Traditional boiler safety control has been virtually the same since long before any of us were born. On a call for heat: check your limits, light a pilot, sense a flame, open gas valves and continue to run your boiler until your load is satisfied, or one of your limits trips, or you no longer sense a flame. Easy, unless your boiler shuts down and you are the one who has to figure out how to make it start again.

Outside of a once a year boiler tune up, the concept of boiler fuel and energy savings is non existent for most boiler operators. With increasing fuel costs, boiler operators are looking for practical ways to save fuel.

Thanks to Honeywell, and a new Combustion system called the Honeywell Delphi, things have never been better in the Boiler combustion world. Notice I used the word “system.” Until Honeywell introduced this revolutionary concept of a “boiler control system”, a Boiler was controlled by individual control components such as the flame relay, flame sensor, low water cutoff, pressure switches, and gas valves. All of these components are a critical part of any flame safety strategy and are included in the honeywell Delphi System. The difference is that Honeywell has taken a different approach and is using these inputs with a Delphi panel to diagnose problems when the boiler safety system shuts the boiler down. This diagnostic information greatly reduces down time by enabling a boiler operator to go straight to the problem instead of going through a lengthly trouble shooting process.

In addition the Delphi allows precise control of fuel and air valves to get maximum fuel and energy savings. With different fuel-air ration curves available, from the graphically beautiful and easy to use touch screen, on the front of the Delphi panel setting up a burner has never been easier. With the addition of lead lag control and remote communications the Delphi, although a little pricey, is a great investment that will pay for itself many times over.

Ok, it’s Thursday morning at 5:00a.m. I am in my trusty pickum’ up truck leaving my homebase in Jacksonville, Florida to attend the WORLD REKNOWN CUSTOMER APPRECIATION Day at Stromquist and Company Orlando on Friday 5/18/2012.

Computer..Check, Camera..Check, Phone..Check, Clothes..Check….geeze why am I running a check list driving south on I-95 in the dark? Oh well………………..

The Atlanta crew consisting of Eric, Stacie, Stephanie, Britt will be flying into Orland a little later today to help with the festivities.

What do we have planned for you? Fun, Prizes, Music, and Games and PLEASE DON”T FORGET FOOD !!!!! There will be basketball, golf, and a MONEY Machine (GRAB THOSE BILLS). We wanted a dunking pool but Eric nixed that idea…WONDER WHY?

Doors will be open for the EVENT from 11:00-2:00 for your entertainment.

I want to invite ALL who can make it to come on in to the Orlando branch of Stromquist and Company ALL of us are looking forward to meeting ALL of you. You will finally be able to put a face to that voice you have been talking to for years!!!!

It’s about fun, relaxation, and above all APPRECIATION…. Come on in and let us show you again….YOU ARE APPRECIATED !!!!!

GOOD: The appeal of the Richard-Zeta Mediator was its open protocol savvy and its strident concept of leveraging existing assets, while future-proofing your upgraded system with BACnet devices. The JACE rescue easily gets your BACnet assets back onto the network.

BAD: As RZ Networks and controllers dry and sour as grapes on the once smart and fertile vine, a significant number of MUSH Market investors (Municipalities, Universities, Schools, and Hospitals) who went the RZ Mediator route to strategically deal with the first couple rounds of proprietary battles, are now RZ Net orphans, unbelieving wards of the we really “can’t-integrate” state.

UGLY: Cisco handsomely bought and buried Richard Zeta after arriving at some projected, future border — remaining absolutely indifferent, oblivous, and harmless to the significant installed collateral damage it caused when it abruptly ended its blade solution or its “green cloud” energy wise image.

Well, now, we need to remember that the wild, wild west could be one wild acquistion away from your system. Like they said in Rome, when you were eyeing up your next chariot: Caveat Emptor!

Good thing, that most of trails we travel still have full service lanes that pass close enough to graveyards and tombstones along the way to ward off the temptation let the reigns loose and gallop down the next blazing beta-tracks laid by the most recent and urgent high-tech stagecoach arrival that is asking for directions to the next town. But of course, being polite by nature, please, you first.

