Orientation/feed direction of a radiator trap

mcsteamy

I bought some traps to use as main vents.  I can't find the answer to these questions anywhere:



1) Does it matter which orientation they are installed in, i.e. can the bellows sit vertically or upside down?

2) Will the traps work if fed in reverse, i.e. steam comes in from the discharge? 



The first question I don't see why not, but any field experience would be appreciated. 



The second question, it would be nice to install backwards to facilitate drainage of any condensate, but it seems like the vent might open prematurely since the steam would not contact the bellows once the trap closed, but perhaps there would still be enough heat there to make it work?



As for why I am using $100 traps instead of Gorton #2s, seemed like a good idea at about $20 apiece surplus on eBay and venting faster than a Gorton... 

Dave in QCA

my experience

you want the steam to enter though the inlet, that is where the element is located. As to whether or not they will work if you turn it upside down, I don't see why not. I used a few Mepco 1E traps as main vents and they worked fine. They only occasionally dropped a drip of water. If upside down, probably none at all.



I later hooked mine up to the return lines as crossover traps, the way the system was intended in the first place. Or rather, I should say my contractor did this.

mcsteamy

Well...

The vents came a day early, so I stuck them on last night, elements in vertical orientation since I didn't have any pipe fittings on hand.  I don't know if it's the ball mechanism that Barnes uses or the orientation, but the vent I screwed on leaks a bit of steam even when closed.  I'm going to try fitting it on with a 90 so the element is horizontal but upside-down, with a length of 3/4" pipe to condense any escaping steam. Still, it seems like they shouldn't leak at all once they close.



This house is somewhat of a challenge because it is extremely well insulated (UFFI foam in 6" walls) and has minimal leakage--comparable to a newer, normal house per a blower door test.  So the radiation is, of course, all grossly oversized at this point, and firing cycles are short, which means heat needs to be where it needs to be right now.



These monsters vent like crazy, but still not enough.  Best it's been, though.  The problem area has a "T" setup on the main, with the teed branch starting about 10' from the end of the main, and then running out another 30 feet with its own dry return which vents the Tee and (of  course) the main.  The "T" feeds the MBR and two huge radiators in front of a 17' wide window, while the main after that picks up one tiny little riser and a medium radiator.  I think another 134A monster on a tree on the tees dry return, with the slow old Dole #4 to vent the last 10' of that main should about do it. 



We'll see.