Hot Temps are no Match for UV Cure System

PROBLEM

Brewers at a Cincinnati craft brewery were troubled when the pipes in their brand-new production facility were failing. The brewery, built in 2018, was specially designed to fit their needs and outfitted with fresh PVC pipes. The pipe network was located under a concrete slab with rows of brew kettles and fermentation tanks, so the brewers needed a solution to fix the pipe issues without tearing up the entire brewery and disrupting production. They turned to CPR, a NuFlow-certified contractor, to solve the problem. When CPR performed a camera inspection of the pipe infrastructure, it found multiple breaks in the joints on the mainline of the system. The extreme temperatures used during the brewing process caused the breaks, resulting in overflow and loss of materials.

SOLUTION

The CPR team recommended lining the pipes to fix the problem with the joints as well as prevent any future issues from the constant high temperatures. While the customer was eager to fix the problem, there were concerns about the process. They did not want to shut down brewery production and wanted to ensure the product could withstand the temperatures regularly used in the brewing process, was resistant to the chemicals used in the cleaning process, and wouldn’t affect the quality of the beer. NuFlow recommended using NuCure Cold Cure UV technology. According to NuFlow’s technical director Grant Whittle, the dense cure of the NuCure system results in exceptionally high heat deflection temperature, enabling the NuCure CCUV liners to be utilized in very high temperature applications. It is a perfect application at the brewery to combat extreme temperature fluctuations. The UV’s ability to tolerate high temperatures opens new markets that other lining systems cannot adequately serve.

RESULTS

The CPR team worked with the customer to accommodate the production schedule of the brewers and make sure there wasn’t interference. Working on site for three days and three nights, they lined 430 feet of 4- and 6-inch mainline PVC and reinstated all the lateral lines. The brewery was very happy with the outcome and the cost was half of the other bid received.