REFRIGERATION drain blockage is a major cause of floods in supermarkets, creating headaches for store managers and maintenance staff alike. Teeside-based Cleveland Biotech says it can offer a natural solution to the problem of gel blockages in condensate drains with its FridgeFree automatic dosing system.
The problem-causing gel, which analysis has shown to be an exopolysaccharide, is secreted by bacteria in a nutrient-deficient environment. It forms in the condensate drains serving refrigeration units causing blockages and floods.

The main cause of this gel would appear to be the lack of fall in these pipes, as they are often laid directly on the shopfloor allowing the relatively warm condensate water to pool in the pipework. In Cleveland Biotech’s experience these gel blockages occur most frequently in the HT units, and then chiefly in the dairy, meat and produce counters.

The gel can, however, affect any refrigeration line, and some lines, often adjacent, will remain unaffected.

According to Cleveland Biotech, these problems can also occur in air conditioning units, and the FridgeFree system has proved to be equally effective in preventing floods in these applications.

Floods in supermarkets are not only unsightly and expensive to fix, but they can be a health and safety issue. There is also the problem of de-merchandised refrigerators and lost revenue.

Automatic dosing

The FridgeFree system itself is an automatically dosed bio-fluid, discretely located on top or underneath the relevant refrigeration unit. The fluid is dosed directly into the condensate drain line or sump depending on the nature of the specific problem.

The unit itself is timed to dose a fixed amount of fluid each day and will run unattended for three months. Cleveland Biotech’s team of in-house service engineers will install and maintain each unit ensuring that they never run out of fluid.

The bio-fluid itself is a blend of bacillus spores and natural surfactants which together act to break-down and then prevent the gel from reforming.

The product itself is environmentally friendly and contains no biocides. This means the product has no detrimental impact on the environment down stream of the chiller.

FridgeFree units are currently installed in most major national supermarket chains and results to date have been excellent, says the company. One supermarket maintenance manager is reported as saying “Cleveland Biotech installed FridgeFree systems as a trial at a store with a long history of refrigeration drain blockages usually every three to four weeks. Since installation, three months ago, there have been no further blockages and the drains are free-running. It looks like a solution to one of our major problems.”

As long as the units are installed and maintained correctly then gel blockages do not recur, says Cleveland Biotech

Cleveland Biotech 01642 606 606