When it comes to water system project design, there are many factors to consider when utilizing Ductile iron pipe (DI pipe). One of the most important is corrosion prevention, and if correctly addressed, there are great opportunities to design your systems with projected life spans extending well beyond 100 years.
As a manufacturer of Ductile iron pipe (DI pipe), we often field questions from water professionals regarding DI pipe, its uses, and how to install it properly. We even receive numerous questions about alternate materials, their differences, their uses, and the best choice for the application. And of course, when you ask, we answer…honestly, even when the answer doesn’t include Ductile iron. In this Iron Strong Blog, we’ll cover a few of our frequently asked questions (FAQ) and provide some solutions. We will continue with this FAQ series in the upcoming months.
Vicinity Energy, headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts supplies many downtown Baltimore, Maryland business corridor buildings with reliable central water services, offering a cost-effective alternative to maintaining in-house cooling equipment. In this Iron Strong Customer Spotlight, we’ll take a closer look at a recent Ductile iron pipe (DI pipe) installation project that will provide a means for sustainable, affordable energy in the Baltimore area for many years to come.
The goal for every pipeline project is to install the pipe and related appurtenances successfully within the timeframe and budget that the contractor bid the project. Sometimes, however, issues arise that may cause potential delays. These delays can cost time and money. The good news is there are ways to help minimize these occurrences with proper training and product understanding. In this Iron Strong Blog, we will discuss how a project can get off to a good start and lead to a successful installation.
At McWane Ductile, we believe that training and continuous education for our staff and customers are vital to a company's success. Because of this, we offer a wide variety of training opportunities for water professionals throughout the industry. Here are the many training resources available to you.
As of October 2020, more than 47,000 wildfires have occurred across 36 U.S. states. Drought is a major factor, as a large portion of the West is currently experiencing the most severe level of drought, dubbed “exceptional drought” by the U.S. Drought Monitor. Humans cause the majority of wildfires with negligence such as unattended campfires, discarded cigarettes or arson, followed by natural causes such as unusually long-lasting hot lightning bolts. (U.S. Drought Monitor, 2012)
How much water can I get through that pipe? What size pipe should I use to carry that much water? Two similar-sounding questions that, in truth, are entirely different. Not to mention, both are missing the keyword to consider in resolving each question, that word being "efficiently." The McWane Pocket Engineer (PE) Flow Calculator quickly and easily answers all three concerns - flow rate, pipe size, and flow efficiency.
What is National Get to Know Your Customer Day? This day is observed annually on the third Thursday of each quarter (January, April, July, October). With so much business being conducted electronically, personal attention to customers can go by the wayside. Get to Know Your Customer Day is a fitting opportunity to turn that around, making a point of learning a little more about your customers. The better you know and understand your customer, the better you can serve them and their needs.
How do you go to market? This isn’t a question we get often, but it comes up from time to time. Sometimes we're asked by a vendor we work with who is trying to understand McWane Ductile better. Sometimes a candidate asks the question during an interview or a new sales representative asks while we’re onboarding. Other times we have a hard-working team member at one of our manufacturing facilities trying to understand further what and where the product they make goes and how it gets there. In this blog, we will look at the different bidding processes we encounter on a day-to-day basis that allow us to take Ductile iron pipe to market.
So, the site plans say, "… connect to existing iron pipe." Now that we’ve dug down to it, I can’t tell if it is gray iron or Ductile iron pipe. Are there ways to reliably distinguish between the two without some physical testing on a sample? In this blog, we'll take a closer look at the characteristics and differences between the two types of pipe.
In a continuous effort to make your job easier, we have developed an online submittal builder to quickly and neatly package your personalized presentation.
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Looking for answers to your DI pipe questions? Find decades of Ductile iron expertise with installation guides, videos, tip sheets, training resources, and more in our Learning Center.
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