I’m about to throw you a pitch that will most certainly be a “game changer” in your plumbing and plumbing-design career. However, before I do that, let me use a few baseball analogies that best describe this new pitch and where it came from.
First, I’ll introduce you to the gentleman who originally invented it, or who I’ll call the coach. Then, we’ll take a brief look at the pitching staff, or the researchers, that advanced it. Finally, I’ll give you the pitch or the water demand calculator and show you that, when thrown correctly, how it will give you a win of your own!
THE COACH
I will be the first person to tell you that I have not spent even 1/100 of the amount of time I would need to be a true biographer for Dr. Roy Hunter, but what I will tell you is when it comes to plumbing, he’s a legend.
Merriam-Webster defines a coach as “one who instructs or trains.” In a roundabout way, Dr. Hunter did exactly that for the plumbing industry. In 1940, he issued “Methods of Estimating Loads in Plumbing Systems” for the National Bureau of Standards. Within that “playbook,” Dr. Hunter showed the plumbing industry his “curve” which became known as, yep you guessed it, “Hunter’s Curve.”
Dr. Hunter considered a plumbing fixture’s water flow, duration of flow and the probability that it would be in use. Dr. Hunter created curves for banks of fixtures such as toilets and their GPM flow and did the same for lavatories. Because each fixture had a different flow rate, Dr. Hunter converted them into a common value, which we call fixture units, and then placed those fixture units into his curve.
THE PITCHING STAFF
Google tells me that the game of baseball was developed somewhere around 1839. I think we can all agree that the game has certainly changed a bit in the past 180 plus years. In fact, if Google is correct, so have the pitches.
We progressed from fastballs, to breaking balls and curveballs to changeups. Then sprinkle in the variations of each category of pitches and the arsenal continues to grow. Likewise, when Dr. Hunter developed his “curve,” it was inevitable that it would evolve as the innings (or the years) passed.
His curve underwent modifications by various players. However, it wasn’t until around 1996 that Dr. Hunter’s curve was sent down to the minors for some severe rehabilitation. The staff that took on the job of getting Dr. Hunter’s curve back up to major league form, was ruthless. This group was looking to make his curve the best it ever was.
They studied thousands of variables (single-family homes) to attain important data (water use measurements) and they were relentless. They filled the chalkboard with formulas and values including n (number of fixtures in the dwelling), p (probability that a fixture is in use during the peak period) and q (flow rate at a busy fixture). They still weren’t done though. They scoured the list of other coaches who had worked on Hunters Curve and came across the work done by one named Robert Wistort.
Taking Wistort’s work into consideration, they pushed forward to make sure that when their pitch was ready, it would be the game changer the league was desperately in need of. So, while it may have been the longest stint ever in the minors, in 2018, or about 22 years later, an updated version of Hunter’s Curve came back to the major league of plumbing and was available for all to use in the playbook known as the 2018 Uniform Plumbing Code.
The revised pitch was deemed, The water demand calculator. You can read more about the development of it for yourself here: www.iapmo.org/media/3857/peak-water-demand-study-executive-summary.pdf
THE PITCH
With the new pitch — or the WDC — ready to use, it was only a matter of time before the players, or the plumbing industry, started learning how to throw it into their pipe sizing calculations.
The WDC took what Dr. Hunter started and put a pitch in the industry’s hand, which would go on to strike down the number of gallons per minute of flow in a water distribution system for one- and two-family homes. By striking down the gpm, the next batter up that went 0-3 was pipe sizes. In other words, when the gpm fell to the WDC, so did pipe sizes. They got smaller.
The next power hitter that stepped up to the plate was pricing. This is one of the most feared hitters in the industry! However, he never saw the ball cross the plate because when gpm fell, and then pipe sizes went down swinging, price was due to strike out as well! I think it’s also fair to say that the true winner in this game is water. Smaller pipe sizes lead to less water in the pipes for less time. Less time for water in the pipes goes on to promote a safer piping system that is less likely to form bacteria in it!
In a world where winning is everything, I can’t imagine why you wouldn’t want to take advantage of this pitch to strike out the batter (your competition), in the next game of bidding for a project.
Not only will it give you the opportunity to win, but this pitch, aka the water demand calculator, will be a “game changer” for your team!
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Randy Lorge is a third-generation plumber and the director of workforce training and development for the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials. Lorge is also a member of the planning team for the International Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Foundation. This 501(c) (3) foundation has completed water and sanitation projects for those less fortunate in India, South Africa, Indonesia and, more recently, the United States. He enjoys time with his family and spending as much time as possible in his deer stand. To contact Lorge, email editor@plumbermag.com.
