Ware Shoals, South Carolina, has been plagued in recent winters by expensive repairs caused by freezing pipes.
One particular application, a two-inch line mounted on the Marion P. Carnell Bridge over the Saluta River, was especially troublesome. As a result, pipes were constantly being repaired, and water flow was interrupted to hydrants and a hydroelectric station.
The Opportunity
Eastern Industrial Supplies, Inc. had the solution. Jack Sullivan, Eastern’s senior product manager for steam products, recommended ThermOmegaTech freeze protection valves.
“Ware Shoals is my hometown,” said Mr. Sullivan. “Helping the city is much more than a business relationship. So, I was thrilled to introduce a technology to help them solve a problem. ThermOmegaTech freeze protection valves were the perfect answer to lower costs and improve city infrastructure operations.
The Installation of Freeze Protection Valves
Three HAT/FP valves were installed on the bridge to automate purging water from pipes before they could freeze.
The valves are set at 35°F to open reliably and without electricity or human interaction when water reaches a freezing point, which is critical to city operations and residents.
“We were very interested when Eastern Industrial Supplies suggested they have a solution, especially one made with stainless steel and didn’t require electricity or batteries,” said John Lake, owner of L&L Environmental, which manages maintenance operations for Ware Shoals.
“The water line on the Marion P. Carnell Bridge used to be compromised every time we had a cold snap,” said Jordan Gambrell, wastewater supervisor at L&L Environmental.
“The freeze protection valves held up, with no issues, the entire winter. When you are on call 365 days a year, it is reassuring to know I can sleep at night knowing those lines won’t blow when it gets cold,” he said.
The damage caused by freezing pipes isn’t just water under the bridge.
Eastern Industrial Supplies and L&L Environmental can use ThermOmegaTech freeze protection valves to ensure water reliably flows under a bridge to equipment critical to the city’s operations.
ThermOmegaTech freeze protection valves have proven to be both reliable and versatile. When the company was founded in 1983, they were initially used to protect locomotive engines. The ability to protect equipment worth hundreds of thousands of dollars has given maintenance supervisors confidence to apply ThermOmegaTech freeze protection valves in several critical Industrial applications. For example, thermostatic balancing valves benefit from condensate returns, docks/ports, pumps, safety showers/eye wash stations, and water supply lines for livestock. Contact us here.
About Eastern Industrial Supplies Inc.
Eastern Industrial Supplies, Inc., headquartered in Greenville, SC, opened in 1980 and has expanded into markets across NC, SC, FL, GA, TN, and AL. While Eastern specializes in the quality distribution of pipe, valves, fittings, commercial plumbing components, corrosion corrosion-resistant products, and engineered specialty items, the company’s primary goal is creating a caring culture where people are always more important than profits. Eastern is also a proud member of Affiliated Distributors and an owner-member of SupplyForce.
Maintaining water-bearing equipment in a facility can be tricky, especially in wintertime. Ensuring piping, safety showers, condensate systems, and pumps are kept from freezing conditions is challenging. When these systems are exposed to freezing temperatures, they become vulnerable to damage and water supply disruptions, which can cause hazardous working conditions.
Freeze protection is critical in applications such as:
piping, valves, and fittings
pumps
filtration systems
holding tanks
condensate systems
fire lines
freeze-sensitive equipment
backup protection on traced systems/equipment
A common misconception is that your system will continue functioning when water is at freezing temperatures as long as the water is ‘moving,’ which is untrue. Water expands and freezes at 32°F, regardless of flow rate, and pipes can burst.
Which Freeze Protection Works Best for Your Facility?
Factors to consider are the location of the machinery, temperature variations, the presence of outdoor or exposed sections, and the criticality of the water supply. Assessing your facility’s specific machinery and water systems is vital to determining the most appropriate freeze protection methods. Different areas of your facility may require different strategies or multiple approaches. The severity of the winter climate should also be considered.
Various ways to Protect Water Lines:
Pipe Insulation: Pipe insulation is a commonly used method to help protect pipes from freezing. It is done by wrapping the pipes with insulating material, such as foam or fiberglass, to provide a barrier against the cold. Insulation reduces heat transfer and helps maintain a more stable temperature within the pipes. This is good practice but is not always enough protection to prevent freezing in extreme weather conditions.
Electric Heat Tracing: This process installs electric heating cables along the length of the pipes. The cables generate heat that keeps the pipes warm, preventing freezing. However, this method can be costly and vulnerable to power outages.
Pipe Taping: Pipe taping involves wrapping the pipes with specially designed heat tape or heating cables, generating heat to keep them warm. It is suitable for smaller pipes or localized freezing areas.
