Pipeforge: Plumbing Tools

Pipeforge is a plumbing field toolkit built for working plumbers, service techs, and apprentices. Forty‑one calculators, reference tables, and a fault‑diagnosis engine, all running offline on your phone. No account, no sign‑in, no signal required in the crawlspace.

Size it once, size it right — then get on with the job.

▚ WATER SUPPLY

• Pipe sizing by fixture units with Hunter’s curve

• Velocity and friction loss (Hazen‑Williams) for copper, PEX, PVC, and steel

• Pressure budget from the street to the furthest fixture

• Water‑hammer arrestor sizing (PDI‑WH201)

• Pipe volume and fill time

▚ DRAIN, WASTE & VENT

• Drain sizing from fixture units, with slope and half‑full velocity

• Vent sizing against developed length

• Grease interceptor and septic / drainfield sizing

• Sump pump cycle from a refill test

▚ WATER HEATING

• Recovery rate and heat‑up time (gas or electric)

• Thermostatic mixing valve splits

• Thermal expansion tank sizing

• Hot‑water recirculation loop

▚ FUEL GAS

• Load converter: BTU, CFH, propane gallons and pounds

• Pipe sizing by the NFPA 54 longest‑length method, natural gas and propane

• Combustion air: room volume and opening free area

▚ PUMPS & WELLS

• Total dynamic head and pump horsepower

• Well tank drawdown and pump run time

• Shock chlorination doses

▚ HYDRONIC HEAT

• Flow from load, radiant loop layout, baseboard output

▚ FIELD MATH

• Offsets and rolling offsets

• Fitting equivalent length and developed length

• Tank volumes for any shape

• Thermal expansion and leak‑cost estimates

• A unit converter built for the trade

▚ FAULT DIAGNOSIS (the one that earns its keep)

Pick a symptom — no hot water, low pressure, water hammer, sewer smell, a T&P that keeps discharging, a short‑cycling pump — then tick off what you’ve actually confirmed on site. Pipeforge ranks the likely causes by the evidence, shows the checks that would prove or kill each one, and gives the fix. Nothing is hidden: a cause the evidence argues against sinks down the list but stays visible, because the number‑two answer is worth reading before you cut anything.

▚ BUILT FOR THE TRUCK

• Fully offline — every number is computed on the device

• Dark, high‑contrast “instrument panel” layout that reads in a dim mechanical room

• Fast: no menus to dig through, favorites and recents up top

• No ads mid‑calculation; a small banner and the occasional full‑screen ad, nothing more

▚ FREE, WITH AN OPTIONAL UPGRADE

Pipeforge is free to use. Unlock the Pro tools — including the fault‑diagnosis engine — with a single one‑time purchase (no subscription), or watch a short ad to unlock one Pro tool at a time. Pro also removes the ads.

▚ A NOTE ON CODES

The sizing tables follow NFPA 54, the IPC, the UPC, and PDI standards in round, practical numbers for a first pass. They are planning aids, not a substitute for the code adopted in your jurisdiction or for a licensed design. Gas, scalding water, and sewer gas are life‑safety matters — confirm your work, and when in doubt, call it out.

Made by TapForge Studios. Questions or a tool you wish it had? [email protected]