General Information for U.S. Foundry Products

Copyright Notice

The CAD drawings found on this site for U.S. Foundry products are copyrighted by U.S. Foundry. Engineers and Architects may use them as part of their contract documents to specify or describe specific U.S. Foundry products. Contractors may use these drawings if they have purchased or intend to purchase specific U.S. Foundry products on behalf of a project owner. Customers of U.S. Foundry may use these drawings to aid in the description of a product or products purchased. In any of the above instances, drawings may be used only for the specific U.S. Foundry product or products specified or purchased provided they are identified as U.S. Foundry copyrighted drawings.

Portions of this site contain material that is copyright (c) 2001 U.S. Foundry & Manufacturing Corporation and is reprinted here with permission

SPECIFICATIONS AND INFORMATION

CAST IRON CONSTRUCTION CASTINGS

LOAD DESIGNATIONS

* Proof load is applied over 9" x 9" area in center of the casting and held for one minute without failure or permanent deflection.
For special load requirements consult our sales or customer service representatives.

SPECIFICATIONS FOR STEEL PRODUCTS

LOAD DESIGNATIONS

* Standard Specifications for Highway Bridges, Sixteenth Edition.
For special load requirements consult our sales or customer service representatives.

SCULPTURED COVERS

U.S. Foundry's Sculptured Covers are a unique way for cities, counties, state, public and private utilities to define themselves and the popularity of these custom designs continues to grow. The Sculptured Covers usually have the municipality's logo, seal or unique feature that represents the community. U.S. Foundry has the skills and equipment to make any design a reality. You can see a number of unique designs throughout our "Cover Types" section, located in "Rings and Covers" under "Products" heading. Contact your sales or customer service representative for more information.

SPECIAL APPLICATIONS

WATER RESISTANT / WATERTIGHT APPLICATIONS:

Rainwater infiltration through sanitary sewer manholes continues to be of significant concern. We address these concerns by offering three ways to reduce this inflow on rings and covers. One, the O-Ring Seal application. Two, the Bolted Watertight applications. The O-Ring seal and Bolted Watertight applications are available on most ring and covers. Three the "SSG" side seal gasket application offered on the following castings: #480, #574, #577, #579, #651, #652, #705, #710, #725 and #1330.

SECURITY AND SPECIAL BOLTING APPLICATIONS:

Theft, vandalism, safety and restricted access to grates and covers can be a concern. These conditions are addressed in many different ways. One solution is found by way of the USF #4700-6223 Catch Basin and USF #5129-6176 Curb Inlet, utilizing a Non-Removable Hinged Grate design. US Foundry also has available Penta-Head Camlocks for Ring and Covers #117-KS, #574, #577, #579, #651 and #652. Security bolting such as: Buttonhead Tamperproof bolts, Penta-Head bolts or Drill and Tap service for customer supplied specialty bolts, that can be utilized on most U.S. Foundry covers, frames, and grates. Contact your sales or customer service representative for more information.

CONFINED SPACE / CLEAR OPENINGS:

There is ongoing interest by Municipal and State Authorities in increasing the clear opening of manways for safety and/or mechanical reasons. The State of Florida Department of Transportation Roadway and Traffic Design Standards has standardized a series of 36" manhole frame and covers, These and a number of other various sized ring and covers, up to 48", are addressed in our "Large Manhole" sections. These rings offer a larger outer cover for access coupled with a smaller inspection cover.

ADJUSTING RINGS:

Adjusting Rings are available for most ring and cover combinations. U.S. Foundry stocks cast iron and steel Adjusting Rings in specific increments for some castings. We also have the ability to manufacture steel Adjusting Rings to size and height required for all other U.S. Foundry and/or any other manufacturers ring and cover with a nominal amount of customer supplied information. Summary of stock Adjusting Rings and ordering info on all others can be found in "Ring and Covers" under "Products" heading. Adjusting rings can also be ordered for square, rectangular or other special applications upon request.

STORMWATER DRAINAGE

FLOW AREA FOR GRATES:

The net open area of each grate is listed, so that a general comparison of flow rates can be made. These open areas are figured for the entire grate. When determining actual flow areas, this should be reduced by the area of the seat. The net open area is calculated in square inches.

RESTRICTED GRATE OPENINGS:

When you design your project and you select a grate design, it is often necessary to consider slot size. We have identified the USF grates with relatively small slot lengths as "Restricted Grate Openings". this term is applied when the slot lengths are 6-1/2 inches or less. The 6-1/2 inch dimension is an arbitrary length and does not imply the recommendation of a grate for any particular application.

