Pressure components sourced from China 2

[ktgottfr]

Hi Guys,
We're in a bit of a quandary over here regarding an aftercooler system we are ordering from China. The aftercooler is simple, just a radiator and a moisture separator. We are purchasing from the OEM and so we were assuming that this was a pre-engineered system.

However, we are having difficultly nailing down what the pressure ratings are on the aftercooler components. The OEM is saying that we are good to 450psi, but they have already done some suspect things that make us uncertain as to what they mean by 'good to 450psi'.

So here is the meat of my question - are Chinese companies expected to design their equipment to ASME code standards or equivalent? Or is it the wild west where anything goes? If they say that their radiator is good to 450psi, does this mean that the max working pressure is 450psi which would make their burst pressure more like 1500psi? Or would they possibly mean that the burst pressure is 450psi, which would make the working pressure more like 125psi?

I'm used to dealing only with North American and European suppliers where pressure ratings are well established and well documented. Should I not be ordering anything from this Chinese company unless they can give us reasonable documentation of the pressure ratings of the components? What would this documentation look like?

Thanks everyone! Any advice on this matter would be appreciated. I am starting to wonder if we are going to have to do our own destructive tests in order to remove liability from ourselves...

-Kristjan

 

[oknow]

Having spent a long time in Asia I can Echo what Shane has indicated. China leads however Japan is the exemption.

 

[ktgottfr]

Hi Shane,
I agree with you 100% - the procedure for obtaining these aftercooler systems was flawed from the get go. I am trying to build ammunition for a case to get them to abandon this attempt, and this has all been very useful stuff. I was hoping to be able to tell them "we cant use these aftercoolers because we are missing X document" which would make things simple. But it sounds like I am just going to have to use my engineering judgement here and refuse to certify this project unless they use parts with a reasonable pedigree.

Thanks again!

 

[DekDee]

The main problem seems to be replicated over and over.
Bean counters award a project to Asia because it is cheap.
Then they try to save even more money by neglecting to perform any quality surveillance on the contractor.
The item or items then arrive at their destination with that many repairs / rework it actually ends up costing more than if it was manufactured / fabricated in the destination country.
Of course, nobody wants to admit they stuffed up and cost the client a lot of money so it is just "swept under the table" !
"Lessons learned" are a valuable tool in-house but for obvious reasons they are unfortunately not shared industry wide,
Cheers,
Shane

 

[ktgottfr]

Hi Guys,
So, it would appear that neither this aftercooler nor the filter have CRN numbers. But, as I mentioned before our pressure system that we are using these items in is itself exempt from registration. So, are we allowed to used an unregistered fitting in our unregistered pressure system? Or is each fitting treated separately, each requiring its own CRN even if the system as a whole does not require it?

-Kristjan

 

[Geoff13]

You should call ABSA, TSSA or whomever it is for your province. I've always found them to be helpful, and they can give you the definitive answer.

 

[ktgottfr]

Just for everyone's interest sake, I called up TSSA and they told me that if a piping system is exempt from needing a CRA number, then the individual components that make up the system are also exempt. But of course they are still required to be properly engineered and vetted according to the relevant codes.

-Kristjan