Water pipe rubber stoppers are mainly used to stop the flow of water from a pipe. The primary intent is to facilitate – Testing of the drainage system – leak test with water and air, anti-pollution measures, repair, and maintenance, sealing of pipeline or sewers, manhole pipeline test, new installation of pipe systems, blocking pipes channels, manholes, and reservoir; and municipal testing of new and repaired pipelines.
The water pipe rubber stoppers are of many types. In the inflatable plug category, they can be further classified as air-inflatable plugs with or without bypass, air and water inflatable plugs, inflatable plugs for Y-joints. In any type, the basic principle is to insert the stopper into the plug at the desired point and inflate it with air or water. Once inflated, the rubber presses against the inside of the pipe and forms a watertight space that can be used for the test environment. The inflatable stoppers are made of natural rubber supported by zinc-plated steel or brass fitting.
But there are more types of expansion plugs other than inflation plugs. These expansion plugs come with plastic, metal, or steel plating. Wing Nut Expansion Plugs enable you to expand the seal to plug the pipe openings on twisting the wingnut. These are usually made of neoprene rubber, quite similar to T-Handle expansion plugs, which provide a better grip with a handle to expand the seal. The Hex-nut expansion plugs allow you to expand the seal by tightening a nut on the plug. Another method to expand the seal and hold the pressure is through quick-snap expansion plugs; they come with a cam handle that can be used to develop, and snapping that handle down holds the expansion in place. You can use any of these water pipe rubber stoppers to plug the pipes.