Latest advances in purge plugs

Louise Davis

Ensuring that your stainless steel tubes and pipes are welded without oxidation, which leads to loss of corrosion resistance, it is vital in industries such as oil and gas, nuclear, food and beverage, pharmaceutical, semiconductor and dairy that in order to achieve a perfect zero colour weld, the oxygen level must be purged down to lower than 100ppm before and during welding.

Huntingdon Fusion Techniques (HFT) is a leading in weld purge specialists that offers a range of weld purging systems designed to achieve the perfect weld for every application.

The Pipestoppers Division at HFT manufactures a range of white Nylon Weld Purge Plugs that are clean and suitable for weld purging of tubes and pipes up to 6in diameter.

Georgia Gascoyne, CEO at HFT says: “The Nylon Weld Purge Plugs are made from engineering quality nylon in a range of sizes from 0.5in (12mm) up to 6in (150mm). They are manufactured with a standard seal made from natural rubber and for special applications seals made of silicone, nitrile and viton rubbers are available.”

The lightweight plugs service a wide variety of industrial applications. As ‘overnight stoppers’ they provide a strong barrier in pipeline activities, to prevent foreign bodies entering the line during downtime.

Other applications include leak testing of pipework systems, whether commercial, domestic or industrial and sealing holes in castings, tanks and other assemblies. 

The Nylon Plugs are available individually or in kits. They can be supplied with a hollow shaft with an outside half-inch BSP thread for screwing on a standard hose connection or solid shaft versions up to 1.5in diameter for pressure testing.