High-performance inflatable rubber blocking plugs and pipe plugs with flow-through bypass from Savatech Corp. are designed for flow stopping, bypassing and pipe testing in pipes from 4 to 96 inches. Made of Kevlar-reinforced rubber, the heavy-duty pipe plugs are made to withstand greater backpressure than standard plugs.

Each plug is multi-sized to fit a range of pipe sizes. Bypass plugs can be re-sleeved if punctured. The plugs have deflated diameters of 3.6 inches (4- to 8-inch plug) to 37.8 inches (40- to 96-inch plug). Plugs measure 21 to 158 inches long and weigh 2.4 to 706 pounds. Larger plugs can be inflated in 5 to 10 minutes; smaller plugs in about a minute due to high-flow, quick-connect air couplers.

Inflation pressure ranges from 45 psi in the smallest plugs to 15 psi in the largest. “Forty-five psi in a 48-inch inflatable rubber pipe plug will hold back 32 feet of water head pressure,” says Jim Jaeger, operations manager. “That’s more than 27,000 pounds of force.”

To protect against over-inflation, each plug (up to 48 inches) has a three-times safety factor. “If the inflation pressure is 45 psi, the minimum burst pressure inside a pipe would be three times that, or 135 psi,” Jaeger says. The larger plugs have an industry-standard two-times safety factor.

Plug life depends on frequency of use and level of exposure to corrosive environments. Maintenance, such as cleaning with soap and water after each use and storage away from sunlight, can extend service life. 386/760-0706; www.savatech.com.