Welcome to the forum. Although you can post in any forum, the USA forum is here in case of local regs or laws
It's actually quite an involved/interesting process. You tape up evey flange/joint you want to test. Then use liquid nitrogen and pump skids to turn it into a gas and compress. Then you add a trace amount of helium (because there small atoms) and use a sniffer to detect the helium.
You obviously don't go from 0 - 1000bar in 10 mins, you probably go to 10, 50, 100 250, 500, 750, 1000.
If at all possible you'd always pre fill the test envelope with water but sometimes you can't for a range of reasons.
Wow. My ignorance of anything outside of the domestic market is huge. Are we talking about huge industrial works and off shore oil rigs? Or is this everyday work in the UK?
- May 23, 2015
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These aren't normally pressures you choose to work with, it's generally where something is coming up from a gas/oil well or your pumping it back down. You'd reduce these pressures as quickly as possible due to the obvious danger. Some chemical processes are at very high pressures but I've not personally seen any over about 300bar.
Gas pipelines are a trade off, the smaller the flow line the thinner the wall can be to contain a given pressure. The more you compress a gas the more volume you can fit down a given size but the thicekr the walls need to be.
A lot of the UKs gas comes in via pipelines but LNG is increasingly adding to the mix. Huge bulk carriers moor at buoys miles offshore and discharge via pipe lines to plants designed to return them to gas.
Not sure what pressure Transco run their network at but I believe its in the 8-10n bar range.
There are dozens of pipelines that crisscross the UK taking fuel to airports and road fuels for distribution to filling stations. These pipelines are generally 25 - 75bar ish in my experience.
The pipelines that transport gas from offshore generally operate in the 80-120 bar range. About 20% of the UK's gas comes from Norway via a 750mile long 42" pipeline, I'd guess that runs at higher pressures due to distances involved.
I know this is in old question now but I've only seen it for the first time today. To answer, I run the training workshop for our apprenticeship scheme. Apprentices come to college one day per week for four years (5 years until recently) and do their practical coursework for their City & Guilds quals. I also teach two groups of schoolkids every week to give them a little experience in the trade and those that show promise and interest we try to match up with employers when they leave school. Most of our plumbers come through the school's links program.
Out of interest do any such schemes operate in the UK?
Anyway, that's why I do a lot of pressure testing every day.
I honestly hope that you guys earn stupid cash.
I would love to learn about this but I would have no idea where to start. I wouldn't even be sure if it would be worth it economically but.....I do love to keep on learning.
What you guys are talking about just feels like a whole different animal.
I would love to learn about this but I would have no idea where to start. I wouldn't even be sure if it would be worth it economically but.....I do love to keep on learning.
What you guys are talking about just feels like a whole different animal.
I’ve used the RP50 for years at work but always thought they were a little over priced.
I ordered the Dickie Dyer version for 25% of the cost of the genuine article. Seems pretty much identical side by side. I’ve ordered another 4. Will have to see how they go.
I ordered the Dickie Dyer version for 25% of the cost of the genuine article. Seems pretty much identical side by side. I’ve ordered another 4. Will have to see how they go.
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