Don Bohiler is the manager and water operator for Diamond Valley Water District, located in Yavapai County, Arizona, a few miles north of Phoenix.
The district needed an isolation valve to connect an old asbestos water main to a PVC 900 pipe within a new subdivision. Making the connection involved adding in several angled connections of varying degrees, requiring many hours to install.
Finding a solution
Bohiler found the HYMAX Grip SwivelJoint at a workshop and thought the product would be a good solution as it connects and restrains any two pipes at any angle between 0 and 90 degrees. DVWD crews could adjust the fitting to the exact angle and simply tighten it into position.
The SwivelJoint comes ready to use with its stab-fit design and unique radial gripping system that prevents pipe motion. With only three bolts to tighten, there is no need to tighten multiple mega-lugs as the universal gripping teeth fit metal and plastic pipes.
The DVWD crew removed the SwivelJoint chain on the end connecting to the asbestos pipe to prevent the coupling from crushing the pipe, and the chain remained in place to connect to the C900 PVC pipe. The coupling also allowed up to 4 degrees dynamic deflection per end to help reduce future pipe damage caused by ground shifts.
“Using the SwivelJoint helped us save a ton of time,” Bohiler says. “If I had to install multiple fittings, it could have easily taken my crew an additional four hours. By installing the SwivelJoint, I just had to move the joint to the angle of the connecting pipes, stab-fit it to the pipes, close it up, and go home.”
It took the DVWD service crew less than an hour to install the SwivelJoint and return water service to customers. By reducing installation time, they were able to minimize water shutdown and make the repair safer with less time in the ditch. By Bohiler’s estimate, using the new fitting saved the utility between $2,000 and $3,000.
Advantages of the SwivelJoint
The universal gripping system restrains metal and plastic pipes and has a transition capability of up to 1.1-inch. It can work with a wide range of pipe diameters.
The patented gasket transforms the pipe joint into a flexible connection allowing dynamic deflection of up to 4 degrees per side. It can adapt to an out-of-round pipe shape (up to 0.16-inch) with its radial closing design and sealing system.
The SwivelJoint chain provided a circular restraint around the PVC pipe. As the pipe applies axial pressure, the chain increasingly tightens around the pipe to prevent pullout.
The SwivelJoint can withstand working temperatures of up to 125 degrees F and is made of durable ductile iron, and meets or exceeds standards AWWA C219, NSF-61 and NSF-372.
“I was amazed at the range of flexibility the product had,” Bohiler says. “Making the adjustment was easy and it was great to connect the pipes without fiddling around with multiple connections.”
Mueller Water Products is a leading manufacturer and marketer of products and services used in the transmission, distribution and measurement of water.
770-206-4200 | www.muellerwaterproducts.com
