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| November Issue Post Date 11/19/04 | www.mcelroy.com | |
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Note From The Editor Dutton has pursued this goal before and has become accustomed to resistance, but if you think the gray-headed Dutton is ready to give up - think again. He knows that once the benefits of using PE pipe are experienced first hand, his efforts will bear much fruit. Dutton, an engineer with a 36-year history with McElroy, knows what it is like to encourage folks to change their attitudes and preferences for piping materials. Back in the early 1970's Dutton was very much involved in the missionary work that brought the benefits of PE to the gas industry. "A lot of gas companies were stuck in the mind set that rigid steel pipe was the only way to transport gas," said Dutton. In those days he piled into a panel van with a small fusion machine and traveled across the country giving dog-and-pony shows to gas companies. The routine was the same in each location - show people how easy it was to butt fuse PE pipe. "It just made a hell of a lot of sense to the gas industry that since PE didn't leak, it was safer. Once they understood this, they jumped aboard." Today more than 90% of gas distribution lines are PE and the piping material is forging its way into the water and sewer market. Pipeline safety is not the motivator bringing PE to water and sewer. The long list of other benefits the gas industry has enjoyed is making municipal managers perk up and take notice. Perhaps the most compelling advantage the pipe has to offer is its marriage with trenchless technologies. What is most important to contractors is PE's ability to withstand the tremendous load that may be placed on it during trenchless applications. With more trenchless rehabilitation taking place in the nations aging water and sewer infrastructure, many in the industry feel that PE's market share will grow as well. "With the onset of pre-chlorinated pipe bursting technology here in the United States , I believe HDPE will enjoy an ever increasing market share of waterline rehabilitation projects," said Mark Wallbom, Senior Vice President of Miller Pipeline Corp . Wallbom also says that the most critical issues facing potable water providers in the future will be supply. "Water is too precious," says Wallbom. "W e have been warned that future wars and other conflicts are more likely to be over water than oil. The tremendous advantage of PE in new or rehabilitated potable systems is clear - the opportunities for leaks are dramatically reduced and the resulting cost to benefit is something that just has to be given more weight in the pipeline product selection process." Dutton continues his role with McElroy by helping cities understand PE and how it is fused together. "It's not rocket science," he says. "It is simply the best piping technology on the market and the water and sewer managers are starting to understand this." One thing is for sure, Dutton knows from experience that PE pipe sells itself and once Tulsa has first hand experience with it, they will come to realize what so many other cities are finding out - that PE pipe is an excellent alternative to traditional materials and offers advantages that simply cannot be denied. Productivity Tip As a specialist in dealing with HDPE over time, it's never been hard for me to see the tremendous advantages the pipe has to offer. The push of HDPE in the waterworks business is picking up momentum because the polyethylene industry has developed solutions for the specific concerns that came from folks in the water industry. A complete list of fittings, valves, transition fittings and repair couplings are available from multiple manufacturers. The water works business has all of these readily available and now the material advantages PE provides are more clearly evident to municipalities. We all know that a butt fusion joint provides the best possible way to connect polyethylene pipe. However, I suggest you take a look at all of the different mechanically joined fittings and couplings out there and have this knowledge at hand for questions that arise from contractors, consultants, engineers and water managers. The first and most widely used is the mechanical joint adapter. They provide a restrained joint and bolt up to hydrants, valves and fittings. Many companies are offering systems and technologies brought over from Europe where HDPE has been used with great success in water systems for the last 20 years. Mueller http://www.muellercompany.com/test/mueller_water/water.php has an Aqua Grip system for valves, fittings and hydrants, that works on AWWA approved DIPS materials including HDPE without stiffeners. AVK http://www.avkvalves.com/ valves and hydrants have PE pigtails attached to the end of its products ready to butt fuse or electrofuse to the pipeline. Since connection questions are always high on pipeline managers lists, it only makes sense to be prepared to answer them. Communicating the complete HDPE pipe, valve and fitting system availability and integrity will assist the water engineer to make a positive decision to use HDPE.State Of The Infrastructure
Free Offer To order your calender click here The process of running more than one fusion machine at the same time is called piggybacking. Polyethylene pipeline contractors across the country are embracing the technique to install pipelines at a rate never imagined before. Read the complete article as it appeared in the October edition of Underground Construction. Read Article Case Studies Links North American Society for Trenchless Technology American Water Works Association American Society of Civil Engineers Foundation Newsletter Links Water World - Receive news from WaterWorld, Industrial Waterworld and Water & Wastewater International. Water Tech Online North American Society of Trenchless Technology Insider and Pipeline Newsletter If you would like a link to your newsletter posted in McElroy Connections, contact Drew L. Wilson at 918-831-9286 or McElroy Connections welcomes your feedback, story ideas, tips, or anything else related to PE Pipe and Pipe fusion. Please email your comments and story ideas to: FOR NEW SUBSCRIPTIONS: To subscribe, visit http://www.mcelroy.com/fusion/forms/newsletter.htm McElroy Connections is published by McElroy Manufacturing Inc. The information contained within each issue is meant as a service to our customers, distributors, and those involved with Polyethylene Pipe applications.
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Dave Dutton is leaning over a pile of paperwork on his desk thinking ahead to an upcoming meeting with the water department for the city of Tulsa . His goal for 2005: Convince his city to break with a long standing tradition of using ductile iron or PVC pipe and try just one pilot project using polyethylene (PE) pipe and trenchless technologies. As the British critic Stephen Bayler in Commerce and Culture said: "The assumption must be that those who can see value only in tradition, or versions of it, deny man's ability to adapt to changing circumstances."
ISCO Industries 
