The following transcript is provided by YouTube. Mistakes are present. To hear the podcast episode, click HERE.
0:07.9
0:14.7
hello Scaling up nation Trace Blackmore
here your host for scaling up h2o the
0:14.7
0:19.6
podcast where we’re scaling up on
knowledge so we don’t scale up our
0:19.6
0:26.1
systems and folks we just got back from
the annual association of water
0:26.1
0:31.8
technologies convention and Expo of
course that was September 11th through
0:31.8
0:39.9
14th in Palm Springs you better believe
I got some great information there and I
0:39.9
0:46.8
received so many accolades about this
show thank you for all those people that
0:46.8
0:53.1
came up to me and let me know that this
show means something to you several of
0:53.1
0:58.3
you gave me some show ideas gave me some
people to interview and I really
0:58.3
1:04.5
appreciate that that makes sure that I
can keep this show going and while I was
1:04.5
1:10.8
there I did some interviews as well so
I’ve got a whole bunch of material that
1:10.8
1:17.6
I’m going to be releasing very shortly
so you can get even more up to date on
1:17.6
1:23.0
all the water treatment technologies
that are coming out there but I want to
1:23.0
1:28.1
let the scaling up nation know and I’m
sure you already know this
1:28.1
1:33.2
I’m sure everybody’s going to the beach
and taking a vacation and celebrating
1:33.2
1:37.8
and taking the week off okay maybe
you’re not doing that but next week is
1:37.8
1:45.0
industrial water week James McDonald
friend of show declared number-one fan
1:45.0
1:51.9
of scaling up h2o last year did the
first industrial water week he got it
1:51.9
1:59.1
declared as a global holiday that’s
gonna be October 7th through 11th and
1:59.1
2:04.7
every single day next week we are going
to be celebrating a different part of
2:04.7
2:10.4
water treatment we’re going to start off
Monday with pretreatment tuesdays is all
2:10.4
2:16.8
about boilers wednesdays is cooling
wastewater is thursdays and then we wrap
2:16.8
2:22.7
it all up with careers on
Friday this is what I have done this
2:22.7
2:28.3
year I have collected questions from you
gracious people out there in the
2:28.3
2:33.3
scaling-up nation I’m answering those
questions I’ve interviewed people at the
2:33.3
2:38.4
association of water technologies
convention and Expo that just happened a
2:38.4
2:44.7
few weeks ago and you are going to be
hearing each and every day from myself
2:44.7
2:52.6
and these people talking about those
five topics so it is my hope that as you
2:52.6
2:59.0
are celebrating industrial water week
you are listening to scaling up h2o each
2:59.0
3:05.1
and every day we’re gonna bring you a
new show to celebrate industrial water
3:05.1
3:10.4
week and it’s my hope that we all learn
something as we’re celebrating
3:10.4
3:15.7
industrial water week you know one of
the reasons that I produce this show is
3:15.7
3:21.5
I love to learn and I hope this show
makes it easier for you to learn things
3:21.5
3:27.3
about business about industrial water
treatment about sales about all the
3:27.3
3:33.2
things that we talk about here on this
show but I want to point out a big tool
3:33.2
3:39.0
that I use to help myself learn new
things and of course that tool is
3:39.0
3:46.9
audible audible is the tool that gave me
reading back we’re in the cars so much
3:46.9
3:51.3
and that’s why the podcast is such a
great format for us water treatment folk
3:51.3
3:57.3
but it is very hard to read in the car
it’s very hard to read when you’re in
3:57.3
4:01.4
front of customers it’s very hard to
read when all you’re doing is water
4:01.4
4:07.2
treatment service each and every day
well audible will bring your ability to
4:07.2
4:12.4
read back because you can do it while
you’re driving from account to account
4:12.4
4:18.2
don’t take my word for it try it out for
yourself and you can do that with a free
4:18.2
4:22.6
month and a free book on me by simply
going to scaling-up
4:22.6
4:28.8
h2o com forward slash audible
nation I am so excited to bring this
4:28.8
4:36.1
show to you one of my great friends
Blaine nagao of h2 tronics is on the
4:36.1
4:42.1
show today we are going to be talking
about equipment and I know everybody out
4:42.1
4:47.1
there in the scaling-up nation got into
the water treatment industry because you
4:47.1
4:52.3
simply love the equipment that we use is
this thing on
4:52.3
4:57.8
okay well maybe that’s not why we got
into the water treatment industry but we
4:57.8
5:06.5
all realize that equipment plays such a
great role in everything that we do
5:06.5
5:13.4
because it runs our programs when we are
not there and make sure that everything
5:13.4
5:19.5
is going into the system exactly when it
needs to go into the system folks it
5:19.5
5:25.4
allows us to go home at night otherwise
we would have to be there each and every
5:25.4
5:30.8
second of the day to make sure that the
right amount of product is put into the
5:30.8
5:34.9
system and of course we’re keeping
concentration ratios and all that stuff
5:34.9
5:39.7
where it needs to be the only way we can
do that is to put some sort of
5:39.7
5:44.5
electronic piece of equipment on the
wall well today we’re going to talk all
5:44.5
5:50.8
about that because Blaine is an expert
in all things equipment so please help
5:50.8
5:55.5
me welcome my friend
Blaine the GAO my lab partner today is
5:55.5
6:00.1
Blaine the ghoul of h2 tronics Blaine
you and I have tried to get our
6:00.1
6:03.8
schedules to meet up to do this
interview it’s finally here thanks for
6:03.8
6:08.1
coming on scaling up man I’ve been
avoiding it as long as I possibly could
6:08.1
6:13.3
but I wore you down I tracked you down
and you knew the path of least
6:13.3
6:17.9
resistance was to just come on the
frigging show and so it is exactly right
6:17.9
6:22.6
well Blaine I I’m really excited to talk
to you you and I have been friends for
6:22.6
6:26.6
years you have a unique perspective when
it comes to water treatment equipment
6:26.6
6:30.1
and that’s what we’re going to talk
about today but I want to make sure that
6:30.1
6:36.2
the audience understands who they’re
talking to so who the heck is Blaine gal
6:36.2
6:41.2
who is blaming gal blame the GAO is a
person that has been doing this far too
6:41.2
6:47.1
long I think I started about 20 I want
to say 23 years ago with CEM Cal and you
6:47.1
6:52.0
know through being a water treat her and
getting my CW t and I was hard basically
6:52.0
6:56.8
to start up an equipment group within
that company modernized equipment part
6:56.8
7:00.4
of that company and as that evolves and
we got really good what we did we had
7:00.4
7:06.0
others wanting to do what we do and you
know here comes a shooter onyx in the
7:06.0
7:12.5
meantime there’s been a wife or two
three kids and a lot of fun a lot of fun
7:12.5
7:19.3
and Blane part of that fun is you are a
fellow scuba diver how cool is that
7:19.3
7:25.2
yeah my favorite thing to do so it is
why I work as well and if I could figure
7:25.2
7:29.7
out a way to record this show underwater
you better believe I would do it I’ve
7:29.7
7:34.0
got a tattoo on my back of a dive flag
that says underwater I live on land I
7:34.0
7:39.7
survive go there you go
so what more could you ask for folks if
7:39.7
7:44.7
you’re not a scuba diver out there you
don’t know what you’re missing well but
7:44.7
7:48.4
I’m curious how did you get involved in
the water treatment industry we all have
7:48.4
7:52.8
a story what’s your story
mine’s a funny one I was a UH I was a
7:52.8
7:56.9
manager retail store manager for a
company that’s going down called compusa
7:56.9
8:00.9
back when you know computers were
thousands of dollars and you know you
8:00.9
8:06.3
can make money selling them and Steve
dumb ler my mentor and you know second
8:06.3
8:10.1
father was a customer of mine and you
know Steve was the kind of guy that
8:10.1
8:13.0
liked to come in and he always wanted to
talk to the boss so he and I became
8:13.0
8:18.4
close and started hanging out a little
bit and I got transferred away to open
8:18.4
8:22.9
another store in El Paso kept in contact
with him about once a month he called me
8:22.9
8:27.5
because he got a different car or
something and he always asked me from
8:27.5
8:32.0
wanted to work I was gonna be
transferred to California and he asked
8:32.0
8:36.6
me at the right time and I said yes and
he stopped and got really quiet and next
8:36.6
8:40.0
you know is in a moving band with my
wife and two cats on the way back to us
8:40.0
8:44.4
Dallas well there you go so just like me
Steve wore you down
8:44.4
8:49.7
Steve wore me down yeah so the secret to
Blaine to get him to do
8:49.7
8:54.3
he should do the entire time is just to
wear them down into that decision my
8:54.3
9:00.5
mother and my wife could both cooperate
that let’s start talking about equipment
9:00.5
9:06.3
