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Condair has recently supplied and installed three Condair RS resistive steam humidifiers to maintain the humidity around the exhibits and archives at the National Army Museum in Chelsea, London.

Optimum environmental conditions are required to ensure the perfect preservation of military artefacts that are made of a wide range of materials, some of which date back to the English Civil War.

Mike O’Connor, Deputy Director at the National Army Museum, commented, “Precise climate control in our galleries and stored collections, across both temperature and humidity, plays an important role in preserving the nation’s military heritage. Our collections include an array of exhibits, from the cloak Wellington wore at Waterloo and Lawrence of Arabia’s dagger to modern day grenade launchers and drones. Metals, textiles, wooden objects and paintings can all be affected by high or low humidity, so a stable environment ensures longevity and avoids costly restoration work.”

The three Condair humidification systems were installed in weatherproof enclosures on the roof of the museum as part of its recent £24M refurbishment project. As well as resisting the London weather, the Condair enclosures incorporate a heater and fan unit to ensure the internal conditions remain within the humidifier’s recommended operating range. So, just as the humidifiers help the museum preserve its exhibits, likewise the enclosures do the same job for the humidifiers.

The Condair RS resistive steam humidifier is the ideal choice for heritage applications due to its responsive control and innovative scale management system. It can operate on mains water, as it is at the National Army Museum, and provide ±3%RH control, or on RO water and offer a close ±1%RH control. A humidifier that gives rapid response and close humidity control is important for museums that can be empty one minute and full of tourists in from the rain the next.

A patented scale management system on the Condair RS allows in-house maintenance teams to undertake routine scale removal, safely and quickly, without even needing to open the humidifier’s main cabinet. A scale collector tank is located under the boiling chamber, into which scale falls during operation. Scale removal is a simple process of draining the unit with the push of a button, disconnecting the cooled collector tank and emptying it.

The National Army Museum is the leading authority on the British Army and its impact on society past and present. It displays thousands of pieces across five themed galleries with a special temporary exhibition gallery, event space, a café and children’s area, Play Base. Admission is free to the permanent galleries and the Museum is open to the public between 10am and 5.30pm, daily.

The Condair Group is the world’s leading specialist in humidity control and evaporative cooling, with energy efficient, hygienic and innovative technologies for commercial, industrial and heritage applications. Condair is represented in the UK by Condair plc, which offers system design, manufacture, supply, installation, commissioning, maintenance and spares. You can find out more by visiting the company’s website at www.condair.co.uk.

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Bona Craft Oil 2K has been specified for the restoration of the Beech floor in the world’s largest purpose-built recording studio. The work was undertaken by Bona Certified Contractors, CMT Wood Flooring of Birmingham, contracted to commercial fit out specialists, Prestige Interiors.

The London based studio is in constant use by orchestras and choruses. It was therefore essential that a highly durable finish was applied, that would not only protect the surface from the high levels of traffic but would also dry quickly to minimise downtime in this very busy space.  CMT flooring initially recommended the use of Bona Traffic HD, the toughest waterborne lacquer manufactured by Bona, and which dries so quickly that the floor can be put back into full use in just 12 hours.

However, the studio team were concerned that using a lacquer finish on the floor, which had been previously oiled, might change its acoustic properties.   Consequently, the specification was changed to highly durable Bona Craft Oil 2K, a penetrating, two component oil with an equally impressive drying time of just eight hours for the ‘Neutral’, uncoloured version – meaning the studio could be put back into full use the day after treatment.

To retain a sense of history in the space, it was also decided not to use a darker oil on the lighter coloured blocks (that were laid after a stage was removed from one end of the studio) so they matched the original darker coloured floor.  However, had the studio team wanted to create a uniformly coloured floor, this could have easily been achieved by treating the lighter blocks with one of the darker coloured versions of Craft Oil 2K.

Before applying the oil, the CMT team repaired several loose and damaged blocks and then sanded the floor and filled all gaps with filler mixed with dust from the final sanding pass.  One coat of Bona Craft Oil 2K was then applied with a Bona FlexiSand buffing machine – using a red pad – an efficient way of applying oil to a floor this size and which ensured the surface layer of timber was uniformly saturated.

Bona Craft Oil 2K is a unique formula based on modified plant-based oil and has a very low VOC content of less than 4%. It’s the perfect treatment for a wide variety of wood species including tricky ones such as cherry and walnut, and it produces a strong water and stain resistant surface that is ready for use in 8 or 12 hours (depending if neutral or coloured versions are used).   In situations where supreme surface durability is required, Bona Craft Oil 2K can be overcoated with any version of Bona Traffic lacquer.

