Water supply manifolds for kitchenware washing systems, and related methods

Abstract

A commercial kitchenware washing system generally includes a washing assembly and a solderless manifold for directing water to the washing assembly. The washing system can be made by coupling multiple pipes together, without soldering, to form hot and cold water lines of the manifold, and then coupling the hot and cold water lines to faucet assemblies of the washing assembly. And, the kitchenware washing system can be installed at a desired location having hot and cold water supplies by routing flexible tubes of the hot and cold water lines of the manifold to the hot and cold water supplies, and connecting couplings of the flexible tubes to corresponding couplings of the hot and cold water supplies so that water can be directed from the hot and cold water supplies, via the manifold, to the faucet assemblies of the washing assembly.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of making a commercial kitchenware washing system having a washing assembly for washing kitchenware and a solderless water manifold coupled to the washing assembly for delivering water to the washing assembly, the method comprising:
 coupling multiple pipes together without soldering to form a hot water line of the solderless water manifold;   coupling multiple pipes together without soldering to form a cold water line of the solderless water manifold;   coupling the hot water line to hot water inlets of at least two faucet assemblies of the washing assembly at a location adjacent a back portion of the washing assembly, such that the hot water line can direct hot water from a water supply to the at least two faucet assemblies; and   coupling the cold water line to cold water inlets of the at least two faucet assemblies of the washing assembly at a location adjacent the back portion of the washing assembly, such that the cold water line can direct cold water from a water supply to the at least two faucet assemblies.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 coupling a flexible tube to the hot water line of the solderless water manifold without soldering, the flexible tube configured to couple the hot water line of the solderless water manifold to a hot water supply for supplying hot water to the kitchenware washing system; and   coupling a flexible tube to the cold water line of the solderless water manifold without soldering, the flexible tube configured to couple the cold water line of the solderless water manifold to a cold water supply for supplying cold water to the kitchenware washing system.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein coupling a flexible tube to the hot water line of the solderless water manifold includes coupling the flexible tube to the hot water line at a location along the hot water line that is lower than a location where the hot water line couples to the hot water inlets of the at least two faucet assemblies, and wherein coupling a flexible tube to the cold water line of the solderless water manifold includes coupling the flexible tube to the cold water line at a location along the cold water line that is lower than a location where the cold water line couples to the cold water inlets of the at least two faucet assemblies. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein coupling the hot water line to hot water inlets of at least two faucet assemblies of the washing assembly comprises coupling the hot water line to the hot water inlets of the at least two faucet assemblies of the washing assembly without soldering, and wherein coupling the cold water line to cold water inlets of the at least two faucet assemblies of the washing assembly comprises coupling the cold water line to the cold water inlets of the at least two faucet assemblies of the washing assembly without soldering. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein coupling multiple pipes together without soldering to form a hot water line of the solderless water manifold comprises coupling the multiple pipes together using crimped connections to form the hot water line, and wherein coupling multiple pipes together without soldering to form a cold water line of the solderless water manifold comprises coupling the multiple pipes together using crimped connections to form the cold water line. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein coupling multiple pipes together without soldering to form a hot water line of the solderless water manifold comprises coupling at least three pipes together using solderless joints to form the hot water line, and wherein coupling multiple pipes together without soldering to form a cold water line of the solderless water manifold comprises coupling at least three pipes together using solderless joints to form the cold water line. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising positioning at least one of the multiple pipes of the hot water line parallel to and in the same plane as at least one of the multiple pipes of the cold water line. 
     