and I think it’s safe to say that nobody
gets in the water treatment industry for
9:06.3
9:11.7
water treatment equipment it’s a
necessary device that we have to have
9:11.7
9:17.6
that allows us to go home and our
program to continuously run until we get
9:17.6
9:22.5
back you can say the e word it’s a
necessary evil and everybody hates it oh
9:22.5
9:26.1
if we could all find a magical way to
spew chemical into a system without
9:26.1
9:30.0
having to pump it or plug anything and
we’d all do that so and I will say that
9:30.0
9:34.2
in your marketing literature for those
out there and scaling up nations spew
9:34.2
9:38.6
chemical probably should not be included
but that’s just my opinion there it’s a
9:38.6
9:47.5
it’s a technical term different Jim Luke
and also friend of the show and very
9:47.5
9:52.5
unique individual I will add so low so
let’s say we have a water treatment
9:52.5
9:58.7
program we need some equipment and we
want to be able to go home after we set
9:58.7
10:03.2
this thing up so what are some of the
basis what are some of the baselines
10:03.2
10:07.2
that we need to look for that the
equipment needs to do and I guess we
10:07.2
10:11.0
should probably pick out different
systems so let’s say a cooling tower
10:11.0
10:15.9
system what’s the most minimum that we
need that equipment to do well you need
10:15.9
10:21.9
to control connectivity blowdown you
need to feed a by side or two preferably
10:21.9
10:26.6
two and you need to feed your skill
corrosion inhibitor so you need to have
10:26.6
10:31.5
four relays some sort of way to control
those relays whether they’re timers or
10:31.5
10:36.1
percent time for bleed and feed or bleed
then feed or you know whatever your
10:36.1
10:41.0
poisonous chemical pumps and the right
plumbing and I can’t stress enough the
10:41.0
10:45.8
correct plumbing we will talk about
installation in a little bit because you
10:45.8
10:48.9
do a great job with that but that so
that that would be the basis for a
10:48.9
10:53.2
cooling system what about a boiler
well boiler systems are more complicated
10:53.2
10:57.0
right because you’ve got to look at
things like pressure feed points it’s
10:57.0
11:01.6
not as easy to just throw a new feed
point in a boiler system sometimes you
11:01.6
11:05.6
know you have to do
what you’re given and you know you need
11:05.6
11:09.5
to feed sulphide in the proper spot
sometimes you have one injection point
11:09.5
11:13.4
sometimes you have a whole bunch
sometimes the boilers are on constant
11:13.4
11:17.6
makeup sometimes they’re on on-off
makeup so do a good survey and
11:17.6
11:20.6
understand what you’re getting herself
into make sure you’re not spinning your
11:20.6
11:24.5
wheels you don’t want to feed sulfite
where you no sulfites not going to work
11:24.5
11:28.7
and you need to make sure that if you
want to feed your boiler product based
11:28.7
11:32.6
on feed water flow that you can actually
get feed water flow now the biggest
11:32.6
11:36.1
thing is pressure understand your
pressure I see a lot of people who show
11:36.1
11:40.6
up to jobs with the misunderstanding of
boiler pressure so blame it sounds to me
11:40.6
11:46.4
like the bottom line is you need to do a
very diligent survey and you need to
11:46.4
11:52.7
absolutely understand the equipment that
you’re treating and then anything else
11:52.7
11:57.8
that you bring in control or pumps any
of that stuff has to make that program
11:57.8
12:02.7
work for that particular system that’s
exactly right and the key point there is
12:02.7
12:05.6
you have to understand so to write
something down on paper doesn’t
12:05.6
12:09.1
necessarily mean you understand it you
really have to go through and really
12:09.1
12:11.8
understand what you’re looking at if the
customer tells you the boilers running
12:11.8
12:15.4
at a hundred psi
probably go find a gauge or two to look
12:15.4
12:18.9
at or look at the nameplate specifically
under boilers the best way to find that
12:18.9
12:23.2
out if they say the feed water
temperature the feed water flow is is
12:23.2
12:28.0
controlled this way go put eyes on
because terminology semantics are the
12:28.0
12:31.0
Devils in the details so sometimes some
will say something and they mean
12:31.0
12:34.9
something but you know we hear a supply
return on cooling towers all the time
12:34.9
12:39.7
but what does that mean
trust all right so we talked about
12:39.7
12:45.1
cooling tower systems we talked about
boiler systems boiler systems a lot of
12:45.1
12:50.2
variables out there so let’s stick with
cooling tower systems you said what the
12:50.2
12:56.3
basis was that we need to have but I
also understand that there’s a whole
12:56.3
13:02.0
bunch more that we can bring to the
party that could make our life easier so
13:02.0
13:06.1
what are some of the additional
functions that controllers will do today
13:06.1
13:11.4
well they’ll do obviously the big one
now is inhibitor feed based on a trace
13:11.4
13:16.3
so PTSA is a big one there’s a bunch of
people
13:16.3
13:21.0
that category now that sells sensors
they all work great it’s easy to do all
13:21.0
13:25.2
that all the questionable legalities I
think are behind us and and that is
13:25.2
13:28.8
really really taken off and it works
really really well
13:28.8
13:35.0
sensor technologies with all of the new
push for for Legionella monitoring and
13:35.0
13:39.2
control you know the sensor technology
and looking at directory chlorine or
13:39.2
13:43.3
chlorine dioxide or things like that
have become a long long long way bromine
13:43.3
13:49.4
sensors corrosion sensors have become
cost effective whatever that means
13:49.4
13:52.6
you know but they’re things that there
are things that are out there now that
13:52.6
13:57.4
people kind of recognize those luxuries
before but they’re really not you can
13:57.4
14:02.6
buy you know a PT’s pts a sensor for a
reasonable amount of money corrosion
14:02.6
14:08.0
probes are reasonable I think walk in
just released one this week
14:08.0
14:11.0
prominent has one out now there’s just a
whole bunch out there now that work
14:11.0
14:16.1
really well well one of my favorite
things that the controllers will do is
14:16.1
14:21.7
remote monitoring yeah that’s a whole
nother world now I can’t think of any
14:21.7
14:25.2
mainstream controllers now that don’t do
that again that used to be the luxury
14:25.2
14:31.7
that used to be the the the exception
not the rule but I believe if I’m not
14:31.7
14:35.6
forgetting any I don’t think anything
released recently does not have remote
14:35.6
14:39.8
communications ability of some sort and
most don’t require any kind of offer
14:39.8
14:44.5
anymore or most let you get on from your
cell phone so there’s no excuse cellular
14:44.5
14:48.8
modems become cost-effective landlines
have all but gone away so good luck
14:48.8
14:52.3
getting your customer bring you
landlines my understanding that the cost
14:52.3
14:56.4
of running a landline it’s about five
times what a regular cell modem is now
14:56.4
15:01.8
huh who know yeah yeah there’s the
analog phone lines are just a thing of
15:01.8
15:06.0
the past people just don’t have them and
the service forms are real expensive so
15:06.0
15:11.5
cellular coverage is getting much much
much better and a lot of industrial
15:11.5
15:15.1
facilities have repeaters within the
buildings so that’s part of a survey
15:15.1
15:18.6
right making sure that if you do promise
a cell modem that you can get that you
15:18.6
15:23.7
can get service and if you can’t get
service whose service isn’t you ask the
15:23.7
15:27.2
customers or repeater in this building
because a lot of big manufacturer asila
15:27.2
15:30.4
T’s neither need their employees
available via cell phone
15:30.4
15:35.0
a little invest in a you know an 18th
year Verizon or whatever system within
15:35.0
15:37.2
their building
you’d be surprised humming those exists
15:37.2
15:42.6
and you don’t know until you ask right
God ask so that’s all about controllers
15:42.6
15:46.2
are there any new technologies with
pumps believe it or not pumps are
15:46.2
15:50.1
probably the most advancing technology
right now and it’s all just in the smart
15:50.1
15:53.6
pumps pumps that you can hook up to
their cell phone to span them we all
15:53.6
15:59.0
back in the I say we all back in the day
even ten years ago spanning a
15:59.0
16:03.0
proportional pump which that’s a great
way to do a lot of things feeding
16:03.0
16:06.7
proportionately we can talk about that
but that was a nightmare so there’s a
16:06.7
16:10.4
myriad of embedded menus on a one-line
screen that you had to kind of dig
16:10.4
16:14.3
through and hope you got right and
nowadays pumps you can hook up to your
16:14.3
16:19.9
computer span and set them all up that
way you can tell how fast it can go
16:19.9
16:24.8
there’s just all kinds of technologies