Alec Stacey, Technical Manager at Bona Limited, said, “It was unusual for us to have to consider the acoustic properties of one of our finishes before creating this specification, but understandably this was of paramount importance for the studio team.  Another beneficial property of a ‘traditional’ oil finish, is the ease with which local repairs can be made, usually without sanding. Any areas that become worn or discoloured can be corrected by simply buffing more oil into these areas and removing the excess.

To ensure the floor remains looking good and performing well, the recommended maintenance regime includes regular cleaning with Bona Soap, occasional treatments with Bona Care Oil and yearly inspections to ensure the floor is professionally refinished with oil when required.

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March is set to be a busy month for Saniflo with two important exhibitions. From 5-7 March, catch the experts from Saniflo at Future Build, Excel, London on stand B165. At Future Build, Saniflo will also deliver a talk in the ‘Let’s Talk Specification’ seminar programme. From 11-15 March 2018, visitors to ISH in Frankfurt, Germany, will find Saniflo in Hall 9.0 on stand E62 with the complete range of macerators, pumps & lifting stations; and, in Hall 3.0 on stand C93 with the Kinedo range of shower solutions and some related products, including the new Sanifloor+.

Saniflo – inventors of the macerator with more than 60 years’ experience and the number one in the UK macerator market – is no stranger to exhibitions and consistently exhibit at a variety of industry events across the UK and Europe.

Saniflo UK Head of Marketing and Product Development, Ann Boardman, says: “We are looking forward to welcoming visitors to Future Build and ISH where they will find an extensive range of Saniflo products on display.

“Future Build is a new exhibition for us and an ideal opportunity to connect with our UK customers. This year we are focusing on displaying our range of Kinedo shower cubicles, enclosures and trays, and we will also deliver a talk in the ‘Let’s Talk Specification’ seminar programme.

“ISH is always a valuable event for us, hence why we choose to have a strong presence there. It allows us to have many products on show at one time to reach a high volume of people in a short period of time. It’s important to demonstrate how we innovate to remain ahead of market demand. Saniflo literally has an easy solution for every situation and ISH offers a great opportunity to show that. People can experience for themselves our hassle-free, plug and play range designed to be the best on the market featuring ease of installation and maintenance with new and improved styling and vibration reduction.”

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Interconnection specialist WAGO introduces push-button and lever-actuated variants to its TOPJOB S® terminal block family. Integrators can now choose between push-button, lever and push-in connection methods for additional flexibility on DIN rail installations.

The lever-actuated variant, a world first from WAGO, is equipped with a lever on the field side, and a push-button or operating tool-actuated connection on the factory side. The clamping point on the field side is opened and closed by hand using the lever, allowing installers to tell at a glance which wires in an assembly are terminated. The lever can also be left open, freeing both hands to connect difficult-to-bend conductors with large cross sections.

Versions are available for nominal cross-sections of 2.5 mm², 6 mm² and 16 mm², and in 2- or 3-conductor configurations.

The clamping point of the push-button mechanism is opened with any screwdriver or similar operating tool. Feed-through terminal blocks with push-buttons are available for wire with a cross-section between 0.14 to 25 mm². The push-button terminal block is available in 2-, 3- or 4-conductor variants, which allow push-in connection of solid, seven strand and ferruled conductors.

Both the push button and lever actuators are orange in colour, making them clearly visible for easy identification.

All TOPJOB S rail mounted terminal blocks feature Push-In CAGE CLAMP® spring pressure connection, which is 50 percent quicker to wire compared to screws, and immune to loosening over time. The terminal blocks are also resistant to vibration and overcurrent, and free from maintenance, eliminating the need to periodically check and tighten loose connections while improving overall reliability.

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Leading humidification specialist, Condair, has extended its range of electric steam humidifiers to include new IP55 rated models suitable for outdoor installation. The robust enclosures on the Condair RS resistive steam and Condair EL electrode boiler steam humidifiers enable the units to be located on rooftops and exposed to the elements.

Rather than simply installing the standard humidifiers inside a protective housing on a rooftop, the new outdoor humidifiers from Condair have purpose-built IP55-rated casings. This means they take up much less room on a rooftop and are easier to install. Condair’s new outdoor humidifiers are the most compact in the industry with the smallest footprint and incorporate lifting handles to make on-site transportation easier.

The enclosures incorporate a thermostat-controlled heater and fan unit to maintain the internal temperature at an optimum level with outside ambient conditions ranging from -20° to 40°C. An anti-freeze valve will ensure the humidifier completely drains should the unit experience temperatures of less than 6°C during periods of in-operation.

