Gas Diversions

We divert live gas lines under pressure, on most gas pipelines, with no interruption to the gas supply. No shutdown, no purging the system down, and no relighting appliances afterwards.

Call 1800 468 827 with your pipe size, material and operating pressure, and we’ll tell you whether it can be done live.

Can you hot tap a live gas main?

Yes, and it is the core of what we do. We hot tap and stop off live gas lines on copper and steel gas installations, and we have been accredited to do it since 1998.

Australian Hot Taps was the first company accredited by the Office of Gas Safety, now Energy Safe Victoria, to hot tap and stop off live gas lines. That accreditation came with conditions: a lodged procedure manual, a register of every gas hot tap completed, restrictions on who is permitted to operate, and notice to the regulator before work starts. We have worked to that standard ever since.

How is a live gas diversion done?

The method depends on the line, but it draws on the same four techniques. Live tappings to create the new connection. Bag insertions to hold the gas back while the work is done. Squash offs to close the bore where a bag will not suit. And purging to make the new leg safe before it goes into service.

We take care of it from start to finish, without any interruption to the gas services. That includes making an old leg of pipework redundant once the diversion is live.

What gas lines can be worked on live?

We hot tap natural gas and coke gas lines in steel, stainless, copper, PVC, HDPE, PE, cast iron, ductile iron and most other pipeline materials. Our welders are accredited for butt weld, fillet weld and socket weld transmission gas welding procedures, and we can arrange further testing to whichever standard your project requires.

Every pipeline gets ultrasonic NDT wall thickness testing before we weld or tap it. On gas that matters more than anywhere else, and if the wall is too thin we will tell you before anyone lights a torch.

Who is allowed to do this work?

Live gas work is not something any gasfitter can take on. In Victoria it requires prior authorisation from Energy Safe Victoria, granted job by job, and the regulator assesses the method, the equipment and the competency of the people doing it before work can start.

If you are planning a diversion and need to know whether it can be done live, that is the conversation to have early rather than late. Approval lead time is usually the thing that moves a programme, not the tap itself.

What helps us quote it

On gas the approvals shape the programme as much as the pipework does, so the earlier we see the detail the better:

• Pipe size and material
• Operating pressure
• Whether it is consumer piping or a network main
• What the diversion needs to achieve, and by when
• How you get to the pipe, and whether there is room to work
• Any drawings or photos

Call 1800 468 827 or email [email protected]. If you’re not sure whether your gas line can be diverted live, just give us a call, we’ll ask a few questions and let you know.

Where we work

We operate from depots in Bayswater, Victoria and Currumbin Waters, Queensland, and we have clients in all states and territories of Australia as well as the Pacific Islands and New Zealand.

Live gas diversions draw on several of our services. See also hot tapping, line stopping, squash offs and testing and purging.

What a live gas diversion involves