A New Solution To An Old Problem

By Ilana Goldberg, CSI

Do you have sanitation problems with wall and ceiling penetrations in your processing plant?

Have you experienced thermal expansion, contraction, and water hammer in the piping, causing damage to the wall plate?

Have you seen the wall plates breaking away and sliding down the pipe, leaving an open hole in the wall?

When studying the design of a food processing facility, it is inevitable that some pipes must run through a wall or ceiling. While manufacturing processes have become more stringent and sanitary, piping penetration standards have become an afterthought.

For decades, the method to make a tube or pipe penetration consisted of drilling a hole in the wall and running the pipe through. What we see in most plants is foam or caulk to plug the hole, in combination with a stainless steel escutcheon plate, sealed to the wall with silicone caulking.

This method is acceptable at first. However, when the tubing experiences some movement — vibrations or thermal expansion and contraction — the plate breaks loose from the wall. The result is an exposed hole, which is not only unsightly, but it can lead to more serious issues: the inside of the wall now becomes a breeding ground for bacteria.