The new Condair outdoor humidifiers can be wall-mounted, allowing them to be attached to an AHU, or free-standing. Lockable doors are removable for easy access and optional internal lighting improves visibility for servicing and maintenance.

Alongside these new enhanced “outdoor” features, the Condair RS and Condair EL steam humidifiers inside the robust outer casing still offer all the innovative features that make these resistive and electrode humidifiers market-leaders. The latest touch-screen control panel gives intuitive control over operation and reporting, and a USB connection allows software to be updated and historic operational information downloaded into Excel.

The Condair RS resistive steam humidifier has an innovative scale-management system that sees limescale detach from the heating elements and fall into a scale-collector tank. This can be occasionally emptied to remove scale from the system without the need for major maintenance downtime. The Condair EL electrode boiler humidifier has advanced water quality management that precisely maintains the mineral content of the boiling cylinder. This avoids the need for excessive flushing of hot water to drain and minimises limescale formation.

The Condair Group is the world’s leading specialist in humidification and evaporative cooling, with energy efficient, hygienic and innovative technologies for commercial, industrial and heritage applications. Condair is represented in the UK by Condair plc, which offers system design, manufacture, supply, installation, commissioning, maintenance and spares. You can find out more by visiting the company’s website at www.condair.co.uk.

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Armourcoat’s new Acoustic Plaster System has been granted the Quiet Mark Award – the international mark of approval from the Noise Abatement Society Charitable Foundation.

Quiet Mark is the international award programme and system of support for brands and consumers. Through its pioneering acoustic tests, the organisation awards its distinctive Purple Q Mark to products and services that show excellence in low-noise and high-performance.

Designed to optimize the acoustics of interior spaces, the Armourcoat Acoustic plaster system offers a clean and smooth mineral surface that can be applied seamlessly over large expanses to both flat and curved surfaces. Comprising of a special mineral wool composite panel that is bonded onto the substrate and finished with a seamless layer, the system presents an elegant marble-based plaster finish while allowing sound energy to pass through the surface.

The Armourcoat system includes a high percentage of pre and post-consumer recycled material, zero VOCs, is class ‘0’ fire-rated, and achieves a class ‘A’ Noise Reduction Coefficient rating for the 50mm system.

Poppy Szkiler, Founder and Managing Director, Quiet Mark, comments: “We welcome Armourcoat to the growing family of global organisations that are prioritising investment in acoustic research to create quieter solutions, as recognised by the Quiet Mark award. Armourcoat’s innovative acoustic plaster system performs to the highest building standards and incorporates special wool composite. This delivers excellent noise reduction properties and minimises the unnecessary intrusion of unwanted sound into our buildings, allowing the creation of a peaceful and supportive aural environment in our homes and places of work.”

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Saniflo is pleased to announce the appointment of Fahim Karim as Specification Sales Manager for the South. This new role will focus predominantly on the Kinedo range of cubicles, enclosure and trays.

Having graduated from Brunel University in Uxbridge with Masters in Molecular Medicine and Cancer Research, Fahim was subsequently attracted to a career in sales and has since spent over 7 years in Specifications.

With experience in selling furniture, bespoke flooring and windows for new build and refurbishment projects he has excellent experience in dealing with architects, designers, developers, contractors and house builders; precisely the professional contacts required in this newly created role.
Outside work Fahim is an avid traveller and has explored the Middle East, Eastern Europe and America in the last few years. He is also a football and basketball fan.

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Consumer units are often much more about what goes into them than what is already built in. This product information feature from Crabtree, one of Electrium’s leading brands in circuit protection, is a guide to choosing the right consumer unit and what to put in it.

When they say ‘the whole is greater than the sum of its parts’, they may not be talking about consumer units… but the analogy certainly fits!

A correctly selected and installed consumer unit plays a vital role in the safe use of electricity in the home. Its devices protect the installation and more importantly, the users, from faults and risks such as fire, and electrical shock.

Starbreaker consumer units have been designed to be easier, safer and faster to install, whether it’s a first-time installation, a re-fit or an upgrade, the range has been designed to be both backwards compatible as well as future-proofed.

Nothing demonstrates this better than the latest development in the circuit protection market.

New Regulations in the 18th Edition

With the release of the 18th Edition of the wiring regulations, which was published on 1st July 2018, a new type of circuit protection device was included under regulation 421.1.7 regarding AFDDs which stands for Arc Fault Detection Device. Starbreaker consumer units are the only consumer units that can accept AFDDs without the need for special busbars or assemblies, or on site adjustments.

