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John Houle: Senior Technical Consultant, PVC Pipe Industry
John Houle holds a Master’s Degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Missouri and an MBA from the University of Oregon. He has more than 25 years of experience in the plastic pipe industry in applications engineering, market development, forensic analysis, technical writing, and standards development.
It is common practice to pressure test installed pipelines to ensure that the pipe materials and installation are satisfactory. In fact, it makes sense that every installed pipeline be pressure tested to ensure a leak-free system.
Gravity Sewer Pipe
Gravity pipe is typically tested with low-pressure air (usually 5 psi). The maximum recommended air pressure is 9 psi, which seems like a safe pressure. However, if an end-plug were to let go in a large-sized pipe, even a low-pressure test could pose a safety threat.
Pressure Pipe
Pressure pipe is tested at much higher pressures, often at the pressure class of the pipe. Because air is a compressible medium, air under high pressure stores a large amount of potential energy. A failure of any component in the system would result in the air’s potential energy turning into kinetic energy, with dangerous consequences.
For this reason, the most unbreakable rule in the pipe industry is: DO NOT USE AIR TO TEST PRESSURE PIPE. Click here for Tech Brief.
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