Dresser Style 38 Bolted Coupling - Steel Pipe, 1/2 in to 48 in

Dresser Style 38 couplings give a flexible, leakproof joint on plain-end steel pipe that lasts the life of the pipe. No threading, beveling, exact pipe fitting or alignment is needed: the resilient Dresser gaskets absorb vibration and pipe movement and let curves be laid with straight lengths.

Application: Joining and repairing plain-end steel water, wastewater and industrial lines.

• Bolted sleeve design: middle ring, two followers, two gaskets
• Absorbs vibration, expansion, contraction and deflection at every joint
• Light-pattern builds (4 in middle ring) for 150 PSI service
• Gasket grades for water, oil and high-temperature service on one listing
• Stainless steel builds made to order

NSF/ANSI 61 and 372 certified per Dresser’s 2024 Water Pipe Joining catalog. Only products bearing the NSF mark on the product, packaging or shipping documents are certified.

Up to 1,500 PSI on small sizes, falling as diameter rises; light-pattern builds are rated 150 PSI. The allowable pressure on any job also depends on the pipe, its condition, the service and the workmanship. Ratings are calculated by Dresser with Barlow’s formula at half the minimum yield of the middle ring.

Source: Dresser Style 38 steel pipe submittal, 2021, and 2024 Water Pipe Joining catalog.

Plain-end steel pipe, standard and odd ODs. The middle ring centers on the pipe; the gaskets seal on the pipe OD, so the OD in the picker must match the pipe.

Gasket grades on this listing: Grade 27 Buna-S is the standard for fresh and salt water, natural gas, air, most acids and alkalis; Grade 42 Buna-N (Nitrile) resists oil, hydrocarbons and gasoline; both are rated to 212°F. Armored gaskets carry a brass coil molded into the tip for metal-to-metal contact where cathodic protection current must pass. Grade 365 graphite fiber is for high-temperature, abrasive service to 1,200°F, carries no pressure rating, and may not give a leak-proof seal (Dresser gasket overview).

Laying deflection per coupling (Dresser guide): 6° for 1/2 to 2 in OD and 4° above 2 through 14 in OD on 5 and 7 in middle rings; 2° (5 in ring) or 4° (7 and 10 in rings) above 14 through 30 in OD; less on larger sizes.

Sizes as listed in Dresser’s 2026 price lists; the picker shows the part number for each build.

• Clean dirt, rust, oil and loose scale from each pipe end, and check the gasket seats for gouges or grooves (Dresser installation guide, tag 0001-0737-999).
• Mark each pipe end at half the middle ring length plus 2 in, and center the coupling between the marks.
• Lubricate gaskets, pipe OD and middle ring flares with soapy water or a non-petroleum lubricant.
• Each pipe end must sit at least 1 in past the end of its gasket after deflection.
• Tighten nuts on opposite sides to draw the followers up evenly to the torque in the guide, and check every nut before backfilling.
• Anchor the pipe: the coupling provides a pressure seal only, and Dresser requires the joint to be anchored wherever pipe pullout could occur.

From the Dresser installation and torque guide for Styles 38, 40, 56, 62, 69, 71, 72, 76, 89, 128 and 168 (in the Data Sheet tab). Torque values stay in the guide.