now in pumps on the horizon there’s a
16:24.8
16:27.9
whole bunch of pumps with embedded
controls coming out punch you can
16:27.9
16:32.6
connect sensors to you know the base of
a pump a diaphragm pump or a peristaltic
16:32.6
16:36.0
pump or whatever you’re using is the
mechanics up and haven’t changed much
16:36.0
16:39.9
though there are some better
technologies out there but the mechanics
16:39.9
16:44.9
are the same the electronics have really
really evolved and again back in the day
16:44.9
16:49.1
going back 20 years ago to buy pump that
would do these things was 2 or 3 times
16:49.1
16:53.3
the money and now it’s really not the
case it’s more of the norm one of the
16:53.3
16:58.6
coolest features that I appreciate is
the fact that you can through your
16:58.6
17:02.4
remote monitoring feature you can tell
if a pump is actually primed or not
17:02.4
17:06.6
that’s just cool you can you certainly
can you can you can do that a couple
17:06.6
17:10.5
ways you can just simply turn it you and
your hibbott or pump on and watch it and
17:10.5
17:14.3
see if your tracer comes up right even
though people could manual watch it come
17:14.3
17:18.1
up you can tell if you’re oxidized and
by side pumps prime because you can turn
17:18.1
17:22.6
it on and watch the or P go up again
sensor technology same with a pH whether
17:22.6
17:26.2
you’re feeding acid or caustic there’s a
lot of things out there now they’re
17:26.2
17:29.3
sensors and you may be alluding to that
that you can put on your pumps to let
17:29.3
17:33.2
you know that verify that the pumps
primed some are qualitative some are
17:33.2
17:37.6
quantitative the ones that are
quantitative or costly the ones that are
17:37.6
17:40.6
qualitative are great because they do
let you know your pumps primed but I
17:40.6
17:46.9
would caution people on on remote
never assume if you’re gonna get online
17:46.9
17:49.7
and see four pounds probably never
assume there’s not an operator sitting
17:49.7
17:53.4
there looking down the barrel of that
tube when you turn that pump on remotely
17:53.4
17:56.9
so I can’t stress enough when you log
into a customer’s facility if you’re
17:56.9
18:00.8
gonna turn the pump on manually make
sure they’re aware of that that’s a
18:00.8
18:05.4
great point and I can’t help but notice
you know you mentioned three ways to
18:05.4
18:10.7
verify whether the pump was prime using
all the different technologies that are
18:10.7
18:16.0
available to you so if somebody was new
in this industry and they’re now just
18:16.0
18:20.2
staring at a controller for the first
time you and I spoke in the beginning of
18:20.2
18:23.8
this show before we started recording
you know there’s no showroom as you
18:23.8
18:28.1
mentioned that you can go to and just
play with this stuff so how can somebody
18:28.1
18:33.3
become familiar with this equipment yeah
short of going to a DBT conference
18:33.3
18:37.2
there’s really not a place I know of
just to go touch everything and the best
18:37.2
18:41.4
way to do that in its the same way you
want to choose your supplier pick a
18:41.4
18:46.3
supplier get multiple suppliers in all
the major suppliers have really really
18:46.3
18:50.6
highly skilled factory reps that will
come visit you or your distributor will
18:50.6
18:55.4
and have them go through demos with you
and those demos are instructional so not
18:55.4
19:00.2
only have them show you what it does but
how it doesn’t how to work in all the
19:00.2
19:04.8
major manufacturers have invested and
some really really high-end people that
19:04.8
19:08.3
that will they will visit you and show
you how to do these things there are
19:08.3
19:12.0
some online things you can do and
there’s some simulators but in my mind
19:12.0
19:16.3
until you open one up and see how the
wires land then you know you want to buy
19:16.3
19:19.4
something you’re comfortable with and if
your hand doesn’t fit in a controller
19:19.4
19:23.0
you’ll sauces hands like mine then you
probably don’t want to pick the smallest
19:23.0
19:27.1
little controller good point
it’s it’s little silly things like that
19:27.1
19:31.4
people always ask me how do you choose a
brand just like you choose a car
19:31.4
19:37.0
features and comfort blade you talked
about installation earlier and where you
19:37.0
19:42.2
used to come to the AWT and used to
share with the AWT audience all the
19:42.2
19:46.0
wealth of information that you have
about equipment you taught me something
19:46.0
19:51.5
that I use to this day whenever you’re
putting plastic on plastic and you’re
19:51.5
19:56.8
threading something in to always turn it
the reverse way so you’re loosening it
19:56.8
20:01.1
so you hear that click and you know
you’re lined up and positively
20:01.1
20:07.1
guaranteed every time you will never
cross thread that fitting that is true
20:07.1
20:11.7
that is true I learned that from you
buddy and I have taught that to probably
20:11.7
20:16.1
hundreds of people so you never know
what ripples you’re gonna make that’s
20:16.1
20:19.9
even more true with with with metallic
fittings especially stainless because
20:19.9
20:23.1
stainless believe it or not it’s pretty
soft and it cross stretch real easily
20:23.1
20:27.8
and if you don’t do that that’s an
expensive piece of PVC sometimes not too
20:27.8
20:30.3
bad depending on what your cross
threading but a piece of stainless could
20:30.3
20:33.5
be some work and some cost so yeah
that’s it
20:33.5
20:37.2
that’s a great thing well and of course
you know all these things because you
20:37.2
20:42.6
know you’ve made a lot of mistakes as we
all learn and because of that you’ve
20:42.6
20:49.5
come up with some great ways to install
things the right way the first time what
20:49.5
20:53.7
are some of the tips that you can share
with the scaling-up nation on how they
20:53.7
21:02.4
can improve their installations first
and foremost do not understand one inch
21:02.4
21:06.7
pipe we’ve all and I think you included
of cut a piece of pipe out and seen it
21:06.7
21:11.4
about one-third the inside diameter
because you know stuff comes out of
21:11.4
21:15.7
solution in the system there’s no
substitution there’s no substitute for
21:15.7
21:21.4
flow so the first thing I recommend is
making sure that you don’t save $25 on
21:21.4
21:25.5
pipe and run three-quarter inch pipe
also do not be afraid to ask your
21:25.5
21:30.7
customer for further basics if you walk
into a plant and there’s no taps to
21:30.7
21:35.2
inject chemical into the header don’t be
afraid to ask for those taps if you walk
21:35.2
21:38.0
into a plant and there’s a half-inch tap
they want you to feed a controller
21:38.0
21:44.5
that’s a hundred feet away with doing do
not be afraid to ask them to upsize that
21:44.5
21:48.5
tap you’re the one that’s ultimately
responsible if it fails so you need to
21:48.5
21:53.8
ask and document that you ask and
document that you you know that you
21:53.8
21:57.8
shared the ramifications of not doing
that you know the other thing is making
21:57.8
22:01.3
sure that everything you’re doing is
compatible with what you’re using if
22:01.3
22:05.5
you’re feeding acid you see PVC if
you’re feeding certain you know just
22:05.5
22:08.4
verify with your technical group with
your company
22:08.4
22:11.7
what’s compatible with your product and
that goes for tubing it goes for tanks
22:11.7
22:15.7
it goes for pumps all those things up
front are a big help
22:15.7
22:19.3
if you suspect if you have a really hard
water system and you suspect you’re
22:19.3
22:22.9
gonna have things come out of solution
after an injection point put a teeth in
22:22.9
22:26.9
that line that you can simply unplug put
a plug in it that you can take and clean
22:26.9
22:30.6
you can run a bottle cleaner through
there or shotgun cleaner and and clean
22:30.6
22:36.1
that line little things like that or
next and nothing to do upfront and we’ll
22:36.1
22:41.9
save you an awful lot of problems so if
I go on a survey and I see that they
22:41.9
22:49.5
have the latest 1982 Hyde appcontroller
on that wall how should my conversation
22:49.5
22:53.4
go with that customer if it’s a hijack
is probably still working so you’re not
22:53.4
22:56.2
gonna say this thing doesn’t work and
more likely it’s probably still working
22:56.2
23:00.2
but you wanna you want to explain to the
customer what’s out there and what’s
23:00.2
23:04.5
different you know all joking aside that
controller is going to be a conductivity
23:04.5
23:09.6
and possibly a pH controller it’s going
to do bleeding feet or percent time it
23:09.6
23:14.6
will not allow for level sensors not go
to the pts or nor P sensor on it so take
23:14.6
23:18.2
the time you know grab some literature
bring it with you and talk to the
23:18.2
23:22.1
customer about what’s out there now and
how it benefits the customer because you
23:22.1
23:26.1
know it benefits use a water treaty
