Q: We had to deal with a lot of broken water lines this past winter. It was a pain to me and our tenants when the water had to be shut off for the whole building each time we made a repair. Is there a better way?
A. Yes, you can use a pipe freeze system. I know it sounds crazy to intentionally freeze a pipe. After all, isn’t that the way they break in the first place? But, under controlled conditions, creating an ice plug is a fast and easy way to make a repair to the line without shutting off the water to the building.
It freezes all types of liquids in steel, copper, cast iron, aluminum, and plastic pipes ranging from 1/8- to 2-inch. The freeze kit uses carbon dioxide from a dip-tube tank available at all welding supply houses. The cold liquid CO2 is -110 degrees so it can freeze the water is just minutes. A 1/2-inch copper pipe freezes in just five minutes, or just three minutes in cast iron. The ice plug is so strong it can withstand up to 7,000 psi.
So there’s no need to drain water lines, sprinkler systems, or hot water systems before cutting pipe or tubing. You can keep your pressurized system operating while you make repairs.
Contact the Drain Brains® at General at 800-245-6200 or by email [email protected].