ADA (AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT) APPLICATIONS

When you design your project, you should be attentive of how the Americans with Disabilities Act affect the placement of products. The application, as it relates to grating, states that grates in walking surfaces have slot openings 1/2" or less in one direction. Grates with elongated opening will be placed with long dimension perpendicular to the dominant direction of travel. You can find ADA compatible grates in U.S. Foundry's Trench Grate section. We also identify our USF #4123-6179, #4621-6296, #4622-6297 Catch Basins and #6450 Grate as ADA compliant when installed properly. However, we do suggest reviewing ADA specifications before specifying a particular item.

TRENCH DRAINAGE

U.S. Foundry trench grates are used in applications including, but not limited to, Loading docks , walkways, entrances, parking lots and garages. Trench grates are all heavy duty loading. Various sizes and ADA compliant grates are listed with frames that are available. For solid covers, sizes other than shown or special loading applications contact your sales or customer service representative.

CUSTOM SIZES

U.S. Foundry's steel fabrication ability enables us to produce custom grates, frames and covers to meet all your special requirements.

CROSS REFERENCE CHARTS

We have included cross-reference charts on State Department of Transportation standard items for Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, South Carolina, and North Carolina. For more information on these or any other standards, please contact your sales or customer service representative.

CHOOSING AN APPLICATION

All data in this catalog is presented to assist the users in their selection of products for their particular application. U.S. Foundry does not recommend or specify any product for particular uses or applications. The choice of a product for a specific use such as bicycle, pedestrian, wheelchair, etc. is solely at the discretion of the specifier.

NO PAINT POLICY

U.S. Foundry castings shall be provided unpainted as a standard. These castings include manhole frames and covers, catch basin frames and grates, curb inlet hoods, valve boxes, tree grates and other construction castings. This policy will not affect other products such as steel grating and steel access doors. The painting of construction castings is for the initial cosmetic appearance and does not add appreciable protection to the long-term performance of the product. Gray iron castings are highly anticorrosive to most environmental elements in the "raw" condition. The fact that painting adds little value to the product, we feel this policy, of unpainted as a standard, is appropriate. However, U.S. Foundry does have the ability to paint castings for specific applications upon request.

BUY AMERICAN PROVISIONS

By law, American-made iron and steel foundry products must be used in all federal transportation projects and state and local government projects that use federal transportation dollars. Products covered by the law include manhole frames and covers, catch basin frames and grates, iron and steel inlet grating, and various miscellaneous iron products.

The Buy American provision of the law, known as the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991, explicitly requires that iron castings manufactured in U.S. foundries be used for federal transportation infrastructure projects. Such a provision first appeared in the Surface Transportation Assistance Act of 1982. Then, however, the law required that only U.S.-made "steel and manufactured products" could be used in transportation projects funded by the federal government. With the passage of the 1991 legislation, Congress clarified the 1982 legislation by specifically stating that iron products are covered by the Buy American provision. The Department of Transportation Buy American provision now reads U.S.-made "steel, iron and manufactured products."

U.S. Foundry and Manufacturing Corp.
Limited Warranty Statement

This warranty applies to U.S. Foundry iron castings manufactured by U.S. Foundry and Manufacturing Corp. and sold to authorized Distributors, Contractors, Municipalities, and other Entities for installation in municipal, utility and construction applications.

The products are warranted, from the date of purchase, for five (5) years against defects in material and workmanship, limited to replacement of the product only, or replacement with substantially similar products, if identical products are not reasonably available. This warranty does not extend to any application of the product other than for intended usage.

This warranty is given in lieu of any other express or implied warranties, including any implied warranty of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. All liability for any incidental or consequential loss. damage, or expense directly or indirectly arising from the use of this product , is specifically excluded. Any warranties that may be implied by operation of the law shall be limited to the time period of this written warranty. U.S. Foundry and Manufacturing Corp. does not authorize any other person to make or represent additional warranty obligations, nor does it authorize any other liability on behalf of U.S. Foundry and Manufacturing Corp.

This warranty is given to the original purchaser and without limitation, does not apply to failure of the product due to improper installation, damage, modification of product, abuse, mishandling, accident or any application for which these products are not intended. It is the responsibility of the user to use this product in accordance with any applicable specification, rules or regulations, local or otherwise.

This warranty gives you specific legal rights, and you may also have other rights, which vary, from state to state.

To initiate a warranty claim you must provide the casting, a written statement identifying the type and location of the product failure, and a dated proof of purchase within 14 days from the day of failure to the manufacture at U.S. Foundry and Manufacturing Corp. 8351 NW 93rd Street Medley, Florida 33166.

THE LIMITED WARRANTY STATEMENT IS FACTORY BACKED IN MEDLEY, FLORIDA. FOR ANY QUESTION REGARDING THIS WARRANTY, CONTACT U.S. FOUNDRY CUSTOMER SERVICE DEPARTMENT.