Edmonton Valve & Fitting Blog

University students in Munich rely on Swagelok in worldwide competition.

Swagelok fittings were a key component for the braking system on the WARR Hyperloop pod during the Hypeloop Pod Competition put on by SpaceX. Watch this short video to learn more.

Elon Musk is famous for two very different kinds of transportation: the Tesla electric car and the reusable rockets of Space Exploration Technologies Corp., better known as SpaceX. Now Musk is hoping to develop yet another transportation idea. This time it's a high-speed train that could cover more than 300 miles in less than 30 minutes. It's called the Hyperloop.

Unlike traditional rail transportation, the Hyperloop runs inside a tube with very low air pressure. The system is designed to move "pods" of people and cargo at close to the speed of sound while using very little energy.

The concept is still in the experimental stage, but already Swagelok parts are playing a role.

Competition

To give his idea a jump-start, Musk set up a competition involving teams of university students. Swagelok has sponsored a team of 30 students from the Technical University of Munich that has advanced to the finals. The team is part of a larger organization called the Scientific Workgroup for Rocketry and Spaceflight, whose German initials are WARR. Their design includes a compressor to suck the air from in front of the pod and stream it out the back, reducing the air resistance to zero.

You can watch the team at work in a five-minute video from Swagelok.

The Hyperloop competition gives students a chance to learn in a way that a regular academic course never could. Designing and assembling the pod takes them beyond classroom theory by getting their hands on the components. They have to take care of real-world details such as leaving enough room for each component, and other aspects of a project that aren't likely to come up until you actually start building it. The work also brings together computer science, mechanical engineering and civil engineering students from several countries. The students say they like Swagelok not only for the quality and reliability of the parts, but for the availability of technical help.

Safe and reliable

The students are using Swagelok parts in the braking system. At such high traveling speeds, there can't be any question about whether the brakes will activate safely when needed.

If the Munich team wins the competition, their work could end up having an affect on the transportation that people take every day. Maybe your next project won't change the world, but that doesn't make it any less important to you. Rely on the same high quality and expertise that the Munich students are using to move their project forward. Call us at 780-437-0640 or contact us through our website.

Additional resources

• Swagelok Parts Help Keep Eco Car Competitive
• Edmonton Valve & Fitting Goes To College
• The Importance of Oxygen Safety & Eliminating Potential Ignition Sources

Acquire the skills that will save time, save money and increase system efficiency

Edmonton Valve has been offering a variety of courses over the years, from teaching about fitting installation to improving sampling system performance, we've got you covered. Download our free training catalogue today and find a training class to suit your teams development.

What do valves, fittings, gauges and most other Swagelok components have in common? They need tubing in order to be of any use in a fluid system. Without tubing, all you'd have is a pile of parts.

It's vital, then, to understand how to handle tubing, plan a route for it, cut the correct length of tubing and bend it accurately.

There's not need to learn by trial and error. There's no need to wonder if your co-workers are passing along any bad habits if you rely on them to show you want to do. Rely instead on Edmonton Valve & Fitting. Our four-hour Tube Bending Essentials class on tube bending will show you what you need to know. With guidance from a certified expert, you'll learn how to consistently make optimal tube bends, and do the work efficiently.

What we cover

We start at the beginning: How to handle tubing without damaging it. We'll show you how to properly cut and debur the tubing as well as how to bend it. You'll learn how to calculate the length of tubing you need to get from Point A to Point B. That's especially important when you are using expansion loops and offsets, which we'll also cover.

Good craftsmanship not only saves money by reducing the amount of expensive scrap, it also improves fluid system performance.

The course has hand-on exercises as well as classroom instruction, so you'll be able to practice what you just learned. 

Who should attend

Anyone who has to install tubing can benefit from this course: fabricators, contractors and technicians. But it's also valuable knowledge for people who design fluid systems: engineers and draftsmen. Anyone responsible for inspecting or maintaining a fluid system also needs to know if the job was done right: quality control personnel and safety engineers.

