Mechanical Joint Installation

Mechanical Joint Assembly

From AWWA C600-17

1. Clean the socket and the plain end. Lubrication and additional
cleaning should be provided by brushing both the gasket and the
plain end with soapy water or an approved pipe lubrication meeting
the requirement of ANSI/AWWA C111/A21.11.

Just prior to slipping the gasket onto the plain end for joint
assembly. Place the gland on the plain end with lip extension toward
the plain end, followed by the gasket with the narrow edge of the
gasket toward the plain end. [The gasket provided may have been
the EBAA-SEAL® Improved Mechanical Joint Gasket, the EBAA-
SEAL does not have a narrow edge and is bi-directional. It’s use
with certain sizes of MEGALUGS® is required to achieve the rated
pressure.]

NOTE: In cold weather it is preferable to warm the gasket to

facilitate assembly of the joint.

2. Insert the pipe into the socket and press the gasket firmly and
evenly into the gasket recess. Keep the joint straight during
assembly.

3. Push the gland toward the socket and center it around the pipe with
the gland lip against the gasket. Insert bolts and hand tighten nuts.
Make deflection after joint assembly but before tightening bolts.

4. Tighten the bolts to the normal range of torque as indicated [3-

inch 45-60 ft.-lbs., 4 through 24-inch 75-90 ft-lbs., 30 and 36-inch
100-120 ft.-lbs., and 42, 48 and 54-inch 120-150 ft.-lbs.] while at
all times maintaining approximately the same distance between
the gland and the face of the flange at all points around the socket.
This can be accomplished by partially tightening the bottom bolt
first, then top bolt, next the bolts at either side, finally the remaining
bolts. Repeat the process until all bolts are within the appropriate
range of torque. In large sizes (30-64 inch [762-1,600mm]), five or
more repetitions may be required. The use of a torque-indicating
wrench will facilitate this procedure.

Table 1 - Mechanical Joint Bolt Torques

Pipe Size Bolt Size Range of Torque
in. mm in. mm ft•lb N•m
3 76 ⅝ 16 45 - 60 61 - 81
4 - 24 102 - 610 ¾ 19 75 - 90 102 - 122
30 - 36 762 - 914 1 25 100 - 120 136 -163
42 - 64 1,067–1,600 1¼ 32 120 - 150 163 - 203

Note: Dimensions are in inches and are subject to change without notice. 1220-G
 Mechanical Joint Sizes and Specifications
Dimensions for the Standardized Mechanical Joint
ANSI/AWWA A21.11/C111 and A21.53/C153

C110 Fittings C153 Fittings

Cross Sectional Gland Bolt Holes Bell
Nominal (Thick Wall) (Thin Wall)
Area of Pipe†
Pipe Size Bolts Bolts
(sq. in.)
A K M C F J X № D B G L № Dia. Length
L № Dia. Length

3 3.96 12.3 7.69 0.62 4.84 4.06 6.19 ¾ 4 4.94 2.50 1.56 0.94 4 ⅝ 3 0.58 4 ⅝ 3

4 4.80 18.1 9.12 0.75 5.92 4.90 7.50 ⅞ 4 6.02 2.50 1.44 1.00 4 ¾ 3½ 0.60 4 ¾ 3½

6 6.90 37.4 11.12 0.88 8.02 7.00 9.50 ⅞ 6 8.12 2.50 1.44 1.06 6 ¾ 3½ 0.63 6 ¾ 3½

8 9.05 64.3 13.37 1.00 10.17 9.15 11.75 ⅞ 6 10.27 2.50 1.44 1.12 6 ¾ 4 0.66 6 ¾ 3½

10 11.10 96.8 15.62 1.00 12.22 11.20 14.00 ⅞ 8 12.34 2.50 1.44 1.19 8 ¾ 4 0.70 8 ¾ 3½

12 13.20 136.9 17.88 1.00 14.32 13.30 16.25 ⅞ 8 14.44 2.50 1.44 1.25 8 ¾ 4 0.73 8 ¾ 3½

14 15.30 183.9 20.25 1.25 16.40 15.44 18.75 ⅞ 10 16.54 3.50 2.44 1.31 10 ¾ 4½ 0.79 10 ¾ 4

16 17.40 237.8 22.50 1.31 18.50 17.54 21.00 ⅞ 12 18.64 3.50 2.44 1.38 12 ¾ 4½ 0.85 12 ¾ 4

18 19.50 298.6 24.75 1.38 20.60 19.64 23.25 ⅞ 12 20.74 3.50 2.44 1.44 12 ¾ 4½ 1.00 12 ¾ 4

20 21.60 366.4 27.00 1.44 22.70 21.74 25.50 ⅞ 14 22.84 3.50 2.44 1.50 14 ¾ 4½ 1.02 14 ¾ 4

24 25.80 522.8 31.50 1.56 26.90 25.94 30.00 ⅞ 16 27.04 3.50 2.44 1.62 16 ¾ 5 1.02 16 ¾ 4½

30 32.00 804.3 39.12 2.00 33.29 32.17 36.88 1⅛ 20 33.46 4.00 2.62 1.81 20 1 6 1.31 20 1 5½

36 38.30 1,152.1 46.00 2.00 39.59 38.47 43.75 1⅛ 24 39.76 4.00 2.62 2.00 24 1 6 1.45 24 1 5½

42 44.50 1,555.3 53.12 2.00 45.79 44.67 50.62 1⅜ 28 45.96 4.00 2.62 2.00 28 1¼ 6½‡ 1.45 28 1¼ 6‡

48 50.80 2,026.8 60.00 2.00 52.09 50.97 57.50 1⅜ 32 52.26 4.00 2.62 2.00 32 1¼ 6½‡ 1.45 32 1¼ 6‡

54 57.58 2602.1 65.70 2.00 58.82 57.73 63.20 1⅜ 36 59.02 4.00 2.62 ― 36 1¼ ― 1.55 36 1¼ 6½*

60 61.61 2981.2 70.22 2.00 62.87 61.78 67.72 1⅜ 36 63.87 4.00 2.62 ― 36 1¼ ― 1.75 36 1¼ 6½§

64 65.67 3387.0 74.36 2.00 66.96 65.13 71.86 1⅜ 38 67.13 4.00 2.62 ― 38 1¼ ― 1.75 38 1¼ 6½

†The Cross Sectional Area of the pipe is based on the outside diameter of the pipe.
‡The MEGALUG® Series 1142 and 1148 requires and are supplied with 8½ inch t-Bolts
*The MEGALUG® Series 1154 requires and are supplied with 9½ inch t-Bolts
§The MEGALUG® Series 1160 requires and are supplied with 11 inch t-Bolts

At EBAA Iron, all of our products are tested with a minimum safety factor of 2:1. Therefore, all of our products have been tested to at least twice the rated pressure of
the restraint device. To determine the amount of force held by a joint restraint device at a certain pressure, obtain the cross sectional area of the pipe size from the
table above and multiply that number by the desired pressure. The result will be the equivalent dead end thrust load resisted by the restraint at the chosen pressure.

For Example - The dead end thrust of a 12 inch joint at 350 PSI would be:
Thrust = 136.9 x 350 = 47,915 pounds of force
Area = D2/4
Where  = 3.1416 and D = Pipe O.D.
Copyright 2020© EBAA Iron, Inc.
Note: Dimensions are in inches and are subject to change without notice. 1220-G