This "movable feast" of an event brings together members of the hydronics community for a day of roundtable discussions.

"Picture a large room set with 20 roundtables," said Holohan, a monthly columnist in Plumbing & Mechanical, PM Engineer, and Supply House Times magazines, as well as the author of 14 books. "There's food and drink in the middle of the room all day long, and everyone is free to get up and move around as they will. There are no time limits at any of the tables, which are tagged for certain topics (and these change as the day goes by)."

In previous Wetstocks, the topics have included radiant heating and controls, steam, indoor air quality, innovative construction, insulation, chemicals, hiring and training, ethics, pricing, company policies, and software. If someone has a suggestion for a roundtable topic during the day, Holohan gets on the microphone and immediately sets it up. According to Holohan, "The only way you won't get something out of Wetstock is if you stay home.

"It's the unstructured nature of Wetstock that makes it work. People follow their interests and take what they want as the day goes by. It's all very casual.

"There's no long-term commitment, no dues to pay, no committees to join, no corporate sponsors. It's all about the wetheads getting together from all over the U.S. and Canada to share. I know of no other place where you can get so much information and great ideas in such a short amount of time. And besides that, it's just plain fun!"

Tickets are limited to 200, and about half of those are already sold as of press time. Ticket information and Wetstock IV details are available in the "Books & More" section of www.heatinghelp.com.

Publication date: 01/26/2004