What: 8 & 10 inch steel containing Calcium Chloride solution

Where: Richmond Olympic Oval, BC

Why: To install new valves on the main

Who: Cimco Refrigeration

When: Sept 2010

Freeze pipes for Canada. The NHL rinks at Richmond’ s Olympic Oval were kept frozen as a result of the work completed by Nitro Pipe Freeze. New valves were needed on the refrigerant main pipes but the Oval did not want to drain down and therefore melt the rinks. Nitro froze the pipes, 2x 10 inch steel and 2x 8 inch steel, the new valves were installed and the system turned back on. The pipe contained Calcium Chloride Solution which protected the water down to -25C. Nitro’s system has no problem freezing these type of brine or glycol solutions as the pipe is taken down towards -196C.

Is it easier to rent equipment to freeze pipes or to call in a professional pipe freeze contractor?

Example:
I have just bought a new condo and would like to install a new bath tub diverter. There is no shutoff valve and the building manager will not turn the water off to the building. My plumber can rent a pipe freezing kit or pipe freeze machine and isolate the pipes, before installing new valves. Alternatively we can call in a professional pipe freezer to isolate the pipes.

Equipment rental PROs:
The plumber can do the whole job without the need to bring in another party.
Rental equipment is charged at a fixed rate so it is easy to budget for.

Equipment rental CONs:
Someone has to pick up and drop off the machine
The plumber must work out how to use the equipment
The job may actuallly end up taking longer and therefore cost more than a pipe freeze contractor doing the freezing

Pipe Freeze Contractor PROs
Contractors using liquid Nitrogen to freeze pipes can do the work a lot faster than rental tools and equipment. This is because rental equipment is usually a CO2 or refrigerant pipe freezing machine or kit which does not get as cold as the Liquid Nitrogen a professional pipe freezer uses
The work carried out by a specialised pipe freezing contractor is guaranteed and insured. Using rental equipment is a risk that is not worth taking where the potential for water damage is concerned
The plumber can concentrate on doing the plumbing without worring about the freeze or the rental equipment
There is no need to pick up or drop off tools / rentals / equipment.

Pipe Freeze Contractor CONs
We cant find any, as even the price is comparable to rental equipment and tool rental from construction equipment companies.

Verdict:
Use a professional pipe freezing company every time.

Pipe Freezing at a shopping mall on behalf of Integrity Mechanical so that tenant improvement works could be carried out without shutting down the water supply to a neighbouring hotel. We freeze pipes so that our cutomers don’t have to. By calling in a professional pipe freeze contractor, pipes can be isolated with complete confidence while work is carried out on the system, eg:
pipe repair, leaky valves, broken or corroded pipes and fittings or just to make a tie in on a main line without draining the whole building.