Vent pipes vary dramatically from company to company. Many are simply metal pipes with either a candy cane top or an upside down V. These vent pipes will allow gas to vent, but they are often difficult to see and do not contain a warning message. There are three primary issues here:
1. Include a warning message – Since these are directly above a pipeline they should contain a warning message that will alert excavators to call before digging, provide the excavator with the operator’s name, and list a 24-hour emergency contact number. The warning message should meet PHMSA specs in the U.S. (1” high x ¼” stroke letters with the word caution or warning on a sharply contrasting background).
2. Make them maintenance free – When mental pipes are used they are frequently painted. The paint pealing requiring regular painting. The labor cost to paint these markers every few years can be very expensive.
3. Make them safe – Since these rigid metal vent pipes are always in the ROW, they can be a hazard to equipment and recreational vehicles in the ROW. Making the vent pipes as visible as possible limits the risk of them being hit by accident
Solution: Rhino manufactures our VentGuard™ products to solve this problem. Our Rhino TriView VentGuard for 2” IPS vent pipe and our round VentGuard will fit X” & X” pipes. Both styles of VentGuards will convert your vent pipes into high visibility pipeline markers that meet PHMSA specs, and still allow gas to vent.
