Drain lines in a potato chip processing plant in Orlando, Fla., were running slowly or not at all. The facility, built in 1976, operates nonstop.
Herrell Plumbing in Orlando responded to the numerous service calls, cutting through the 6-inch-thick concrete floors to replace the worst of the cast-iron pipes. Three lines, however, were under a floor holding ovens and fryers weighing many tons.
Moving the equipment to open-cut, then rerouting the lines to accommodate the machines needing drainage, would have been extremely expensive. Chris Peterson of Herrell called Rusty McFall, owner of TNT Sewer LLC, a certified provider of Perma-Liner products in Hernando, Fla.
“I tried televising the lines and couldn’t get the camera to go forward,” says McFall. “All I could see from the manhole was grease packed in the pipes.”
For the first time in 33 years, officials closed the plant, enabling McFall and crew to engage in a marathon of jetting, televising, and CIPP lining over an Easter weekend. By Monday morning, the production lines were ready to fry and bake again.
Procedures
The only access to the 4-, 6- and 8-inch pipes was a manhole discharging to a lift station outside the building. The larger pipes, running for more than 100 feet, required a second access point for easier cleaning and lining. Peterson’s men cut through the floor and dug a 6-foot-square access pit five feet deep at an appropriate location for both lines. Peterson also hired a contractor to vacuum the jetted debris from the lift station.
Plant policy required a one-hour safety class before McFall and his six men could begin work. Besides covering OSHA compliance, the class familiarized the crew with FDA food-handling standards and the plant. “We had to wear earplugs and hairnets, but were not allowed watches and jewelry,” says McFall.
Once qualified, McFall parked his trailer-mounted Model 184 Mongoose jetter outside a service door and dragged in the hoses. A forklift driver brought the Outpost inspection transport system from Envirosight LLC inside the building. The system powered the camera equipment, and WinCan V8 software (Envirosight) enabled McFall to make reports and DVDs of the inspection for the client and Herrell Plumbing.
“I couldn’t use a root or chain cutter to clean the larger lines because each had a double 45-degree bend,” says McFall. “The machines wouldn’t negotiate them, so I used the Warthog nozzle from StoneAge Inc. I probably could not have cleaned the pipes as well as I did without it.”
