In order to maintain their reputation as a cutting-edge institution, the University of British Columbia (UBC) is upgrading a collection of buildings on their Vancouver campus. The renovation and expansion of the UBC Undergrad Life Sciences Teaching Labs are expected to be complete by late 2018 and will add an extra 175,000 square feet of science labs and classrooms.
The mechanical contractor for the building, Omega Mechanical, was tasked with installing half-an-inch to two inches- 2″ | DN15 – DN50 small diameter hydronic heating and cooling piping lines and was planning to either thread or press Schedule 40 carbon steel pipe – joining methods the team had utilized for similar jobs in the past.
Threading and pressing present unique challenges, and Victaulic’s Quick-Vic SD Installation-Ready joining system conquers these challenges. Quick-Vic SD is an innovative mechanical joining system designed for plain end small diameter carbon steel piping, and Omega elected to use this efficient and economical system rather than threading or pressing.
The benefits of switching were clear – the QuickVic SD system eliminates issues with threading and pressing, including messy threading machines, expensive additional tools, and the risk of oil and metal shavings needing to be flushed out of the system. In addition, QuickVic SD products install quickly and easily and are engineered to allow for easy maintenance and retrofitting without the need for joint cutouts.
Victaulic’s QuickVic SD system proved to save time and money when compared with the traditional joining methods. It also provided Omega with multiple visual inspection features, including bolt pad-to-bolt pad verification, a retainer inspection window, and knurled insertion depth markings on the pipe – guaranteeing a strong, properly installed coupling across the heating and cooling lines.
Brad Hedblom, president of Omega, comments “the success of the installation as it relates to both time savings and system cleanliness has been the determining factor in implementing this joining methodology to all future projects heating and cooling systems”.