New Hepworth flexible couplings range
Hepworth Drainage has launched a new range of flexible couplings that can be used to connect pipes whether they're above or below ground. These flexible, adjustable couplings are particularly useful for repairs, installing new junctions into existing pipelines and also when jointing pipes of different diameters.
The new range has been branded as 'HepSure™' and all products are manufactured by Hepworth using SBR/EPDM (don't ask!) rubber and 316 stainless steel as standard. They are available in a wide range of sizes from a miniscule 50mm to a strangely unrounded 2999 mm diameter.
All HepSure™ couplings utilise worm drives and clips, akin to the Jubilee Clips used for vehicle radiator hoses and the like, rather than the bulky bolt type systems used on some other larger diameter flexible connectors. The worm drives were chosen because they equalise the pressure on the coupling, or, as Karen Stables, Marketing Supremo at Hepworth puts it,
All of the new couplings are kitemarked to BSEN295-4 and there are alternative nitrile specifications available for many of the products in the range. The company also provides fabricated bushes that are used to make up the gap where there's a difference of more than 12mm (half-inch in old money) between the outer diameters (OD) of the pipes to be joined.
To coincide with the launch, the company is also making available an amazingly simple "Electronic Product Selector" that helps identify the most suitable product once the user has inputted the OD of the pipes to be joined.
The couplings should be available from all good Builders' and Civils Merchants, although the larger sizes and special items may need to be ordered.
Further details can be obtained by contacting the Hepworth Drainage literature line on: 0870 443 6000
Alternatively, have a nosey around the rather impressive and eminently useful Hepworth Drainage website.
There's also a PDF file available that gives far more info, and examples of the couplings in use.
HepSure™ Couplings 
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