Furthermore, because the busbar hasn’t changed since its launch AFDDs can be instantly fitted to any Starbreaker consumer unit, regardless of its age.

Starbreaker consumer units use an innovative instant self connection system by employing a unique busbar system that devices simply plug into for instant push fit connections that give guaranteed factory quality connections.

This makes the installation of devices easier, safer and faster. AFDDs can be simply plugged into the fully insulated plug in busbar system for an easy installation that meet 18th Edition standards for additional protection against electrically ignited fires.

30mA RCD Protection Extended

Today’s typical domestic installation will have 30mA RCD protection on every circuit, especially as another new regulation in the 18th Edition (regulation 411.3.4) has extended the use of 30mA RCDs to include all lighting circuits in dwellings.

All of which means that each circuit in a consumer unit needs to have several types of protection against a variety of potential faults.

By combining Crabtree AFDDs (Arc Fault Detection Devices) with the new Miniature RCBO (Residual current Circuit Breaker with Overcurrent protection) Crabtree have created a single device, capable of providing protection against all the fault conditions as necessary.

This device includes MCB technology, RCD technology and AFDD technology, providing protection against overcurrent, short circuit, earth leakage and arc fault conditions, all in one DIN mounted plug in 2 pole device that also switches the neutral for even higher levels of safety. They also help designers and installers comply with the 18th Edition IET Wiring Regulations.

It’s important that installers understand that AFDDs detect the types of arc faults that cannot be detected by RCDs or MCBs. These new devices use digital technology to provide additional protection against fires caused by arcs in AC 230V final circuits.

The 30% “Rule”

To help to avoid unwanted tripping of RCDs from PE currents (non fault leakage) the total PE current must be less than 30% of the RCD rating i.e. 30% of 30mA – see regulation 531.3.2.
Designers and installers will have to take account of PE currents when dividing the installation into the necessary number of circuits. Alternatively installers could simply use an individual RCBO on each circuit.

Only Use Manufacturer Approved Parts

Another new regulation, 536.4.203, refers to devices and components that are used in low voltage assemblies, such as consumer units, must only be those that have been declared suitable for that purpose by the manufacturer of the assembly.

Or put another way. Only use manufacturer approved parts, don’t mix brands of devices, or control items. Using unapproved parts will invalidate manufacturer guarantees and may result in an unsafe installation.

Meter Tails

The 18th Edition also includes regulation 522.8.5 which requires every cable to be installed in a way that avoids any mechanical strain and makes sure that there is no strain on the conductors and connections.

Consumer unit meter tails are included in this requirement. This is in addition to any other requirements to provide protection to tails at the point of entry into metal consumer unit enclosures etc.

Health and Safety

Regulation 462.1.201 requires a means of isolation (a main linked switch or circuit breaker) at the origin of every installation and in situations where this will be operated by ordinary persons, e.g. on a consumer unit in a domestic household, the main switch must interrupt both live conductors (L and N) of a single phase supply.

Starbreaker Mini RCBOs and AFDDs  provide this same safety protocol to individual circuits too because they include switched neutral as standard.

Periodic Inspections

The 18th Edition recommends periodic testing and inspection (regulation 135.1).
Testing can be a time consuming and costly activity, but Starbreaker Miniature RCBOs allow IR testing to be carried out without disconnecting and reconnecting circuit cables because they include two pole isolation as standard. Just switch off and test. Easier, safer, faster.

So, whether it’s a brand new installation, an addition or upgrade, Crabtrees’ Starbreaker consumer units and devices (Miniature RCBOs and AFDDs) can be simply plugged into the fully insulated plug self-connecting busbar system.

Providing an easy installation that now includes additional protection against electrically ignited fires.

Get more on the 18th Edition

Be clued up on the 18th Edition and the changes that are coming through by visiting our 18th Edition Area.

We’ll be talking more about AFDDs, Surge Protection, RCD and more.

For more information go to www.electrium.co.uk/18th-edition

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The brand new MagnaClean DRX is now available.

Its innovative and compact design includes a magnetic belt wrapped around a precision engineered stainless steel case which makes installation and servicing quick and easy.

The MagnaClean DRX has a robust and versatile design

The DRX has joined ADEY’s family of filters which are designed specifically for commercial systems. It will provide essential protection for plant rooms and comes complete with a host of features to provide a versatile solution for heating engineers:

Innovative and compact design which includes magnetic belt technology

• Flexible installation options – for both in-line and side stream applications
• Easy to service
• Effective capture of black iron oxide sludge
• Captures large and small size particles
• Available in sizes 2”, 2 ½”, 3 “ and 4”

To see the DRX’s design for yourself, you can watch a brand new video that is available via the ADEY YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/mOVnVCFNpAs

Along with the rest of ADEY’s range of Commercial filters, you can also download Building Information Modelling (BIM) technical data for the Magnaclean DRX by visiting adey.com / bim-store or via bimstore.co.uk

ADEY’s Commercial Division has also been expanded to support their customers further:

The continued expansion of ADEY’s Commercial Division now means that customers have access to a dedicated and highly-experienced team who are able to offer focused technical insight, help and advice, no matter what the system size, scale or problem.

