Piercing valve assembly for pliers

A tool for forming an opening in a wall of a pipe, comprising:

• a pair of pliers having two handles pivotally attached and moveable with respect to each other by a pivot pin having a pivot axes, each handle including a handle portion and a jaw, with said jaws being located in opposed moveable relation to one another,
• a piercing valve assembly mounted to said pair of pliers, said piercing valve assembly including a pair of housing members pivotally attached to each other by a pivot device independent of said pivot pin and which is essentially coaxial with said pivotal axis, and moveable in conjunction with said jaws,
• said piercing valve assembly further including a piercing element mounted in one of said housing members for piercing ad sealing to the pipe, said piercing element comprising a hollow element having first and second pointed ends, said piercing element being removably mounted in said first of said housing members with said first pointed end extending outwardly therefrom for piercing the pipe and draining a fluid in the pipe through the piercing element, said piercing element being removable from said one of said housing members, reversible, and replaceable in said one of said housing members such that the second pointed end extends outwardly therefrom for piercing the pipe,
• said piercing valve assembly also including a conduit for fluidly connecting said piercing element with a remote storage container, the other of said pair of housing members being deigned to receive and locate the pipe such that the handle portions of the pliers can be manually manipulated to bring the housing members together and force the piercing element through the wall of the pipe.

A method for draining fluid in a pipe, comprising the following steps:

• providing a pair of pliers having two handles pivotally attached and moveable with respect to one another by a pivot pin having a pivot axis, each handle having a handle portion and a jaw, wherein said jaws are located in opposed moveable relation to one another,
• providing a piercing valve assembly comprising a pair of housing members pivotally attached to each other by a pivot device independent of said pivot pin, said piercing valve assembly including a bias device urging said housing members away from each other, one of said pair of housing members being designed to receive one of said jaws in engagement therewith and be removably mounted thereto, and the other of said pair of housing members being designed to receive the other of said pair of jaws in engagement therewith and to be removably mounted thereto,
• mounting each housing member on a respective jaw of said pair of pliers with said pivot device being located essentially coaxial with said pivot axis, inserting a locking pin through apertures formed in said housing members to prevent said housing portions from being removed form said pair of pliers during use, said bias device urging said housing members against a respective jaw of the pair of pliers when the housing members are mounted to the pair of pliers, and allowing said handle portions of the pair of pliers to be squeezed together to bring the housing members together.