How hot should the condensate line in the boiler get?

Brad White_203

that you are running steam at normal low pressures (1-2 PSIG), your steam will be about 215 degrees F. and the pipe surface (as measured with a contact thermistor or very good IR thermometer) should read about 3/4 to half a degree below that on bare pipe.

Any return pipe under 212 degrees would surely contain condensate. Typically, I have yet to see a condensate line over 200 degrees in low pressure systems. Most are way below that, 180F or so, but this depends on how much bare pipe precedes it.

If you were running high pressure, the condensate can certainly be above 215 degrees but still would be cooler than the steam from which it originated, even if superheated.

If the piping is at about the same temperature (IOW, containing steam for sure), it may not be a trap issue but potentially a forgotten manual bypass valve that is not fully seated, a check valve with debris under the clapper or other bypass path yet to be discovered.

sreja

How hot should the condensate line in the boiler get?

There is some steam coming back through the condensate line(s) in our boiler room sometimes..

Even when i can't see steam coming out, the condensate lines are burning hot -- much too hot to keep my hand on.

Is that normal? how hot should the condensate line be?

NOTE:
we have just finished replacing every trap in the entire building (84 of them plus 4 F+Ts).. so steam in the return condensate line is confusing me.

Jamie Hall

I might add

that condensate pipes, even at 180, are way too hot to put a hand on. Get a good thermometer, as Brad says, before you panic...

MikeyB

traps

Even though they are new traps, one or more might be passing live steam, do you have test tee's installed on the out lets of the new traps? this would be able to identify a passing trap. We just installed close to 70 new traps in our bldg last winter, mostly f&t, and about a dozen thermostatic, all of which we installed with test tee's on the outlets, makes for more efficient steam trap testing..