Pipe-Heating Cable Systems: Pipe-heating cable systems require electricity to function and consist of versatile, self-regulating cables that automatically adjust their heat output based on the surrounding temperature. The cables are installed directly on the pipes and provide constant heat to alleviate freezing. In extremely cold conditions, pipe-heating cable systems could struggle to keep up with the demand for heat, especially if the system is not designed for extremely low temperatures.
Backup Generators: In the case of power outages, backup generators can provide additional protection for freeze-prone areas. They ensure that essential equipment, such as heat tracing systems or pipe-heating cables, continues functioning even during power failures.
Space Heaters: Heating the air around the pipes with space heaters can provide temporary freeze protection. This method is suitable for small, localized areas or temporary setups.
Manual Valves: These valves provide a means to control water flow in a piping system. They are manually operated, allowing users to open, close, or partially restrict the water flow.
Thermostatic Freeze Protection Valves: Freeze protection valves are specialized valves that prevent freezing in piping systems. These valves automatically open when the temperature drops below a certain set point, allowing a controlled water flow to prevent freezing. When the temperature rises, the valves close.
Low temperatures can turn worst-case scenarios into reality without adequate protection. Upholding diligent maintenance and awareness during cold weather can avert expensive and inconvenient repercussions from frozen pipes. Even heat-traced systems risk freezing in the event of an electric tracing malfunction.
Once freeze protection is in place, facility maintenance personnel have a better chance of working safely and protecting their equipment from freeze damage.
Freeze Protection has three (of many) applications: a condensate manifold, a float trap, and safety showers/eyewash stations.
Utilizing Temperature-sensing Freeze Protection
Manual valves are an easy solution for freeze protection to implement, but you introduce the risk of human error (forgetting to turn the valves on or off). Opting for a self-actuating, non-electric freeze protection method can offer superior protection for your water systems compared to other techniques.
Thermostatic freeze protection valves prevent water from freezing within pipes and systems by monitoring temperatures and adjusting flow. Utilizing thermal actuator technology, they sense the water or air temperature and will open to bleed off the cold water until it reaches a safe level. Because the valve functions without power, it is ideal for explosion-proof and remote areas.
Freeze protection valves are particularly useful in intermittent water flow or when power is not readily available for heat tracing systems. They are widely used in industrial settings such as oil refineries, chemical terminals, and processing facilities to forestall freezing within their systems.
Your Freeze Protection Solution
Water line thermostatic freeze protection HAT/FP valves from ThermOmegaTech use a specifically designed thermostatic wax actuator technology with an “install it and forget it” approach, simplifying freeze protection management.
ThermOmegaTech’s HAT/FP valve allows flow when the thermostatic actuator senses 35°F (1.7°C) and will remain open as long as the discharge water temperature is below 40°F (4.4°C). Installed in the standard flow direction, the actuator senses the ambient temperature and opens to initiate flow, then responds to water temperature.
Installed in the reverse flow direction, the wax actuator always senses and responds to the water temperature to control the flow. Once the water temperature is above the freeze danger zone, the valve modulates closed to conserve water.
The main benefit is cost savings. Once installed, they require no additional power source and only activate when the water temperature is near freezing. Thermostatic freeze protection valves operate independently and reliably. They help prevent frozen piping with your facility’s systems and offer the convenience of a low-maintenance, long-lasting solution, protecting against freeze damage for all your applications.
“If systems are left unprotected, damage in piping can occur, so safeguarding your machinery with freeze protection valves offers a sense of security, knowing your systems are protected and won’t freeze due to unpredictable weather or a sudden cold snap,” explains Tim McCollum, ThermOmegaTech® OEM Sales Manager.
Questions on how to make your plant or facility safer? Contact ThermOmegaTech here.
Feature written by Marketing Coordinator Christine Tarlecki and it originally ran on March 24, 2024 on Plant Engineering. Read the full feature here.
Water pipe freeze protection is essential in industries such as food processing and manufacturing, chemical and petrochemical, oil and gas, construction, and agriculture to protect equipment during cold weather.
If water-bearing equipment is unprotected, freezing temperatures can cause burst piping, property damage, and water supply disruptions. A common misconception is that the system will continue functioning when water is at freezing temperatures as long as the water is ‘moving,’ which is untrue. Water expands and freezes at 32°F, regardless of flow rate, which can cause pipes to burst.
The first step is to assess your facility’s water-bearing systems and determine the most suitable ways to protect water lines from freeze damage.
Some factors to consider are the machinery’s location and the water supply’s criticality.