Tube Bending Essentials is only one of many classes that we offer. You can contact us through the linked page to sign up for the next class in our new training center, or we can bring the class to your location. If you prefer to talk with a live person, we're at 780-437-0640.

Additional resources

• New Training Centre Has Plenty Of Room For Learning
• Keep Your Sampling Systems At Peak Performance
• Burst Chamber: Classes Teach Safe Installation of Swagelok Fittings

We have documentation for components for systems running at more than 15 psi

Need an MTR for one of your Edmonton Valve orders? Head over to edmontonvalve.com/mtrs to download a copy, all you need is the heat number which is stamped right on your tubing.

As we discussed in an earlier post about ABSA and CRNs, the Alberta Boiler Safety Association is the pressure equipment safety authority authorized by the Alberta Government to administer and delivery safety programs related to boilers, pressure vessels and pressure piping systems through their complete life cycles. In this weeks blog we will discuss how ABSA relates to Swagelok when it comes to Material Test Reports (MTRs).

Documentation

For threaded piping and tubing, ABSA suggests that owner companies have certain procurement and purchasing requirements from its approved vendor list. Although Material Test Reports may not be required by construction code, MTRs may be required in owner specification. So it's up to the owner to train personnel in the MTR verification and other documentation requirements

MTRs and CoCs

Edmonton Valve & Fitting can help out by providing documentation. We provide MTRs for all tubing orders. They are based on the heat number printed on the lay line of the tubing. We also have a self-serve option available for MTRs for tubing online at edmontonvalve.com/mtrs. Simply enter the heat number and you can download the MTR. If you are cutting the tubing, then the heat number should be written onto the tubing

MTRs are typically not provided with other products, but they are available on request. All parts are traceable for alloy materials with a three-letter heat code that is stamped onto all fitting components which meets the ABSA requirement. It speeds up the process if you request the MTR at the time of order.  Keep in mind that a tubing tee could have up to 10 MTRs associated with it.

Another commonly requested document we receive is a Certificate of Compliance. We can provide a Certificate of Compliance upon request, just mention this request when speaking to your customer service associate.  A CoC will be issued for the entire order, and parts are listed out.

Additional resources

• Need Tubing Material Test Reports? Edmonton Valve Has Them Online!
• ABSA and CRNs: We Have Your Parts Covered

In a hurry or have a question? Please click here to get in touch - we respond fast! Or call 780.437.0640.

We've doubled our seating capacity, and there's even room to serve lunch

As Edmonton Valve & Fitting continues to expand our training offerings we have also needed to expand our space. The lecture room, pictured above, is just one of the improvements found at the new facility. Sign up for one of our upcoming training sessions and check out the new training centre.

Training classes have long been an important service of Edmonton Valve & Fitting. Even the best components can't do their job well unless they are installed and maintained properly in a well designed fluid system.

Originally we conducted training right in our headquarters office. Eventually we needed more space, so for the past few years we have been renting a place down the block. Lately even that hasn't been big enough, so this year we built out a new venue specifically designed for our training classes.

Plenty of room

Our new training centre can handle up to 24 people at a time. We outfitted it with dual projection screens and two glass whiteboards for presentations. All of the tables have built-in power outlets, so attendees can charge a smart phone or plug in a laptop computer without hunting for a wall outlet.

In addition to the main training area, we have a board room and two offices up front. We can have our sales meetings there even while training is being conducted in the other room.

Until now, everyone had to come back to our headquarters when we stopped at mid-day for lunch; now we can serve them right in the training centre's lunch room.

We also have a "hands on" room (pictured below) we can use for teaching people how to bend tubing. That means we can conduct two training sessions at once.

Light and airy

For too many people, attending a training class means being stuck in a stuffy, cramped room all day under dreary fluorescent light. We wanted to create a space more conducive to learning. We went with an open-ceiling concept and bright LED lighting. So it's environmentally friendly as well as being more comfortable.

