Chip's Tips - Who Knew Whiskers Could Be so Versatile?
The main intended function for the HydroFlame Pro Series Locator Whiskers that attach to the HydroFlame Pro Safety Cap is to help locate sleeves that are buried in concrete. There are also several other helpful uses for them.
When sleeves are built at the HoldRite factory, the color of the Locator Whiskers attached to the underside of the Safety Cap matches the color of the sleeve’s base.
Sleeves built with a black base also are provided with black whiskers. This indicates that the sleeve is UL Listed to accept a metallic penetrant, such as a copper pipe or a no-hub cast iron pipe. Sleeves built with a red base and red whiskers indicate that the sleeve is UL Listed to accept a non-metallic penetrant, such as a PVC pipe or a PEX tube. These can also be used for metallic penetrants, if you choose to do so. To avoid a possible mix-up between a non-metallic and a metallic sleeve, contractors may choose to purchase all red base and red whisker sleeves, since they can be used for either type of pipe. Green Indicator Whiskers are also available and are typically used to indicate that the sleeve is for an electrical penetration. They can be ordered separately in quantities of 100 per bag.
One question we get a lot is, “Why are the Locator Whiskers snapped into the underside of the sleeve during the shipping process?”
Locator Whiskers are snapped to the underside of the sleeve to avoid damage to the whiskers during shipping and to minimize the packaging sizes for the sleeves. Use of the Locator Whisker accessory is purely optional.
In most cases the installer removes the safety cap from the sleeve and removes the Locator Whisker. Then, the installer replaces the cap and snaps the Locator Whiskers into the top of the Safety Cap at the time the sleeves are being installed on the form deck, as shown.
In some cases, installers have decided to use another clever technique! They use the Locator Whiskers to indicate that the dimensional placement of the sleeve has been double-checked/verified. The crew member that performs the location verification snaps the whiskers onto the top of the caps. So, in other words, the fact that the whiskers are on top of the cap lets the crew know that the extra step of verification has been completed.
Click here for more information about the innovative and UL-Listed HoldRite HydroFlame Pro Series firestop sleeving system, with its wide array of features and benefits.