because it makes your job easier but it
23:26.1
23:29.5
benefits the customer because you’re
tasked with protecting their system the
23:29.5
23:33.3
best way to do this with the right tool
if you want to ensure that your products
23:33.3
23:36.8
in the system monitoring with the
tracers a great way to do it if you want
23:36.8
23:40.2
to ensure that you’re being by side
monitoring with a sensors a great way to
23:40.2
23:45.0
do it and it’s not just gee whiz cool
thing to do it’s you know it’s it’s it’s
23:45.0
23:48.4
to the benefit of everybody it’s a
detriment of everybody to not feed it
23:48.4
23:52.6
there’s no downside
so maybe joke a little bit about the hi
23:52.6
23:55.8
dak offered to buy it from them so you
can put it on eBay and sell them
23:55.8
24:01.6
something different put it on the museum
wall back in your shop yeah I wish I was
24:01.6
24:05.4
joking and that never happens but
unfortunately here in Atlanta that
24:05.4
24:09.9
happens more than I’d like to admit I
see it in big spec still customers send
24:09.9
24:16.7
us bid specs that are copy and pasted
from must be 1973 must be all you troll
24:16.7
24:22.0
must be hide act this you know it’s it’s
I wish that didn’t happen either but you
24:22.0
24:26.2
know that’s that’s that’s the kind of
effort sometimes people put into writing
24:26.2
24:31.5
their bit specs so I always let the
customer know that they have not spent
24:31.5
24:35.6
any money on their water treatment
program for well over thirty five years
24:35.6
24:40.4
and announced the time that they need to
do that and ROI is I’m not a big ROI guy
24:40.4
24:45.3
I’m not a big fan of throwing out just
arbitrary numbers to people but it
24:45.3
24:49.1
doesn’t take much to justify or five or
ten thousand dollars worth of equipment
24:49.1
24:53.5
it doesn’t take much electricity or
water at all and in our world that seems
24:53.5
24:56.6
like a lot that’s years worth of water
bills electricity bills at home but an
24:56.6
25:01.7
end up in a hospital that’s a week and
that’s a feather in your customers cap
25:01.7
25:04.9
but they can go back to their boss or
director and say look I invested five
25:04.9
25:07.4
thousand dollars in equipment I saved
fifteen thousand dollars in water
25:07.4
25:11.7
electricity and here’s how that’s a
great point and here’s how I did it and
25:11.7
25:15.4
you help your customers do that makes
you a hero makes em a hero and the job
25:15.4
25:18.7
gets done right and then I get the
selsun equipment to somebody which is
25:18.7
25:23.1
even better that’s right it makes your
job easier you can now do the job that
25:23.1
25:27.5
they have hired you to do if someone
calls you and says my towers not blowing
25:27.5
25:31.5
down if you can log into the system and
you can hit a button and you can watch
25:31.5
25:35.8
water go through the water meter and you
can one you can or not if they think
25:35.8
25:39.0
it’s blown down too much and nothing’s
going through the blowdown meter and you
25:39.0
25:42.6
can see that remotely you might say hey
go check your float there’s all kinds of
25:42.6
25:46.5
things you can do to make yourself look
really really smart you know they’re you
25:46.5
25:49.6
know common-sense things but people
don’t think of you know under duress
25:49.6
25:53.7
when their cooling tower connectivity is
one cycle or cycle and a half rotor
25:53.7
25:58.5
which is a bad day at most cases that’s
a bad day in most cases and also to my
25:58.5
26:02.8
point earlier a great way to justify the
expense of this this equipment because
26:02.8
26:06.7
how long does that take in a in a two or
three thousand ton system to spend a lot
26:06.7
26:11.6
of money if you’re overflowing wait I
don’t know what the dead band is on the
26:11.6
26:16.4
high def how accurate it is from when it
turns the bleed on to when it turns the
26:16.4
26:21.0
bleed off but I know we can get very
precise on the controller’s that are on
26:21.0
26:25.4
the market today so I would say just
that alone should save depending on how
26:25.4
26:30.0
large the system is a tremendous
amount of water it will you can run the
26:30.0
26:32.8
math and I used to do this I don’t have
enough running but I used to do this am
26:32.8
26:37.0
I am ia tabacky class you can run the
math between controlling cycles with a
26:37.0
26:39.5
hundred micro deadband or a 10 micro
deadband
26:39.5
26:44.2
it’s significant if you err on the under
on a hundred micro Mo’s you know an
26:44.2
26:48.6
example I think I use like 300 micro
make up water it makes a huge huge dis
26:48.6
26:54.0
is it it’s thousands of dollars a year
and that’s some real money and to your
26:54.0
26:58.8
point on deadband on on towers yeah you
can set that but if your valves way way
26:58.8
27:02.1
oversized
you’re never gonna hit it so again
27:02.1
27:08.1
making sure that your your your
equipments proper great dead ban on a
27:08.1
27:12.1
controller doesn’t miraculously fix the
fact that you have a 2-inch blow down
27:12.1
27:18.7
line on a 200 210 cooling tower great
point that’s that’s definitely something
27:18.7
27:22.5
I’m sad to say that I’ve seen more than
once Blaine you mentioned bleedin feed
27:22.5
27:26.0
and percentage of time what are the
different options that we have now to
27:26.0
27:31.2
feed our inhibitor products well yeah
you have the the old the old standby
27:31.2
27:36.6
bleed and feed bleed been feed feeding
based on a water meter I highly highly
27:36.6
27:40.7
recommend that you do that on makeup not
bloating because blowdown isn’t just
27:40.7
27:44.0
what goes through your flow down valve
blowdowns drift and blowdowns overflow
27:44.0
27:49.1
so feeding based on makeup is a great
way to do it you have the standard
27:49.1
27:54.3
percent of time you can feed based on
load if you I mean it works great if you
27:54.3
27:57.5
have a customer that can send you
tonnage as a 4 to 20 signal to your
27:57.5
28:03.2
controller you can actually I’ve done it
a lot of times you can actually do a
28:03.2
28:07.3
proportional inhibitor pump based on
load and that works fantastic it works
28:07.3
28:12.4
really well in places like a an arena or
someplace cool that comes up and down up
28:12.4
28:18.0
and down a lot well you know we’re one
week there require 500 tonnes and when
28:18.0
28:22.8
George Strait is playing benni you know
twenty thousand tonnes so load following
28:22.8
28:27.1
feed is something that works really
really well for inhibitor and then all
28:27.1
28:32.4
you know obviously the PTSA sensors that
are out there so and the high DAC cannot
28:32.4
28:37.9
do that great controller but there are
so many more options out there they make
28:37.9
28:40.7
our job easier and there’s so many
options
28:40.7
28:44.4
there how do you choose which one you’re
gonna go with how do you choose which
28:44.4
28:48.4
brand you want to use everybody who I
represents kind of cringe right now you
28:48.4
28:53.0
do it based on who you like what you’re
comfortable with and who’s gonna give
28:53.0
28:55.9
you the best service and that’s it
there’s not a piece of equipment out
28:55.9
29:00.7
there and you know all the manufacturers
kind of stand by to to semi lucky emails
29:00.7
29:03.5
that’s that much better than anything
else
29:03.5
29:07.2
there really isn’t the technology has
gone to a point where everybody makes
29:07.2
29:11.2
quality equipment it comes down to
service your comfort level with your
29:11.2
29:14.7
distributor and you’re in your comfort
operating your comfort level operating
29:14.7
29:18.5
the piece of equipment some people like
buttons some people don’t like buttons
29:18.5
29:21.7
some people want to hook a laptop up to
do something some people just don’t
29:21.7
29:27.0
carry a laptop you know it’s just you’ve
got to pick something that you’re
29:27.0
29:29.9
comfortable it’s it’s just like buying a
car
29:29.9
29:33.8
nowadays all the cars have huge
warranties and all gets you from point A
29:33.8
29:37.1
to point B and they all have DVD players
and navigation all that kind of stuff
29:37.1
29:41.2
but you wanna you know one by one from a
dealer that you just don’t want to be
29:41.2
29:47.8
serviced by and that’s just really that
it’s there’s that it’s that simple
29:47.8
29:55.3
we’re a word device agnostic company and
and I and I truly mean that if if
29:55.3
29:59.8
someone likes something they like it for
reason and unless short of it not be
29:59.8
30:03.1
able to do what they want it to do
I’d always encourage people to stick
30:03.1
30:07.6
with that Blayne what’s something that
you see other water traders do that you
30:07.6
30:14.1
just want to take the opportunity right
now and say stop doing that you know
30:14.1
30:19.3
it’s it’s to me is aesthetics I’m a big
on the big aesthetics guy you’ve seen
30:19.3
30:23.3
some installs we I’ve done through the
years and systems we’ve designed stop