For our first session in the new building we scheduled our Swagelok Total Support training for Sept. 7. We have many more classes in the pipeline, including the two-day Sampling System Problem Solving & Maintenance course in November. Check out our Training and Education page, and then get ready to learn in a bright new setting.

Additional resources

• A Customer View on Edmonton's Tube Fitting & Installation Training
• Burst Chamber: Classes Teach Safe Installation of Swagelok Fittings
• Keep Your Sampling Systems At Peak Performance

In a hurry or have a question? Please click here to get in touch - we respond fast! Or call 780.437.0640.

API 682 tells you what you need; we'll customize it, build it fast, and warranty it

Whether you are in need of single seal, dual seals, quench seals or gas seals, we've got you covered. Edmonton Valve can build seal support systems based off API Standard 682 and customize the designs to suit your system needs.

Most plants have centrifugal or rotary pumps. Those pumps have seals to protect their shafts. How can you make sure those seals last a long time? You could start from scratch and plan out a system of tubing, valves, drains and filters. But thanks to the American Petroleum Institute, you don't have to. The trade association has come up Standard 682, a list of dozens of piping plans recommended for shaft sealing systems on centrifugal and rotary pumps.

If you have a setup with a single seal, dual seals, quench seals or gas seals, API Standard 682 probably has you covered.

Let's say you have a pump in high-temperature service, and you want to reduce the fluid temperature to cool the seal or increase the fluid vapor margin. Go to Plan 21, and you'll see how to set up a system with a single seal, cooling unit, temperature indicator, vents and a drain.

Or you may have something more complex in mind, involving hazardous or toxic fluids. The API suggests Plan 52, a dual-seal setup where the outboard seal acts as a safety backup for the primary seal.

If you have a situation where you need an abrasives separator, an external flush stream, pressurized seals, unpressurized seals or a host of other factors, there's probably an API 682 plan that covers the situation.

We make it even easier

But you don't even have to go to the trouble of building a seal support system to API specs, because Edmonton Valve & Fitting can do it for you. Our seal support systems are fully assembled locally. We can make sure you are using the best plan for your situation, get the work done fast, and warranty the completed assembly. You can order the whole assembly with a single part number.

We can even customize the configuration. Some seal manufacturers will sell you a support system, but their primary interest is in selling the seal itself. You'll have to take the support system as it comes, and somehow make it fit into your site. At Edmonton Valve & Fitting, however, we will take the time to produce a layout that works for you — maybe tall and skinny, maybe low and wide — so that you don't have an odd piece of equipment sticking out where it make become an inconvenience or even a safety hazard.

Because we have deep expertise in assembling fluid system components, you'll get high reliability and quality and consistent performance.

Which API 682 plan is right for you? We'll help you find out if you contact us through our website or call us 780-437-0640.

Additional resources

• A Seal of Quality: Take Care of Them to Save Money
• Water Hammer and Swagelok Energy Advisors Prevention Tips
• Looking for a Post About Swagelok Fittings? Start Here!

We have documentation for components for systems running at more than 15 psi

The Edmonton Valve MTR website not only hosts our extensive list of MTRs you can also search for CRN Statutory Declarations. Pictured above is the list of our statutory declarations on our self-serve website which can be found at edmontonvalve.com/mtrs.

If you have a fluid system running at more that 15 psi, you probably have heard of the Alberta Boiler Safety Association. ABSA is the pressure equipment safety authority authorized by the Alberta Government to administer and delivery safety programs related to boilers, pressure vessels and pressure piping systems through their complete life cycles. ABSA is also responsible for the certification of pressure welders, inspectors and power engineers for the operation of a power or heating boiler.

