DE202023000638U1 - Hygienic mixer tap connection - Google Patents

Abstract

Device for hygienically maintaining drinking water in the mixer tap supply lines of a tap, characterized in that a connecting pipe 8 is inserted between the respective corner valve and the mixer tap connection line, which ensures that the water in the mixer tap connection line does not heat up.

Description

State of the art

There are several ways to ensure hygiene in drinking water systems. There is a chemical-free water disinfection using UV light. In addition, chemical disinfection, which works with specific ingredients such as ozone, chlorine or hydrogen peroxide. These chemical disinfection processes are considered reliable, but they produce undesirable by-products. Therefore, physical disinfection methods are used as far as possible, e.g. by heating the drinking water to at least 60 °C to kill legionella and germs.

Finally, the risk of legionella and germs multiplying in drinking water pipes can also be achieved or at least reduced by keeping the water in the pipe that has been standing for a long time as cool as possible. This is widespread state of the art in the last branched line area within apartments in apartment buildings and in feed lines 3 to the mixing faucets at taps.

problem

Stagnant water in drinking water pipes poses a problem in several respects. In addition to the sometimes long waiting time until hot water is received at remote taps, there is also a risk of legionella multiplying if the tap is not tapped for a long time. In larger buildings, it is therefore common to install a so-called classic circulation and to keep the temperature of the central drinking water storage tank at 60 °C. However, this only represents a solution for the vertical hot water risers, since this circulation ends at the apartment entrance in front of the apartment water meters. All pipes within the apartments usually contain stagnant water. To solve this problem, it is currently required that residents empty the water from all parts of the pipe every 48 hours by opening the tap. Since this is largely not implemented in practice, there is the possibility of emptying the entire tap water at cyclical intervals with the help of automatically controlled solenoid valves.

Another solution to eliminate the stagnant water inside the apartments is a slow circulation of the water at the last tap from the hot water pipe via the cold water pipe back to the central hot water tank. With the help of a thermostatically controlled valve, the temperature at the last tap (at the end of the line) is regulated to lukewarm. With this solution, the water in the hot water pipe cools down from a hot water temperature of e.g. 60°C at the end of the classic circulation (apartment entrance) to e.g. 36°C at the last extraction point 11. This cooled water is fed into the cold water line 7 with a creeping, slow circulation and continues to cool down on its way back inside the apartment due to the surrounding wall temperature. Since the water is taken from a central hot water storage tank at 60 °C, the cooled water flows back into the storage tank via the cold water pipe, where it is heated up again to 60 °C. The 60 °C hot water from the central WW tank serves as a legionella filter. The circulating water returns to the reservoir as cooled water a few hours after leaving the reservoir at 60 °C, long before Legionella could multiply to critical populations.

At the last tap 11 is as in 1 shown, a circulation controller 4. In this circulation controller, a temperature of 36 °C is constantly adjusted with the help of a thermostat. A temperature of approx. 30 to 37 °C, which is ideal for legionella and germs, is present at both T-pieces 5 . The mixer tap connections 3 are connected to the side of these two T-pieces 5 .

This heated water from 30 to 37 °C penetrates into the mixer tap connections and rises according to the principle of water stratification. However, the water in these two mixer tap connection lines 3 stagnates in this line section until the next time the tap is opened. This threatens an uncontrolled growth of legionella and germs in this line section 3. So far, this hygienic risk has not been solved and is accepted.

In buildings such as detached and semi-detached houses or hotels without a water meter, a classic circulation system is sometimes installed and the hot water pipes are looped through wall panels, each with 2 connections, according to current installation recommendations. The problem of hot water penetrating into the mixer tap connection lines 3 through pipe-in-pipe circulation is even more acute here.

