What are Pigs for Pipeline Cleaning, and How Do They Work?

What exactly are pigs for pipeline cleaning?

If you depend on a pipeline for your business, then you may already know how important it is to keep clean. If you are delivering water or oil to customers, for example, it is so important to ensure they receive pure, unspoilt product! You may even be filtering seawater through a desalination process. In any case, there are plenty of great reasons why pig pipe cleaning is likely to benefit you.

Here at Pigtek, we specialise in pigs for pipeline cleaning and inspection, which is easy to deploy and always simple to arrange. But what good can pigs actually do for your pipes? Read on to find out more.

Cleaning Pipelines Can Be Tricky

If you run a large or complex pipeline, it’s likely the idea of cleaning it will give you nightmares. What if you start finding there are blockages on your line? How are you going to get dirt and debris out in a way that’s efficient and cost-effective? It makes no sense to dismantle your pipeline bit by bit. Think about the negative effect that could have on your business! It is time and money wasted. It means that customers are left waiting for water or product they desperately need.

That’s where pig pipe cleaning comes in. Instead of taking apart your pipes, you can send a small pig, or weighted cylinder, down the pipelines to clear everything out for you. This means that all you will ever need to do is deploy a small item down the line, fit to your pipes, and continue trading as normal. But how does it actually work?

Pigs for Pipeline Cleaning in Brief

Pigs come in all shapes and sizes. We design and build specific pigs to clean out even the most complex of pipes. Did you know, we even helped to produce the biggest pipeline pig on the planet?

A pipeline pig will fit with various tools and accessories to help clean out your pipes. For example, you could fit a pig with coarse brushes or sweeping tools which can gradually take mud and other debris off the sides of your pipe interiors. You may have to deploy a pig a few times for a thorough clean, however, it is often the most efficient way to get dirt and debris up and moving.

However, in some cases, you may find that there are metal deposits which you need to remove. This means that you may need to fit a pig with a magnet! Magnetic cleaning pigs work hard to pick up and collect ferrous deposits on their way through a pipeline. They can be hugely important if you are delivering fresh water to people.

Crucially, pig pipe cleaning ensures that your pipelines are flushed through. It’s the easiest way to get rid of blockages, too. Some pigs can deploy to push big deposits or stuck items out of a pipe.

Why Clean Your Pipes with a Pig?

As mentioned, cleaning out a pipeline the old-fashioned way is too much time and too much money for you to even start thinking about. Therefore, a pig is always going to keep your interior pipework clean and clear of anything nasty.

Pigtek will design and deploy pigs for pipeline cleaning on-demand. We recommend regular cleaning for various reasons. For one thing, if you’re likely to see plenty of debris and dirt build-up over time, it makes sense to check in with us regularly.

There is also more that pigs can do other than clean. Unsure what’s blocking your pipes? You can send an inspection pig down the line. We can track these pigs either through acoustic monitoring, or through magnetic technology. It’s a great way to keep track of what’s happening. Pigs can also come in handy if you want to measure how quickly product flows through your pipes.

Beyond this, cleaning is crucial if you want to keep your business afloat. You need to keep liquid and product flowing as quickly as possible through your pipes to keep up with customer demand! Therefore, why should you waste any time on slower cleaning methods?

Arrange Pig Pipe Cleaning

Is your pipeline in need of a clean? It’s time to arrange pig pipeline cleaning as soon as possible. Call Pigtek now for help and guidance, as well as access to a wealth of different technologies and accessories. We are the leading name in pipeline cleaning technology – contact us now on +44 (0) 1246 850220 for a free quote!