When you go over that 15-psi threshold, ABSA mandates that all the components must have Canadian Registration Numbers. That's one of the reasons why our customers can relax when they order Swagelok products. Swagelok has a team that proactively manages our CRNs and ensures that they are regularly reviewed and kept up to date. With hundreds of CRNs, this is no small task.  Our current project to renew all of our CRNs is a 4 year program, with year one set up for planning and then the product submissions staggered out of years 2, 3 and 4.

CRN and Statutory Declarations

CRNs and Statutory Declarations are issued by the province. The Statutory Declaration is the document issued upon acceptance of the CRN by ABSA in Alberta,  and other local authorities in the rest of Canada. We can provide Statutory Declarations at no charge and can be found on our MTR site at edmontonvalve.com/mtrs.

A typical Statutory Declaration will include a cover page and backing documents on the product lines covered, including pressure ranges and product catalogues.

Lunch and learn

While most reputable companies know the basics, a few common questions come up. A couple of times a year, Edmonton Valve & Fitting will bring someone in for a lunch-and-learn session to cover topics such as what to do when an ABSA inspector comes to a site. 

Additional resources

• Need Tubing Material Test Reports? Edmonton Valve Has Them Online!
• Part 3 FAQ: Answered by Your Edmonton Valve Representatives
• Alphabet Soup A-E: Shedding Some Light On Swagelok Acronyms

In a hurry or have a question? Please click here to get in touch - we respond fast! Or call 780.437.0640.

University of Alberta students get hands-on education in international competition

The University of Alberta's EcoCar Team knew that in order to compete in the 2017 Shell Eco-Marathon Americas they needed leak-free parts, which is why they turned to Swagelok. Do you need our help with a project, get in touch today to see how we can help.

Long known for its importance in the oil and gas industry, Edmonton is also getting some attention in the world of alternative fuels for transportation. A team of students from the University of Alberta is making some fast progress with using fuel cells in cars.

The EcoCar Team is a student-run engineering organization that designs and builds prototype vehicles powered by hydrogen fuel cells. The team primarily races at the annual Shell Eco-Marathon Americas, held in Detroit. The marathon has different classes of competition based on how the vehicle is powered: fuel cell, solar cell, gasoline, diesel, and liquefied petroleum gas. Cars must average at least 24 km/h over a distance of 16 km.

The University of Alberta team placed second in its category in 2012, the team's first year of competition, and came in first in 2014. The second-generation vehicle took two years to build and captured another first in 2016. Technical glitches hampered performance in this year's Eco-Marathon, but the team still took home $2,000 for a second-place place finish. 

Where we fit in

We first encountered the students this past February when they came to us for some fittings and other miscellaneous components. Student-led projects don't get much funding, so we were glad to donate the parts, and get them quickly so that work could stay on schedule. In return for the favor, they put the Edmonton Valve & Fitting logo on the EcoCar.

Each prototype starts from scratch.

"I saw it at the beginning stages, and it didn't really look like much, and then I saw it at the end. It was pretty neat to see the finished product," says Andrew Worthington, one of our account managers. "It's high intensity work, 30 to 50 hours a week on top of classes. It's essentially a second full-time job."

The project brings together several academic disciplines, so the students get an opportunity to use their education in a real-world application.

Before Shell will let any competitors on the test track, each car must pass an inspection. If there are any leaks from the fuel cell, the car won't get the green light. Thanks to the Swagelok parts, that was no problem this year.

Do you have a project that needs to roll out leak-free and on time? Edmonton Valve & Fitting has the components and the expertise to get you there. It's easy to start the discussion through our website or by calling 780-437-0640.

Additional resources

• Swagelok Services Relieve the Other Kind of Pressure
• Meet the New Edmonton Valve Account Manager, Andrew Worthington
• Edmonton Valve & Fitting Goes To College

Each year we help students and experienced workers learn new skills

Edmonton Valve is well known by the instrumentation students of the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology; from the Swagelok classroom, to social events our relationship with NAIT is continually evolving.