30:23.3
30:28.1
doing things quickly and cheaply take
the extra five minutes and and square
30:28.1
30:32.8
things you’re at the site two hours a
week two hours a month whatever that may
30:32.8
30:36.9
be but that everybody walks by your
piece of plywood screw to the wall with
30:36.9
30:40.9
controller on it every day and that’s
just not that’s like walk around their
30:40.9
30:44.4
shirt untucked it’s just not the right
thing to do I think the biggest mistake
30:44.4
30:49.8
water traders do is they just they get
used to doing things the way they’ve
30:49.8
30:53.5
done it and they just keep doing that
waste throw a pump on a drum and when it
30:53.5
30:57.2
leaks
RepRap a rag around the tube that drives
30:57.2
31:02.7
me nuts and it sounds outlandish and it
sounds ridiculous but I’ll bet you seven
31:02.7
31:07.8
out of ten accounts that I’ve walked
into my career have something as
31:07.8
31:12.0
ridiculous as that going on you know a
pump leaking with a bucket underneath it
31:12.0
31:16.7
brittle and brittle tubing where they
come in instead of replacing to me those
31:16.7
31:19.9
cut an inch off stick it back in the
pump and wrap a towel around it those
31:19.9
31:23.6
are the things that just drive me nuts
it’s just it’s just it’s it’s it’s our
31:23.6
31:27.2
industry I love our industry and it’s
our it’s our you know it’s our little
31:27.2
31:31.4
corner of the world when someone walks
in there when the chiller people walk in
31:31.4
31:35.6
or the ice maker servicing person walks
in or the whoever walks in I hate that
31:35.6
31:40.2
they see water treatment as this you
know pit in the corner but in the corner
31:40.2
31:46.1
of the room I love that you say that I
tell my guys here in Atlanta all the
31:46.1
31:51.3
time that that’s the only bit of real
estate that we own and that tells that
31:51.3
31:58.2
customer how we feel about their account
and if we would never see a towel
31:58.2
32:04.0
wrapped around a pump in a bucket there
but if a customer saw that what would
32:04.0
32:07.9
they think we’re going on as far as our
treatment program we got to have pride
32:07.9
32:12.7
in the work that we do about team went
up your competitor exactly yeah please
32:12.7
32:17.5
you know here’s here’s this account on a
silver platter I don’t deserve it
32:17.5
32:21.4
anymore and folks if you’ve got towels
on Punk you don’t deserve that account
32:21.4
32:24.7
and everybody out there listening and
think of one time they’ve done that and
32:24.7
32:28.8
sometimes you have to do it to get
something in there to fix it but Days
32:28.8
32:32.4
turn into weeks weeks turn into months
and next thing you know you know it’s
32:32.4
32:39.2
just there so we’ve all done it
I know Trace hasn’t done it but I made
32:39.2
32:44.9
so you you mentioned the installs that
you do and folks the stuff that h2
32:44.9
32:50.7
Tronics does is just it’s beautiful it
is just amazing what you said the
32:50.7
32:55.4
attention to detail it looks right each
and every time but I know that just
32:55.4
33:01.4
didn’t happen and I know that because
you do so many installs you found some
33:01.4
33:05.4
time-saving tips when it comes to
installations that hopefully you can
33:05.4
33:07.4
share with the scaling-up nation you got
anything
33:07.4
33:12.9
yep the single biggest tip I can tell
you is do as much of what you can do
33:12.9
33:17.1
outside that hundred-degree chiller room
that hundred and ten decimal hundred of
33:17.1
33:21.3
you to them as possible prefab as much
as you can walk in there take
33:21.3
33:25.7
measurements take pictures figure out
your space needs all those kind of
33:25.7
33:31.1
things and build as much as you can or
have somebody in hint-hint build you a a
33:31.1
33:36.0
panel ahead of time nothing good comes
of putting your tool bag on top of a
33:36.0
33:40.5
drum this this Murphy’s lost carbon and
bleach and trying to screw things
33:40.5
33:45.2
together well people are bumping in you
and it’s loud and it’s hot and you know
33:45.2
33:49.4
it doesn’t smell nests so they grate do
as much just can outside the room and
33:49.4
33:53.7
it’s a silly tip but that’s my biggest
tip do as much you can outside the room
33:53.7
33:58.9
and now instead of hanging every single
controller every single pump and running
33:58.9
34:04.0
all that line I just simply have minimum
four wall anchors and I can connect the
34:04.0
34:08.2
lines up yeah and that’s great and I
love that because that’s what we do but
34:08.2
34:11.6
I’m talking about you know at your
office or if you work from home at home
34:11.6
34:15.5
plug everything in program the
controller before you go to the site
34:15.5
34:19.3
check your pumps before you go this side
don’t put chemical in them but make sure
34:19.3
34:22.3
that they power up and make things okay
if you’re gonna mount them to something
34:22.3
34:25.8
mount them to whatever gonna mount them
before you go to the site check your
34:25.8
34:28.2
communications and make sure
everything’s set up before you go to the
34:28.2
34:33.0
site no one wants to do all this stuff
with Joe or Betty the operator breathing
34:33.0
34:36.4
over your shoulder the whole time
no one likes doing anything that way
34:36.4
34:40.1
whether it’s fixing a car ordering a
hamburger to restaurant no one wants on
34:40.1
34:43.7
breathing over their shoulder so do as
much as you can at a time that way if
34:43.7
34:47.1
you need support something’s not working
right you’re not quite sure how to get
34:47.1
34:50.8
something programmed correctly you’re
making a phone call not in a chiller
34:50.8
34:55.5
plant or their cell service is again it
seems simple and it seems a little silly
34:55.5
34:59.3
but do as much as you can a head of time
that’s a great tip now you’ve got
34:59.3
35:04.6
everything installed and you think
everything’s working what are some tips
35:04.6
35:08.9
that you have to verify that it is
indeed doing what you think it should be
35:08.9
35:13.8
doing water treatment 101 if you’re not
making numbers up if you’re inhibit or
35:13.8
35:18.9
feed rates 100 part per million and you
think you should have a hundred million
35:18.9
35:25.0
to PTSA and your PTO sensor reads that
that’s great and it’s 99% probably right
35:25.0
35:30.4
but run a test run a test equipment is
equipment as equipment and equipment
35:30.4
35:33.0
fails
everybody’s equipment fails so don’t
35:33.0
35:37.1
don’t start a system up assuming that
everything’s riding could be something
35:37.1
35:40.6
as simple as maybe your products not
right you just never know so when you
35:40.6
35:46.5
start a system up run the ORP up run a
chlorine test run your and heavy level
35:46.5
35:50.0
up running inhibitor test if you have to
run a phosphate test for polymer test no
35:50.0
35:54.2
one likes to do it you know make sure
that your this your blowdown bobbins
35:54.2
35:57.7
that make sure your blowdowns going to
the right place just because your
35:57.7
36:01.2
blowdowns you take an account over and
the blowdown valve was blowing down to
36:01.2
36:04.7
where it goes if there’s a little fish
painted next to the drain just because
36:04.7
36:07.4
the person for you to pay attention
doesn’t mean your excuse for not paying
36:07.4
36:11.3
attention so make sure that your
blowdown is going to approve place trace
36:11.3
36:14.2
the garden hose connected line to make
sure it’s not ring to a field behind the
36:14.2
36:18.7
building you know I’ve seen these things
all the time you have a lot of accounts
36:18.7
36:23.1
that bleed through a garden hose plane
I’ve done a number of surveys a number
36:23.1
36:28.0
of surveys where they’ve had garden
hoses hooked up because it drains over
36:28.0
36:32.3
drains clogged up and they’ve run it out
to a field behind a building this is
36:32.3
36:36.3
happy not bitch I’ve seen it 10 times my
career and again days turns into weeks
36:36.3
36:41.0
we turn a month next thing you know you
have a big more shot back of legal okay
36:41.0
36:45.1
well we’ve got all this equipment
installed we sold it we’ve convinced the
36:45.1
36:48.7
customer all the wonderful things they
could do we got it up on the wall it
36:48.7
36:53.8
looks perfect we’ve we’ve we verified
that everything’s working how long
36:53.8
37:00.6
should it last well-maintained I would
say and I it’s it’s a weird answer but I
37:00.6
37:05.1
say almost indefinitely
I you know electronics nowadays don’t
37:05.1
37:09.1
necessarily have a shelf life I mean
sensors will need to be changed I would
37:09.1
37:12.3
say that you should plan in your
conductivity sensor lasting several
37:12.3
37:16.9
years your ORP pH sensors need to be
checked and depending on the you know
37:16.9
37:21.0
water quality has a huge impact on how
long page nor pls but those are
37:21.0
37:24.7
consumables and you know I’ll plan on at
least once a year for that kind of stuff
37:24.7
