No Draining the Pipe
System with Pipe Freezing
Eliminating the need to drain long sections of pipe for
repairs or modifications and reducing shut down time is
now possible with Pipe Freezing Systems.
The Pipestoppers® Division at Huntingdon
Fusion Techniques HFT® provides a cost saving
solution with Qwik-Freezer™, the industry
standard portable CO2 Pipe Freezing System.
Ron Sewell, Chairman for HFT® said: “Pipelines
containing water can be frozen using liquid carbon
dioxide for repairs or modifications to be made.
Creating a freeze plug is a very cost effective and
quick way to perform pipeline maintenance without
draining the system, meaning very little or no system
downtime. After the work is carried out, the ice
plug is simply thawed and the line is restored to full
operation.”
When the CO2 is injected into the space between the
jacket and the pipe, at a temperature of -78oC, the
pipe contents freeze and a secure ‘ice plug’ is formed,
which seals the pipe. The ‘ice plug’ forms only in
a section of the pipe covered by the jacket, so the
resulting rise in pressure is very small and there is no
damage to the pipe. The technique can be used safely
on iron, lead, stainless steel, copper, brass and plastic
pipe.
“It is also extremely beneficial for pipework where
valves need to be changed, in industry sectors such
as petrochemical, building and maintenance services,
food and beverage, hospitals, water treatment,
shipping and aerospace.”
Qwik-Freezer™ is available for pipe diameters up to 8”
(200 mm). Even for smaller diameter freezes, Qwik-
Freezer™ produces ice plugs that are significantly
more reliable and robust, capable of withstanding
far more pressure than the smaller plugs that other
types of systems will produce. By not having to drain systems of liquids to make
repairs, the savings made are able to justify the low
relative cost of the Qwik-Freezer™ System.
A specially designed flexible jacket is wrapped around
the pipe at the point where the freeze is required. A
nozzle in the jacket is then coupled to a cylinder of
low cost liquid carbon dioxide by means of a high-
pressure hose. Larger pipe diameters than 8” and the use of anti
freeze and rust inhibitors can create the need for
the liquid nitrogen (LN2) temperatures of the Accu-
Freeze™ System in order to create a pressure bearing
freeze plug.
.
www.huntingdonfusion.com
18 TUBE NEWS April 2019