An Inventor’s Dream

Patrick Schatz is a restless inventor. Imagine, if you will, a young Einstein who’s infatuated with improving machinery function or inventing a device to do something no one else has previously created. 

The intrepid mechanical engineer has several patents and sees most things in life as performing interconnected functions. He rebuilds old cars in his spare time (preferring circuit board-free muscle cars) and works, happily challenged, for innovative Dayton, Ohio-based manufacturer HPC Fire Inspired (www.hpcfire.com). 

Schatz, HPC’s product engineer, notes that some testing functions were tedious and repetitive. For many years, they tested various equipment functions, capturing data by hand. “Some testing procedures were so monotonous that it became the least interesting part of work, which added repetitive cross-checking to ensure the accuracy of testing,” he says. “Something had to change.” 

Schatz sought a way to modernize and simplify laborious testing for accurate measurements and data required for monthly CSA, ANSI or UL audits. Computations include fuel temp, ambient temp, barometric pressure, precise gas pressure, etc. Testing — and the recording of test data — was necessary but very time-consuming. To make matters worse, they then had to feed all that data and information into computers, keystroke by keystroke. 

“Our testing became one of the most significant impediments to product development and introductions,” Schatz explains. “It negatively affected company performance and profitability, and just hammered our job satisfaction.” 

Fire and water

Why all the hard work? 

Picture in your mind the coolest, most dazzling outdoor feature for social gatherings — something you’d expect to see in Las Vegas, perhaps, or on the set of a Star Wars movie. HPC’s flagship product is one that Schatz was instrumental in bringing to market. 

HPC’s H2Onfire product is ideal for many residential or commercial settings. The innovative fire and water effects add the sound of soothing water and beautiful blue LED lights to the warmth and romance of fire. 

“When you get to work on products this cool — and we’ve always got new ones in development — the work’s worth it,” Schatz says. “It’s both challenging and invigorating.” 

Yet despite the challenge of repetitive testing, the mid-sized manufacturer was recognized in the hearth, patio and BBQ market for its many innovations. In March 2020, HPC Fire Inspired won the Hearth, Patio and Barbeque Association’s prestigious Vesta Award for its new Universal Gas Orifice, and was later recognized by Ohio. It was a project Schatz was involved in developing.

In 2013, HPC — along with Schatz’s Evolution 360 design (a circular outdoor fire and water feature) — won a patent and several design awards. “At Las Vegas home show in 2016, we could’ve sold the demo unit a hundred times,” he notes. 

HPC also makes the Evolution 360 using the water as the media. The gas bubbles up from the pool of water and ignites just above the surface, looking almost holographic — but it’s real. Often, when people encounter the fire-on-water action for the first time, they‘re mesmerized. 

It’s rarely a surprise to learn how some of the coolest, most appealing products (even muscle cars) come to life through hard work. Someone’s got to do the dirty work.

Well, back at HPC’s plant, Schatz and engineering tech Mike Chaffins continued to move through the need to test and re-test various equipment functions and performance. After all, as their products are natural gas or propane-fired, safety is their first and foremost concern. 

“Getting the data was laborious,” Schatz says. With notepad nearby, pen and stopwatch in hand, and counting the revolutions (more revolutions = better, more accurate results), Schatz and others tested various equipment functions. Imagine doing these tests manually (analog and by hand) every day as new products were prepared for shipment. 

Love at first sight

At HPC, they still do all those tests today, yet curiously, Schatz and the HPC team are moving product through the testing stage at a much greater speed and with greater accuracy. Morale is a lot higher, too. 

That’s because one day, Schatz learned about a new testing and data collection device from Engineering Manager Tom Witman. When he tested his first fire pit with Dormont’s FloPro-MD (a portable 3-in-1 gas flow meter, digital manometer and calculator), he described it as “love at first sight.” Then Schatz corrected himself, saying it was actually better than that. 

“It was like hitting a home run, running a touchdown and scoring a trifecta all at the same time,” he says.

Soon, Schatz purchased another FloPro-MD. HPC now has three of the devices. With FloPro-MD, all data is now more accurately captured and made available electronically, saving many hours each week. The pros at HPC consider the FloPro-MD’s most valuable features (in order) to be: 

• Live, real-time graphed data transmitted via Wi-Fi to a smart device; 

• Computation: data is entered/compiled to reveal useful information;

• Wi-Fi signal to smart device/computer;

• Data is then populated into Excel;

• Ease of use: small size/lightweight/transportability;

• Durability: they dropped one of the devices but it did not affect operation or accuracy.

