The H-Factor

Reducing Entropy

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Recently our previous blog service (Typepad) ended their business – so, we have a new home. It will take a bit to get images back and displaying properly, but we are working on it! Final pageview count of original Typepad blog: 387,232

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Using a Non-Standard Pipe Type in HydraCALC

A customer called today asking how to enter a 1″ black plastic underground pipe for the calc. This particular situation sounded unique enough that I did not tell him to add that pipe type to our database, as I would have if he expected to see this pipe type used repeatedly. I told him to…

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Using the Hydratec Software Download Area

Hydratec uses ShareFile to distribute our software installs and updates. New customers, or those without access, must request access to be able to get at these downloads. Access is only available to customers with a Hydratec subscription or those on an update plan. You can access the download area and request access by picking the…

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August 2014
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Ceiling Heights, Drops and their Options

You likely know that Ceiling Heights and Drop/Sprig Lengths are inserted using the same tool, but here is a list of some things you might not know about this tool:

1. If you are manually specifying the drop lengths, then use the User Specified setting under Length Determination. If you want the computer to figure out your drop lengths, then choose the Computer Gen. setting. You will notice that the text above the elevation entry box changes based on that setting.

2. Only sprinkler heads that are configured to be 'On a Drop' or 'On a Sprig' pay attention to this dialog box and its resulting definition windows

3. Drop Lengths/Ceiling Heights that result due to the use of this command are further adjusted by takeouts applied by the AutoList routine for the fitting it is attached to and by the Head Adjustment setting in the Select Sprinkler dialog box

4. If all of your drops are the same length, it is easiest to make one big window around your entire drawing. Don't worry if upright heads get caught up in this window. See Rule 2, above

5. If most of your drops are the same length, it is still easiest to make one big window around the entirety of the drawing. Then, draw smaller windows around those heads that have a different length. The easy to remember rule is that the 'smallest window wins'

6. The drop windows do not have to perfectly line up with the walls of the rooms, the only important thing is that the heads are completely within the associated window

7. Drop lengths are recalculated and redisplayed every time you elevate the drawing, and return it to 2D

8. You have a lot of control over the drop tags that appear when you elevate the drawing. Pick the Annotation Options button to get to the annotation setting screen:

Here, you can control the height and angle, plus the wording of the tags. If you don't want any tage, you have that option as well.

9. The definition windows are in is a layer (DeflinesCeiling) that is set to not plot, to reduce clutter on the drawing. The Ceiling Height blocks will plot, as will the drop/sprig text that appears when you go to 3D

 

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