Freeze-Up CheckList

Company-wide planning is the key to preventing freeze-up losses.
Affiliated FM Insurance Company has developed this checklist to help you identify measures to take before cold weather.

You will want to start your preparations early so your facilities are ready before the winter season. Schedule your review of the following steps six, to ten weeks in advance, so you will have time to initiate any repairs or specific action before cold weather arrives:

General


• Organise a well-trained and well-equipped emergency organisation (EO), and develop an emergency action plan.
  
  
• Designate a weather watcher to monitor conditions and implement procedures.
  
  
• Gather emergency supplies:
  - extra tarpaulins for windbreaks
  - steam hoses for thawing frozen lines
  - electric space heaters for thawing frozen piping
  - antifreeze supplies for cooling systems
  - warm clothing and hand protection for maintenance and operating crews.
  
  
• Make sure space heaters have appropriate safety interlocks and are fueled and operational.
  
  
• Set up priorities for steam usage to keep critical equipment in use, and provide an adequate steam tracing system.
  
  
• Locate ordinary thermometers in hard-to-heat areas with vulnerable equipment.
  
  
• For unattended facilities, provide a central station-supervised alarm system to monitor power supply, building temperatures, low-water fuel trips on boilers, water temperatures on exposed water storage tanks and process controls.
  
  

Buildings


• Ensure the building shell is in good condition; close up unnecessary openings.
  
  
• Building and equipment heating and insulation systems should be designed to maintain minimum 40 F (4 C) temperatures.
  
  
• Check heating equipment to make sure it will still be able to maintain building temperatures above 40F (4 C) at the coldest points in the building (e.g., corners at the north end of a building, at the eaves, and in spaces with no direct heat).
  
  
• Provide adequate and safe additional emergency heating equipment in areas prone to freezing and set it to activate automatically when temperatures fall below 40 F (4 C).
  
  
• Identify any concealed spaces, such as the space above a suspended ceiling or a crawl space below the floor through which vulnerable piping passes. Consider providing temporary interior openings to allow heat to reach those areas.
  
  

Equipment


• For boilers:
  - completely drain idle equipment
  - elevate low points or provide drain valves on condensate-return lines
  - where possible, remove low points and dead-ends
  - provide steam traps on piping or equip with drain valves
  - install low-water fuel cutoffs with a minimum of exposed piping
  - consider heat-tracing lines for piping that carries water to the water glass, low-water fuel cutoff column and feedwater regulator; provide alarms for important piping systems.
  
  
• For water-cooled equipment such as compressors and pumps, provide adequate heat; locate in a heated enclosure; or provide the proper anti-freeze solution.
  
  
• Provide heat tracing and insulation on water-filled instrumentation and control lines.
  
  
• Use lubricants for low-temperature applications in equipment such as pumps, blowers and compressors, especially in outdoor or unheated indoor installations.
  
  
• For air conditioning, remove water from oil coolers and water jackets, and drain condensers of chilling units.
  
  
• Make sure fuel supplies will be adequate, particularly where oil-fired equipment is used in cold weather months.
  
  
• Check pressure vessel vents, relief valves and safety valves to assure that moving parts are functional.
  
  
• Construct wind breaks to protect open piping and instruments from wind chill.
  
  

Fire-Protection Equipment


• Place thermometers inside buildings at strategic locations, such as near sprinkler systems, to monitor building temperature.
  
  
• Know the location of underground water mains. Ensure an adequate depth of cover is maintained especially where construction, excavation or erosion has occurred.
  
  
• For dry-pipe sprinkler systems:
  - maintain dry-pipe valve room temperature above 40 F (4 C) by insulating the enclosure and installing a safe portable heater
  - check piping pitch and all pipe hangers
  - drain low points frequently; install more drains, if necessary.
  - make sure the system is thoroughly drained after annual trip test
  - Take the air supply for the compressor from a dry, room-temperature source; if moisture build-up is a problem, an air drying system or the use of nitrogen is an alternative.
  - Repair air leaks in the piping system to keep the valve from tripping if compressor power is lost.
  
  
• Automatic sprinkler systems should not be drained except as a last resort. If sprinklers are impaired, follow FM Global's Red Tag Permit System and notify your local FM Global office if you are an Affiliated FM policyholder.
  
  
• For fire pumps:
  - Maintain pump room temperature above 40 F (4 C)
  - For diesel engine drives, the temperature should be at least 70 F (21 C)
  - If pump suction is from an open reservoir, the intake and pipe should be below the frost level underground and deep enough to prevent ice obstructions.
  
  
• For gravity and suction tanks:
  - flush circulating heaters and piping
  - make sure heaters are open
  - overhaul any steam traps and strainers
  
  
• Check hydrants for tightness, and repair any leaks; also check post-indicator valves.