The H-Factor

Reducing Entropy

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Adding Hanger Types to HydraLIST

If you want to use a new type of hanger, or are a fab shop that gets a job from a contractor that uses a hanger type that you do not have, it is easy to add that new hanger type to your own machine. A hanger is an assembly, and an assembly is just…

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Welcome

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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September 2026
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  • Including 3D Risers Details in Your NavisWorks Model

    From a customer:

    Art, I have a couple questions about V50.

    If I make a 3D detail will I be able insert it into
    navisworks similar to the solidpipes? Can I integrate 3D details with all of my
    piping? Second, my understanding of BIM is that upon completion the building
    management/owner would be able to see a full building MEP model then select a
    part (say a sprinkler valve) and it would display information on what it
    is/size/location etc. Is this something that can be done?


    1: Yes – If it is on your plan, it will
    automatically show in 3D when you go to 3D mode

    2: Yes – – One thing to do is to draw it on
    your plan right where is would go in real life (ie – the riser room). When you
    go to 3D, all the piping and connections to the riser will be in the right place.

    3: Not now. Honestly, I think it will be
    years before a standard is created for this. Also, each block will need that
    info attached to it, and that is a lot of typing for someone

     

  • Adding Blocks and Details to the Tool Palette

    In V50 we have created tool palettes to not only allow you to drag and drop details and blocks onto your drawing, but to also make it easy for you to add your own blocks. In the past it was difficult to do this because we used slide files and menus – both were not at all user friendly.

    From a blog entry a couple of years ago:

    To make your own tool palettes:

    1. Press CTRL+3 to open the tool palette (if not already open)
    2. Right click on the tool palette and pick New Palette. Give it a name you like, i.e. My Blocks
    3. Now open up the Design Center using CTRL+2
    4. Navigate to the folder where you have the blocks you want added to the palette
    5. Select a block and drag it to your palette and let go

    That's it! When you want to insert a block just drag it off the palette into your drawing or click on it.

    Controlling the scale, rotation angle and properties of your palette blocks:

    You can control a number of things about how your block gets
    inserted from a tool palette. Right click on your block and pick
    Properties. This will give you the properties you can control. Scale,
    Rotation and Prompt for Rotation are found in the Insert section. In
    the General section you will find options like Color, Layer and
    Linetype to set specific for those (otherwise they adopt the current
    layer and color settings).

    Props

    Create as many palettes as you like. Next I'll show you how to group them and Export them to some one else's machine


    Saving and sharing your palettes    :

    Once you have your palette(s) set the way you want them, you may want
    to be nice and share them with others. This will require and Export
    from you and an Import to them. But first you may want to combine them into a Group.

    Groups
    Right-Click on the tool palette and pick Customize Palettes… This
    will bring up a two-columned dialog box. On the left are the palettes
    in your AutoCAD – Note this is not a per-drawing thing – you only have
    ONE set of tool palettes. On the right you can right-click and pick New
    Group. Name this Group.

    Now drag the palettes you want from the left into the right. Once
    this is done, right-click on the Group you created (or on the left
    right-click on just one palette if that is all you want to export) and
    pick Export. Give your Group a name and location you can later find.
    Copy this file to a network location or somewhere on another users
    computer. The file extension will be .xtp if you Exported a palette and
    .xtg if you Exported a Group.

    To place the palettes on another computer, bring up the tool palette
    on their computer (CTRL+3) and pick Customize Palettes… and pick
    Import. Now right-click on the left or right depending on whether you
    are Importing a palette or a Group of palettes.

  • Purging Out All the Bad Stuff

    The updated Purge All Unused Layers and Blocks (PURG) in Rev 2 of V50.01 goes further, fixes more and is easier to use than our older command.

    The new command purges the drawing, runs an AUDIT and then purges it again. Try it.

  • Denoting a Peaked Roof with Multiple Pitches

    A wooden roof with dormers – many of us see the all the time, but how to label it so that HydraCAD can elevate it properly – that is another thing.

    The drawing below shows how to handle this. If you download and install the HydraCAD V50.1 Rev2 update from our website, this drawing will be installed into your Training Drawings folder reachable through HydraTools->Tools->Training Drawings

    Peaked Roof

  • Deleting an Info Sheet in HydraCALC

    From a Customer:

    I
    have a suggestion for your next revision: The
    info sheet button could have a pull down tab so that a different info
    sheet can be used.

    Quite
    often I will use the first calc, modify it and do a standpipe calc. The only
    problem is the info sheet can not be changed. So I have to copy my input and
    transfer it all over to a new sheet so that I can bring in the right
    information sheet. Making the info sheet tab a pull down tab that gives us more
    choices would be very nice.