To request a free site visit where a member of the ADEY team will come out and assess your plant room, just go to www.adey.com/support/customer-support
You can contact ADEY on 01242 546 717 or via info@adey.com

You can also keep up to date with ADEY’s latest activities via their social media channels: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and LinkedIn. And if you would like to find out more about the MagnaClean DRX or ADEY’s Commercial range, please visit adey.com

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Arc Fault Detection Devices are a new addition to the 18th Edition of the Wiring Regulations. This product information feature from Crabtree discusses why arcing shouldn’t become an after thought.

The Wiring Regulations define danger as: “Risk of injury to persons from: fire, electric shock, burns, arcing and explosion arising from the use of electrical energy.” Not that this should surprise us, electricity is a dangerous commodity.

In England in 2016/17, there were 13,347 fires from an electrical origin. Electrical fires are continuing to occur at virtually the same rate year on year, even though many of these incidents are preventable.

Perhaps this is partly because buildings have more items of electrical equipment in them than ever before? Electrical fires caused by arc faults typically occur at loose connections, poor terminations, in damaged leads and cables, or through old, weak and failing insulation.

Arc Fault Detection Devices (AFDDs), can decrease the likelihood of electrical fires from these conditions by detecting the arcing conditions before the overheating and ignition of flammable materials. In countries like the USA, where use of AFDDs started some years ago, there’s been a reported reduction of 10% for this type of incident.

Dave Enefer, Product Manager at Crabtree, comments: “The wiring regulations (BS7671) sets out requirements for electrical installations in the UK, including requirements for protection of persons, livestock and property against the risk from fires that may be generated and propagated in electrical installations.

“Designers and installers should ensure that the installation is arranged so that the risk of ignition from high temperatures or electric arc is minimised, and that protection from harmful thermal effects is provided. Protection requirements include protecting against fire caused by insulation faults, arcs and sparks and high temperature.”

Clearly the wiring regulations require certain design and installation standards. It is permitted to use RCDs as a measure for protection against insulation faults, it’s also a requirement to install other circuit protection devices such as MCBs to provide protection from overcurrent and other conditions.

However, those devices cannot detect or disconnect arc faults. AFDDs detect arc faults that will not be detected by RCDs or MCBs due to the fact that the magnitude of such arc faults is often insufficient to operate an RCD or MCB.

Crabtree Arc Fault Detection Devices cater for the all of the above requirements because the AFDD technology is combined with MCB and RCD technology in one single device, providing for all of the requirements of BS7671.

In countries that have already adopted this technology AFDDs are often used in buildings with sleeping accommodation, those made from combustible materials, and locations with rare or irreplaceable items. Imagine how many incidents could be prevented if these devices were installed in all such locations?

What’s an AFDD?

AFDDs work by protecting specifically against arc faults, as they automatically trip a circuit when they detect dangerous electric arcs – thus preventing the outbreak of a fire.

An arc fault occurs when the arc current either flows between active conductors in parallel with the load of the circuit or when it is flowing through the load(s).

Arcing is incredibly dangerous because it creates high intensity heating at the point of the arc, resulting in burning particles that may, over time, ignite surrounding materials. Moreover, repeated arcing creates carbon paths which generate temperatures exceeding 6,000 degC.

It can take time to develop, it can occur immediately or over a longer period, meaning that the onset of an electrical fire due to ignition of the cable insulation or nearby flammable materials is unpredictable.

AFDDs constantly monitor and analyse patterns in voltage waveforms and electrical current, looking out for divergence from normal patterns of waveform that denote a potentially dangerous arc.

They are designed and tested to not respond to arcing under normal operation of equipment, for examples vacuum cleaners and drills, whilst simultaneously continuing to respond to arc faults whilst the equipment is being used.

Electrical fires can be decreased in number by the use of this recognised device that installers can now easily access and install.

You can read more about Crabtree’s AFDD solution via www.electrium.co.uk/products/crabtree

And there is more about Arc Fault Detection Devices and the 18th Edition over at the 18th Edition Area of the Electrium website at www.electrium.co.uk/18th-edition

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