Old Baltimore Townhouse Vapor System Repaired (Gordo)

Steamhead (in transit)

Are found here on Trane vapor systems, too.

And when new traps are installed, they are all too often piped incorrectly.

Here again, the steam was being fed directly into the dry return.

Those convector Trane B-1 traps sure are a PITA to rebuild!

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Steamhead (in transit)

Water Hammer is NOT normal operation.

Nor are leaking pipes. Nor, for that matter, is poor steam distribution.

The water hammer at the end of this longest main had finally eaten through the 2" pipe. The customer applied a patch of tape. We were called to fix the pipe.

Frank's (Steamhead's) hand is on the "air vent" from the F&T trap. The steam at the end of the main passed right through the trap and into the dry return with hardly a by-your-leave. The radiators at this end of the house didn't heat up very well.

It does not help when the trap is piped in wrong.

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Steamhead (in transit)

This is a picture of our repair.

We re-positioned the 1 1/2" take-off before the 2 1/2" by 2" eccentric reducing coupling to provide better steam flow.

The new pipe was properly pitched.

The trap discharge was properly vented.

We fired up the system...nice and quiet. But, the old Warren Webster 0026T at the short main (at the front of the house) was leaking steam.

We convinced the customer that the F&T traps should be either rebuilt, as in the case of the B&J, or replaced, as in the case of the 0026T.

We returned the next day to effect repairs.

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Steamhead (in transit)

The Vernerable Warren Webster 0026T

was replaced and now is part of the All Steamed Up's Heating museum.

When we went to rebuild the B&J trap, a surprise awaited us.
There was no thermostatic element in the old trap! It was just a drip trap with the place where the element would normally be plugged off.

With the proper trap now in place and properly piped in, the system now heats up as it should.

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gerry gill

well done..

what was the reason for the f&t traps? did the system have a condensate tank?

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Steamhead (in transit)

It was designed with a \"non-pressurized return\"

This was typical of Webster. Occasionally other Vapor systems used this design too, but many of the Webster Type R systems (with Return Traps) we see have non-pressurized returns. All drips in this system are "B" dimensions. All returning condensate goes past or thru the Return Trap, depending on boiler pressure.

Some older Type R systems with non-pressurized returns used large thermostatic traps on the steam main drips.

"Steamhead"

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gerry gill

do you think that

they may have done it that way because WW made and sold f&t traps so it was in their interest to design a system with them, or do you think there was a physics reason for it?

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Steamhead (in transit)

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Steamhead (in transit)

It may have been

that the lack of pressure in the wet return would mean less water lost if it leaked. This design may have come out before the Hartford Loop, but I can't say for sure.

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