8 02/18 BEDDING: Bedding material should be sand or other materials free of sharp objects, heavy clods, boulders or frozen lumps as specified by the Design Engineer. The approved bedding should be used 6" under, around and over the pipe. Utilize good practices that apply to buried pressure piping. PIPE ASSEMBLY: Be sure the sealing ring is correctly and completely seated in the groove of each pipe bell. 1. Make certain that the ring and ring groove in the bell is clean, with no dirt or foreign material that could interfere with proper seating of the ring. 2. Make sure the spigot end is clean. Wipe with a clean dry cloth around the entire circumference of the exposed carrier spigot. 3. Lubricate the spigot end of the pipe, using only Thermopipe Lubricant supplied. Be sure to cover the entire circumference. The coating should be the equivalent of a brush coat of enamel paint. It can be applied by hand, cloth, pad, sponge, or glove. Do not lubricate the rubber ring or the ring groove in the bell because such lubrication could cause ring displacement. 4. Insert the bevel end into the bell so that it is in contact with the ring. Hold the pipe lengths being joined close to the ground to keep the lengths in proper alignment. Brace the bell while the bevel end is pushed in under the ring. Push the spigot end all the way home. The casing of the bell must butt against the casing of the spigot end. If undue resistance to insertion or pushing home is encountered, disassemble the joint and check the position of the ring. If it is twisted or pushed out of its seat, clean the ring, bell and beveled end, and repeat the assembly steps. NOTE: if a spigot or bell end has become deformed due to a load on the pipe while in the stock pile during hot weather, it will be necessary to exercise more care in assembling the joint to prevent fishmouthing of the rubber ring. USE OF DOUBLE BELL COUPLINGS FOR REPAIRS AND ADAPTION TO STEEL The double bell coupling is used for joining spigot ends, for making repairs and for adapting to steel pipe in sizes 1-1/2" through 12". Other methods of adaptation, such as Ductile Iron and PVC flanges are available, and may be specified by the design engineer.