Our commercial customers aren't the only ones who benefit from Edmonton Valve & Fitting's training classes. Every year we also send a team into classrooms at colleges and universities in the region to give some real-world insight into the configuration and assembly of fluid systems.

Our biggest university and college engagement is with the Instrumentation Training Program at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology. This nationally accredited program teaches a comprehensive course of studies in industrial measurement and control.

Each year Edmonton Valve & Fitting teaches over 250 students and apprentices within this program about tube fitting safety and installation, and tube bending.  While we have only a small part to play in the two-year course, we know it's an important one.

We've a special connection to NAIT. Not only have we been conducting the classes for more than two decades, we have an alumnus heading the program.

"This was something that I picked up in my early years as a pet project," says Chris Horne, one of our Account Managers. "I was president of the student association when I left the college. So when I came to Swagelok, I took this on."

Strong demand

Over the years, our university and college engagement program has grown and evolved to keep pace with changes in technology and in the workplace.

There was a time when a lot of learning took place in the field, with old hands passing along their expertise to new arrivals. Today, companies have put a higher priority on formal training to make sure they put the right people in the right spots.

Likewise, technology continually improves. Instrumentation skills have become much more specialized since the 1990s.

Even Swagelok's classic tube fitting has benefited. The fitting itself has the same four components it has had since 1947, but improved materials and techniques of manufacturing today produce a fitting that performs better and lasts longer.

Back when we started working with NAIT, the instrumentation program had only a few classrooms and labs. Today it's one of the largest instrumentation programs in the world with one of the finest training facilities of its kind anywhere.  The Spartan Center boasts 11 instrumentation labs featuring $6.5 million of new equipment, smart classrooms wired to take advantage of the latest technologies and wireless capability in the common areas.

We also sponsor the Brian Clarke Award for achievement in instrumentation workshop practice.

Other outreach

NAIT isn't the only campus where you will find Edmonton Valve & Fitting in the classroom. We instruct the Alberta Pipe Trades in our area in the same type of course. While these people are already working in the field, they are being asked to stretch beyond their experience with piping. We train them on tube fitting and tubing systems

We also work with the University of Alberta, Lakeland College and MacEwan University.

We like introducing people to the components and processes they will encounter in their careers.

"On a daily basis we have people come through our doors who have been through our training," Horne says. Many of those former students tell us how great it was to get their first industry perspective from us in the classroom.

Additional resources

• Bringing Swagelok to NAIT's Instrumentation Students
• A Customer View on Edmonton's Tube Fitting & Installation Training
• Burst Chamber: Classes Teach Safe Installation of Swagelok Fittings

In a hurry or have a question? Please click here to get in touch - we respond fast! Or call 780.437.0640

Special Alloys are used in unique applications where stainless steel cannot hold up to the corrosive material.

Swagelok carries an array of special alloys to meet our customers requirements, to find out more about special alloy uses download our Special Alloy catalogue.

How many materials can you get Swagelok tube fittings in? Two? Five?  Would you believe that our standard material list includes 16 different materials from nylon to titanium?

316 stainless is our most common material and is good for 95% of applications in northern Alberta but there are some limitations.

Special alloys

In the SAGD world on the water treatment side, there is often an elevated chlorine level in the boiler water.  Chlorine and stainless steels don’t mix well and it is common to find stress corrosion cracking in applications that have high chloride levels and stainless steel fittings and tubing.  There are a number of other materials that we offer that can provide the necessary corrosion resistance in this type of application, like Monel, or our high temperature carbon steel.

This is just one application where we are able to help out with special alloys.  Some of the other materials that we can provide include:

Teflon and PFA:  PFA is the injection moldable version of Teflon.  These materials provide for excellent chemical resistance to a wide range of different fluids.  Water treatment facilities are large users of PFA and Teflon fittings.