37:28.9
pumps will need to be rebuilt probably
every two or three years tubing needs to
37:28.9
37:32.6
be replaced if your tubing starts
leaking and you start getting a little
37:32.6
37:35.4
crash your tubing the solute
is not the kind of shorter took the same
37:35.4
37:39.5
piece of to me after the pump is to
rerun tubing I know it sucks but you
37:39.5
37:43.8
rerun the tubing but the base equipment
to your high dak example earlier that
37:43.8
37:47.8
happens right Trace you said that really
happens you walk and you see 40 year old
37:47.8
37:53.1
or 35 year old controllers on the wall
absolutely that’s with electronics then
37:53.1
37:55.4
are anywhere near as good as they are
today
37:55.4
38:00.4
so I know there are a lot of areas in
the country that get more power spikes
38:00.4
38:06.5
than others what are the effects that
power surges have on the equipment and
38:06.5
38:11.5
should we be preparing ourselves to do
something maybe put a surge protector in
38:11.5
38:16.5
there to protect the equipment yeah you
know all these controllers based on
38:16.5
38:19.7
everything we’ve just discussed or
little computers right these controllers
38:19.7
38:23.6
are way more powerful than the computers
I sold at Tokyo say back in the day and
38:23.6
38:28.3
you catch a computer in the wrong spot
and get low power search and you corrupt
38:28.3
38:32.0
the software and it’s a bad day for
everybody so yeah if you have a if you
38:32.0
38:36.6
have a a situation I don’t and I’ll be
honest with you I don’t make a habit of
38:36.6
38:41.7
it probably should but if you have a
situation where you have a part of the
38:41.7
38:45.6
country that’s subject to bad power
power is pretty good nowadays but too
38:45.6
38:50.0
bad power definitely serve protect it
and that means a real surge protector
38:50.0
38:54.7
everybody you combine Dussel surge
protectors you know people like Wolcott
38:54.7
38:57.9
and prominent they all sell ones that’ll
screw into their controller that are
38:57.9
39:02.4
that are designed for industrial search
protection of the controller the thing I
39:02.4
39:05.9
see that impact controllers from a surge
standpoint probably more anybody else is
39:05.9
39:10.2
a lot of places like hospitals exercise
their generators so they go on standby
39:10.2
39:14.2
power like once a week or once a month
and sometimes that will cause some
39:14.2
39:19.3
issues and then the you know obvious
weather concerns what’s the most common
39:19.3
39:24.2
reason you see that equipment fails you
know I don’t know I would say probably
39:24.2
39:29.6
neglect physical physical damage is a
big part of it I don’t we don’t see a
39:29.6
39:34.9
lot of equipment failed just because
physical damage doors get left open but
39:34.9
39:39.2
divers get in them rain gets and them
people hit them with things wires get
39:39.2
39:44.2
pulled out people short things out and
I’m talking about the main quote-unquote
39:44.2
39:50.2
brain right the box itself sensors
I see go bad fairly often just for
39:50.2
39:54.2
reasons like people that if a system
turns on and off at night they don’t
39:54.2
39:59.1
think about trapping the water that the
sensors sit dry for periods of time I
39:59.1
40:04.0
see that is causing a bunch of issues
with pH and ORP sensors but you know
40:04.0
40:08.7
Tuzla neglect its or physical damage and
then the occasional PowerSearch again
40:08.7
40:13.3
there are computers you walk up to your
computer and you get the the blue screen
40:13.3
40:17.1
of death that we all call it we’ll look
at that same screen though it could be
40:17.1
40:20.8
gray or purple or whatever on under
controller does they saved also you get
40:20.8
40:25.2
you walk up and your controllers stuck
in a constant loop you call them in a
40:25.2
40:29.4
fashion they say you can’t do that but
you’re watching it do it and nothing’s
40:29.4
40:33.7
working so let’s talk about let’s talk
about that so you call the manufacturer
40:33.7
40:36.8
up and you say I’ve got this issue and
they’re like oh no there’s no way you
40:36.8
40:40.2
can have that issue but I’m seeing it
it’s right there what do you do then
40:40.2
40:44.9
we’re all guilty that I’m so guilty of
that you know that’s what that’s the
40:44.9
40:47.6
thing you never want to say and that’s
the thing that people don’t want to hear
40:47.6
40:50.9
is I’ve never seen that it’s never seen
that before well there’s a first time
40:50.9
40:54.6
for everything right and that goes back
to how you choose a manufacturer right
40:54.6
40:59.2
the support you want to manufacture or
person that you deal with that gives you
40:59.2
41:01.7
the benefit of the doubt that you’re
calling them you’re not calling them
41:01.7
41:05.9
just because you’re not making it up
that being said there’s some things you
41:05.9
41:08.5
need to do first right you need to
unplug the controller plug it back in
41:08.5
41:12.3
all these things are gonna ask you to do
do that ahead of time no one they ask
41:12.3
41:17.1
you to do it do it again humor because
they’re probably trying to work you
41:17.1
41:21.4
through a process well let’s go through
that what is a basic troubleshooting
41:21.4
41:26.7
step by step guide that we can do before
we call the manufacturer clean your
41:26.7
41:31.3
sensors number one clean your sensors if
something is not working clean your
41:31.3
41:35.5
sensors go through a system walk it
start to finish I’m not talking about
41:35.5
41:39.7
two hour walk but if if your
connectivity is three times what it’s
41:39.7
41:43.8
supposed to be it’s not necessarily
because of low time relays not coming on
41:43.8
41:47.3
make sure that your blowdown valves
coming on or not clogged up and the
41:47.3
41:51.9
screwdriver trick on the solenoid valve
works just great turn it on go sieve is
41:51.9
41:55.6
magnetized right if it’s a motorized
ball valve which is a great idea
41:55.6
42:00.4
on to blow down make sure it’s opening
up go do those things because there
42:00.4
42:04.0
Oh sings and this can be frustrating and
it’s gonna be loud and it’s gonna be
42:04.0
42:09.1
August in cooling season when that’s
happening but you know go through your
42:09.1
42:13.9
checklist make you know make sure that
there’s not a blown fuse make sure that
42:13.9
42:17.9
your pump
no one adjusted your pump to the you
42:17.9
42:21.7
know automatic control from the hand
control position make sure your valves
42:21.7
42:25.5
are opening make sure you’ve got
chemical in your tank you know all those
42:25.5
42:28.5
little things they’re gonna ask these
things and this can be so offensive but
42:28.5
42:33.0
they’re you know you gotta you gotta ask
the questions Blayne we’ve covered a lot
42:33.0
42:38.1
of ground today so for somebody
listening hopefully they’ll go back and
42:38.1
42:41.2
to listen again and they’ll get even
more out of this episode but what’s the
42:41.2
42:48.2
one thing that you want to make sure
listeners take with them today oh you
42:48.2
42:53.0
know III think it goes back to our
discussion about your little piece of
42:53.0
42:56.1
real estate that is your office within
that facility
42:56.1
43:01.6
treat it as such and that goes for your
test kit that goes for this the general
43:01.6
43:06.5
cleanliness of the area the whole plant
could be dirty that doesn’t mean yours
43:06.5
43:11.0
should be dirty general maintenance and
upkeep I just I think that goes so far
43:11.0
43:14.6
goes it goes equipment works better ones
clean you know if you have a new leak or
43:14.6
43:18.0
no leak if you clean up your leak every
time and you fix it and you come back
43:18.0
43:21.0
and there’s chemical you know you’re not
saying I think that was from last time
43:21.0
43:25.3
because you know you cleaned it up last
time right that is your little office
43:25.3
43:29.5
within there within your customers
facility and I think you want to you
43:29.5
43:33.1
want to make sure that it’s doing as
promised and you want to take all the
43:33.1
43:36.7
ammunition away from your competitor
that you can’t you want to make sure
43:36.7
43:40.8
that your eyes are dotted and your t’s
across and all your ducks in a row and
43:40.8
43:44.9
all the other little things we can ism’s
we can say but I think that’s the most
43:44.9
43:47.6
important thing and I think if you
string all those things together if you
43:47.6
43:50.8
if you if you maintain things if you
keep things clean if you fix things when
43:50.8
43:55.2
they’re broken and you keep things
current then then I don’t think you have
43:55.2
43:59.3
any problem and though I’d love to sell
everybody a controller new control every
43:59.3
44:02.6
year I love it to hear that I’m still
using some controller from 15 years ago
44:02.6
44:07.0
he sold me that’s working great that
that makes me equally as happy so you
44:07.0
44:12.6
know I think that’s what I take away is
treat your every installation like it’s
