Case Study: Cookeville Water Municipal

Cookeville’s transition to Philmac polymer fittings is a huge success.

Searching for an alternative to brass fittings, the City of Cookeville Department of Water Quality Control decided to put Philmac to the test.

Home to over 35,000 people, the City of Cookeville Department of Water Quality Control is focussed on maintaining water lines in their service of over 14,675 customers every day. In 2022, Cookeville Purchasing Officer, Nate Beaty, was faced with an unreliable supply of brass compression fittings and valves. Beaty recalls, “for any part of that nature, when we would place an order we were looking at 30-36 weeks lead time”.

The challenge of brass fittings and valves

Down to their last box of ¾ inch brass compression fittings, Cookeville knew they needed to find an alternative to brass. After doing their research online, they decided to put Philmac fittings to the test. “Within a week we had ¾ inch couplings on the shelf,” says Cookeville Water Inventory Control Clerk, Dustin Stanton.

At Cookeville, “parts fly off the shelf” Beaty explained. With three water crews working daily, fixing at least three leaks in domestic house connections a day, it wasn’t long before the team had put Philmac’s fittings through their paces.

While it started out of necessity, Cookeville quickly realised the availability of Philmac’s polymer fittings was just the tip of the iceberg.

It’s not like you’re going eight rounds with a pair of pliers until you’re shoulder-to-shoulder with fitting, you simply hand tighten it and then a quarter turn with the wrench and you’re done”.

Easy-to-use polymer fittings and valves

The first thing that struck them was how much easier it was to use the Philmac compression fitting and they quickly realised that the fittings were saving them and their contractors time in the field. As Stanton remarks;  “It’s not like you’re going eight rounds with a pair of pliers until you’re shoulder-to-shoulder with fitting”. He was impressed with how easy it was to use; “you simply hand tighten it and then a quarter turn with the wrench and you’re done”.

For years the team dealt with brass fittings that would corrode, “We’d had issues in the field on other polymer products with male and female adaptors breaking, threads coming apart” said WW Collection Station Supervisor, Jeremiah R Williams. “Since moving to Philmac, with plastics, schedule 80, PVC, HDPE pipes we’ve had great success with the connections and no breakage”.

They were a little surprised at first when they saw firsthand how robust the fittings made from market-leading polymer technology were. “We’ve seen with our own eyes in the Philmac demonstrations that the Poly pipe will rupture before the Philmac fitting will let go”, said Stanton remarking about the impressive pull-out strength of Philmac compression fittings.

“As far as Philmac versus brass, I would tell you — quicker installation and a ten-year warranty, it’s the real deal — you can’t get much better.”

Outstanding support and training with Philmac

In Philmac, Cookeville now has a product that is readily available, more cost-effective than brass and a more reliable connection in the field. The team at Cookeville are also quick to praise the ongoing support and training provided by Philmac. As Stanton says “The level of customer care we’ve received from Philmac has been absolutely outstanding. We call and we all get the same answer and the same education that we should receive from Philmac.”.

For Stanton, the switch and decision to stick with Philmac have been a simple one, he said: “As far as Philmac versus brass, I would tell you — quicker installation and a ten-year warranty, it’s the real deal — you can’t get much better.”

Product Spotlight

Universal Transition Coupling (UTC)

One of Nate Beaty’s favourite products is the Universal Transition Coupling (UTC). With the nature of their work, crews often don’t know what they’ll find in the ground. A product that can connect to any pipe and be used for live repairs is a gamechanger for the Cookeville team.

“With UTC you’re good to go… it’s a one-stop shop, one product and you can tie on to anything!”

“When you buy brass you have to buy all three parts — a part for copper, a part for PVC, a part for galvanized” Beaty explained. “With the UTC coupling, on each side it has collets and metal rings that will grip in. We can tie on to our side but if you get to the customer they might have copper, PVC or galvanized. With UTC you’re good to go… it’s a one-stop shop, one product and you can tie on to anything!”

More About UTC