Equipment that requires freeze protection includes:
Piping, valves, and fittings
Pumps
Filtration systems
Holding tanks
Condensate systems
Fire lines
Safety showers and eyewash stations
Solar collectors and piping
Water lines in farm equipment
It is also wise to have backup protection on heat-traced systems and equipment.
There are various ways to protect water lines from freeze damage. Pipe insulation, electric heat tracing, pipe taping, pipe-heating cable systems, backup generators, space heaters, and freeze protection valves.
What Are Freeze Protection Valves?
Freeze protection valves regulate water flow when the surrounding temperature drops to prevent water from freezing in pipes and systems. Valves typically fall into two categories – manual and automatic.
Manual valves require operators to manually adjust the valve open or closed to initiate or restrict water flow. These valves are an easy solution for freeze protection but have the risk of human error and forgetting to turn the valves on or off, which can cause severe damage or increased water usage.
Thermostatic valves are another option for protecting your systems. These valves are self-actuating and non-electric, preventing water from freezing within pipes and systems by monitoring temperatures and automatically adjusting flow.
How Does a Freeze Protection Valve Work?
Our HAT/FP thermostatic valves sense the water or air temperature and will open to bleed off the cold water until it reaches a safe level. The core technology in these valves is the thermostatic wax actuator. This actuator is sensitive to changes in temperature and can initiate actions based on temperature thresholds.
The valve is typically set to a specific temperature, often 35°F (1.6°C). When the thermostatic actuator senses the temperature is nearing this threshold, it initiates water flow to prevent freezing. Flow is maintained if the discharge water temperature remains below a certain level, typically 40°F (4.4°C).
By automatically initiating flow when temperatures approach the freezing point, the valves help maintain the integrity of the water system and ensure that water continues to flow without the risk of freezing. The valves will close to minimize water waste once the water temperature reaches safe levels.
Because the valve functions without power, it is ideal for explosion-proof and remote areas. It can also protect water systems more effectively than manual balancing and guard against human error.
The flexibility in flow orientation allows them to be adapted to various applications. The freeze protection valve is designed to provide a long service life, ensuring that it remains operational and reliable for an extended period. This longevity reduces maintenance and replacement requirements.
Protect Your Facility with ThermOmegaTech Freeze Protection Valves
ThermOmegaTech’s water line freeze protection valves operate with a proprietary thermostatic wax actuator to protect your resupply lines against freezing. They operate independently to provide water pipe freeze protection and offer the convenience of a low-maintenance, long-lasting solution.
Stop asking yourself, How Do I Keep My Water Pipes from Freezing? The “install it and forget it” approach of the HAT/FP valve simplifies the management of freeze protection. Once the valve is installed, it requires minimal ongoing attention, making it user-friendly.
Another benefit is cost savings; it requires no additional power source and only activates when the water temperature is near freezing, significantly reducing water waste.
Start with ThermOmegaTech and protect your water-bearing systems.
ThermOmegaTech® is excited to announce its pump thermal relief valves’ NSF/ANSI 61 certification. NSF/ANSI 61 and 372 is an American National Standard that establishes minimum health-effects requirements for the chemical contaminants and impurities indirectly imparted to drinking water from products, components, and materials used in drinking water systems.
ThermOmegaTech’s ECONO/HAT-RA is a thermal relief valve designed to safeguard domestic water supply booster pumps from high-temperature damage caused during system abnormalities like deadheading, construction usage, and VFD (Variable Frequency Drive) troubleshooting errors, all while reducing water waste and increasing overall system efficiency.
“Our thermal relief valves, the ECONO/HAT-RA valves, are often used on pump systems with an NSF/ANSI 61 requirement. Because of this, our customers must obtain approval to use our valves with every system sold.
The benefit of this certification is that the approval will no longer be needed on the customers’ end. This streamlines sales and encourages system engineers to use our products without fear of added internal cost,” explains OEM Sales Manager Tim McCollum, who was instrumental in the valves’ certification.
In addition to the stainless steel ECONO/HAT line, the valves that are now certified include the stainless-steel valves in the HAT and IC lines:
HAT/FP and HAT/SP – Freeze and Scald Protection Valves
IC/FP and IC/SP – Freeze and Scald Protection Valves
“Listening to our customers is essential to our business, and obtaining this NSF/ANSI 61 certification to streamline the valve ordering process will save time and money for our customers, something ThermOmegaTech® strives to do daily,” McCollum says.
Freeze protection is essential for locomotives during winter months to prevent catastrophic damage to equipment. A diesel locomotive’s cooling system is at risk of freezing when the locomotive is turned off. If the cooling water freezes, it can cause the piping and tanks to crack, resulting in extensive damage, lengthy repairs, and interrupted schedules.
