different pressure. Ask the engineer to check that the flow at pressure relation is the same. If the manufacturer has no data at the american pressure, you need to convert a European flow at European rated pressure to a American flow at American rated pressure. You could employ the Power-law relations (as a good approximation), i.e. Flow=C*dP^n. Your engineer should know all of this.
Quick example:
EU: faucet flow 6L/min at 7bar
American: 5bar...what is the flowrate
Flow=C*dP^n...solve for C
(6) =C*(7)^0.5
therefor C = 2.267786838
Solve American flow using C
Flow=C*dP^n
Flow=(2.267786838)*(5)^0.5
Flow=5.0709 L/min
Eric Johnson
271 thumbs up
October 7, 2013 - 4:37 am
Jean,
I think she is looking for a product that meets the requirements?
Charline SEYTIER
CEO, Co-owner.ThemaVerde, France
15 thumbs up
October 7, 2013 - 4:53 am
Hi Jean and Eric,
Thanks for your answers.
Yes if you know a product that meets the requirements that would be really helpful.
The current pre-rinse valve specified by the engineer has a flow of 18 l/min at 3 bar, which is way too high for LEED...
But I will certainly let him know that we need a 6L/min at 5bar as you mentioned Jean so that he can run the calc for other products!
Jean Marais
b.i.g. Bechtold DesignBuilder Expert832 thumbs up
October 7, 2013 - 8:58 am
1) Just to clarify...that was just an example (I didn't check the rated pressure for these calcs...also, these calcs are IMO an acceptable conversion approximation. That does not mean that they have been given the green light by USGBC. Manufacturer datasheets are always best.)
2) If you're looking for a product, http://www.greenbuildingproducts.eu/datenbank/ is a good database.
Charline SEYTIER
CEO, Co-owner.ThemaVerde, France
15 thumbs up
October 7, 2013 - 10:57 am
Thanks Jean for the clarification.
I checked the database, really helpful! Unfortunately did not find any pre-rinse spray valve... but we will keep looking!
Jean Marais
b.i.g. Bechtold DesignBuilder Expert832 thumbs up
January 10, 2014 - 11:45 am
Just a bit of an additional note. Most faucets exibit a pretty steady flowrate at quite a wide pressure range, making my powerlaw method null and void. However, I did come accross Neoperl perlators, which can reduce flowrates wonderfully.
Caroline MORA
Green Building ManagerNG Concept SAS
April 9, 2014 - 10:04 am
Dear Charline,
did you finally find a low-flow pre-rinse spray valve in Europe? If yes which brand?
Another question regarding the requirement of 1.6 gpm maximum flow for the pre-rinse spray valve in commercial buildings: if there is an additional tap included in the pre-rinse spray valve equipment (so 2 taps: one designed to remove food waste from dishes prior to dishwashing + one standard tap) should the additional tap follow the requirement also?
Thanks in advance!
Jens Apel
134 thumbs up
April 11, 2014 - 3:36 am
I have seen a project using the 5PR-1S00 by equip.tsbrass.com. They do have add-on faucets as well. I would consider the add-on tap a separate tap not required to comply with the 1.6 gpm.
Charline SEYTIER
CEO, Co-owner.ThemaVerde, France
15 thumbs up
April 14, 2014 - 8:44 am
Caroline,
I did find one manufactured in the US but is being distributed in France or Germany... if that helps I can look it up and send it to you.
And I would agree with Jens on the add-on tap.