THE IRON-CLAD TRUTH:
Not all cast iron is created equal
Advantages of U.S. Products
Buying American is not simply a patriotic gesture. At least when it comes to cast iron DWV products. Buying American is essential to the integrity of your build. Domestic cast iron soil pipe and fittings are guaranteed to meet the industry’s highest standards—and have the third-party validation to back it up.
REQUIREMENTS
ASTM and CISPI standards for pipe and fittings require consistent tensile strength, chemical and dimensional testing and radiation testing of raw materials. These tests must be done during the manufacturing process by the manufacturer to ensure consistent quality and to be in compliance with the standard.
Third-Party Testing
CISPI’s Quality Control Program ensures that domestic manufacturers are manufacturing in compliance with these standards.
- CISPI technicians make three unannounced inspections of member company inventories per year to check dimensional accuracy, metallurgical data and record keeping requirements.
- This program was recently approved by NSF International to validate the compliance of member products with the CISPI 301 and ASTM A74 Standards.
- NSF also certifies that CISPI’s member-company cast iron soil pipe and fitting products are compliant with these standards.
Don’t Be Fooled
Just because ASTM A74 or A888 is marked on a piece of pipe doesn’t mean that pipe was inspected and verified by a third party. In fact, cast iron soil pipe products are not inspected by ASTM and the ASTM numbers typically marked on the products are not even required by the standards. Some importers of foreign-made cast iron pipe and fittings claim that third party inspections of their plants are required by the code, but that’s just not the case.
The easiest way to make sure cast iron soil pipe and fittings are truly made to standards and verified by a third party is to look for the CISPI Mark of Quality.
Resources
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CISPI Brochure
All too often, the perceived cost advantages of plastic over cast iron are not what they seem. This brochure will help it all make sense, by comparing six areas that can add cost and complexity: fire resistive construction, crush and deflection underground, thermal expansion/
CISPI Cast Iron Soil Pipe & Fittings Handbook
This newly updated handbook features the latest technical specs, installation guides, manufacturing details, layouts and other useful information for putting cast iron soil pipe and fittings to work for you.
CISPI 301
Standard specification for hubless cast iron soil pipe and fittings for sanitary and storm drain, waste and vent piping applications.