Two Tennessee Water Utilities Discover ALPHA™ Joint Makes Installations Faster, More Efficient

This article also appeared on Water Online.

From Nevada to South Dakota and now Tennessee, cities across the U.S. are installing the AMERICAN Flow Control® ALPHA restrained joint, because it saves labor, time and money. Introduced almost a year ago, ALPHA is used on AMERICAN’s Series 2500 4- to 12-inch Resilient Wedge Gate Valves and American-Darling and Waterous fire hydrants.

According to Greg Barton with Hayes Pipe, ALPHA’s versatility and ease of installation were the reasons Madison and Carthage, Tennessee, chose the ALPHA restrained joint for recent projects. “Customers like the single bolt on top versus up to eight bolts. When you’re down in the ditch and have to get up under the bottom side of the pipe, it’s just an easier way of doing it. ALPHA can be installed quickly and easily.”

“Customers like the single bolt on top versus up to eight bolts. When you’re down in the ditch and have to get up under the bottom side of the pipe, it’s just an easier way of doing it. ALPHA can be installed quickly and easily.”   Greg Barton, Hayes Pipe

The Madison Suburban Utility District (MSUD) has already installed more than 12 gate valves with ALPHA ends. MSUD Distribution Manager Kenny Turner said ALPHA performed well, and the greatest benefit was the single-bolt installation with no additional assembly required.

The South Side Utility District in Carthage agrees. In July, the utility installed a 6-inch AMERICAN gate valve with ALPHA ends, and Water Distribution Superintendent Jim Massey said the biggest advantage with ALPHA is the single-bolt and ease of installation. “We wanted to try something new, and the ALPHA looked like a good idea,” Massey said. “It was easier to install than expected. We like it and have ordered more.”

Other benefits of the ALPHA joint restraint include: it can be installed by one person; it is compatible with several pipe materials; and it uses only one stainless steel bolt, versus up to eight bolts on each end of a standard mechanical joint valve. ALPHA was developed by Romac Industries, Inc. Watch this video of an AMERICAN Flow Control Series 2500 with ALPHA retrained joint ends being installed. Or, for technical information, visit AMERICAN’s website.