“FloPro-MD changed our operations substantially,” Schatz explains. “Not only does the device give us quick access to accurate information, but it automatically presents data into Excel spreadsheets upon file access. It’s cut our R+D and testing time by at least 60 percent. It’s the finest diagnostic, testing and product performance tools I’ve ever seen and have had the pleasure to use.” 

PHC Pros Warm to New Diagnostic Technology 

So, what does new gas measuring technology have to offer plumbing, heating and hydronic contractors? Plenty.

After learning about FloPro-MD for the first time, Keefer Rader, owner of Albuquerque, N.M.-based Outlaw Mechanical (specializing in complex hydronic, HVAC and air-to-water hear pump systems; www.outlawmechanical.com), his comments were: 

“Wow! I wish I had this in my test instrument case a month ago. We had an issue with an airplane hangar where we’d just installed radiant tube heaters. The long and short of it was that I camped out there for 14 hours to prove the source of a gas supply problem. The utility provider’s main delivery [of natural gas] fluctuated, causing poor operation and shut-offs. With FloPro-MD, I could have set it and left the jobsite — while accomplishing plenty of other work — as the diagnostic tool did its job.”

According to Michael Paquette, Watts product manager for the Dormont FloPro-MD gas flow and pressure measurement system, installation and service pros have many good reasons to consider the merits of the latest technology. 

“Whether installing, commissioning or servicing gas-burning equipment or appliances, testing and diagnostic measurements are important to optimal operation of equipment, including boilers, furnaces, commercial kitchen equipment or back-up generators,” he says.

Paquette explains that, during installation or commissioning of gas-burning equipment, technicians see the gas pressure while testing it at full-load conditions. The tool, offering Bluetooth-enabled wireless capability, provides instant viewing and access to the data via mobile phone, verifying exact flow to all appliances. 

“We’ve found that one of the most common challenges installers face is the frustration of call-backs,” he adds. “Typically, there’s insufficient [natural gas or LP] flow — and when it affects a furnace or boiler, things become problematic quickly. 

“In cases like this, the tool can be connected to the gas system upstream, between the main [or regulator] and the boiler so that a run-test can be conducted at maximum flow, or 100 percent consumption,” he continued. “If a boiler’s rated at 150 MBH, but is only getting 130 MBH in gas flow, that’s a problem.”

In such an instance as this, the technician’s variables include: 

• Insufficient line size; does he need to replace the 1/2-inch line with a 3/4-inch feed?

• Is there a kink or restriction in the line or a leak? 

• Is there irregular gas flow from the utility? 

• Should he install a larger regulator?

• Is the existing regulator working properly?

• Insufficient gas flow to the appliance? 

The old-school method for testing in such instances requires plenty of time, a gauge/manometer (measuring only pressure), and steadfast vigilance on the part of an experienced professional. 

Jobsite testing

Paquette added that even with a single-functionality digital manometer — costing anywhere from $100 to $1,000 — the diagnostics are still limited to identifying gas pressure. In comparison, new diagnostic technology (providing flow meter, digital manometer and calculator, with detailed reporting) costs, on average, about $450 retail. 

So armed, a tech can hook up the tool, allowing new technology to do the work while also providing far more insight than a single-functionality manometer. 

One of the tool’s buyers in Calgary, Canada — Bob Rogers, with LDI Technical Services — uses the tool frequently in his work while installing and servicing commercial kitchen appliances. 

One of LDI’s commercial kitchen clients, a restaurant specializing in burgers, had a griddle that kept shutting down. After repeated call-backs and attempts to diagnose the problem’s origin, Rogers returned to the kitchen with his new and as-of-yet untested FloPro-MD tool

On this trip, he installed the tool into the gas line, determined to check data that the tool had developed during its monitoring period. The data was revealing: Rogers soon found himself explaining to the restaurant’s managers that the griddle was functioning properly when it had sufficient gas pressure. But outside pressures were fluctuating erratically. 

“There was no question the problem inside was coming from a problem outside,” he notes. “I provided them with the reports — which, in essence, became the smoking gun.” 

He adds that when armed with diagnostic proof, the restaurant’s managers could substantiate their claim of irregular gas feed from the utility. Utility technicians were ordered to move swiftly to correct the problem. 

“We’ve found that, very often, one call-back service can pay for the tool,” Paquette explains. “That’s all it takes. It’s amazing to me to see how quickly an investment can be rewarded.”