Re: Banching from pipes

>By a comparison between direct pipe to pipe connection and making use of
>fittings or self reinforced fittings for taking branch ,it goes without
>saying that the quality and easiness of the job would be much better in
>the latter case but regarding cost the former would be cheaper.
I haven't done any real estimating for years, but it's hard to imagine that the hand fit-up work would be enough cheaper to justify the likelihood of poorer quality welding. I think if it were truly cheap enough, it's because someone's taking liberties with weld quality. A welded tee requires 3 girth welds, but they're straightforward butt welds with minimal fit-up.

If I understand you correctly, a 'direct pipe to pipe connection' means a hole manually burned in the run, and the branch hand burned and ground to the contour of the run. If the joint isn't fit up properly it will be a starting point for a fatigue or corrosion failure, and if it isn't cleaned up with no protruding edges, it'll be a mess for fluid flow. My own opinion is that if such an operation truly is cheaper, it's because weld quality is compromised, and that isn't really cheaper at all

Christopher Wright P.E.    |"They couldn't hit an elephant at
chrisw@skypoint.com        | this distance"   (last words of Gen.
___________________________| John Sedgwick, Spotsylvania 1864)