Air Date: 10-5-2012| Episode: 258
This week we focus on water damage restoration processes and equipment with an authority on the subject Larry Carlson…
Full Description:
This week we focus on water damage restoration processes and equipment with an authority on the subject Larry Carlson. Larry joined Therma-Stor in 1992 as product manager for ventilation and dehumidification products. In 1994 Larry introduced the Phoenix 200, the first LGR dehumidifier. Through 2003 he oversaw the expansion the Phoenix Restoration Equipment product line to include the Guardian HEPA Systems, Focus axial air mover and Phoenix 300 and 200 MAX. After 2 years at Dry Air Technology where Larry assisted in the creation of the Atlantic LGR and Force9, he returned to Therma-Stor in 2006 as marketing manager. Currently Larry is the Phoenix Restoration Industry Manager and International Sales Manager. Larry has been a member of RIA since 1994 and the IICRC since 1998. He participated in the creation of the Applied Structural Drying Technician (ASD) certification and is currently serving on the IICRC S-500 Consensus Committee which is creating the 4th edition of the S-500 Standard and Reference Guide for Professional Water Damage Restoration.
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Over the course of his career in the cleaning and restoration industry, Larry Carlson, has earned an enviable reputation for honesty and integrity among industry colleagues and customers alike. Larry is a trusted source and is the “go to guy” for technical information about water damage restoration equipment.
Nuggets mined from today’s episode:
•Free water is the liquid water held within “wet stuff”, bound water has penetrated into materials and must move through materials, cell walls of wood for example.
•On a water loss, removal of the maximum amount of water saves, time, labor and energy. Proven by independent testing as the most effective device for removing water from carpet and cushion; Kurt Bolden’s Hydro-X Xtreme Xtractor (now a Thermastor product) was a true game changer for the water damage restoration industry
•Dehumidifiers either collect or exhaust the moisture they capture
•Nature demands equilibrium of temperature and moisture.
•There are 4 types of heat drying systems: 1) electric element based like and electric furnace no exhaust need, 2) direct fired heater (similar to a oil fired space heater) needs to exhaust combustion gases outdoors, 3) indirect fired heater (like a gas furnace) is equipped with a built-in exhaust, 4) hydronic system similar to hot water heating system, closed system in which a remote portable heating plant re-circulates glycol solution through hoses and space heaters.
•The principle of an open drying system is to mix moist air in affected areas with outdoor air or air from other parts of the building interior. In a closed drying system wet areas are intentionally closed off or segregated from the remainder of the building.
•Desiccant dehumidifiers become less effective at higher temperatures
•For best results and on complex structural drying projects, restoration contractors often combine different dehumidification technologies for best effects.
•Providing the most cost effective moisture removal, LGRs are the best investment.
•Air pre-coolers are available to improve moisture removal capacity of LRGs.
•Maturity of the industry has resulting in more accuracy in advertising.
•“Burping a building” is a drying procedure where high humidity and often high temperature indoor air is replaced with lower humidity and cooler outdoor air. Often a step when the conditions in the affected area have caused the drying system to be ineffective or an effort to temporally use favorable outdoor conditions to expedite drying.
•Drying equipment from China, is being sold at lowball prices with exaggerated performance claims.
•2012 has been an uneventful year for most water damage restoration contractors translated into a reduction of service business for contractors and fewer equipment sales for manufacturers of restoration equipment.
•The acronym LGR was coined specifically in reference to Phoenix low grain refrigerant dehumidifiers.
Today’s music: “How Dry I Am” by Art Shaw and His New Music
Z-Man Signing Off