Operators could keep their locomotives running at all hours to prevent a freeze-up, but that can contribute to air pollution and fuel waste. Another more cost-effective and efficient way is to install ThermOmegaTech’s GURU® Plug.
The Opportunity
The GURU® DL2.1 thermostatic drain valve is installed at the lowest point within the cooling system and automatically responds to engine coolant temperature.
The Plug will snap open and drain the system if the water temperature reaches the Plug’s set point, typically 35°F. This provides almost a full one-inch bore to rapidly drain a typical locomotive’s coolant system before freeze damage can occur. The Plug can be reset when the operator is ready to refill the locomotive and return it to service.
SMS Rail Lines, a one-stop provider of rail distribution services to businesses along the Washington, D.C. to Boston corridor, is based in Bridgeport, New Jersey. It has been using ThermOmegaTech’s GURU® Plugs for over a decade on its locomotive cooling systems and compressors.
SMS Rail Lines operates over 6 miles of track throughout Pureland Industrial Park in Bridgeport, New Jersey, providing service daily, including on-demand rail switching and daily interchange with Class I railways CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern Corporation.
SMS Rail Lines also offers rail-to-truck and truck-to-rail transloading, warehousing, distribution services, and rail car storage at this location. Twelve locomotives are in service at any given time. Additionally, the company restores, maintains, and operates historic Baldwin diesel locomotives.
Utilizing the GURU® Plug
“We normally have 12 to 14 locomotives in service at any given time,” General Manager Brian Murray explains. “Some of our locomotives have only a single GURU if they are plumbed in a way where everything can drain to a central location. We have a couple with a second GURU to handle additional low points in the cooling system. Our GE locomotives have 4 GURUs. They have 2 GURUs to handle low-point general draining and 2 on the low-pressure heads of the water-cooled air compressor.”
SMS operators have previously used other freeze protection devices on their locomotives. “We initially used ‘that other name brand.’ It would occasionally open while the engine was hot and running,” said GM Murray. Because of this, he looked for another solution and was introduced to ThermOmegaTech’s GURU® Plugs over ten years ago by then-product manager Dana Logue.
The GURU® Plug Rebuild Program
The GURU® Plug satisfied their needs and came with an additional perk—the GURU® Rebuild Program. ThermOmegaTech® offers a rebuild program for the self-actuating GURU® Plug, which protects thousands of locomotives from freeze damage annually. The program allows customers to return their old GURU® Plugs to be cleaned, refurbished, retested, and returned, so customers get back an almost brand-new valve.
“We are very happy with ThermOmegaTech® and think the GURU® Plug is terrific. We have never had a GURU fail to open when necessary. As the end user, we should probably do a better job at keeping track of which GURU plug is in which locomotive and how old they are,” stated GM Murray.
Luckily for SMS Rail Lines, there’s an easy way to track that!
Each GURU® Plug has a yearly-rotated color cap which is also laser marked with its month and year of manufacture. ThermOmegaTech® recommends changing the GURU® Plugs every 18-24 months, as the GURU® Plug’s actuator loses a small amount of stroke as it ages beyond one year. This stroke loss causes the release temperature and the manual reset temperature to creep upward. While this is a “safe” tendency for freeze protection, the upward creep can eventually cause nuisance dumping.
The colored caps rotate through 5 colors over 5 years and visually indicate the year it was built. Maintenance personnel can compare the cap’s color against our chart to determine when it needs to be sent back for rebuild. SMS has taken advantage of this perk and utilizes the rebuild program yearly.
“We send in about 4 or 5 valves per year for rebuilding to have them on hand. Our cost savings are significant as we have a lot of older GURUs around, so it makes sense to rebuild them,” says GM Murray.
When they come back, rebuilt and refurbished, GM Murray says they are as good as new and have never had any issues.
The Result of the GURU® Plug
“In my experience, all the folks at ThermOmegaTech® are genuinely interested in providing to the railroad industry effective, reliable solutions. The staff is always accessible and willing to work cooperatively with the customer to examine the need and suggest the appropriate product,” says James Pfeiffer – Superintendent of Operating Practices.
“Customer feedback is welcomed, technical questions are quickly answered, and the engineering department is seemingly always working on something new and improved. And they do all this while maintaining first-class customer service.”
If you are interested in hearing more about Locomotive Freeze Protection and how the GURU® Plugs can help save you time, energy, and money, we’d love to help. Contact us today.
Thermostatic Freeze Protection: Winter is the time to protect your pipes and personnel.
