Pipe Freezing

If you have a piping system that requires pipe repair or valve replacement, pipe freezing allows this to be carried out by freezing the system’s liquid contents to form a ‘freeze plug’. This freeze plugging stops the flow of fluid in the pipes so that pipeline maintenance can be completed.

Pipe freezing is a non-intrusive, cost effective and time saving method of pipe isolation allowing pipeline maintenance and pipeline modification to be carried out without the need to drain down the system. Pipe freezing is a hugely beneficial alternative to a drain down which critically prevents air from entering the system. When you add up the time spent draining, refilling and purging trapped air from a system, then pipe freezing is the logical choice.

Examples include:

  • Pipeline maintenance and repair works
  • Changing or adding valves, flanges or pumps
  • Difficulty in locating an isolation point
  • Insert new side valves or branches in a pipe
  • Testing for leakage by isolating different sections of a long pipeline
  • Isolate one section of fire protection or air conditioning service without shutting the whole system down

PIPEFREEZER PERFORMS PIPE ISOLATION ON PIPES FROM 15MM-600MM (AND BEYOND):

A pipe freeze is an environmentally friendly process that eliminates the potential hazards and expenses caused by draining liquids and the wastage of vast amounts of water and other fluids. Pipe freezing maximises your system up time and in most cases not interrupting the service at all.  This is particularly beneficial in fire service maintenance because pipe freezing maintains the integrity of the system, meaning that your asset and the people present in the building are protected at all times.

This process of creating a freeze plug has been used throughout the world for over 50 years in industrial, commercial and residential applications on pipelines and systems containing water, sewage and a wide range of oils, chemicals and other fluids.

Pipe freezing can be performed on most pipe materials including:

  • Steel
  • Copper
  • Galvanised steel
  • Stainless steel
  • Cast iron
  • Ductile iron
  • Aluminium
  • Coated and lined piping
  • Lead
  • Titanium
  • Vertical, horizontal, inclined and out of round piping

The fluids that can be frozen using the pipe freeze method include:

  • Water
  • Waste water
  • Sewage
  • Chilled water
  • Seawater slurries and other brine solutions
  • Fuel oils
  • Glycol solutions
  • Heavy hydrocarbons and oils
  • Various chemical products

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