The normal, stocking item for Ductile iron pipe products is lined and coated with a sealcoat that comes in your choice of black. Many water professionals wonder about the purpose of this coating, or paint, that gives Ductile iron pipe it’s familiar appearance. In this article we offer some explanation and history behind the application and advancement of the sealcoat.
Visitors who tour a McWane Ductile facility are often surprised by how much work goes into making Ductile iron pipe. The pipe starts out as scrap metal from old cars and demolished buildings that is melted down and given a new lease on life. Up to 95% of our product is made from recycled material.
Once this metal is in its molten state a crane carries it to centrifugal casting machines where it is spun into a pipe. Next it heads to the annealing oven, an important step in transforming the iron into ductile.
Gaskets are a critical component in your ductile iron piping system. To get the full benefit of your gaskets, they need to be stored in a manner that minimizes deterioration. We don’t always work in favorable conditions, so no matter if you are in the field or in a warehouse, utilizing the best storage practices and locations are key to the performance and the effective lifetime of your gaskets.
In this article, we will cover some guidelines on how to store and care for your gaskets. We will cover the “what to do” as well as the equally important,”what not to do.”
You’re Asking. We’re Answering
There are so many questions that our consumers have about ductile iron pipe and one of the biggest categories is the HOW: “How is it made? How is it done? How can I fix this?” And there’s even the “How much does it cost?”
It is pretty much a daily occurrence here at McWane Ductile for our sales staff to receive price requests on a variety of ductile iron pipe (DI pipe) products. Usually this request is for a specific project, but occasionally design engineers will also ask for “budget pricing” for future underground utility projects. This is typically a pretty simple task, but to provide the most accurate and cost-effective pricing, there are a few items that must be addressed that will ultimately determine the final cost to the customer. This article will review some of those variables that determine the final pricing for your DI pipe needs.
As a municipality, contractor, or an engineering firm, you may have found yourself with a question at your desk or on a jobsite that you simply cannot answer. Sure, we’ve all been there and we all usually find that answer by leaning on our network of resources who specialize in an area of expertise.
So, what happens when you have that technical question while drawing up a set of plans or while at a jobsite? Who are you going to call?
Well, here at McWane Ductile, we want you to know that we’re here to assist you with your water works projects and provide solutions in OUR area of expertise, Ductile Iron Pipe (DI pipe).
Ductile iron pipe (DIP) is one of the most widely used pipe materials in North America. The Design Life is second to no other pipe material due to its robust design. This pipe material is the strongest and most resilient available for water and wastewater utilities providing unparalleled Life-Cycle value.
In many areas, utilities need to consider how to protect these valuable pipelines from corrosive soils. The question is “How can we economically protect these pipelines to meet or exceed the 105-110 year average design life of DIP?”
Even in this modern era, we are still concerned with many of the issues that early civilizations faced when providing water to our communities, such as supply and demand, pipeline construction and upkeep, cleanliness, conservation and cost. In the fall of 2018, McWane Ductile’s Senior Regional Engineer, Roy Mundy, had the opportunity to interview Consolidated Utility District General Manager Bill Dunnill. The two gentlemen, both with utility management experience, had a candid conversation about Bill’s day-to-day challenges, successes and his preferred choice of pipeline material. The following are excerpts from their discussion.
Today there are several funding methods and sources for water and wastewater projects, not only in the United States but throughout the world. Most, if not all, require some sort of report or project summary. You may have seen these with such names as Conceptual Design or Engineering Report, Facilities Needs Assessment, Preliminary Design Report, Preliminary Engineering Report. Different agencies and different countries have different names for these respective documents, but most are like each other in scope and requirements.
When talking about ductile iron pipe in sewer applications, many times Induron’s Protecto 401™ comes to mind. Protecto 401 lining has often been the specified lining for ductile iron pipe in sewer applications more than 50 years.
Common uses for Protecto 401 are for a sewer force main that may not be fully running, where trapped air may exist, where chemical resistance is required, or for abrasion resistance. There may be occasions in the field when patching of the Protecto 401 lining may be necessary.
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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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