Talk:Pigging

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[edit] Merger with Pipeline inspection gauge

Pigging is a standard required practice for cleaning pipes. Inspection gauges are different and distinct from pigging. It might make more sense to link inspection gauge as a part of smart pigging as these are used to determine dents in pipelines. KB —Preceding unsigned comment added by 142.59.143.221 (talk) 14:10, 10 April 2008 (UTC)

Pigging has a wider meaning: It is used for pipeline inspection as well as for pipeline cleaning. Merging it with "Pipeline inspection gauge" would limit it to pipeline inspection only. --BonGoggle (talk) 08:17, 7 April 2008 (UTC)

Seems like these articles would better serve the reader as one. Thoughts? Sag6 (talk) 13:42, 5 January 2008 (UTC)

They need to be merged and the Pipeline inspection gauge article needs to go away. Mrmcgibby (talk) 14:56, 8 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Etymology of "pig"

What is the evidence that the etymology of the word "pig" is "Pigs get their name from the squealing sound they make while traveling through a pipeline."? Mrmcgibby 21:50, 25 July 2005 (UTC)

I didn't add it to the article, but I heard that's where the name comes from on a Modern Marvels episode on the History Channel. I don't know if their source was reliable. However, this pigging company also relates the story. I've also found sources that say the original pigs squealed. I'll add it back in and if anyone objects, they can remove it and say why here. -- Kjkolb 03:03, 13 December 2005 (UTC)

Please cite whatever reliable reference you can find before putting it back. I've removed it for now. Mrmcgibby 20:04, 16 December 2005 (UTC)

Here's a cite from a magazine. -- Kjkolb 04:00, 18 December 2005 (UTC)

The etymology of "pig" seems more likely to be an acronym of "Pipeline Inspection Gauge". Sag6 (talk) 13:42, 5 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Interupting flow?

You say that the pig doesn't interupt production flow. I am afraid that this is not the case! Production flow must be stopped for the pigging run to take place. A slug of fluid is fired behind the pig to push it along but there is no production whilst this is being done. Just thought I'd clear that up.

I'm afraid you're simply wrong. Perhaps this is true for the pigging runs that you've done, but 99% of the runs we do are done in the pipeline product. Mrmcgibby 20:04, 16 December 2005 (UTC)

Yes pigging runs are done in the pipeline product but you will not be running production flow through them. For the simple reason that a pig is essentially a loose plug. You simply cannot run production flows while pigging. The slug that is pushed behind it may well be the product too but production flow is lost. Ask any major operator.

I just did ask a major operator. They're quite confused by your statement. Are you talking about a specific type of pigging? We do inline inspection of oil, gas, and other lines and most of our runs are done with production flow in the line. That is to say, the product in the line is being used for whatever purpose it would normally be used for when the line is not being pigged. Perhaps we differ on the definition of "production flow"? Mrmcgibby 19:22, 6 January 2006 (UTC) (P.S. Please sign your entries with ~~~~)

I have some experience with pigs. They are used with different purposes in different processes:

• Pigs used in lube oil or painting blending: they are used to clean the pipes to avoid cross-contamination, and to empty the pipes into the product tanks (or sometimes to send a component back to its tank). Usually pigging is done at the beginning and at the end of each batch, but sometimes it is done in the midst of a batch, eg when producing a premix that will be used as an intermediate component.
• Pigs used in oil and gas pipelines: they are used to clean the pipes but also there are "smart pigs" used to measure things like pipe thickness along the pipeline(photo here [1]). They usually do not interrupt production, though some product can be lost when the pig is extracted. They can also be used to separate different products in a multiproduct pipeline.

Brindis 21:52, 26 January 2006 (UTC)

-I have designed smart pigs for 5 years now. I can tell you that we do not interupt the production / flow of the lines we inspect. Even in gas we do not use a slug to "push", and the product in the line is not effected in any way. We may ask for reduced / increased flow rates, but we do not ask for a slug of non-production fluid. MMMBOB 17:50, 29 January 2007 (UTC)