Water-bearing piping must be appropriately winterized to keep temperature-sensitive processes and equipment functioning optimally throughout the freeze season. When water lines to cooling and condensate systems, safety showers, and eyewash or facewash stations are left exposed to the elements, or their heat tracing fails, freezing temperatures can cause frozen or burst piping. This can lead to overheated equipment and severely dangerous working conditions for your employees, which can interrupt systems, burst piping, and cause lengthy and costly repairs.
If safety shower, eyewash, or facewash station water lines freeze, personnel could be at significant risk of being unable to cleanse after contamination exposure. Condensate drain lines are also in danger of freezing even if it is electrically heat traced and the tracing malfunctions or the facility loses power.
ThermOmegaTech’s self-actuating temperature control valves are the ideal water line freeze protection solution.
The HAT/FP valve is designed to sense the water temperature in the pipe or ambient temperature, depending on installation. The valve will gradually open to bleed off the cold water when temperatures approach the valve’s set point, typically 35°F (1.6°C).
Once the flow is initiated, the valve will remain open until the discharge water temperature is 5 degrees above that, typically 40°F (4.4°C). Once the freeze danger passes, the valve will modulate closed again to conserve water and reduce wastewater disposal costs.
These 100% mechanical valves require no power source to operate, eliminating the human errors associated with manual valves. They can also save you thousands on your water or energy bills.
Result: Guaranteed freeze protection and water savings because of the reliable and automatic HAT/FP thermostatic valves.
Read the feature on HAT/FP valves in the latest issue of Plant Engineering.
Exposed pipes can be the biggest headache for plant managers and maintenance personnel in the harsh winter months. Any sort of pump, valve, or process pipe that is exposed to the harsh effects of the Winter is susceptible to freezing and bursting. As you can imagine, this can create havoc in critical systems.
There are many ways to heat these pipes, but in extreme climates, one of the most effective methods is to apply glycol tracing. Since glycol does not freeze and doesn’t require any special handling in environments that need to be explosion-proof, it makes it an ideal solution.
Glycol has a very low freezing point which allows it to remain in the liquid phase, even in very cold temperatures. The exceptional thermal transfer characteristics also make it the obvious choice for a cost-effective heating medium.
How We Can Help.
ThermOmegaTech manufactures many valves that control the flow of, and maximize the effect of glycol through these systems. Our most popular valves for use in glycol tracing include HAT and TV/HAT.
Our valves are not reliant on electricity to operate. To regulate the flow of glycol, each of these valves contains a thermostatic element inside that modulates open or closed to maintain a constant discharge temperature.
Each of them improves system efficiency by automatically varying the rate at which glycol is pumped through the system.
Water, when it freezes, changes from liquid to solid. As the temperature drops, the molecules become less energetic, moving more slowly, until they reach a point at which the molecular structure changes, followed by the transformation into ice, or solid water. Unlike most substances which shrink in volume as they freeze, water expands since ice’s molecular structure takes up more space than water. Conversely, when you heat water, the molecules become more excited until they reach the point where the water vaporizes and becomes steam.
There is a misconception that if water can be kept moving, it won’t freeze. Wrong! Water freezes at 32°F (0°C). Period.
Since the expansion of water as it freezes is a fact of life, what things should we know about this process in order to create effective means of dealing with it in industry? Water that has frozen in piping systems does more than simply clog the system and shut off the flow. Because ice takes up more room than
liquid, when freezing occurs in a confined space like a steel pipe, the ice will build up extreme internal pressure which is often enough to break the pipe and its associated valves and fittings.
Damage from a burst pipe or valve can escalate beyond just replacing the broken parts, into labor costs for the repair and time/money lost from “down-time” in the affected area. Before effective measures can
be taken to prevent such disasters, we need to learn about and understand what is happening.
The Physical Principles of Freezing
What are the underlying principles that determine whether the water in a given device (pipe, valve, etc.) will freeze? We already know that water freezes at 32°F. To arrive at this temperature, heat must be removed (transferred) from the water (Remember – heat always travels from high temperature areas to lower temperature areas). Heat transfer, or the removal of heat from one place to another (i.e. from the 45°F water inside a pipe to the 25°F air outside a pipe) is one of the basic laws of nature. Heat is a form of energy. Others include chemical, electrical, mechanical and nuclear, and each is convertible from one form to another. In the USA, heat is usually measured in BTUs, or British Thermal Units. One BTU is the amount of energy which, when added to one pound of water, will raise the temperature of that water by one Fahrenheit degree (as from 65°F to 66°F).
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Operators could keep their locomotives running at all hours to prevent a freeze-up, but that can contribute to air pollution and fuel waste. Another more cost-effective and efficient way is to install ThermOmegaTech’s GURU® Plug.
