Burst Testing HDPE pipe

try looking at nitrogen generators thier expensive but could be what you need

Air ??? are you nuts? should you blow it out, they will find pieces of you for miles and miles and miles... the kinetic energy in that pipe would most definitely be deadly. Use water for the test.

Best bet to test it with water. 2000 psi is a lot of pressure to get out of a air compressor. Not imposible but costly compared to a water pump that would do it. The small piston pumps for a pressure washer would do.

Please use water instead of air for safety reasons.

A water pump delivering this sort of pressure could be hand-operated and supported on a frame about waist-high. It could be folded up and carried. Try checking with equipment hire outlets for a hydraulic test pump suitable for this task.

Having excluded all the air from the pipe, connect the pump and increase the applied pressure to the required test pressure. The energy contained in the pipe will be low, and certainly much lower than if it were containing air. Should the pipe rupture during the test, there is far less risk of damage and injury.

Remember the maximum operating pressure should be lower than the test pressure.

"Having excluded all the air from the pipe,"

REAL important

yes, system must be sealed and have no air traps and a highest point air escape vale. Fill with water slowly, tap with rubber mallet frequently to make air rise. as you reach the top you will reac where water exits. Let warm to room temperature, tap well againt and wait for air to rise and exit, refill. You will need a pressure gage withy no trapped air and a filling valve and small hydraulic pump you use to pump in water.

Any trapped air will cause a loss of pressure as it compresses under pressure to dissolve. At that time the compression test will start = no more air to dissolve. If you are unable to dissolve the air you must eliminate it out by tapping and opening the high point valve and fill until water comes out the high point.

Then pressurise with a small hydraulic hand pump that uses water. As you pump it you will reach a point where the pressure climbs very quickly as you expand the HDPE pipe to your test pressure. seal valve and chart the pressure. If it drops, look for leaks. If no leaks you still may have air?? tap and vent, repeat.

HDPE can creep fail, so you might find it hard to contain 2000 PSI in such a weak material for any length of time??

After seeing the air test I thought what the rest of you did... RUN!!!!! But not to worry. There isn't an HDPE pipe or flange that can hold 2,000 psi! Well, maybe the pipe can "inside" a steel carrier pipe but I doubt it.

2000 psi?

What kind of out of this world HDPE Pipe do you have?

There is not an HDPE Pipe that can with stand 2000psi.

You dont know it but you are building a bomb.

Do a hydro test.

Find the directions and specifications for testing on the Plastic Pipe Institute Website. PPI.COM

Before answering your request, can you please provide the line data sheet to include the following at least:

1. Pipe material.

2. Pipe wall thickness (sch.).

3. Pipe type (seamless, seam welded, spiral).

4. Design pressure.

5. Design temp.

6. Codes used in design, inspection & test.

7. Fluid transmitted.

8. Type of flanges (WN, SW, SO, RTJ).

Is the existing steel pipe just being lined inside by the HDPE pipe to prevent corrosion by whatever media you are pumping or is the HDPE pipe actually replacing the steel pipe?

Also remember if you are pressure testing the HDPE pipe over a long period then the pipe will expand along its length quite considerably. Obviously depending on the SDR.

As others have already stated, 2000PSI. Are you sure about this?