44:12.6
44:16.2
a reflection of yourself
and your company that is great advice
44:16.2
44:22.8
and it just dawned on me I didn’t ask
what h2 tronics does h2 tronics we are a
44:22.8
44:27.3
well it depends who you ask right so the
go to abt most people think we’re a
44:27.3
44:30.7
software company because of the service
application and that’s that’s true
44:30.7
44:36.2
that’s true but you know a very very
large a much larger that our businesses
44:36.2
44:39.9
and equipment and we’re an integrators
so we do we do everything from
44:39.9
44:45.0
distribute people’s product lines to OEM
people’s product lines we are a
44:45.0
44:50.6
full-service PLC shop or an ASM II
welding shop a TBS welding shop or a ul
44:50.6
44:56.7
panel shop we’re a CNC facility we do we
do a lot of things to people I don’t
44:56.7
45:00.6
think realize we do we’re a very large
distributor of a lot of different
45:00.6
45:03.9
people’s products for an OEM for wall
cam which means we integrate their
45:03.9
45:09.1
systems into larger systems but we’re a
full-service supplier so we’re sort of a
45:09.1
45:14.8
one-stop shop we’ve built skids we build
panels we sell accessories we support
45:14.8
45:19.1
everything we sell which is very very
important to us and we do a lot a lot
45:19.1
45:23.1
more things than people I think know we
do we’re getting up there in age I think
45:23.1
45:28.8
we’re 12 maybe 13 years old now we have
a good number of people here with our
45:28.8
45:33.1
aqua phoenix merger which is the best
thing we’ve ever done that’s bringing a
45:33.1
45:39.3
lot of production help in in processes
and in systems and things like that so
45:39.3
45:45.8
life’s really well Blaine I will tell
you that frankly chrome course owner of
45:45.8
45:50.5
aqua Phoenix he is more elusive than you
are because I of course have you on the
45:50.5
45:58.3
show now Frank has I think not made half
a dozen appointments with me now he’s
45:58.3
46:01.9
cancelled and let me know well in
advance but he’s the next one I’m
46:01.9
46:07.5
wearing down next so tell him I’m
looking for him he’s he’s a blast he’s a
46:07.5
46:12.3
wealth of knowledge you know he’s he’s a
he’s a second-generation guy in his
46:12.3
46:18.0
field and he and I discussed this merger
on and off over the years and that you
46:18.0
46:22.0
know the time was right but he is a he
you know he’s a character he’s bigger
46:22.0
46:25.0
than life
he’s a great guy but I tell you what he
46:25.0
46:27.2
is really really smart I’m not just
saying
46:27.2
46:31.2
he signs my paycheck he said you know
would call but I would not have aligned
46:31.2
46:37.2
myself we didn’t need to do this but his
drive in his enthusiasm is just industry
46:37.2
46:40.9
knowledge is great
well Blaine this has been a lot of fun
46:40.9
46:47.0
but I’m not quite done yet I’ve got some
lightning round questions for you so if
46:47.0
46:51.1
you can go ahead and fasten your seat
belt it is anybody’s game at this point
46:51.1
46:57.0
and I will remind you that the point
values are tripled at this point so my
46:57.0
47:02.4
first question is if anybody who’s
listening to the show knows that I am an
47:02.4
47:07.4
avid fan of back to the future so we are
getting into the DeLorean we are setting
47:07.4
47:13.2
the time circuits back to the very first
day that you started as a water treat
47:13.2
47:17.5
and you can now get out of the DeLorean
and give yourself advice what would that
47:17.5
47:25.4
advice be probably to pay a little
closer attention to my elders water
47:25.4
47:31.3
treatment said in Prentice business and
I was very fortunate in being exposed to
47:31.3
47:34.8
some really really smart people the
beginning and you know I was in my 20s
47:34.8
47:40.1
and thought I knew everything and and I
probably could have learned a lot more a
47:40.1
47:44.9
lot quicker had I just recognized that
these guys with the gray hair and gals
47:44.9
47:48.3
with the gray hair they’ve been doing
this a while had a lot doc for me you
47:48.3
47:50.9
know it’s it’s definitely an apprentice
business and I probably would have done
47:50.9
47:54.0
a little better job with my
apprenticeship Blaine you’re very
47:54.0
47:57.5
successful you’re CWT you know what
you’re talking about
47:57.5
48:05.3
you’re obviously reading some books what
are those books I’ve read mind-numbing
48:05.3
48:08.9
books and books that probably might
surprise people I think the last book I
48:08.9
48:14.6
read was was a book called horse trading
which is a book written in the 70s by a
48:14.6
48:19.5
by a guy named Ben Green it’s about the
art of horse trading which I think
48:19.5
48:24.7
translates very very well I’m kind of a
horse guy and I think that translates
48:24.7
48:29.5
really well into you know modern
business I read a lot of spy books I
48:29.5
48:34.3
just read impact everybody should read
this book it’s really good journalist by
48:34.3
48:40.0
Jack car really really good I read
Reed’s breath or staff I just
48:40.0
48:45.9
reread the machine Wow Justin Roth marsh
he was on the show I just reread that I
48:45.9
48:49.7
just reread the goal which I think
anybody out there should read this in
48:49.7
48:55.0
manufacturing that’s kind of my go-to
book for things like that Frank leckrone
48:55.0
49:00.5
actually sent me the goal a couple of
years ago as a gift it is a great read
49:00.5
49:05.1
about one for everybody in the company
and offered them a sum of money to give
49:05.1
49:09.4
me a book report on it I believe it’s a
good read it’s a fun read to it it’s not
49:09.4
49:13.6
a it’s a it’s a business book but it’s
written in the form of a fiction novel
49:13.6
49:19.4
and it’s it’s it’s a fun read it’s
really fun it’s it’s a great great book
49:19.4
49:25.5
who place you in a movie oh my god I
have no idea
49:25.5
49:29.9
does it have to look like me or can I
pick anybody you can pick anybody you
49:29.9
49:38.0
like how about Matthew McConaughey
Cash’s boy someone recently said Matthew
49:38.0
49:42.3
McConaughey oh is the chick-fil-a
interview that I just did so he’s I
49:42.3
49:47.6
think he’s getting extra point value on
the scaling up show my final question
49:47.6
49:51.2
you can talk to anybody throughout
history who would it be with and why
49:51.2
49:55.9
that would be family members my family
I’ve got kind of an interesting family
49:55.9
50:00.2
my dad was born on an internment camp in
World War two and I never really got to
50:00.2
50:04.5
speak with any of my elder you know I
knew my grandparents but my grandfather
50:04.5
50:07.0
died and I was young and my
great-grandparents I didn’t know very
50:07.0
50:11.8
well I would have really liked to talk
to them about their journey here from
50:11.8
50:16.8
Japan I don’t know that there’s any
person from the past political or
50:16.8
50:21.8
military that I think I would single out
but I think I’d love to put all my you
50:21.8
50:27.2
know relatives over the last 200 years
in a room and talk to them a good answer
50:27.2
50:32.6
Blaine we’ve learned a lot we’ve laughed
a little maybe we laughed a lot and this
50:32.6
50:37.1
has been a lot of fun so I want to thank
you for coming on scaling up I want to
50:37.1
50:42.2
thank you for inviting me
Blaine thank you so much for coming on
50:42.2
50:49.5
the show I know that we could have spent
hours talking about equipment Blaine had
50:49.5
50:52.6
an appointment that he had to get to so
we had to
50:52.6
50:57.7
keep the interview short but there is no
doubt about it Blaine we want to have
50:57.7
51:01.5
you back we didn’t get a chance to talk
about boiler installations there’s a
51:01.5
51:07.6
whole slew of equipment that we did not
have a chance to talk about we’re gonna
51:07.6
51:14.8
make sure that you come back and we
talked about that and if you have not
51:14.8
51:21.0
examined the equipment that you are
using and know those devices backwards
51:21.0
51:26.8
and forwards folks I promise you you are
doing a disservice probably what you are
51:26.8
51:32.8
missing out on is an opportunity to take
advantage of one of the functions that
51:32.8
51:39.4
that controller can do that might be
able to Ratchet your program up to the
51:39.4
51:48.5
next notch so my question to you is how
are you learning the next thing when it
51:48.5
51:54.8
comes to equipment how well do you
actually know the equipment that you are
51:54.8
52:01.5
using do you understand everything it
does and how it does it do you
52:01.5
52:08.1
understand how to feed your program
multiple different ways because maybe
52:08.1
52:12.7
there might be a better way than what
you are doing that if you learn the
52:12.7
52:16.9
other ways you’re going to be able to
make that determination here’s what I
52:16.9
52:21.9
have found in the water treatment
industry somebody trained somebody how
52:21.9
52:26.3
to use a particular piece of equipment
