Safe Pipe Repair with Accu-Freeze™
Pipe freezing for temporary pipe isolation has now become the safest,
quickest and most cost-effective method for pipeline leak testing,
maintenance work or for making pipe repairs including valve
and other control system replacements.
It is still very common for maintenance workers
to drain down entire systems before repairs
can be made but this can lead to time lost spent
draining and disposing of the product.
To dramatically reduce costs whilst maintaining the
highest level of safety, Accu-Freeze™ pipe freezing
systems are available from the Pipestoppers®
Division of Huntingdon Fusion Techniques HFT®.
Accu-Freeze™ uses liquid nitrogen (LN2) to freeze
stationary liquids in a section of pipe or tubing.
The nitrogen is passed through a coil surrounding
the pipe producing a frozen plug inside and hence
preventing flow through the part to be removed.
Luke Keane, Technical Sales Manager for HFT® said:
“Accu-Freeze™ ensures very little drain-down or refill
and little to no system downtime.”
“The ice plug only forms beneath the Accu-Freeze™
coil wrap, jacket or aluminium clam jacket. The
system is effective on 6 - 12” (150 to 300 mm) pipe
or tube. The ice plug does not expand outside of the
range of the jacket or coil.
8 TUBE NEWS July 2019
The LN2 injections are automated which reduces
the operators’ workload and the amount of LN2
consumed, keeping operating costs low. Accu-Freeze™
can also be operated remotely, which makes it ideal
for use inside ‘hot’ nuclear areas where personal
exposure must be kept below certain limits.
Many plumbing and maintenance companies have
already switched to our Pipe Freezing Systems
attracted by the significant cost savings involved.
.