Alloy 400, or Monel:  This is a high nickel alloy that has excellent resistance to corrosion in reducing environments with fluids like hydrochloric, sulfuric and hydrofluoric acids.  It is also a commonly referenced material when looking at NACE specs.

Inconel 625: A very corrosion resistant in oxidizing and reducing media.  It offers high strength and good ductility.  It also has very good performance in sour gas (NACE MR0175)

Hastelloys:  C-276, C-22, B-2 are some of the grades that you can find, with C-276 being one of the more common alloys we deal with locally in this range.  It offers excellent resistance to pitting and crevice corrosion and immunity to stress corrosion cracking.

Duplex stainless steels:  A number of different materials are available here: 2205, 2507 super duplex and even the excitingly named 2707 hyper duplex stainless.  Often seen in offshore applications these materials have higher strength than 316 stainless and may have better resistance to pitting, crevice and general corrosion.

Swagelok makes fittings, valves and other components out of a wide range of different materials and would be happy to work on your applications with you.

Our Special Alloy catalogue provides additional information on some of the special alloys offered by Swagelok.

Additional resources

• Specifically Made for Alberta's Needs: The ZSML Fitting
• At Your Service: Edmonton Valve Offers a Lot More than Just Parts
• Your Checklist for Tubing Quality

In a hurry or have a question? Please click here to get in touch - we respond fast! Or call 780.437.0640

We have standard designs, and can customize them to meet your needs

Pictured above is the Grab Sample Module with purge, this is one of the standard grab sampling systems offered by Edmonton Valve & Fitting.

Grab sampling provides a safe and reliable way to collect a representative gas or liquid sample from pipelines, tanks, or systems, and transport it to the lab for analysis.

Placing the sample in an open bottle for transport isn't a good practice. Some chemicals will evaporate or fractionate if the sample isn't extracted and kept under pressure. A good grab sample system will put it in pressure-containing metal cylinders.

To help safeguard an operator, a dual needle design with a spring return delivery valve delivers the sample only when a bottle is seated and vented appropriately.

The best part about Swagelok grab sample modules is that we build them right here at Edmonton Valve & Fitting. We have some standard configurations available, but you also have the option to modify the layouts to suit your needs. They can even be put into Nema-4X enclosures if the customer wants the module to be kept outside. We can help you figure out what design will work best for you. We know where the grab sample modules fit into the overall systems.We know how to make the necessary pressure-drop calculations and figure out the time delays to know how the instruments will affect the process. If you need a cooler in the module (recommended when the supply temperature exceeds 60ºC) we know how to select the appropriate size for your application.

What's inside

The modules use our 40 Series ball valves to direct flow. They are geared together so that you get single-handle operation when you need to switch from "off" to "sample" or "vent." We have both two-valve and three-valve configurations available.

There's a purge option for chemicals that may leave a resident or contaminate lines if not flushed from the system. The purge option allows you to introduce air, solvent or other fluid to clean the lines.

If you need a flowmeter, relief valves, check valves or expansion chambers, we can add them with no fuss. (We put the whole assembly into an enclosure, and you can choose whether you'd like the tubing on the front or in the back.

Our standard material in building grab sample modules is 316 stainless steel, but we can use brass and alloy for some configurations. Electropolished tubing is available, improving the surface finish of the tube to allow for a quicker response to certain reactive chemicals. We also offer the option of coatings such as SilcoNert, Solcolloy and Dursan.

And we can offer a single CRN number for the complete assembly.

If you want your analytical instrumentation system to give a reliable picture of the fluid in the process line, you need a good sample. With a grab sample module from Edmonton Valve & Fitting, you are off to a good start.

Tell us what you need for your sample system (through our website or by calling 780.437.0640) and we can start working on a Grab Sample Module configuration that's right for you.

Additional resources

• Cylinders Are a Must For Grab Sample Systems
• Find out How Your Sample System Is Underperforming
• Hose Flexibility: Edmonton Valve’s Team Handles the Job In-house