Do you have a Mediator story? If so, don’t be tight lipped about it. No need to go all Dirty Harry on us, just tell us what you are doing about your system now. Are you changing your Mediators out ? If so what are you replacing it with? Is the Cisco kid still a friend of yours or did he leave you high and dry, drinking whiskey while Pancho drinks the wine?

Johnson Controls, Inc. announces the release of the TL-BRTRP-0 router, which is a small, economical, portable BACnet/IP to MS/TP router.

This new portable router is intended to be used as a hard-wired connection interface between a BACnet/IP-based software tool and BACnet MS/TP-based controllers. You use the TL-BRTRP-0 router as a connection interface between:

Facility Explorer FX07, FX14, and FX16 BACnet Field Controllers and FX CommPro BACnet software (directly replaces the LP-KIT204-000C)

Facility Explorer Programmable Controllers (FX-PCs) and the Facility Explorer Programming & Commissioning Tool (FX-PCT)

Metasys® Field Equipment Controllers (FECs, VMAs, and IOMs) and the Controller Configuration Tool (CCT)
Note:
CCT must be at Release 5.3 or later to support the BACnet routing connection.
The TL-BRTRP-0 Portable BACnet Router does not require batteries or a transformer for power. Instead, it is powered via a USB connection to your computer. A USB cable is provided.
The TL-BRTRP-0 router features the following two methods for making the field connections to the BACnet MS/TP trunk wiring:

screw terminals

RJ-11 connector: the pinout of this RJ-11 connector connects to the multi-headed cabled included with the LP-KIT200-000C RS-232 to RS-485 N2 converter.
Note:
FX-PCs and MS-FECs support a BACnet router connection only at the field controller (FC) bus, not at the sensor actuator (SA) bus.

Please note this product is only sold though authorized Johnson Controls Systems Integrators. If you are in Georgia contact one of te control pros at Stromquist & Company for help locating a local Johnson Controls Systems Integrator.

Rob was King of the Counter but King Rob got a little too arrogant and neglectful of his royal duties, so Stromquist organized a revolt and dethroned the king.  We captured the dethroning on video as a warning to all would-be kings.  Viewer discretion is advised.

Stay tuned to see the coronation of King William the First, the new Stromquist King of the Counter.  If you are a Stromquist customer in the Atlanta area and want the chance to be crowned King, like us on Facebook and visit our counter to get your name in the running.  We will crown a new King each month until the end of the year.  The most kingly of kings will win an ipad at the end of the year.

Hi my name is Dozier Mills, and I have joined the Stromquist & Company team as a DDC and HVAC sales and support person. One of the main reasons I came on board with Stromquist & Company is their commitment to excellence, integrity, and quality. As a customer of Stromquist & Company, I got to experience these qualities first hand. Stromquist & Company is my next and hopefully final stop on a thirty one year journey and adventure in an industry that I love dearly: HVACR and Controls. The purpose of this post is to introduce myself and tell you my story.

In 1977, while on vacation in the Florida Keys with my family, the A/C was not working.  As you can imagine, being in South Florida, our rental apartment was a scorcher.  On my return from a lobster run, there was a technician working on the air conditioning unit.   A curious young man, I wanted to know all about him and what he was doing.  I asked him all sorts of questions, including what his hourly wage was, which he told me was $25.00 per hour.  I began thinking, hmm…I live in Florida, there will always be a/c systems that need to be repaired, maybe I’ll become an a/c tech.

In 1981, I rolled went to a United States Air force recruiter. I took a test and the Sergeant said “son you scored high, we could use you in cryogenics” (Air/Conditioning).  I left on a bus and was on my way to starting my new career with the USAF on Friday the 13th, good thing I am not superstitious.

One of the big perks of being an honor student at USAF tech school, was that you got to walk to school instead of having to march in formation with the others. Not to say that I march to the beat of a different drummer but I did graduated Cryogenics tech school an honor student with a 97.4.

