Co-Op Food Retail CO₂ Safety Compliance

Lincoln Co-op is a new flagship concept store for the Lincolnshire Co-op Group in the United Kingdom. The food retail store required a suitable leak detection system to be fitted to its CO₂ compressor pack. Leak detection was required to ensure regulatory compliance and the safety and wellbeing of staff and customers alike.

Ultra Refrigeration, who work closely with the Lincolnshire Co-op Group, contacted Climalife UK to see which leak detection product would be the most suitable for this installation. The robust and innovative Bacharach MGS-400 series was chosen because of it’s cost effectiveness and ease of installation- utilizing Bluetooth communications for the set-up process.

CO₂ Safety Limits and Compliance

Despite the fact that new, well-designed refrigeration systems are efficient and leak free, other external factors should also be considered. Improper installation, inadvertent damage or mechanical wear can still result in potentially hazardous refrigerant leaks.

The MGS-400 Gas Detection series is a comprehensive and flexible solution for CO₂ gas detection, consisting of three main components: CO₂ sensors, controllers and an innovative mobile app. The MGS-400 series provides innovative solutions for extreme temperature refrigeration environments, helping reduce carbon dioxide refrigerant emissions for safety compliance and is suitable for use in:

• Machinery Rooms
• Walk-in Freezers
• Cold Rooms
• Chiller Rooms

Bacharach’s CO₂ gas detection solutions provide continuous CO₂ safety monitoring to support regulatory compliance in accordance with EN 378, ASHRAE 15 and CSA-B52. In the UK, EH40 guidance sets the Short Term Exposure Limit (STEL) at 15,000 ppm and Long Term Exposure Limit (LTEL) at 5,000 ppm. Some EU countries, such as Sweden, have an STEL limit of 10,000 ppm and in the United States, OSHA states 30,000 ppm. What’s important to know is that whatever the regional requirements are, the MGS-400 series carbon dioxide monitors have you covered which is why this was chosen for this particular application.

Exposure Limit	Long Term (8 hours)	Short Term (15 mins)
HSE	5,000 ppm	15,000 ppm
OSHA	5,000 ppm	30,000 ppm

 

MGS-400 series gas detectors offer integrated audio and visual alarms which comply with safety regulations and maintain performance in temperatures as cold as -40° F/C. The MGS-400 series offers IP66 rated protection, designed for use in areas that are regularly washed down or prone to water or condensation. What’s more, for easy wiring access, the MGS-400 gas detectors are designed for easy access to all terminal blocks, and specifically include separate power terminals for in and out connections.

The refrigerant gas detectors can be connected to a smart phone (Android or iOS) via Bluetooth, using the Bacharach MGS-400 App. The app makes commissioning and maintenance intuitive and requires no special tools or training in order to set up the alarm behavior or thresholds. It also gives the user a real time reading of the PPM levels of the refrigerant being detected.

Ease of Installation and Setup

The detector was fitted to the CO₂ compressor pack, manufactured by Ultra Refrigeration. The detector was very easy to install and only required a few electrical connections including power and outputs. Set up was simple via Bluetooth and the MGS-400 app.

Anthony Lomas, operations director at Ultra Refrigeration, said: “We’ve just finished set-up and commissioning of our second device which has now become a standard on our CO₂ packs for Lincolnshire Co-op Group.”

“The integrated alarm provides a reliable warning for persons entering the plant room should CO₂ be present, and connection to the site’s RDM DM Touch means we can remotely monitor the system for pending failures due to leaks, even if very small and not posing a safety issue.” Anthony Lomas continued, “set-up using the Bluetooth connection and iPhone app was a breeze and simplified the whole process. Aside from learning how to make the initial connection, there was no need to consult the installation manual or to navigate a complicated parameter list.”

Conclusion

With the MGS-400 series carbon dioxide gas detection device deployed at the Lincoln Co-op flagship concept store, owners, staff and customers alike could breathe easy. Safe in the knowledge that any carbon dioxide leak in the store would be reliably reported so that corrective action could be carried out in good time. If you want to learn more about how Bacharach refrigerant gas detectors can improve you system performance and keep you compliant, get in contact with us today.