Company Announcement - Time is money! Waiting for pipe joints to be purged ready for welding can take anything up to four hours, depending on the diameter of the pipe being welding and the method chosen for purging. QuickPurge® III cuts these waiting times so dramatically that they amortise themselves in less than one weld. A 36” diameter stainless steel pipe for example can be purged down to 100 parts per million (ppm) of oxygen in under 32 minutes. Compare this with purging using foam dams that will outgas heavily into the weld zone and will take hours, not a few minutes.

High speed pipe purging system QuickPurge® is leading the way in the field of purging tube, pipe and pipeline joints over 6” diameter, where oxygen levels are required to be as low as 10 (ppm) or less. Huntingdon Fusion Techniques, HFT®‘s innovative design of the QuickPurge® System means that zero colour welds will be achieved and there will be no loss of corrosion resistance caused by oxidation. Using IntaCal® combined with the integrated PurgeGate® device makes it possible to safely inflate the dams with argon gas, prior to releasing it, for purging the space between the dams where the weld joint is located. It is almost impossible for the inflatable dams to burst as a result of undue pressure increase or accidental flow increase of the inflation and purging gas. All systems are manufactured as standard with a hose for connecting a Weld Purge Monitor® to, which can read oxygen levels down to 10 ppm.

Materials chosen for QuickPurge® are such that they are resistant to the higher weld heat present and at the same time exhibiting lower outgassing rates to prevent weld contamination. For heat-treated chrome steel pipe joints, HFT® manufactures the special HotPurge™ range for the higher and longer temperature exposure requirements. QuickPurge® Systems are manufactured for pipe diameters from 6 to 96 inches (150 to 2440 mm) and are equipped with a “QuickFit” coupling for the purge / inflation hose. The “QuickFit” coupling is fitted with ‘O’ ring for gas tight sealing and stainless steel collet to hold the tube mechanically tight. The coupling is fitted with an anti-release circlip to prevent parts accidentally separating inside the pipe. The sleeve between the dams on the QuickPurge® Systems reduces the volume to be purged by two thirds, ensuring a really fast purge time down to 10 ppm. Sleeve lengths for each size have been carefully calculated so that the QuickPurge® Systems can be pulled around 90º elbows for the purging of connecting joints.

QuickPurge® Systems are available for each American Pipe Institute pipe diameter, with an expansion range to cover all internal diameters from schedule 10 to schedule 160 and even thicker pipe wall standards. Return on Investment charts are available, to show that the payback for each size will normally be between 1 and 2 welds, giving companies the opportunity to make very significant savings on larger contracts. On large contracts, HFT® will gladly send technicians for installation, to help in the instruction of welders to show how the system works and to explain the methods of use etc. prior to supervising start up.

All HFT® products are covered by the normal 12 months warranty plus an instant, no quibble, replacement guarantee in the event of faults that may occur. More information from: marketing@huntingdonfusion.com