After graduation, the next big event for any USAF tech school student is the day you find out where you will be stationed. You stand at attention, in formation with your peers, as the names of techs and their new home bases are shouted out. When I heard “Mills.. Elmendorf AB”, I ran to the map of all the home bases. Being young and a Florida native, I thought for sure that they would send me to a warm climate. I was looking all over the bottom part of the map for Elmendorf AB, when my roommate pokes me and starts laughing.  He points up to the far upper left hand corner of the map to Elmendorf AB Alaska!

Several days later, I was picked up at the Anchorage Airport and driven into Elmendorf AB at 1:15 a.m.  It seemed like the sun never went down; there are 22 hours of functional daylight summer and only five hours, 28 minutes of daylight during the winter. I was not in Florida anymore, and now had a functional understanding of what the word COLD meant. Temperature control in Alaska according to my first Sergeant: open the window when hot and close it cold.

In 1982, I finished my 5th and 7th level USAF A/C courses. I learned a lot in these courses including how cold storage plants, computer room environments, and chow hall refrigeration equipment work.

I received a valuable lesson about dealing with high voltage and high pressures. I learned about phosgene gas, with another tech, while welding on a refrigerant pipe. The flame was green, and as I discovered, phosgene is an insidious poison; the odor may not be noticed and symptoms may be slow to appear.  I saw the Tech fall in-front of me, my head started to get light. I quickly grabbed the tech and dragged him out of the mechanical room. It took us both a while to feel normal, we were lucky and I learned that safety must always be a priority.

I transferred to Eielson AB in Fairbanks Alaska, and learned how to find steam leaks the old fashioned way. The Sergeant handed me a wooden stick and told me to hold it out in front of me when walking slowly down a utility shaft. Suddenly, half the stick blows apart and disappears. I jumped back in shock, hearing,”Hey,good job, you just found a steam leak!” Lesson learned, steam is invisible and can do serious damage, be careful around unfamiliar steam pipes.

With the cold weather in Alaska going outside was not something you did voluntarily. We spent lot’s of time inside and those of us who could played music, this is where I learned to play guitar. A rock and roll band was started, since I know how and loved to play drums, I was the drummer. We played some live concerts for everyone that was trapped inside trying to stay warm. Music is still a big part of my life.

In 1984, I moved to US AB Wright Patterson in Dayton, Ohio. Here I got another important lesson in safety. One warm day, I got the tech call, “The administration building is not getting any air, Doz go and fix it”. I went to the mechanical room to check out the 75 ton compressor that was not working. Using the knowledge I learned in tech school, I turned off what I thought was the power disconnect for the Unit. Like a good tech, I began to ohm out the windings, when there was a bright flash a bang, and pain. I was blinded for hours and had lost my eyebrows, I was not a pretty sight. An electrician, not knowing I was there, had wired the compressor directly to the breaker and reset the breaker. Note to self, and others …always triple check power and wear a face shield. Remember, safety first.

At the Dayton base, there was an abundance of pneumatic controls systems. Working with pneumatic controls was my first step to learning about building automation control systems. My job was to keep the pneumatic system clean and dry, find air leaks, and keep the controls calibrated. This experience fueled my curiosity about controls and control systems. Think about it, with all the talk today about “open ddc control systems”, pneumatic controls are and always have been the purest form of open controls.You can mix any brand of pneumatics with any other brand. You can use a Honeywell pneumatic thermostat, with a Johnson Controls receiver controller, and throw in a Siemens transmitter for good measure. I love that about pneumatic controls. I love that at Stromquist & Company we stock and sell every brand of pneumatic control.

In 1985, after completing my four years of service, I moved back home to Melbourne, Florida and some sensible weather. I started a job at the new Hilton Hotel and office tower. My job included taking care of the 400 ton centrifugal plant, all of the refrigeration, rooftop, and pneumatic controls. The reality was I did anything and everything required to maintain a hotel. My experience at The Hilton allowed me to refine my skills as an HVAC tech and add to my education of mechanical systems. The Hilton will always be a special place to me:it is where I met my wonderful wife of twenty five years.

