Care is necessary when welding large diameter pipework in stainless, duplex, chrome steels, nickel alloys and zirconium. When welding such reactive materials, they need to be purged of oxygen before, during and after welding, which can cause a huge expense when they are of a large diameter. Huntingdon’s QuickPurge systems are manufactured up to 2,235mm in diameter.
Ron Sewell, HFT chairman, said: “The systems are so efficient they pay for themselves in the first couple of welds in gas savings alone, whatever the pipe size. QuickPurge is simply inserted into a tube or pipe, inflated within the pipe, restricting the area that is to be welded.”
QuickPurge has an additional gas input line, which means extra purge gas can be introduced.
Using IntaCal combined with the integrated PurgeGate device makes it possible to safely inflate the dams with argon gas for purging the space between the dams where the weld joint is located. PurgeGate helps prevent burst dams in the event of undue pressure increase or accidental flow increase of the purging gas.
As standard, all systems are manufactured with a Weld Purge Monitor hose. It can read oxygen levels down to as low as 10 ppm depending on the model.
For pre-heated chrome steel and high strength stainless steel pipe joints, HFT design and manufactures the HotPurge range for a higher and longer temperature exposure.