The Wessels family is thrilled to welcome its newest team member, Sai Lian (pronounced “Sigh”), who joined our customer service team in December 2024. At just 18 years old, Sai brings a fresh perspective, infectious enthusiasm, and a passion for learning that makes him a perfect fit for our team. Sai’s interests include F1 racing, photography, and day trading. When he’s not assisting customers, you’ll find him cheering for Hawai’i volleyball and the Charlotte Hornets. With his fresh perspective and contagious energy, Sai is quickly becoming an invaluable part of the Wessels family, and we can’t wait to see all he’ll accomplish.
February Employee Spotlight
We are pleased to introduce our new Operations Manager, Kevin Smith, who joined our team at the beginning of 2024. Kevin graduated from Indiana Wesleyan University in 2003 with an associate degree in Business Management. He highlights his coworkers as his favorite part of working at Wessels. Beyond his professional endeavors, Kevin pursues outdoor hobbies such as hiking, kayaking, and camping, alongside his passion for woodworking. He treasures quality time spent with loved ones, including his family, friends, and three rescue cats: Cuddles, Pokie, and Tiger. Kevin learned to play the card game Euchre when he was only 9 years old and has been playing in a monthly Euchre club for 30 years! Wessels extends a warm welcome to Kevin as he embarks on this new role.
Kevin fast facts:
Favorite color: Green
Favorite food: Tenderloin
Likes: Spending time with friends & family
Kevin Smith
Operations Manager
E-mail: [email protected]
Phone: 317-888-9800 ext: 1027
GREENWOOD, IND. – Wessels Company is thrilled to announce the debut of its latest product enhancements at the AHR Expo in Chicago, showcased at booth 6321. Among the highlights is the new Drum Mounted Glycol Makeup Package, known as DM-GMP, featuring enhanced mobility and refill capabilities. The system ingeniously mounts atop a standard drum containing glycol or glycol mixture, streamlining the refill and installation process.
In addition to these advancements, the industry-leading smart bracket technology has undergone a redesign to be more compact and resilient. The WessView® bladder monitor, air pressure gauge, and Schrader valve have all been optimized to snugly fit the exterior of the tank with a single connection. The ASME tank and smart system seamlessly integrate all essential technologies into a convenient location. The new smart bracket will become a standard feature on all bladder-style tanks later this year.
We happily introduce the newest smiling face to the Wessels family, Allyson McQueen! She joined our engineering department at the beginning of November as a Process Engineer. She loves learning new things, which will surely benefit her in her new role on our engineering team. Allyson is an avid sports fan and has many teams she roots for including the Florida Gators, Atlanta Braves, Miami Dolphins, and the L.A. Lakers. She is a dog lover and has a large German Shepherd who she loves to spoil. In her free time, she can be found training large dogs and playing darts around the country in tournaments.
The type of fluid being heated is normally water or a mix of glycol and water. The specific volume of glycol increases with temperature faster than that of water. The difference between the specific volume at the starting and ending temperatures dictates the percentage increase in volume of the fluid. It should be noted that the piping system will also increase in size as it is heated. ASHRAE sizing, and most manufacturers, use a net expansion factor that accounts for the change in specific volumes less the expansion of the piping.
The minimum starting pressure for the tank depends on the height of the building above the expansion tank location. Starting with a penthouse installation, the pressure of the piping in the top floor installation needs to be 10 psi to ensure proper purging of the air that can collect at high points in the system. This means that the expansion tank located in a penthouse would be set for that same pressure, or 10 psi. As the tank moves downward in the system, an increase of 1 psi is needed for every 2.3 feet from the top. If the tank moves down 80 feet from the top, an additional 80 feet/2.3 feet per psi, or 35 psi more is added. The resulting charge for the tank is 35 psi plus 10 psi (needed at the top) or 45 psi.
We are happy to introduce our newest employee, Gary Wilkinson, in the position of accounting manager. Gary graduated from Indiana University-Fort Wayne with a bachelor’s degree in accounting and Indiana Wesleyan University with a Master of Business Administration. His favorite part of his new position is working on a wide variety of projects. He also enjoys sports cars and watching auto racing. He was married for 42 years and has a daughter.