Piping system or pressure vessel or category H fitting? 1

[ktgottfr]

Greetings all,
I have a question regarding whether a system is considered a piping system or a category H fitting. We have a small piping system that consists of a few feet of 1" pipe at 200psi, with a small radiator in the line. The radiator is just an air radiator with an air driven fan and small pressure regulator and water separator attached.

Would such a system be considered a piping system? Or would we need to register this system as a category H fitting?

We are located in BC, Canada.

Basically, the question is - what kind of fittings can you graft on to a piping system and still have it remain a 'piping system' under the law?

Thanks everyone!

-Kristjan

 

[david339933]

Contact Technical Safety BC.

 

[curtis2004]

Kristjan,

1. What kind of plant this pipe is installed? Who owns the place?
2. What kind of system is this? HVAC?

Thanks,

Curtis

 

[moltenmetal]

Here's a thought exercise for you that is illustrative:

1) System 1: 100 cubic foot pressure vessel with a 16" pipe flowing into and out of it. Let's assume a relief pressure above 600 psig and the operative fluid is air. Vessel is ASME VIII and piping is B31.3, despite being above 6" nominal diameter and being beyond 1.5 cu ft in internal volume. No problems there, right?

2) Now consider that we reduce the pipe on one of those 16" pipes down to 1" pipe at the very end. Nothing changes.

3) Now we eliminate the pressure vessel. Pipe remains B31.3 piping due to the high relief pressure, even though there's no vessel present any longer.

4) Now we reduce the OTHER end of that 16" pipe to 1" as well. What happens? The 1" pipe remains B31.3 piping- but the 16" pipe? It magically transforms from a pipe to a pressure vessel! It now requires an ASME VIII stamp...

Your piping system, from the sound of it, contains a limited amount of expansible fluid operating at a modest pressure, and from the sound of it also contains no ASME VIII or ASME I pressure vessels. It is therefore basically nothing- it is outside the scope of BC's pressure vessel authority's jurisdiction. But of course don't trust me on that- I'm a mad voice on the internet and might be telling lies to you. Call the BC authority and see what they have to say!

Finally: people (including people at the provincial regulatory bodies) are confused about what is a Category H fitting is. It's actually pretty simple: it's an assembly of piping components or the like that a) retains pressure b) isn't a pressure vessel per CSA B51 (i.e. is below or outside the scope of ASME VIII or I) and c), most importantly, is something you'll be making more than once and selling.

If it's something you're making precisely ONCE, it is just a part of your pressure piping system. Its design is registered with your piping system, and its fabrication and quality and NDE etc. are all per the applicable code(s). It's not a category H fitting.

 

[ktgottfr]

Hi Guys,
Ok, we've contacted Technical Saftey BC and gone from there. I we have not received an answer from them yet, but we think we are a least talking to the right people. They should be able to clear up exactly what sort of system we have here and what sort of regulatory obligations we have.

In response to MoltenMetal, yeah this is a small portable radiator system with a volume of around 30 liters, all 1" pipe except for the radiator component itself which is around 2 feet square and 6 inches thick. But the tubing in the radiator is all less than 1". There are also a couple of fittings such as an oiler, an airmotor, a moisture separator, and a pressure regulator.

So yeah, it was not obvious to us what regulations apply to this machine. I'll make sure to update everyone with the response I get from Technical Safety BC.

Thanks again!

-Kristjan