     
         8 . A method for installing a kitchenware washing system at a desired location having a hot water supply and a cold water supply, wherein the kitchenware washing system includes a washing assembly for washing kitchenware and a solderless water manifold coupled to the washing assembly for directing water from the hot and cold water supplies to first and second faucet assemblies of the washing assembly, the method comprising:
 placing the washing system at a desired location having a hot water supply and a cold water supply;   routing a first flexible tube of the solderless water manifold to the hot water supply;   connecting a coupling of the first flexible tube to a coupling of the hot water supply for directing water from the hot water supply to a hot water inlet of the first faucet assembly and to a hot water inlet of the second faucet assembly;   routing a second flexible tube of the solderless water manifold to the cold water supply; and   connecting a coupling of the second flexible tube to a coupling of the cold water supply for directing water from the cold water supply to a cold water inlet of the first faucet assembly and to a cold water inlet of the second faucet assembly.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , further comprising flexing at least one of the first flexible tube and the second flexible tube by hand when routing the first and/or second flexible tube and/or when connecting the coupling of the first and/or second flexible tube to the corresponding coupling of the hot and/or cold water supply. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 8 , further comprising directing water from the hot water supply to each of the hot water inlets of the first and second faucet assemblies through a hot water line of the solderless water manifold coupled to the first flexible tube, and directing water from the cold water supply to each of the cold water inlets of the first and second faucet assemblies through a cold water line of the solderless water manifold coupled to the second flexible tube. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein connecting a coupling of the first flexible tube to a coupling of the hot water supply comprises connecting the coupling of the first flexible tube to the coupling of the hot water supply without soldering, and wherein connecting a coupling of the second flexible tube to a coupling of the cold water supply comprises connecting the coupling of the second flexible tube to the coupling of the cold water supply without soldering. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the hot water line of the solderless water manifold comprises multiple pipes coupled together using solderless joints, and wherein the cold water line of the solderless water manifold comprises multiple pipes coupled together using solderless joints. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the solderless joints each include a crimped connection coupling adjacent pipes together. 
     
     
         14 . A commercial kitchenware washing system for use in washing kitchenware, the commercial kitchenware washing system comprising:
 a first faucet assembly including a hot water inlet and a cold water inlet;   a second faucet assembly including a hot water inlet and a cold water inlet; and   a water supply manifold having a hot water line coupled to the hot water inlets of the first and second faucet assemblies for directing water from a hot water supply to the first and second faucet assemblies, and a cold water line coupled to the cold water inlets of the first and second faucet assemblies for directing water from a cold water supply to the first and second faucet assemblies;   wherein the hot water line of the water supply manifold is free of solder connections, and wherein the cold water line of the water supply manifold is free of solder connections.   
     
     
         15 . The commercial kitchenware washing assembly of  claim 14 , wherein the hot water line includes multiple pipe sections coupled together using solderless connections to form the hot water line, and wherein the cold water line includes multiple pipe portions coupled together using solderless connections to form the cold water line. 
     
     
         16 . The commercial kitchenware washing assembly of  claim 15 , wherein the solderless connections each include a crimped connection coupling adjacent pipe sections together. 
     
     
         17 . The commercial kitchenware washing system of  claim 14 , wherein the solderless water supply manifold further includes a first flexible tube configured to couple the hot water line to the hot water supply, and a second flexible tube configured to couple the cold water line to the cold water supply. 
     
     
         18 . The commercial kitchenware washing system of  claim 17 , wherein:
 the hot water line of the water supply manifold includes a first portion coupled to the hot water inlet of the first faucet assembly via a solderless coupling, a second portion coupled to the hot water inlet of the second faucet assembly via a solderless coupling, and a third portion coupled to the first flexible tube; and   the cold water line of the water supply manifold includes a first portion coupled to the cold water inlet of the first faucet assembly via a solderless coupling, a second portion coupled to the cold water inlet of the second faucet assembly via a solderless coupling, and a third portion coupled to the second flexible tube.   
     
     
         19 . The commercial kitchenware washing assembly of  claim 14 , wherein the first flexible tube is coupled to the hot water line at a location that is lower than where the hot water line couples to the hot water inlets of the at least two faucet assemblies, and wherein the second flexible tube is coupled to the cold water line at a location that is lower than where the cold water line couples to the cold water inlets of the at least two faucet assemblies. 
     
     
         20 . The commercial kitchenware washing system of  claim 14 , wherein at least part of the hot water line and at least part of the cold water line extend parallel to each other and are located in the same plane.