ASME Code Vessel required for Multimedia Water Filter ? 5

[BryceV]

We are looking to add a large multimedia filter to filter the city water coming into our plant (we have issues with high SDI into our RO system).

This filter is a large horizontal vessel (8' dia. x 40' long). The vendor sells these as non-coded vessels, but for an adder can build per code and get them a NB registration. The vendor says they use the same materials and basic methods either way, it's just the inspection and paperwork that makes it coded.

My gut says for water(non-compressible) fluid, that there really isn't a safety concern here as you would see with a compressed air tank which we also have and are ASME stamped/coded, etc.

Our plant is in Alabama which is a code state, but there is an exemption from ASME registration for all manufacturers. I'm trying to get an answer out of FM Global on what they require, but have nothing definitive. Does anyone have any guidance, specs., thoughts on this ?

Thanks,
Bryce.

 

[pablo51]

When I was naive, I cussed and discussed the $1200 toilet seats and the $450 hammers bought by the government... then I had to deal with the nuclear stuff and realized why those charges were there... the paper work and labor involved with the documentation, before - during- and after the purchase... it wasn't always a "get rich quick" scheme - you had to cover your costs...

When we purchased non-code vessels (non-nuclear side of the house) we always spec'd them to be coded vessels (meet the requirements), but also specified that they need not be stamped and the conforming paperwork was not required to be submitted... a significant savings... I think jte was alluding to the same

 

[PVinspector]

What Joe Tank said! With 30 years of Section VIII experience, working on the manufacturing side and the authorized inspection side of the industry, non-code is NOT the same as ASME without the label. Really. The way mistakes are 'fixed' on non-code fabrication is scary. The first shop I worked in we built a lot of non-code and Code vessels, and the guys who could not do anything right stayed on the non-code. It was even a colloquial put down in the shop, and not just for welders. They would laugh and say the electrician was a "non-code electrician" if he screwed stuff up. The Code is far from perfect, but it does deliver a better built vessel.