fintube radiation

bob young

i never saw it done but one of my friend's men connected it as such and i was curious how it was going to work out. trap was delivered by mistake by supply house and mechanic simply installed it . way oversized in my estimation. ten ft. 1 1/4 " steel fintube with one inch return. of course they used a one inch trap ! i would think 1/2 " would be enough. got a feeling that trap is gonna be a bit pricey when they get the invoice.

bob young

FIN-TUBE RADIATION

can a thermodynamic steam trap be used on the return of fin-tube radiation. two pipe steam system

Ken_40

Interesting quesion!

I never thought about it, but cannot see why it couldn't work.

I assume we are NOT talking about a 3/4" copper HWBB unit, rather true fin-tube as in 1-1/4 minimum and not over 12' in length?

It would also be workable, as long as no other trap can back-feed the T/Dtrap and close it before it's supposed to close properly?

tp tunstall

t-d trap

are not normally recommended in low pressure applications

Christian Egli_2

My Fin tubes

Of course, it's sheer arrogance on my part to add to the T. P. Tunstall advice, nonetheless my world in Dayton is filled with steel fin tubes that are mostly way longer than 12 feet... Nothing really wrong, only until traps clog and condensate backs up, then there is induced hammering to break everything, and turn traps into crushed metal balls. But this only happens if the radiator tube is sagging in just the bad way.

When do traps clog? when there's a lot of dirt in them! and saggy steel tubes are very dirty. Thermodynamic traps being touchy feely on dirt, I'm not sure steel fin tube is the best place for them - plus, they don't vent air like thermostatic traps unless there's lots of pressure differential. But... a one inch trap has got to be massive...

My tips

I have been repiping long fin tubes with a dirt pocket on the exit and the trap set on the vertical drop, well below the tube. This separates dirt and moves the accumulating condensate puddle out of the tube itself - I back it up in the drop leg.

That's all. Thanks for bearing with me.