February 2020, Vol. 247, No. 2
Tech Notes
Hot Tapping, Flow Stopping for Odd-Sized Pipes
By Del Williams, Technical Writer
Mainline Control Systems (MCS), in conjunction with Kleiss & Co., is offering utilities the technology and tooling to tap and stop flow on vintage piping materials and nonstandard-inch sized pipes.
The Kleiss MCS System has performed successfully on tapping and stopping jobs in less-than-ideal environments, including 5-inch outer diameter (OD) (gun barrel) steel in Montana, 5.5-inch OD steel pipe in Texas, 2-inch polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipe in California, and 20-inch cast iron pipe in New England – 100-year-old vintage.
All pipe sizes within the system’s range can be tapped and stopped, making both standard and nonstandard-inch pipe size jobs economical. Both of the MCS60-38 and MCS60-1016 systems have been lab and field tested by the Gas Technology Institute.
The design of the Multidimensional Safety (MDS) Stopper provides a gas-tight seal over the entire diameter range, and the lengthy sealing area creates a perfect seal even when placed over a seam weld or other uneven areas inside the pipe. The MDS Stoppers can be used on a wide diameter range and any wall thickness.
Each Kleiss MCS System can perform work on a variety of pipe materials within their range, allowing operators to learn a single procedure to be used in all applications and all jobs. Two different pipe materials can be stopped off on the same job using the same tools (plain ends [PE] on one end and steel on the other). The only differences when working on different materials are the fittings installed and the cutter used to tap the hole.
The equipment weight ranges from 20 pounds to 125 pounds, making projects easy to complete with two operators. This leads to saving time and money on the complete job.
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