Geberit Silent-Pro – the new plug-in, highly sound-insulating drainage system
The new Geberit Silent-Pro drainage system represents the state of the art for building drainage: a proven high level of sound insulation, varied and certified fire protection solutions, simple installation, high-quality product materials, proverbial quality. From the perspective of a tenant or hotel guest, a discharge pipe is only perfect when it is neither seen nor heard. As far as a property owner is concerned, the optimal drainage system has to simply work for decades without any issues. A sanitary professional would say that the ideal system fulfils all relevant fire protection regulations and sound insulation guidelines while also being well thought out to the last detail in terms of installation technology. In Geberit Silent-Pro, the European leader in the field of sanitary products offers a plug-in, highly sound-insulating drainage system that fulfils all these requirements and fits perfectly with Geberit’s proven and varied installation technology. It is manufactured at Geberit production sites in Europe using the latest product materials. When developing the Geberit Silent-Pro drainage system, Geberit didn’t compromise on the sound insulation, hydraulic performance or the simple processing on the building site.
Allowing everyone to sleep tight The Geberit Silent-Pro drainage system exhibits outstanding sound insulation, which is achieved by the high inherent weight of the product material, increased wall thicknesses for the fittings in defined locations as well as a consistent decoupling from the building structure. To this end, Geberit developed new system pipe brackets specially tailored to Geberit Silent-Pro. At the Jona site in Switzerland, the company has a multi-storey Building Technology and Acoustics Laboratory that is acoustically fully disconnected from the environment. In this laboratory – which is unique throughout the industry – the acoustic properties of individual products and extensive, professionally installed sanitary walls can be examined under real conditions. In collaboration with the Fraunhofer Institute, the sound levels in accordance with DIN 4109 and the observance of the strict limit values were confirmed here for more than 50 realistic construction situations. To achieve all necessary fire protection approvals recognised throughout Europe, the Geberit Silent-Pro drainage system was subjected to comprehensive fire tests at the certified Materials Testing Institute (MPA) of the University of Stuttgart. As a result of the successfully completed test series, Geberit Silent-Pro is licensed in combination with Geberit fire protection solutions for a large number of installation situations in ceilings and walls. Storable outdoors The sound and fire protection tests were preceded by in-depth examinations of the mechanical and chemical properties of the product material, a combination of polypropylene and barium sulphate specially developed for Geberit Silent-Pro. To ensure that the Geberit Silent-Pro fittings and pipes can be stored outdoors over longer periods of time, the resistance of the pipes and seals made of EPDM to UV radiation was examined. In this process, it became clear that Geberit Silent-Pro system components can be exposed to the weather without protection for up to two years without sustaining any damage. The major development work performed has paid off: In Geberit Silent-Pro, Geberit can offer a drainage plug-in system of the highest performance class. The product material is proven to have a service life of many decades under normal operating conditions. The high level of sound insulation and the hydraulic properties of the individual fittings achieve top performance ratings without exception. For this reason and thanks to consistent fire protection certification, sanitary engineers and plumbers have certainty that they are on the safe side with Geberit Silent-Pro. Developed for everyday operations on building sites The installation of discharge pipes is usually hard work because the pipes and fittings are often anchored directly in the shell of the building during an early construction stage. This means working with heavy tools, either on the top of a ladder or kneeling close to the ground. Anyone picking up Geberit Silent-Pro system components in such a situation will immediately see and feel that these products were developed to the last detail for everyday operations on building sites. They are perfect in every way. “During practical trials, we installed Geberit Silent-Pro in all possible and impossible construction situations. In doing so, both the pipes and fittings convinced us from the beginning,” comments Andreas Schläpfer, Head of Application Technology Geberit International. The Geberit Silent-Pro fittings have an extremely compact design. This enables them to be processed well – even in confined spaces. Despite this compact design, the depth of the sockets is very generously dimensioned. Well thought out down to the last detail Thanks to the stop ring, the plumber can check with the naked eye how deep a fitting is inside a socket. Cumbersome measuring and marking is no longer required. The stop ring also comes with another benefit – it protects the sealing surfaces from mechanical damage when storing and transporting the fittings on the building site. The seal ring consists of particularly durable, pressure- and UV-resistant EPDM and is inserted on the inside of the pipes and fittings so that it cannot come loose inadvertently. Nevertheless, it can be easily removed and reinserted by hand, for instance in order to put a pipe section together for testing purposes. The fittings have a 30° marking on all ring seal sockets, which allow a simple and time-saving alignment of the installation. Generously dimensioned grasping ribs additionally ensure an anti-slip grip. Optimised discharge capacity Thanks to hydraulically optimised swept-entry corner branch fittings, the Geberit Silent-Pro drainage system offers very high discharge capacities. This can enable a smaller dimensioning of the pipe diameters and consequently cost savings. For the optimal dimensioning of the individual pipe sections and the discharge stack as well as for the optimal determination of all individual components required for a drainage system, Geberit offers the Geberit ProPlanner planning software. In addition, Geberit will provide the BIM (Building Information Modelling) data in the Revit format from April 2016. The Geberit Silent-Pro drainage system will be offered in Austria from July 2016 in the diameters DN 75, DN 90 and DN 110. Until the range is rolled out in full in autumn 2017, Geberit recommends using components from the sound-optimised Geberit Silent-PP drainage system for the waste fittings. Special pipe brackets were developed for a professional and sound-decoupled fastening of the pipes on the building structure.
