The majority of blog posts this year described steam boilers and how they work. Tlv.com (Trouble Less Valve), steam trap experts and creators, defines steam as “the gas formed when water passes from the liquid to the gaseous state.” Steam is still widely used for large-scale industrial applications and electrical power plants. Unfortunately, steam-producing processes often waste energy by releasing excess gases, which concerns many individuals and business owners. Thankfully, energy-efficient machines like condensing boilers and steam traps exist to help with this problem and save them money.
What is a Steam Trap? What is the Purpose of a Steam Trap?
To ensure safe working environments in industrial workplaces and when using machinery in a residential setting, the US government sets standards for national and global priorities. The ANSI, or American National Standards Institute, defines a Steam Trap as a “Self-contained valve which automatically drains the condensate from a steam-containing enclosure while remaining tight to live steam, or if necessary, allowing steam to flow at a controlled or adjusted rate.”
When steam-based heating processes lose latent heat, the energy that converts a liquid into a gas, the steam left over condenses and becomes condensate. A steam trap removes the condensate, which causes steam boilers to heat up less efficiently from the steam. For a more detailed explanation of condensate recovery, please click the word at the beginning of this paragraph. To visualize the steam trap process more clearly, please visit http://bit.ly/3xTuxpH.
Why Use Steam Traps?
“Constant condensate removal is essential to the successful operation of the heating system,” claims an educational article from CSI Heat. This company has provided heating solutions to plants across the globe for fifty years. Specialists worldwide believe steam traps must be used by individuals and businesses relying on steam boilers to ensure mechanical efficiency, thus securing their financial investment.
Two of the three websites referenced above, tlv.com and csiheat.com, contain articles with quotes explaining why it is essential to consult a heating professional like Engineering Energy Equipment when maintaining steam-based mechanisms with steam traps.
- TLV Article
“No matter how durable a steam trap may be, like any mechanical device, it will eventually need repair and/or replacement. The longer a trap is in service, the more opportunity it has to wear.”
- CSI Heat Article
“The type of steam trap utilized can influence the type of maintenance and schedule as some are more robust and reliable than others. All traps eventually fail, and trap surveys commonly report that a third of a plants’ trap population does not function properly.”
EEE assists with referring the client to the perfect type of steam trap required for their specific situation and maintaining the steam trap after that.
References
https://www2.tlv.com/en-us/steam-info/steam-theory/steam-basics/what-is-steam (not linked to the blog post, but used for the steam Definition)
https://www2.tlv.com/en-us/steam-info/steam-theory/condensate-recovery/introduction-to-condensate-recovery (not specifically mentioned, but linked to the word condensate)
https://www2.tlv.com/en-us/steam-info/steam-theory/steamtrap-basics/what-is-a-steam-trap or http://bit.ly/3xTuxpH
https://www2.tlv.com/en-us/steam-info/steam-theory/trap-considerations/steam-trap-management
