Does anyone know the hold time required by the ASME Code, Section VIII, Division 1 for a

hydrostatic test of a pressure vessel? If so, what is it and where is it stated in the Code?
deckie1026 (Mechanical)
26 Jun 07 17:09
ASME does not specifically address the hold time duration. The hydro hold time is quite
often a customer requirement.
metengr (Materials)
26 Jun 07 17:34
The actual procedure for hydrostatic testing is developed by the Certificate holder subject to
review and approval by the Inspector. The Inspector should provide guidance for hold times,
based on expierence.
ercegs (Mechanical)
27 Jun 07 3:04
According to TEMA standard, the test pressure shall be held for at least 30 minutes.
PVinspector (Industrial)
2 Jul 07 13:10
There is no requirement for any hydrotest hold time at test temperature in ASME Section
VIII-1. Period. Test pressure for 1/10 second meets the requirement, if acceptable to the AI.
In real life, most AIs want to see the vessel hold test for a short time if there is no
manufacturer's or contract hydrotest procedure. Then vessel is then supposed to be dropped
to working pressure for visual examination, though this is often not done.
JoeTank (Structural)
2 Jul 07 13:22
PVinspector,
1/10 of a second seems a bit short to me. Typical practice is to hold it for a short period as
defined in the manufacturer's hydro procedure. I've observed times as short as 15 minutes
and as long as 8 hours.
Joe Tank
PVinspector (Industrial)
2 Jul 07 13:54
Seems a bit short to me too, but notice I was talking about meeting requirements, not what
Joe Tank or PV Inspector or Billy Bob the Hydro guy thinks would be nice. When a Code
gets adopted by a jurisdiction and becomes law, it is important to be clear on what is
required. If the Certificate holder's QC Manual says they will hold for 15 mintues then, yes,
that becomes the Code hydro. But only then. Neither UG-99 nor Appenix 10 require a
hydrotest procedure, and while many Certificate holders have one, many don't.
weeeds (Mechanical)
3 Jul 07 6:39
What I have heard about this over the years is that the time needs to be "long enough to
perform a full inspection of the vessel". This is completely at the discretion of the AI.