Freeze sealing pipes for repair or maintenance eliminates the need to shut down or drain down a system for repairs and maintenance. These systems create ice plugs either upstream of the repair site or on either side of an area where a pipe system needs maintenance.
Qwik-Freezer® covers pipe diameters from 3/8” – 8” is quick and easy to use, requires almost no set-up time. Even for smaller diameter freezes, Qwik-Freezer® produces ice plugs that can withstand far more pressure than the smaller plugs produced by other systems.
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 liquid Co2 by a high-pressure hose.
When CO2 is injected into the space between the jacket and the pipe, at -78OC, the pipe contents freeze and a ‘ice plug’ is formed, which seals the pipe. The ‘ice plug’ is formed only in the section of the pipe covered by the jacket, so the resulting pressure rise is very small and there is no damage to the pipe. The technique can be used for iron, lead, stainless steel, copper, brass and plastic pipes.