Tool Helps Bay
State Gas Facilitate Rate of Growth
Over the last decade, there has been
a significant surge in new gas customers in the Northeast. Even
so, only 38 percent of existing structures there currently have
gas service.
 Traditionally,
much of the Northeast has preferred heating oil or electricity
to heat its home and businesses. Many have never had gas hooked
up to their buildings. That's now changing due to the economic
advantages of natural gas.
Bay State
Gas Company of Westborough, MA, is now experiencing significant
growth. because the majority of growth potential for the utility
is in established neighborhoods, the problem is making the needed
connections from the main to the new customer without extensive
surface disruption. Obviously, surface disruption is never a
problem with new construction connections. But, running a line
in an established area is a different story.
Alternative
To Trenching
In order to install new lines to
established buildings. Bay State Gas looked for an alternative
method to trenching. This led them to the trenchless technology
of pneumatic piercing tools. Bay State then invited TT Technologies
Product Specialist Brian Mattson to demonstrate a Grundomat reciprocating head pneumatic piercing tool at a site in Springfield,
MA. TT Technologies manufactures trenchless tools and accessories
in Aurora, IL.
Employees at Bay State's western
Massachusetts field location were very impressed with the demonstration
and immediately bought their first piercing tool, said Bill
Jeffery, regional sales manager for TT Technologies.
"With piercing tools, we have been
able to reduce our cost of pipe installation by diminishing
the restoration of road pavement and lawn repairs," said Mike
Knodler, a 22-year veteran employee and distribution leader
for Bay State Gas Company. Direct project cost savings are just
part of the benefit of piercing tools. The positive social factors
are also an important consideration. Because the piercing tool
travels beneath the ground, established landscaping, sidewalks
and pavement are left virtually undisturbed.
"When crossing roads, we also don't
interrupt traffic by digging across," Knodler said, adding,
"We use our piercing tools for new installations as well as
the replacement of smaller lines with larger pipe."
This is accomplished by lining up
the nose of the Grundomat's stepped-cone head with the I.D.
of the pipe. The pounding action of the tool pushes the old
pipe out. As it does so, the tool's diameter provides a large
enough bore to accommodate new, larger pipe.
In all, his crew has 16 piercing
tools, all but one of which are Grundomat tools. The Bay State
Gas piercing tool arsenal presently includes six 2.5-inch diameter,
nine 3-inch diameter and one 4-inch diameter tool. Other Bay
State Gas service crews have now budgeted to buy piercing tools
based on the success and savings Knodler's crew has experienced.
Procedures
and Maintenance
Most bores performed by Bay State
crews are about 50 to 100 feet in length, an extremely accurate
range for piercing tools. Crews launch the tools from small
entry pits to travel beneath streets or landscaping.
Bores as long as 200 feet have also
been done by Bay State. In these cases, many utilities and contractors
use an electronic tracking devise to observe the tool's progress
during a long bore.
The Grundotrack electronic tracking
device is available as an integral head sonde or clamp-on hose
sonde configuration.
Special
Lubrication Proves Useful
To aid in successful trenchless boring,
Knodler and crews also use TT Technologies' In-Line Lubricators.
The in-line lubricator provides a pre-established amount of
specially formulated pneumatic tool biodegradable lubricant
to properly mix with the compressed air as it enters the piercing
tool.
Pneumatic piercing tools perform
better and require less maintenance when the piston/cylinder
combination is well-lubricated during use.
To maintain the tools' peak performance,
a Bay State Gas employee performs semi-annual routine maintenance.
This is to make sure that any worn parts of seals are replaced.
The tools are then cleaned, lubricated and tested before they
go back into the field.
Knodler said Grundomat tools have
a simple design, which provides for easier maintenance. In fact,
the only two moving parts are the reciprocating head and the
internal piston.
Conclusion
Gas companies across North America
have found piercing tools to be an efficient way to install
new lines and update old ones.
A San Diego Gas & Electric representative
claims that use of an array of reciprocating head piercing tools
saves them from $700 to $900 a day.
Couple the project cost savings with
the positive social factors of little or no surface disruptions
and gas utilities have both an economical and environmentally
friendly solution to installation. That means growth to companies
such as Bay State/
"Houses that had alternative fuels
for heat are now changing to gas because it's ideal," Knodler
said.
"For the installation of services
in existing dwellings, we use piercing tools 95 percent of the
time."
Pipeline & Gas Journal,
June 1996, Pages 61-62
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