Thermostatic radiator traps

abennett

Is it recommended to replace all of the radiator steam traps if they are over 5 years old?

Can a faulty trap be identified in place or should all traps in the line be replaced if it has been determined that a trap or traps are faulty?

Gary Fereday

Rad. Traps

Perhaps you should invest in a infrared thermometer. Then you can point it at a trap and determine if it is leaking. There is temperture setting that traps work at. Hey Dan, is that something that is on heatinghelp.com worth getting "off the wall" for a moment?

Unknown

trap testing station.

A way to test traps if all are the same model, is to put a valve and a trap body on a steam line near the boiler and plug an element into it. Don't connect the outlet. Turn on the valve and see if it holds steam and drains water.

This can be effective if you buy a few trap elements, and change a few out, test them, and put them in on the next few that you check.

Another way to do this, in place, is to shut off the whole system, and close all of the valves to the radiation. With cold piping, turn on the boiler, and run it at as low a pressure as you can, under a pound, if possible.

The traps on the radiation are out of the loop, now. You can check the traps on the mains to see if the return pipe beyond the traps is warm, or scalding hot. If the piping is as hot as the trap, a foot or more away, that trap is passing steam. Check all of the traps on the mains as soon as possible after startup. If all of the traps on the main are holding, the return won't get above 90-120 degrees, right at start-up time. Try to get to this point, at least.

Once the mains hold steam, turn on a single radiator and check it's trap. Turn it back off so that the return stays cool, and do it again on the next one. I would CHECK them all, but not buy any replacement parts till all of them are checked. Then I'd change, all at once, the bad ones.

Checking them this way doesn't disturb the old gasket and seat seal inside until it is time to open them and fix them. Using the trap testing station is more accurate at testing for fine leaks like a wiredrawn seat would produce, but temperature testing in place will give you a quiet system that is pretty tight.

Testing in place will give you a pretty good feel for the scope and size of the job before spending any money, as well.

Noel

DanHolohan

Yep

Down in the lower part of this one: http://www.heatinghelp.com/newsletter.cfm?Id=54