At McWane Ductile, we are proud to manufacture the strongest, most durable, and most flexible piping material available to the waterworks industry. Even with these great attributes, we still take great care when handling Ductile iron pipe (DI pipe). In this Iron Strong Blog, we’ll cover some key tips to safely handling your DI pipe once it arrives at your job site and throughout the construction or your pipeline project.
With Ductile iron pipe (DI pipe), typical service taps can be installed directly into the wall of the pipe, which is called “direct tapping.” The ability to use direct tapping eliminates the need for tapping saddles. And the ease at which DI pipe can be "hot tapped" helps avoid the issue of unhappy consumers because their service and pressure are not impacted by the addition of a new tap. The waterworks community frequently asks us, “How big of a tap will DI pipe allow?” The simple, most conservative response, not having interrogated the user as to their DI pipeline particulars, would be as follows:
There are occasions during field installation of Ductile iron pipe (DI pipe) when a Chamfered edge or a beveled edge may be required. There is typically a sharp edge on any metal pipe after field cutting. This edge is a safety hazard that requires removal. The sharp edge may also damage a gasket during installation, which is an additional reason to remove the sharp edge. Read on to see the differences and why it is essential to have the proper edge on a field-cut DI pipe.
In the field, a contractor can become frustrated when attempting to locate the source of a water leak in a buried pipeline. Having a reasoned plan of resolve will save a lot of time, money, and headaches, along with demonstrating a true level of professionalism to outside observers. In this Iron Strong blog, we will examine the patterns of thought, questions to be answered, and the different assessments used when locating a leak.
This entry in the Iron Strong Blog compares the performance of Ductile iron pipe (DI pipe) to Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) pipe against cyclic pressure variations in piping systems. Cyclic loading, or more accurately, cyclic surges, is a phenomenon where pressures in a pipeline frequently vary due to changes in demand, operating conditions, storage tank levels, treatment plants, and pump starts and shutdowns. Surges can also occur during common field operations such as exercising or flushing fire hydrants or valves within the system, which can drastically change flow parameters, causing surges or water hammers.
For buried pipelines, there can be several soil conditions that adversely affect water quality via permeation. As a waterworks professional, you most likely will ask “Where and when might these harmful conditions be present, or even potentially develop, and what solution is available to best protect my water system from this issue? We will look at several of the more common risks in this article and discuss protective measures that can be utilized. These risks can include contaminated soils from areas in or near older landfills, industrial sites, and abandoned or leaking fuel tanks, to mention a few.
After being in the water and sewer industry for almost 15 years, I can safely say a question I hear frequently is “Can Protecto 401™ be used in potable water service applications?” And that is exactly what we are going to talk about in this Iron Strong Blog. We all know it when we see it, the pipe with the red bell and spigot. It sticks out like a sore thumb so that it can be noticed without any confusion. But where can it be used and what is its purpose?
If you're like most people, you probably don't sit around thinking about how much Ductile iron pipe (DI pipe) weighs so in this Iron Strong Blog we are going to tell you where to find the weight of the pipe and why it is essential to familiarize yourself with the weight of the pipe.
Over the years, I have spoken with numerous engineers, utilities, and municipalities, and there seems to be a disconnect when it comes to the overall understanding of when and where cement-mortar-lined pipe can be used in wastewater applications. Due to these grey areas, engineers and owners often specify specialty linings for an entire project when the line could have been specified as either cement-mortar lined ductile iron pipe only or a mixture of specialty lined and cement-lined pipe.
A common question that many sales reps in the Ductile iron pipe (DI pipe) industry have heard over the years is, "Are you sure you’ve quoted the 3” and 4” pipe correctly?” Once that price is confirmed, the follow-up question from the customer is usually “Why in the world does it cost so much?” Well, there are many reasons for the higher cost, and in this Iron Strong Blog, we will offer some insight into that question.
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