Category H Fitting

[mghawar]

Hi,

I have a small lab unit that consists of a small vessel (ASME UM stamped), tubing and some other fittings. The total volume of the unit is less than 1.5 cu ft, and none of the components have diameter larger than 6". The unit could operate upto 50 PSIG. Does this need to be a registered system in Ontario? If so it will be a category H fitting. What are the requirements to register category H fitting? Note that we are not manufacturing any of the components, we are just putting it together. Please help.

Thank you.

 

[abehong]

You need to review the relevant requirment in CSA B51 code and also pressure equipment safety regulation in Ontario.

 

[EdStainless]

In large part it will depend on what is in the system.
Pull out the code and start reading. It may be more practical to hire a consultant who is familiar with these rules.

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Plymouth Tube

 

[moltenmetal]

You should review CSA B51 and (presuming you're in Ontario) the TSSA Act and Regulations to be sure, rather than taking advice from people like us on an Internet website. TSSA should be more than happy to answer this question for you.

If your UM-stamped vessel is below 1.5 cubic feet and below 6" ID, it didn't need to be UM stamped. That it was UM stamped is irrelevant.

If your system doesn't have any real vessels in it (i.e. vessels falling within the scope of ASME VIII), it does not need design registration with TSSA. However, you MUST still complete all the testing required per the design code of your piping/tubing system, which in this case I presume would be ASME B31.3. The only difference is that you don't need to register the design and then have TSSA witness the testing.

Category H fittings is a category reserved for articles which someone wishes to manufacture and offer for sale, ie. something smaller than a vessel but still within the scope of design registration as part of a pressure piping system, such as a filter or strainer etc. The flowcharts in CSA B51 confuse matters in this regard as they do not clarify that intention.

 

[mghawar]

Thank you all for your replies and help. I am reviewing the Codes and Regulations, however there seem to be grey areas and some confusion. Hence, seeking your help to uncloud my thoughts.

Due to the size of the vessel, it falls outside TSSA regulations. However, the system will be used for flammables and tubing needs registration, with this fittings also need to be registered fittings. I am assuming that tubing and piping are same for regulations to apply. The whole unit is less than 1.5 cu. ft., so I thought it could be a category H fitting. But it is correct that we are not manufacturing the whole unit, rather just putting it together. Do we need a certified fitter to put this together?

Thanks,
Mehak

 

[moltenmetal]

mghawar: again, your system does not contain a pressure vessel as defined by ASME VIII or ASME I etc., hence your piping (tubing) system doesn't meet the requirements of "pressure piping" per the regs under the TSSA Act.

Do you need a "certified fitter"? If it was a piping system which needed design registration, or you were manufacturing category H fittings for sale, you would need to have a firm which carries a C of A for pressure piping fabrication carry out the work. Even such a firm does not need "certified fitters" unless their quality program requires that, or unless such is required by another set of regs. But your system does not need design registration because it falls below the scope of the regulation- again in my opinion- so no, you don't need to have a "certified fitter" do the work.

Does this absolve you from responsibility to have a competent person do the work? No, it just absolves you from the regulatory requirement which proves that the people doing the work are doing so under a quality management program etc. per the requirements of that C of A. You must also do all code-required testing and inspection, and record the results. If you do not do these things, and something goes wrong, not following good practice could result in insurance coverage being denied etc., even for things below the scope of the Act and its regs.

Does everyone in every Ontario lab contact TSSA every time they hook up some tubing and compression fittings to a gas cylinder? Absolutely NOT- not even when those gases are flammable, toxic or both. When I was a student, I worked in a university lab where people were connecting cylinders of hydrogen, CO and other gases to lab reactors and other equipment all the time. TSSA is not set up to regulate situations like that. The presence of a registered (stamped) pressure vessel within the scope of ASME- not just a DOT gas cylinder- and the stored energy that such a vessel implies, is what triggers TSSA's involvement in the piping system design, registration and inspection.