There may come a time that we need to pressure test one of our pressure vessels after a repair or alteration and our FIRST CHOICE of methods to use should be Hydrostatic as it is MUCH SAFER than pneumatic. However, in some cases, we may NOT be able to perform a hydrostatic test for a couple of common reasons:
- the vessel is not capable of holding the weight of our hydrostatic test media, typically water, and/or
- the process is highly reactive to any trace of water
But when we have to use the pneumatic method, our risks increase substantially as filling a vessel up with gas above its maximum allowable working pressure (MAWP) can lead to catastrophic results. SAFTENG members can see these results in the member’s area.
So when we need to perform a pneumatic test, the code has seen fit to require some other matters to be dealt with BEFORE the pressure test…