Solution - Advantageous Effects of the Invention

To solve this problem, it is proposed to insert a connecting pipe 8 at the last tap 11 between the two permanently heated T-pieces 5 and the mixer tap connection lines 3 . This connecting pipe consists of a material with the lowest possible thermal conductivity, such as stainless steel. In addition, this connecting tube is screwed directly to the screwing point down to the T-piece 5 via an arc in order to achieve the shortest possible cooling zone according to the active principle of the stratification behavior of the water. Since the mixer tap is located above the T-pieces, this connecting pipe is led back up over a bend, which leads to a siphon-like shape of the connecting pipe. The length of the pipe leading downwards is dimensioned in such a way that cold water is already present at the lowest point of the pipe. This pipe is then routed back up and connected to the mixer tap connection line.

Another possibility for thermally decoupling the cold water in the supply lines 3 and 8 to the mixer tap 1 from the circulating warm line section in the T-pieces 5 is to place a non-return valve at the transition from the line area through which the water flows (here in the T-pieces 5). During tapping, this backflow preventer is in the direction of flow. When the mixer faucet is closed, a spring in the non-return valve ensures that no warm water penetrates this stagnant area of the pipe and that there is no pipe-in-pipe circulation. This backflow preventer can be used instead of the connecting pipes 8 or placed in addition to these connecting pipes 8 .

This results in a hygienically optimal solution at the tapping point by dividing the lines into two areas. A pipe area contains warm water in order to be able to provide warm water as soon as possible. Legionella growth can be avoided in this section of pipe by constantly and slowly exchanging water. At the same time, there is only cold water in the remaining stagnant line areas thanks to the thermal decoupling described above, which also largely prevents legionella growth.

field of use

This connecting pipe 8 between the T-pieces 5 or the corner valves 6 of a tap 11 and the mixer tap connection lines 3 is therefore ideal for optimizing the hygiene of taps in domestic drinking water systems, which are equipped with a circulation up to the corner valves of the tap. This connecting pipe 8 also ensures hygiene at tapping points, which are designed with a classic circulation via so-called double-wall discs up to the corner valves 6.

Reference List

1

mixer tap

2

Bathroom sink

3

Mixer tap connection line

4

circulation controller

5

T-piece with union nut

6

Hot water angle valve with heat-insulated wall disk

7

Cold water angle valve with heat-insulated wall disc

8th

Connection pipe for the hygienic optimization of the mixer tap connections

9

Supply line to the mixer tap (typical flex hose)

10

drain pipe

11

tap

12

backflow preventer

Claims (7)

Device for hygienically maintaining drinking water in the mixer tap supply lines of a tap, characterized in that a connecting pipe 8 is inserted between the respective corner valve and the mixer tap connection line, which ensures that the water in the mixer tap connection line does not heat up. Device for hygienically maintaining drinking water in the mixer tap supply lines of a tap claim 1 , characterized in that the connecting tube 8 has a low thermal conductivity. Device for hygienically maintaining drinking water in the mixer tap supply lines of a tap claim 1 and 2 , characterized in that the connecting pipe 8 is first guided downwards on its side facing the corner valve or T-piece in order to allow a spatially short transition from warm to cold water according to the principle of the stratification of water. Device for hygienically maintaining drinking water in the mixer tap supply lines of a tap claim 1 until 3 characterized in that the connection pipe 8 has a siphon-like shape in order to be easily connected to its side facing the mixer tap connection line. Device for hygienically maintaining drinking water in the mixer tap supply lines of a tap claim 1 until 4 , characterized in that the two connections of the connecting tube 8 are designed so that a simple connection between Eck valve outlet or T-piece and the mixer tap connection line. Device for hygienically maintaining drinking water in the mixer tap supply lines of a tap claim 1 until 5 , characterized in that a non-return valve 12 is placed at the outlet of the respective T-pieces to the mixer tap connections and thus prevents heated water from penetrating into the stagnant line part 8 and/or 3. Device for hygienically maintaining drinking water in the mixer tap supply lines of a tap claim 5 , characterized in that the connecting tube 8 has a 3/8 or ½ inch union nut and a 3/8 or ½ inch external thread on the mixer tap connection side for the purpose of easy connection to the corner valve outlet or T-piece connection.

Images