and that’s the piece of equipment that
52:26.3
52:32.2
they use forever and ever and ever in
their water treatment career or somebody
52:32.2
52:39.1
taught somebody how to set something up
on a controller and now that’s the only
52:39.1
52:44.6
way that they set their programs up not
because it’s the best way but because
52:44.6
52:50.0
they learned it once and they never
bother to learn anything else if you
52:50.0
52:56.0
have a great reason for using the same
thing over and over again that’s fine
52:56.0
53:01.2
but if you don’t know what the other
ways the other options are that is not
53:01.2
53:07.5
fine folks and I urge you to learn
about the equipment that is running your
53:07.5
53:13.6
programs blade said we can do a whole
bunch to help ourselves if we do some
53:13.6
53:19.8
homework before the installation process
so how well are you doing your homework
53:19.8
53:24.7
are you going out on your surveys and
diagramming everything that you need to
53:24.7
53:29.5
know to install the equipment are you
taking pictures are you talking with
53:29.5
53:34.5
your customers and seeing what some
potential issues could be are you doing
53:34.5
53:41.7
your prefabrication before you go to the
mechanical room are you programming your
53:41.7
53:44.9
controller before you go to the
mechanical room are you making sure that
53:44.9
53:50.2
everything is working the way it should
out of the box when you get it if you
53:50.2
53:55.6
are taking everything to the
installation site and then figuring all
53:55.6
54:02.2
that stuff out there I promise you it is
not going to look as good as if you put
54:02.2
54:07.0
more time into it up front and as Blane
said when we talk about equipment it is
54:07.0
54:14.0
all about aesthetics but it’s also about
working properly and I promise if you do
54:14.0
54:18.7
a little bit of homework upfront that
equipment is not only going to look
54:18.7
54:24.3
better it is going to work better and
it’s going to do all of that with you
54:24.3
54:29.7
spending less time to do it the time
that you invest on the front end will
54:29.7
54:36.1
pay you back tenfold on the back end
what are the things that happens to your
54:36.1
54:42.5
equipment that you constantly have to
fix another way of asking that or one of
54:42.5
54:48.8
the top five to ten things that you need
to know how to troubleshoot with the
54:48.8
54:52.7
equipment that you are using whether
it’s a control or a pump a valve
54:52.7
55:00.7
whatever it is do you know what things
fail or malfunction more often than
55:00.7
55:06.6
others so you can take care of that
without spending a lot of time do you
55:06.6
55:12.9
know what tools you need to have with
you if one of these issues were to occur
55:12.9
55:17.4
so you don’t have to come back to fix an
issue when you’re there
55:17.4
55:23.8
regular service and you find an issue do
you have everything that you need so you
55:23.8
55:28.8
can fix it right there and it doesn’t
become more costly and when we talk
55:28.8
55:34.1
about cost when there’s a malfunction
like that it’s not only your time cost
55:34.1
55:39.9
it is also the equipment cost folks it
takes a long time to get a water
55:39.9
55:44.7
treatment program the way that you want
it in the way that is working properly
55:44.7
55:52.6
it takes seconds for that to go away and
now you have to overcome all those
55:52.6
55:57.6
issues that happen when that piece of
equipment was malfunctioning if you now
55:57.6
56:04.3
have to go and get apart or get a tool
and come back that’s even more time that
56:04.3
56:08.7
you have to overcome so you’re not
always going to have everything that you
56:08.7
56:13.7
need available to you to fix every
single problem but I promise if you
56:13.7
56:19.7
start thinking about the top five to ten
issues that you face on a regular basis
56:19.7
56:26.2
and you prepare for that you are going
to save yourself a wealth of time and
56:26.2
56:29.5
your systems are going to thank you for
it you know we talked about
56:29.5
56:35.9
troubleshooting it’s good to befriend
the people that are selling you the
56:35.9
56:42.5
equipment that you are mine ask them
what are the top few things that you
56:42.5
56:47.3
have to make sure that you know how to
do and when we were talking about tools
56:47.3
56:53.4
what are some of the tools that you have
to have in order to make some of these
56:53.4
56:59.3
most common repairs they’re getting
these calls on a regular basis so they
56:59.3
57:05.7
can help give you this information and
do you know what the next thing is in
57:05.7
57:11.3
the equipment and when I say next I
don’t necessarily mean what’s coming out
57:11.3
57:15.1
next although that’s really cool if
you’re talking with your distributors
57:15.1
57:21.2
ask them what is the next thing
manufacturer X is working on and then
57:21.2
57:24.9
that can get you thinking about well
that might work well for this account
57:24.9
57:30.8
and I can start talking to them about
this particular add-on will help them
57:30.8
57:35.7
with a particular problem but I’m
talking about all the things that you
57:35.7
57:39.5
know about the equipment we talked about
all the things that controllers can do
57:39.5
57:45.4
now that pumps can do now what is the
next thing that you’re going to do with
57:45.4
57:51.8
all of that that’s going to elevate your
account when you elevate your water
57:51.8
57:57.4
treatment program you are showing your
customer that you are staying on top of
57:57.4
58:02.4
all of their water treatment needs
you’re also finding ways to save them
58:02.4
58:08.9
energy and to save them water and folks
that translates into someone giving that
58:08.9
58:12.9
person that’s allowing you to come on
that facility a high five because
58:12.9
58:17.0
they’re going to see that on their
bottom line and where did they get that
58:17.0
58:21.3
high five from ultimately well that was
because you were staying on top of
58:21.3
58:28.0
everything you were putting their needs
ahead of everything else and because you
58:28.0
58:32.9
knew that that piece of equipment could
work a little bit differently to help
58:32.9
58:38.7
save their system and either water or
energy or do something else a little bit
58:38.7
58:43.2
better folks they’re going to recognize
that and I got to tell you even if they
58:43.2
58:48.2
don’t make sure they do let them know
that you are doing these things and that
58:48.2
58:53.4
you want to make sure they appreciate
all the things that you do because you
58:53.4
58:59.4
appreciate you being there every time
you ask yourself a question like the
58:59.4
59:06.3
ones that we just went through I think
you’re making yourself smarter you’re
59:06.3
59:10.1
making yourself smarter and if you can
work smarter you don’t have to work as
59:10.1
59:15.3
hard because you are finding better ways
to do things so what are the questions
59:15.3
59:21.2
that you need to ask yourself to get to
the next level to understand what it is
59:21.2
59:27.9
that you are working on and folks when
you start learning and new things you do
59:27.9
59:33.4
get smarter and that smarter translates
into you being more efficient and
59:33.4
59:39.2
effective with what you are doing
there’s so many people out there
59:39.2
59:43.4
that in the beginning of their career
they asked a whole bunch of questions
59:43.4
59:48.9
and then they stopped learning
folks water treatment technology is
59:48.9
59:55.3
continuously changing and if we are
staying the same we are not keeping up
59:55.3
1:00:00.7
with the industry so ask yourself what
questions should I be asking myself on a
1:00:00.7
1:00:06.5
regular basis and making sure that I’m
continuously finding the answer for so I
1:00:06.5
1:00:12.8
can make each and every day better
because I’m getting smarter I’m not
1:00:12.8
1:00:18.2
staying the same well folks I mentioned
this at the top of the show but next
1:00:18.2
1:00:24.1
week is industrial water week we just
like last year are going to be
1:00:24.1
1:00:30.0
celebrating industrial water week with a
brand new episode each and every day
1:00:30.0
1:00:36.1
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday and
Friday of next week you are going to
1:00:36.1
1:00:43.7
hear a new episode of scaling up h2o so
when you are celebrating this great
1:00:43.7
1:00:50.7
holiday make sure you’re adding scaling
up h2o to your celebration list of
1:00:50.7
1:00:55.9
activities and folks if you know a water
treat are out there that does not listen
1:00:55.9
1:01:02.1
to scaling up h2o what a great time to
tell them about it during industrial
1:01:02.1
1:01:08.3
water week folks thank you so much for
listening to scaling up h2o thanks for
1:01:08.3
1:01:12.4
bringing me new ideas thanks for
everything that you do as a member of
1:01:12.4
1:01:17.9
the scaling up nation and I will talk to
you next week during industrial water
1:01:17.9
1:01:20.3
week