Table of Contents
Can you oversize a steam trap?
Oversizing steam traps can be equally as problematic as oversizing traps can cool the condensate prior to discharge. A failed oversized trap has a larger orifice opening that can potentially blow through larger quantities of steam and waste more energy.
How does a Spirax Sarco steam trap work?
Liquid expansion steam trap An oil filled element expands when heated to close the valve against the seat. The adjustment allows the temperature of the trap discharge to be altered between 60°C and 100°C, which makes it ideally suited as a device to get rid of large quantities of air and cold condensate at start-up.
Should a steam trap be insulated?
Steam Traps need to be insulated! According the U.S. Department of Energy: Effectively insulate inverted bucket traps with removable and reusable snap-on insulation. Thermostatic traps and disk traps should be insulated according to manufacturers’ specifications to ensure proper operation.
How hot should a steam trap be?
Determining whether the steam trap station is operational For example, in Figure 2, the temperature on the steam line entering the process is 299°F; therefore, the steam trap body temperature should be at or close to the inlet temperature. This is a true statement for 96% of the steam process applications.
How do you size a steam trap?
A large number of steam users improperly select trap size based on the size of existing piping. However, trap size should closely match the size of the piping on the outlet side of the equipment that supplies condensate to the trap. 15 mm [1/2 in.]
How do you know if a steam trap is bad?
Condensate should usually be flowing through a trap, and the sound should have a lower pitch. So, if this sound changes and appears much closer to a higher pitched sound like that of steam flow, then the trap may have a large amount of flash steam or may be leaking live steam and should be inspected further.
What happens when steam trap fails?
When a steam trap fails open, it simply acts like an open valve and hence, a lot of steam would leak through it. As a result, the overall steam consumption of the plant will go up, reducing the efficiency of the operation.
What is back pressure in steam trap?
The ‘back pressure’ is the pressure just downstream of the steam trap. In other words, back pressure is the outlet or secondary pressure of the trap. The difference between a trap’s inlet (primary) pressure and back pressure is called the ‘differential pressure’.
What is pressure drop across steam trap?
When a steam trap passes condensate from the working pressure (130 psig) to the condensate system pressure (2 psig), the condensate contains excess energy above the liquid saturation level at the lower pressure. This excess energy causes some of the liquid to flash into steam.
What is the pressure after steam trap?
After steam trap, each meter of elevation of the pipeline equals 0,11 barg back pressure.
Can you Hydro a steam trap?
The Fenix design of Hydro-dynamic steam trap can be applied to almost all steam trapping locations. The none mechanical design relies on the natural physics of steam and condensate to preferentially discharge the condensate at the rate it is formed.
How do I know if my steam trap is bad?
Ultrasound is best for Monitoring Steam Traps Steam is a gas and as it flows through piping and steam traps there is turbulent flow, or lack thereof. Ultrasound technology’s ability to detect turbulence, even through thick piping makes it an essential tool when looking for faulty, failed steam traps.
How do you know when a steam trap fails?
When a steam trap fails open, steam will blow through the trap and energy is wasted. With the valve open, hot steam discharges continually. More than likely dirt has accumulated on the valve seat or the trap bellows has failed.