Reliable and safe press connections in the Tyrolean Alps
On the Timmelsjoch, Austria, at an Alpine height of 2,200 m, the 'Top Mountain Crosspoint' has been erected in an extremely short space of time. The multi-purpose building with a usable area of 6,000 m² houses a stylish restaurant, the lower terminus of an aerial cableway, a toll station and an unusual motorcycle museum – all under one roof. It is a meeting point for bikers and motorists, ski fans and hikers.
Safety at an Alpine altitude
Whereas the pass route over the Timmelsjoch sometimes has to be closed because of weather conditions in winter, the 'Top Mountain Crosspoint' is accessible from Hochgurgl in Austria throughout the year.
"Up here, safety has quite a different significance than down in the valley – and that applies to the supply of drinking water and heating as well," emphasizes engineer Siegfried Hummel, head of the BSE firm responsible, Hummel GmbH located in neighbouring Längenfeld in Ötztal.
Approximately 2,600 metres of press-connected pipelines ensure the supply of water and warmth. Several different press connector systems were installed to distribute the heat: Prestabo made of galvanized steel in the plant room, Profipress in the copper branch and riser pipes, and Sanfix Fosta with flexible multilayer pipes for the connections to the radiators.
The quality of the drinking water is secured by the appropriate dimensioning of the pipelines and looped installation. "From the frequently used sanitary facilities to the seldom used taps in the museum, toll and cableway sections of the building, it was important to set up everything in such a way that the kitchen was supplied with top-quality drinking water at all times. We achieved this with a combination of low-volume piping while at the same time ensuring reliable supplies with the required drawing-off quantities," explains Florian Reich, technical manager of the BSE firm Hummel.
Regarding the practical implementation, the BSE professionals from Hummel then installed the main line using stainless steel with the press connection system Sanpress Inox in DN 64. The riser pipes, on the other hand, are made of copper (Profipress), and the connections to the taps are of appropriately dimensioned, economical multilayer piping (Sanfix Fosta) from the roll.
