Hot Tapping Equipment
If you are here looking for a hot tapping machine, this page is meant to help you work out whether you actually need one. Sometimes you do. More often the machine is the cheap part of the problem.
Call 1800 468 827 and describe the line. We will tell you what the job needs, whether that is us doing the tap or you sorting your own gear.
What does a hot tapping machine do?
It is an under-pressure drilling machine. It bolts to a valve that has already been mounted on a fitting welded or clamped to the live pipe, and it drives a cutter through the open valve to bore an opening into the pressurised system without shutdown or spilling the contents.
The cutting assembly is then retracted, carrying the coupon with it, the valve is closed, and the machine is depressurised and removed. The machine itself is only in play for one step of that sequence.
What else does the job need?
This is the part people underestimate when they price a machine.
You need the right fitting for the pipe, whether that is a welded saddle, a full encirclement split tee or a bolt-on tee, with the correct outlet configuration. You need a valve to suit. The assembly has to be pressure tested before anything is cut. On a welded fitting you need a welder qualified for in-service welding on a live line, which is a different qualification to ordinary pipe welding. And you need ultrasonic wall thickness testing before you weld, because the wall has to be able to take it.
On gas the list gets longer. Live gas work needs the state regulator’s authorisation, assessed job by job, and the regulator looks at the method, the equipment and the competency of the people doing it.
Should you buy a machine or have the tap done?
It comes down to how often you will use it.
If live tapping is a regular part of your operation and you have qualified people, owning the gear makes sense and plenty of organisations do. If this is one job, or one job a year, the machine is rarely the binding constraint. The fittings, the qualified welder, the NDT and the approvals are, and those do not come with the machine.
| What the job needs | If you buy a machine | If we do the tap |
|---|---|---|
| The machine | Yours, and worth it if you use it often | We bring it |
| The fitting and valve | You source the saddle, split tee or bolt-on tee, and a valve to suit | Supplied to your specification, or we advise on what suits the job |
| Pressure test | You test the assembly before anything is cut | We do it |
| Welding | Needs a welder qualified for in-service welding on a live line, which is a different qualification to ordinary pipe welding | Our welders are accredited for butt weld, fillet weld and socket weld transmission gas welding procedures |
| Wall thickness | You arrange ultrasonic NDT | Done on every line before we weld or tap |
| Live gas work | You need the state regulator’s authorisation, assessed job by job | Accredited since 1998, the first company the Victorian regulator accredited for it |
| Makes sense when | Live tapping is a regular part of your operation and you have qualified people | This is one job, or one job a year |
Worth asking us either way. If you are weighing it up, we can tell you what the tap on your particular line involves, and that usually makes the decision obvious in either direction.
Can you just do the tap for us?
Yes, and that is most of what we do. We generally provide a turnkey solution: we attend site, weld or bolt a saddle to the pipe, and install a plugged permanent valve for your use, all without shutdown, draining, purging or isolation. We will supply screwed or flanged valves to your specification, or advise on the option that best suits the job.
Australian Hot Taps has been doing this since 1996, and in 1998 became the first company accredited by the Office of Gas Safety, now Energy Safe Victoria, to hot tap and stop off live gas lines.
What sizes and materials can be tapped?
Steel, stainless, copper, PVC, HDPE, PE, cast iron, ductile iron, cast and ductile cement lined, AC and most other pipeline materials, from 12mm upwards, into natural gas, coke gas, chilled water, heating hot water, potable water, condenser water, steam, compressed air, chemical, petrochemical and waste product lines.
There is more on the method itself on the hot tapping page, and a comparison of the alternatives on which method do I need.
What helps us quote it
Whether you are buying gear or having the tap done changes what we need to know. Either way, start here:
- Pipe size and material
- What is in the line, and at what pressure and temperature
- The branch size you need
- Whether you are looking to have the work done or to do it yourself
- Where the site is, and how you get to the pipe
- Any drawings or photos
Call 1800 468 827 or email [email protected]. If you are weighing up buying gear against having the tap done, just give us a call, we will ask a few questions and let you know.
Related work
Beyond tapping we also do line stopping, pipe freezing, live valve insertion, bag off isolation, squash offs, leak repair under pressure, thermowell installation and testing and purging. Coverage is on where we work.
What a hot tap actually involves
Australian Hot Taps has been connecting into live pipelines since 1996, and in 1998 became the first company accredited by the Office of Gas Safety, now Energy Safe Victoria, to hot tap live gas lines. Hot tapping, line stopping, pipe freezing and live valve insertion on gas, water, steam and process lines, Australia wide.