In 1993, I began working for Brevard County Schools. On my first day of work I noticed a room with a PC running Windows 3.1. I was intrigued, here was this computer controlling three schools with a Siemens DDC system. Fascinated, each day I would stick my head in the door to check out the PC and what it was doing. When the EMS supervisor found out that I knew about controls, he asked if I would be interested in transferring to his shop? Of course my answer was yes, and that was the start of my love affair with DDC controls.

Brevard County Schools has ninety plus schools on DDC. Their systems include Siemens, Johnson N2, Johnson BACnet and Alerton. They also have a Ethernet Stat on 186 portables and four servers dedicated to HVAC EMS programs. There are twenty ice plants that cool the schools when the chillers shut off. They have voltage recording devices in many of the schools to help track power problems. The best part about all of this, is that for almost 19 years, I got to play with and learn about all these systems. I am very grateful to Brevard County Schools for the opportunities they gave me to round out my education and learn about one of the most exciting parts of the HVACR business: open systems and system integration.

I love controls, I am passionate about them and love solving control problems and helping other people. So when Stromquist & Company reached out to me, it was a natural evolution in my journey to join them. My mission is to offer my knowledge and experience and help Stromquist & Company in their quest to providing the best products, support, and service in the controls industry. I will be blogging on Controltrends, so please feel free to send me your questions. For Stromquist & Company customers I am a phone call away at 800.241.9471. My name is Dozier Mills and I look forward to serving you.

Stromquist & Company would like to thank all our wonderful Florida customers for their years of loyal support and patronage. Please join us at our Orlando location Friday May 18, 2012 from 11:00 AM to 1:30 PM for an afternoon of great food, fun, games, and prizes.

For more information please contact Edna at 800.241.9471

Internet Only Distributors: The Tip of the Iceberg! And there other peak poachers emerging!

No Swiss neutrality here! Picture mountains in Europe or the green fields in horse country. These great visual representations are the economical tip of an iceberg that portends grave consequences that will ultimately sink local distribution. BUT! The internet distributors that are above the cost of overhead are the symptoms, not the cause!

The first betrayal is committed above the clouds, at the manufacturers’ roost, at the highest point of the control food chain. This is the only place where the distributor’s role in the business can be so taken for granted, because the distributors and their contractors are presumed to be locked in. So, the manufacturer’s create a one-plus feature for themselves by giving non-inventory, low-margin brokers the chance to poach easy commodity commercial components business at the expense of the territorial ground forces who specify, quote, stock, and support!

Good: Some of the most notorious corporate colors are listening, responding, and re-enforcing the two-step channel. Thank you Honeywell, Johnson and other controls companies that are thinking longer term and not taking the easy buck.

Bad: This is a growing threat They are in your neck of the woods, too!

Ugly: They are eroding the margins and to survive, they are probably are getting better pricing than the distributors!

The Really Ugly: Stocking no inventory, having manufacturers ship direct to customers,providing no technical support, and bragging about it. Really ? Give us a break, even Clint knows there is no free lunch. One way or another you get what you pay for. Not to name names, but if you are using these guys you have A lready L ost P erspective and S ensibility.

The Unforgiven: Those manufacturers who reward internet only distributors with better prices and abilities to bypass full service distributors, who invest in local inventory, training local support staff, local websites, and building market share by training and paying local sales people. Ironically, the number one enabler also makes one of the best products in the market place. I love your Orange actuators: Please stop the insanity !!

Consequence: Contractors: Wake up! The brick and mortar that you jump into your trucks and rely on to pick up immediate materials and accurate instructions on how to do things in a pinch, will become little ghosttowns because of your split loyalties and rush for a few dollars more!

Wattstopper’s DLM ( Digital Lighting Management System) is the easy way to control lighting loads in a building. What if you needed to add a global override to your network? This is easy with the Network button feature. How easy? Check out this short video and let me know what you think in comments.

For more information on Wattstopper contact one of the control pros at Stromquist & Company.

Although this video interview with Roger Rebennack was not shot at the Niagara Summit, it does a great job of showing

how to use Honeywell WEBS AX and the Honeywell Security JACE to integrate access and security in with a building automation system giving a building owner true “single seated control” By single seated we mean one software package that communicates with all your building controls systems: HVAC, ACESS AND SECURITY and LIGHTING