Baptistries — What you need to know when purchasing. PT 2
Ok, now that you have an idea of what they are made of, let’s take a look at installation.
A modern baptistry uses plumbing and electrical devices to heat the water, provide circulation and provide temperature and other controls.
At minimum, a permanently installed baptistry will need a drain, a cold water line and electrical service of 240 volt 2 Pole 40 amp. Larger heaters will require more.
The baptistry will require reinforcement underneath to handle the heavy load of the water. This reinforcement is not complex, please ask us for a drawing that will show you how to build it.
The baptistries are not made with any holes in them for plumbing. The holes are cut in the field at the time of installation. NEVER cut the holes until the baptistry is on site and everything is ready. Cutting holes in advance leads to disaster.
It is best to decide on the model baptistry required and get it ordered then provide the contractor with the technical drawings. They can rough in the plumbing and electrical and then cut the holes and complete the final installation when the unit is on site.
One important tip is do not let your contractor permanently seal up an enclosed area that contains heaters/pumps and controls. There will come a day when they will require some type of service and it can be a horrible shock to find out you have no way to get to them without a major project.
Check back next time when we go into the details of accessories and ordering.
