Hot tapping, sometimes referred to as pressure tapping, is the process of adding a junction onto an existing pipe without disturbing the flow of any gasses or liquids. The method is quite simple and when done correctly can be a huge money saver. Imagine having to turn off an entire oil line to add another junction. The pipes would have to be completely drained before any work could begin. Take into account that a new joint would normally have to be welded and you can see the potential risk in using this method.

With hot tapping you can work on a line while it is still "live". This reduces the downtime required of a line to zero. Work can continue in other areas of the process without disrupting the flow of the valuable chemicals contained within the pipes. In the end the money will be saved by not disturbing the flow of the pipes.

The only limitations that hot tapping really has in terms of application is the pressure within the pipes. Size wise it really does not matter much but in terms of pressure there is a limit of 15,000 PSI. This is true of pipes that are four inches in diameter and pipes that are four feet in diameter, as long as the pressure is less than the maximum there will be a hot tapping clamp that can be applied.

Hot tapping is not just for large industrial applications either. In the home an extension to an existing gas line can be fitted in a matter of minutes using the technology that hot tapping provides. Before this technology was developed you would have had to cut the gas off completely and then drain the pipes before you could begin your work.

Knowing if the pipes where completely empty or not was a little hit or miss so there was a good chance that a fire could be caused. Some old houses still have oil systems that run the heating array, the same principles apply to these kinds of extensions as gas lines.

Although these systems can be applied to pipes of any systems the main systems that apply these types of extension are offshore oil rigs and fuel refineries. Hole boring for water or gas also uses the same hot tapping technology to get extra lines added onto a pipe. Pressure tapping is more prominent than you would think and with technology being the way it is the process of hot tapping will only become more popular for smaller jobs.

If you are looking at getting your hands on some hot tapping equipment for your own use you would be well advised to seek professional advice. The process is simple in terms of how it is done but without proper training there is a high risk that you could cause damage not only to the pipes that you are working on but also yourself. Worst case scenario you could end up permanently injured, which is never nice for anyone.