Air Bleeds for PE Pipe

How about a saddle-type tee of the sort that has a female tapped metal part with a gasket beneath, held to the main pipe by a U-bolt? They'll go around just about anything.

How long is the line? Why would the air interfere with a bursting test?

Blue stripe piping (License Holder: Poly Pipe Pty Ltd) is currently certified until 2013.

The only reason I can see for type acceptance testing (burst) is because you are not using SDR9/PN20, but trying to substitute a less costly material. The SDR Standard Dimension Ratio SDR= D/s 9 = 200/s; 9s = 200. Sidewall thickness is about 20 mm.

I ask how long the line is because a hydrostatic test is contained. This could be tested in a watercolumn long enough to fully imnerse the pipe. A pipe 20 feet long and about 13 inches in diameter with a wall thickness of about 3/4 inch would be very weighty and difficult to handle.

A type acceptance test might be more expensive than using the proper material.

You don't tell us where the job is located or what the pressures are so anything we say is going to without reference to local standards. However it would not be normal to install a full sized tee at each high point. A weld on tapping saddle of 63mm diameter would be the norm. They are far better than mechanical jointed saddles as the PE relaxes over time and they start to leak.

Regards,

Gasman