GENERAL TRADE MATHEMATICS

T

his book is your ticket to smooth sailing when it comes to doing the math for plumbing and pipe fitting. Most of the work is already done for you when you consult the many tables and references contained in these pages. Why waste time with calculators and complicated mathematical equations when you can turn to the ready-reference tables here and have the answers at your fingertips? There is no reason to take the difficult path when you can put your field skills to better use and make more money.

A few words of advice are needed here. Our country uses multiple plumb­ing codes. Every code jurisdiction can adopt a particular code and amend it to their local needs. It is impossible to provide one code source to serve every plumber’s needs. The code tables in this book are meant to be used as repre­sentative samples of how to arrive at your local requirements, but they are not a substitution for your regional code book. Always consult your local code be­fore installing plumbing.

The major codes at this time are the International Plumbing Code and the Uniform Plumbing Code. Both are excellent codes. There have been many code developments in recent years. In addition to these two major codes, there are smaller codes in place that are still active. I want to stress that this is not a handbook to the plumbing code,- this is a calculations manual. If you are interested in a pure code interpretation, you can review one of my other Mc­Graw-Hill books entitled: International and Uniform Plumbing Codes Handbook.

A

re you a plumber or pipe fitter who dislikes doing the math that is re­quired in your trade? If so, this book may be one of the best tools that you can put in your truck or office. Why? Because it does much of the math calculations for you. That’s right, the tables and visual graphics between these pages can make your life much easier and more profitable.

R. Dodge Woodson, the author, is a 30-year veteran of the trade who has been in business for himself since 1979. He knows what it takes to win in all financial climates as both a business owner and tradesman. This is your chance to learn from an experienced master plumber and, what is even better, you don’t have to study and memorize formulas. All you have to do is turn to the section of this professional reference guide that affects your work and see the answers to your questions in black and white. How much easier could it be?

Mathematical matters are not the only treasures to be found here. You will find advice on how to comply with the plumbing code quickly, easily, and without as much thought on your part.

The backbone of this book is math for the trades, but there is much more. There is a section on troubleshooting that is sure to save you time, frustration, and money. Find out what you may need to know about septic systems. In ad­dition to phase-specific math solutions, there is an appendix that is full of ref­erence and conversion tables for day-to-day work situations.

Take a moment to scan the table of contents. You will see that the pres­entation of material here is compiled in logical, accessible, easy-to-use chap­ters. Flip through the pages and notice the tip boxes and visual nature of the information offered. You don’t have to read much, but you will find answers to your questions.

If you are looking for a fast, easy, profitable way to avoid the dense read­ing and complicated math that is needed in your trade, you have found it. Once you put this ready reference guide at your fingertips, you will be able to concentrate on what you do best without the obstacles that may steal your time and your patience. Packed with 30 years of experience, you can’t go wrong by using Woodson’s resources to make you a better tradesman.

ix

This page intentionally left blank.

M

ath is not always a welcome topic among tradespeople. As much as math may be disliked, it plays a vital role in the trades, and plumb­ing and pipe fitting are no exceptions. In fact, the math requirements for some plumbing situations can be quite complicated. When people think of plumbers, few thoughts of scholarly types come to mind. I expect that most people would have trouble envisioning a plumber sitting at a drafting table and performing a variety of mathematical functions involving geometry, al­gebra, and related math skills. Yet, plumbers do use high-tech math in their trade, sometimes without realizing what they are doing.

Think about your last week at work. Did you work with degrees of an­gles? Of course you did. Every pipe fitting you installed was an example of angles. Did you grade your drainage pipe? Sure you did, and you used frac­tions to do it. The chances are good that you did a lot more math than you realized. But, can you find the volume of a water heater if the tank is not marked for capacity? How much water would it take to fill up a 4-inch pipe that is 100 feet long? You might need to know if you are hauling the water in for an inspection test of the pipe. How much math you use on a daily basis is hard to predict. Much of the answer would depend on the type of work you do within the trade. But, it’s safe to say that you do use math on a daily basis.

I’ve taught a number of classes for plumbers and plumbing apprentices. Math is usually the least appreciated part of those classes. Experience has showed me that stu­dents resist the idea of learning math skills.

I remember when I took academic levels of math in school and thought that I’d never use it. Little did I know back then how valuable the skills I was learning would be.

