In this guide 6 sections
One record per valve serial number. It holds the test type, pressure, hold time, medium, gauge ID with calibration date, result, any leak location, the tester and the signing inspector. Keep it with the material certificates, so a single search finds the complete history of that valve, including heat, test and final inspection.
One record per serial number, not one per batch
Batch sheets mislead buyers. A line saying twenty gate valves passed tells a customer nothing about the one that returns weeping, so keep the history of that exact body, seat and stem.
Stamp serial numbers at machining. The casting heat, the test record and the final inspection sheet then hang from that number, and one search opens the whole file for the valve.
Floor batch sheets may stay. They only point at the individual records, so a supervisor can still release twenty valves at once while the file for each serial stays separate, searchable and signed.
What a shell test record must show
The shell test proves the body. Record valve size, pressure class, body material, test medium and applied pressure, then note the hold time with its start and end clock times.
Capture the gauge or transducer ID. An overdue calibration undermines the whole result, and a customer reviewing a hydrotest certificate will ask who read the dial and when the gauge was last checked.
Write down where any weeping appeared. Then record the corrective action, such as weld repair or casting rejection, followed by the retest reference and the date the valve finally passed.
- Valve serial, size, class and body material
- Test medium, pressure and hold time
- Gauge ID and calibration due date
- Leak location and retest reference
- Tester name and inspector signature
Seat tests need their own block
Seat tests work differently. You close the valve, pressurise one side and watch the other for leakage, so record which side was pressurised, the direction, and the leakage rate your customer specification allows.
Log each seat separately. A pass on the upstream seat says nothing about the downstream one on two way and double block designs, and bidirectional valves can fail in only one direction.
Add a low pressure air field. Many seat failures show only there, because a high pressure liquid test can press a soft insert hard enough to hide a scratch on the ball.
- Seat pressurised and direction of test
- Measured leakage against the allowed limit
- Separate result for each seat
- Air or liquid medium used
- Photo of the closed valve on the bench
Store records where a customer audit can find them
Link the test record to the casting heat, material certificate, heat treatment record and final dimensional report, so one retrieval returns the complete valve file for the customer’s auditor.
Print every certificate straight from the record. Retyping is where pressures and serial numbers drift, so if a third party inspector witnessed the hydrotest, scan the signed sheet and attach it to the same serial.
Set retention from your customer contracts. Make it a setting, not a memory.
Pilot the template on one valve type
Pick ball valves and run their tests on the new form for two weeks, asking the bench team what slows them down and what they skip.
Note any step where the tester walks to a terminal after the hold, because those gaps are where times, pressures and gauge readings get copied from memory. Trim the fields they ignore. Keep the fields an auditor asks for, then roll the template out to gate valves and check valves once the bench team stops complaining.
Valve test record template
The form opens on the valve. Serial, size, class, material and heat number come first, then shell test rows for pressure, hold time, medium and result, and seat test rows for side, direction and leakage. A footer names gauge and signers.
Open a blank worksheet to printQuestions owners ask
Should the record be on paper or on screen?
Either works. Screen records are faster to search and link to certificates, while paper suits a noisy test bench and can be scanned afterwards.
What is the difference between a shell test and a seat test?
A shell test checks the body. A seat test checks that the closed valve seals against pressure applied from one side, measured against the leakage limit in the customer specification.
Who signs the record?
The tester signs the work. A separate inspector signs for acceptance, and a customer or third party witness signs wherever the purchase order calls for a witnessed hydrotest.
What if the gauge calibration lapsed?
Treat the results as suspect. Every valve tested since the last good calibration needs a retest once the gauge is recalibrated, and the record should state why the second test happened.