Drying times for PVC and ABS cemented joints

Drying Times for Cemented Pressure Pipe Joints

Often, pipe engineers come across situations where a modification or repair needs to be made, but the plant can only be shut down for a short period. In such instances, we are often asked the question of how long after cementing the pipe and fitting together can the pressure be put back on.

The following is a guide to drying times to reach certain pressure and should be used as an approximation. Ambient and process fluid temperatures will have a bearing on these times, which are based on a system with an ambient temperature of between 10 and 40 degrees C, and a process fluid of approximately 20 degrees C.

	3/8 - 2 1/2"	3" - 4"	6"	8"	>8"
	16-75mm	90-125mm	160mm	200-225mm	>225mm
ABS Pipe	30 mins / bar pressure	1 hour / bar pressure	1 1/2 hours / bar pressure	2 hours / bar pressure	48 hours minimum
PVC Pipe	1 hour / bar pressure	1 hour / bar pressure	1 1/2 hours / bar pressure	2 hours / bar pressure	30 hours minimum

For example (using the above table): if a 2" pipe is to operate at 2 bar, it needs 2 hours setting time (1 hour x 2 bar).