That's Cold: P1 Plumbing Line Freezing Fixes Problems with No Downtime
St. Luke’s Hospital in Smithville, MO, remained open to conduct “business as usual” when P1 Service technicians were able to successfully freeze a line to repair a faulty valve.
Line freezing is an efficient P1 Service plumbing process that protects the customer down time, cost, and inconvenience.
“Line Freezing consists of freezing the line in certain spots, creating a temporary ice “plug” in the line to repair defective valves, relocate a line, etc.,” P1 Service Plumbing Account Manager Sal Mormino explained.
“This is often done with a special type of machine that has two aluminum freeze heads that clamp onto the line, circulating refrigerant to the freeze heads, and creating the ice plugs.”
Sal notes line freezing allows the technician to make repairs without shutting the customer down. They can maintain normal operations when isolation valves are not working or non-existent.
“This is huge for a hospital setting like we have at St. Luke’s,” Sal said. “We can go in and quickly make the repair without disrupting operations.”
“This also keeps us from having to drain a system,” Sal added. “Problems can arise when filling up a previously drained system.”
Line freezing is a type of “live fix” – something Sal says is ideal in certain situations.
“Another example of a live fix our plumbers can make are live repairs on natural gas lines,” Sal said. “Natural gas run through polyethylene pipe can be temporarily crimped while allowing a plumber to make repairs.”
“Preventative Maintenance is critical,” Sal said. “It could be an instance in which a customer has recurring trouble with their drains. We would set them up on a schedule to jet their lines clean with a pressure washer-style auger.”
“Being proactive is the best way to eliminate a plumbing emergency.”
Sal says one of the most common issues seen with P1 Plumbing customers is failed backflow preventers - a device that attaches to water supply pipes and keeps them flowing in one direction only.
“It prevents contaminated water from flowing back into the main water supply line,” he said. “It doesn’t take much to foul a seal in the device, and when they fail, they make a mess. All our journeyman plumbers are trained and ASSE certified to repair all backflow assemblies.”
“One of the most consistent things I hear from our customers is that they appreciate P1’s single-source capabilities,” Sal said. “They truly appreciate our ability to handle all their needs under one roof. We can seamlessly work with any of the other trades on a job.”
FUTURE Plans for P1 Plumbing...
Sal says the P1 Plumbing Division is planning on expanding, and that means adding more plumbers, and possibly office personnel, to the team in 2023-2024.
We can’t wait to see what the future holds for P1 Plumbing, and look forward to watching the team provide continued exceptional plumbing solutions for our customers.
