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.
How do I know if my steam trap is failing?
Excess Steam Discharge (Stuck Open) With the valve open, hot steam discharges continually. More than likely dirt has accumulated on the valve seat or the trap bellows has failed. You can detect this by sound but, due to the trap being hot (it’s passing steam), it also means the system is not heating properly.
How often should steam traps be replaced?
every three to four years
Preventive Maintenance Schedules However, low-pressure traps with rates below 30 psig can be checked monthly or even annually. On average, steam traps are replaced every three to four years.
What causes a steam trap to fail?
Dirt – by far the leading cause of failure resulting in either a leaking or plugged trap. Pressure surges (due to sudden steam valve openings, improper piping, or trap misapplications) resulting in water-hammer and subsequent damage to the internal steam trap components.
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.
What are the three types of steam traps?
Steam traps can be divided into three different types based on their operating principles:
- Mechanical Steam Traps.
- Thermodynamic Steam Traps.
- Thermostatic Steam Traps.
- Applications Suited to the Free Float® Type.
- Applications Suited to the Disc-Type.
- Applications Suited to the Thermostatic Type.
How often do steam traps fail?
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the annual failure rate of steam traps is approximately 5 percent.
How often should steam traps be inspected?
every three months
Paffel reported that the best practice is to test steam traps every three months, until the failure rate is 3 percent or lower. Once that benchmark has been achieved, plant stakeholders should continue testing traps at least every six months.
What kind of insulation do you use for steam pipes?
fiberglass insulation
Traditionally, stay-in-place fiberglass insulation is used to insulate steam pipes, particularly for residential purposes but also for commercial use. The fiberglass insulation comes in varying thicknesses from ½” to 2”+ depending on the size of the pipe and its operating temperature.
How do I choose a steam trap?
Application type, system design and maintenance needs will influence the performance and selection of steam traps. Factors such as waterhammer, dirt, steam locking, group trapping, vacuum conditions and temperature control of processes are discussed in this tutorial.
How do you identify a steam trap?
Several methods are used to test the operating condition of a steam trap to determine if it is working properly, including visual observation, measuring temperature, measuring sound/vibrations or ultrasound, and some combination of these methods.