Corrosion Solutions Treatment
There are many ideas on how to treat a sprinkler system once corrosion has been detected: flush the system and refill, pump the system full of toxic biocides to try to kill bacteria, replace bad pipe with new, thicker pipe. None of these solutions, however, protect your system, your environment, and your wallet as well as Potter Pipe-Shield™.
Potter Pipe-Shield™ is Potter's patent pending biostatic environmentally friendly corrosion inhibitor. It was specifically developed to protect wet, dry and pre-action fire sprinkler systems from MIC (Microbiologically Influenced Corrosion) and oxygen corrosion. The inhibitor works by forming a molecular bond on the pipe wall which in turn provides a barrier for oxygen cell and bacteria related corrosion. Potter Pipe-Shield™ was developed with the environment in mind and is non-regulated, non-hazardous and completely biodegradable.
Potter Pipe-Shield™ is easy to inject with the portable Potter Chemical Injection System (PCIS) and easy to monitor with a simple color changing test. The results from the Potter Pipe-Shield™ Test Kit (Stock # 1119170) will tell the user if there is enough residual of Potter Pipe-Shield™ remaining in the system to protect from corrosive forces.
How Does Potter Pipe-Shield™ Work?
To understand how Potter Pipe-Shield™ works we must review how MIC and oxygen cell corrosion occurs.
Stainless Steel protects itself from corrosion by attracting a complete oxygen layer to the exposed steel. This oxygen layer keeps free radical oxygen and MIC causing bacterium from penetrating into the steel and causing corrosion. When the surface of stainless steel is scratched, oxygen is "taken" from the air and heals the scratched area. This is why stainless steel does not rust. Black iron also has a layer of oxygen on top of the metal; but it has "holes" in it and allows free radical oxygen and MIC bacterium to penetrate the surface. The result is oxygen cell or MIC corrosion.
Potter Pipe-Shield™ works by forming a complete layer over the oxygen layer. The holes that exist in the oxygen layer are effectively protected from oxygen cell and MIC corrosion. Potter Pipe-Shield™ accomplishes this as it is a polymer which has a positive (+) or "cationic" charge. The oxygen layer on the surface of the iron has a negative (-) or "anionic" charge. Attraction of the positively charged Potter Pipe-Shield™ to the negatively charged oxygen layer is complete and results in a chemical bond. An effective wall is formed blocking the penetration of oxygen free radicals and MIC bacterium.
If the surface of the piping is "scratched", maintenance levels of Potter Pipe-Shield™ repair the area much in the same way oxygen in the air repairs stainless steel. New additions of piping, valves, alarms, sprinklers, etc. are also automatically coated using this same principle. Potter Pipe-Shield™ only coats one molecule thick and avoids interference with sprinklers or the function of the fire sprinkler system.
Finally, an environmentally friendly health conscious solution exists for oxygen cell and MIC corrosion in Fire Sprinkler Systems. Contact your Potter representative today!