HandyTube Blog

NORSOK standards were developed by the Norwegian petroleum industry to ensure safety, add value and promote cost effectiveness for petroleum industry operations, particularly under the harsh conditions encountered during offshore drilling in the North Sea. But companies operating in less hostile environments can also benefit from the stringency of these requirements. […]

Greater strength and corrosion resistance still mandate the use of seamless stainless steel and nickel alloy tubing for high pressure applications within the oil and gas, petrochemical, chemical, energy, and pulp and paper industries. […]

Millennials, the next generation of employees, are Americans born between 1980 and the mid-2000s. They are the largest and most diverse generation in the U.S., representing one-third of the total population in 2013. By 2025, Millennials will make up approximately 75% of the U.S. workforce. They have very specific views about work, what they desire from an employer, and what they want out of life. Manufacturers need […]

Proper Tubing Selection Improves Chromatograph Performance: As laboratories and instrumentation equipment OEMs continue to drive towards more sensitive and responsive instruments, the smoothness of the inner diameter of HPLC tubing is becoming more and more critical. Most HPLC analytical columns are between 3 and 25 cm long and have an inside diameter of 1 to 5 mm. The particles that pack the columns have a typical diameter between 3 to 5 µm. […]

Firefighters face many dangers in the line of duty. Among the greatest dangers are injury or loss of life from heat exposure or from running out of air.  To access breathing air during a fire, firefighters are trained to use SCBA (self-contained breathing apparatus). The tanks they carry on their backs are their lifeline. If [...]

Specialty seamless stainless steel tubing is used in many applications, including the flow of gas, steam and liquid in harsh environments.  Some manufacturers specializing in this field produce seamless, stainless steel tubing ranging from one inch in diameter to finer than a human hair, and in continuous lengths that can exceed a mile. […]

High precision, seamless stainless steel capillary tubing is used in a wide range of instrumentation measurement applications.  Based on heavy wall, small diameter construction (typically 1/8” or less), this tubing is used in critical applications from nuclear reactors to resistojets in aerospace. […]

Stainless steel 316 instrument tubing frequently used on offshore platforms has a thin chromium oxide protective layer for corrosion protection. However, there are instances where this layer does not provide the necessary protection.  In the presence of chloride or localized pitting the oxide film may be at risk of failure.  In addition, crevice corrosion may [...]

Seamless, by definition, means “perfectly consistent,” but many people get confused by terms like “seam-free” and “welded-and-drawn” when it comes to selecting tube. Seamless tubing, welded tubing, and seam-free tubing all appear to be consistently free of seams, but a closer examination reveals big differences. Characteristics Seamless 316 tubing offers increased corrosion resistance, because it [...]

There are many factors to take into account when running long lengths of high pressure stainless steel tubing, especially larger diameters (1/2” to 1”).  The conventional method is to weld 20 foot lengths of ‘stick’ tube together.  With proper installation, mechanical fittings can provide a leak free connection. When done properly however, a weld is [...]