1

A or a	Area, acre
AWG	American Wire Gauge
В or b	Breadth
bbl	Barrels
bhp	Brake horsepower
BM	Board measure
Btu	British thermal units
BWG	Birmingham Wire Gauge
В & S	Brown and Sharpe Wire Gauge (American Wire Gauge
C of g	Center of gravity
cond	Condensing
cu	Cubic
cyl	Cylinder
D or d	Depth, diameter
dr	Dram
evap	Evaporation
F	Coefficient of friction; Fahrenheit
F or f	Force, factor of safety
ft (or ‘I	Foot
ft lb	Foot pound
fur	Furlong
gal	Gallon
gi	Gill
ha	Hectare
H or h	Height, head of water
HP	horsepower
IHP	Indicated horsepower
in for ")	Inch
L or l	Length
lb	Pound
lb/sq in.	Pounds per square inch
mi	Mile
o. d.	Outside diameter (pipes)
oz	Ounces
pt	Pint
P or p	Pressure, load
psi	Pounds per square inch
R or r	Radius
rpm	Revolutions per minute
sq ft	Square foot
sq in.	Square inch
sq yd	Square yard
T or t	Thickness, temperature
temp	Temperature
V or v	Velocity
vol	Volume
W or w	Weight
W. I.	Wrought iron

FIGURE 1.1 ■ Abbreviations. (Courtesy of McGraw-Hill)

While I’m not a rocket scientist, I can take care of myself when it comes to do­ing math for trade applications.

I assume that your time is valuable and that you are not interested in a col­lege course in mathematics by the end of this chapter. We’re on the same page of the playbook. I’m going to give you concise directions for solving mathematical problems that are related to plumbing and pipefitting. We won’t be doing an in-depth study of the history of numbers, or anything like that. The work we do here will not be too difficult, but it will prepare you for the hurdles that you may have to clear as a thinking plumber. So, let’s do it.

The quicker we start, the quicker we can finish.

BENCHMARKS

Before we get into formulas and exercises, we need to establish some bench­marks for what we will be doing. It always helps to understand the termi­nology being used in any given situation, so refer to Figure 1.1 for reference to words and terms being used as we move forward in this chapter. The in­formation in Figure 1.2 shows you some basic formulas that can be applied

FIGURE 1.2 ■ Useful formulas. (Courtesy of McGraw-Hill)

FIGURE 1.3 ■ Trigonometry. (Courtesy of McGraw-Hill)

to many mathematical situations. Trigonometry is a form of math that can send some people in the opposite direc­tion. Don’t run, it’s not that bad. Figure 1.3 provides you with some basics for trigonometry, and Figure 1.4 describes the names of shapes that contain a vari­ety of sides. Some more useful formulas are provided for you in Figure 1.5. Just in what I’ve provided here, you are in a much better position to solve mathe­matical problems. But, you probably want, or need, a little more explana­tion of how to use your newfound resources. Well, let’s do some math and see what happens.

Pentagon 5 sides Hexagon 6 sides Heptagon 7 sides Octagon 8 sides Nonagon 9 sides Decagon 10 sides

FIGURE 1.4 ■ Polygons. (Courtesy of McGraw-Hill)

Parallelogram Pyramid Rectangle Rectangular prism Sphere Square Triangle Trapezoid Cone	Area = base x distance between the two parallel sides Area = ‘h perimeter of base x slant height + area of base Volume = area of base x l/> of the altitude Area = length X width Volume = width x height x length Area of surface = diameter x diameter X 3.1416 Side of inscribed cube = radius x 1.547 Volume = diameter x diameter x diameter X 0.5236 Area = length x width Area = one-half of height times base Area = one-half of the sum of the parallel sides x the height Area of surface = one-half of circumference of base X slant height + area of base Volume = diameter x diameter x 0.7854 x one-third of the altitude
Cube Ellipse Cylinder
Volume = width X height X length Area = short diameter x long diameter x 0.7854 Area of surface = diameter x 3.1416 X length + area of the two bases Area of base = diameter x diameter x 0.7854 Area of base = volume — e length Length = volume — e area of base Volume = length x area of base Capacity in gallons = volume in inches + 231 Capacity of gallons = diameter x diameter x length x 0.0034 Capacity in gallons = volume in feet x 7.48 Circumference = diameter X 3.1416 Circumference = radius x 6.2832 Diameter = radius x 2 Diameter = square root of = (area — e 0.7854) Diameter = square root of area x 1,1233
Circle