Installer Course Improved

Since its inception in the Summer of 2009, the Aquatherm installer course has been the standard heat-fusion training program for professionals working with PP-R piping. This course has been a huge success, providing uniform training to installers who are unaccustomed to working with fusible polypropylene.

During that time, the course has consisted of three parts: classroom instruction, hands-on fusion, and a written or oral test, with optional training in butt fusion. The hands-on portion of the course centered around the Aquatherm practice kit, with a total of 8 connections involving 2 less commonly used parts. This practice has generally proven to be more than sufficient for most contractors, but has had issues with availability for rushed training and tended to take a considerable amount of time for large groups.

In order to help streamline the training without sacrificing the quality, changes have been made to both the classroom instruction and the hands-on fusion. Rather than limiting the fusion training to "completing the training kit", installers can now complete a specific number and variety of connections under the supervision of their trainer. This allows the trainer to customize the course based on the materials the installers will be using on their first project.

The number and type of required connections are now listed in the installer submittals. These changes will help speed up training for larger groups and increase flexibility for rush training. The original practice kits will still be available upon request.