    Answer – When you want to get rid of an info
    sheet, open it up and pick the File pull down on that info sheet and pick Clear
    Data/Change Form!

  • Looking up Part Numbers in HydraLIST

    From a customer question:

    …for the
    Part Masks, I was hoping there was a quicker, easier way to bring them up
    and/or print out a matrix to use when I am (or others less experienced in
    Hydratec software are) looking for parts (or specific manufacturers) to bring
    into a model.

    The PN LookUp button has been added to the P/N Table in the General System Data window and in the miscellaneous Items tab of the project data window. This button allows access to the items that appear in the Fittings Dialog Popup in Lines and Mains as well a new set of miscellaneous item descriptions.

    To find an item pick the PN LookUp button, select a Fitting Class and then an Item type and all the items for the section appear in the window for your use. In addition to the traditional items that appear in the dialog popup there is a new group of items that can be displayed for use only for miscellaneous items.

    The new category of items is setup in the Fittings Table in the General System Data window with the traditional items that are setup in the window. Fitting Class can be set up for VALVE, HANGER, MISC and any other class of items that will be listed as loose items. Descriptions of items can be set up for each item to be picked in each class. A part mask should be entered to match each description. The mask for the miscellaneous items used question marks to fill the mask for the wild card characters. The number of outlets, Takeout A and Takeout B are set to 0. The question marks in the part mask distinguish the items to be listed as miscellaneous form the traditional items which are made on the
    mains and lines.

    Click here for the full pdf and an example

  • Yet Even More About Sizing Armovers

    Lets say you have a ton of branch lines with retrofitted armovers that go off in all directions. There is no easy way to size these, right?

    Try this:

    Size all your branch lines by selecting the Lines option in the Size Pipe toolbar. Also select Use Directional Filter and select either Horizontal or Vertical, depending on your branch line direction.

    Now that all your branch lines are sized, size the armovers as follows – In Size Pipe choose your Diameter, select the Lines option, deselect Use Directional Filter and then select Do Not Resize Pipes Already Sized. This will ensure that only the armovers will get sizes. Now pick all the branch lines and armovers.

    Problem solved?

  • About the New Data and Backup Files Created by the V50 Install

    If you choose to install the new databases for
    HydraLIST and HydraCALC – here is where the existing files get backed up to:

    V50 Backup 

    Note the two Backup folders, one under each program.

     

    Also note the folders named Standard Data under each. Regardless
    of whether or not you choose to replace the data, a copy of the new data
    ALWAYS gets put in these folders. That way you can always copy
    over the new data yourself.

  • Sizing Armovers the Easy Way

    From a customer:

    Art, we are doing a hospital that has say 1500 heads per
    floor x 6 floors on armovers. When we go to tag the piping, the branch lines
    are say 1.5” the arms are 1” and the mains are 4”. Since the mains are on a
    different layer, they are easy to put tags on, but going through each piece of
    line making sure not to tag the arms with 1.25” piping is tedious and time
    consuming. And forget about having to retag them again if there is a water
    supply change or if your calc doesn’t work. Is there any intent in the future
    of possibly putting the armovers on a different layer so tagging them would be
    as easy as tagging mains and lines with no arms?

    My response:

    Yes, there is a plan for the future – but right
    now you have another option:

    1. Pick Size Pipe Setup
    2. Select 1” for the armovers
    3. Check Use Directional Filter and select the
      orientation of the armover pipe – Horizontal or Vertical. The Size Pipe routine
      will only size those pipes that match the selected orientation
    4. Note also that there is an option Do Not Resize
      Pipes Already Sized. This means that if there is a size already on a pipe, it
      will not get another size, even if it is selected. This, along with the
      Directional Filter should make it easy to size those branch lines and armovers

  • Where are the Hydratec data files?

    This question was posed by a customer and frequent blog reader. Here's the list

    HydraLIST:

    \HES\Hydlist\Ver50\Data\Setup – If you take the whole folder (not subfolders), you will always be safe. If you are the one doing the editing and want to copy these to another machine, then sort by date and just take the ones most recently changed

    HydraCALC:

    \HES\HydraCALC\Ver50\Data\Setup – The MASTER.DAT file in this location covers all the pipe types and equivalent fitting lengths. This file is usually all you need. If you create your own loss (backflow) curves, then take any *.HDT files that are dated when you created them

    HydraCAD:

    There are no files that need to be transferred unless you are creating your own overrides or listing instructions. Contact use for these file names of you need them