klhansen, good summery concerning hydro vs pneumatic testing and the dangers. My last pipeline project (I sorta retired/kinda in '15) we used nitrogen to test 30 mile sections of 16". A less than capable contractor let ditch water freeze in the pipe by not back filling trench at tie-ins. This caused a major problem (in sub zero degree weather) in clearing the ice so the line could be pigged prior to testing. Then the company construction VP was convinced water was bad, nitrogen was good. As project manager I could not change his mind, so we tested with nitrogen. The spread was 2050 psig to 2225 psig. I was definitely one nervous country boy while on test. I promised the wife I would not get within 300' of "on test pipe". Of course that didn't work but thankfully all went according to plan.
Always use water to pressure test!!
Last edited by moparguy; 03/13/2019 2:26 AM.
