steamhead and all steam gurus

joe_14

hi gentelmen

this is a follow up on my steam in the return problem. i have set up a trap testing satstion in the boiler and have started to test the traps. what i am finding is when i put steam to the trap i am testing. i am not getting steam but i do get a drop of water about one every five seconds. is this normal or a bad trap, this is my first time testing traps. what so i be looking for.

  i also did a test on the f&t traps. i did this by breaking the union on the outlet side of the f&t,i am doing this with the system under pressure,what i am finding is that there is no steam comming out of the outlet side of the f&t but i am geting a steady flow of water. i thought i was only going to see water when the level in the trap rose enough to lift the ball off the drain hole and discharge the condensate. is this correct. if so am i getting the staedy stream of condensate from the thermostat side of the f&t. which would mean that the termostatic side of the f&T. is bad

 also when iam doing this test i am getting steam out of the return , so the serach is still on to find the culprit or culprits.

any info you can give me would be greatly appreciated

  thank you   joe g.

gerry gill

if your thermostat failed

open you would get constant steam passing thru.



constant water from the f&t would be normal. If enough water has filled the chamber to lift the float remember more is also still coming in.

Steamhead

Agreed

The traps you describe are working properly- letting air and water thru, but closing against steam.

joe_14

steamhead&company

thank you for the advice and help. i have found four bad traps so far still have the second and third floors to do . i will keep you posted on my progress.

with respect    joe g

joe_14

how much steam

hi gentelmen;



when testing the traps i have had some that would show signs of some steam. not much some had just a little coming from them hardly noticeable. while others would not show any steam ,but every now and then would give off a slight puff of steam. are these traps good or should they be replace. also can f&t traps be rebuilt or do they have to be replaced.

again thanks for you help i know i have been asking a lot of questions but i want to get this right. and also just love this cool stuff they call steam



joe g

Steamhead

The only ones you should keep

are those which puff every so often. By this you can see that they open and close as they should. The rest either have bad seats or bellows, and should be rebuilt with new innards.



F&T traps generally can be rebuilt. However, it is well to standardize on one type of trap in a small building, or two or maybe three in a larger one where going to just one type would involve replacing a lot of traps. So you would have to replace at least some of the traps to do this.



We like the standard 6-bolt type of F&T where all the working parts are mounted on a faceplate that is attached to the body by six bolts. This makes repairs and cleaning easy, and does not limit you to one manufacturer for repair parts or complete traps. I believe Sarco was the first or one of the first to use this design, and now you can get traps using this type of faceplate from Tunstall, Barnes & Jones and even Hoffman. Faceplates from different manufacturers are interchangeable with these traps.



What type of F&T traps do you have now?

joe_14

traps type

hi steamhead

the traps are sarrco type h 3/4 inch.  the f&ts are also sarrco 3/4 inch

 i cant thank you enough for all you help and expert advice. your explanations of how things work is starting to paint a picture in my mind.



i will keep you posted on how i make out. we should have all trap testing done by monday or tues. hope to have new traps  in by end of week



with much respect  joe g

p.s. the f&ts are 6 bolt as you describe. can i  take these apart without breaking or should i have new gasket on hand.

joe_14

follow up to last post

steamhead does that mean that the traps i have tested that show steam and condensate when i put steam to them ,then close when steam hits them, i didnt wait to see if they would open again,i left them on the test station for only a couple of minutes. are these traps ok.



thanksjoe g

Steamhead

The ones you described this way

"would not show any steam ,but every now and then would give off a slight puff of steam"



are the good ones. These are closing against steam as they should. If you get just a bit of steam when you begin your test and then the trap closes tight, it's OK.



Any trap that passes a constant flow of steam, no matter how small, should be rebuilt.

joe_14

f&t test what i have found

i have done a broken union test under steam pressure, this is what i am finding. .when i break the union on the discharge of the f&t i get a steady drip of condensate. the only steam i am getting is a very small amount  more in the way of vapor. i think this is because of the live steam in the returns . my feeling is that the f&ts are ok. what is you advice on this. am i on the right track.



thank you joe g