"olympusE1" wrote in message
ups.com...
I have an off-topic question I am posting only because of the depth of
knowledge (campbell and his assorted sock puppets aside) found on this
group is nothing short of amazing. That said, here goes.

Say, for example, I wanted to cut into an active, three foot diameter,
600 PSI light sweet crude pipeline and place a valve on it through
which I could siphon roughly 1000 metric tons in the space of three
hours.

How large a hole would I have to drill?

Don't laugh. I know that it's nearly (if not utterly) impossible to
do, especially considering the fact that the author of the article in
a rather well-known general interest publication claimed it was being
done, underwater, in a sealed "home made" caisson with alarming
regularity by militants using, at best, primitive tools.

Thoughts?

al staats

Plumbers do this on water pipes. It's called a hot tap. A special fitting
consisting of a saddle clamp with a ball valve attached is clamped to the
pressurized pipe. Another section of pipe with a liquid tite bushing with a
shaft through it is connected to the other end of the valve. A hole saw is
fixed to the inner end of the shaft. A drill motor is on the outside. When
it's all buttoned up the valve is opened and the hole saw is used to cut the
hole in the hot pipe through the valve. When the hole is finished the hole
saw withdrawn through the valve, the valve shut off and the outer pipe
removed. Now put a bucket under the outlet and open the valve to steal your
oil. I'll leave the size of the hole to the math wizards. Careful, don't get
caught!!
Tom