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what do we mean by bullheaded tees?

HoyteKing
HoyteKing Member Posts: 85
in Strictly Steam
I have found what seems to me are two bullheaded tees on our system. Are these something that needed fixing? Am I understanding the definition correctly?



The system is unbalanced, but the two main problems are no header return exists, and very little venting exists on the mains. Assuming these two problems are taken care of, would I want to have these tees taken care of, also?



Anecdotally, I have been told that sometimes seemingly minor changes to a system can have a startlingly significant impact on how well a system runs.



The first photo is near the end of the water return.



<a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/nhbpd4ffmt3wsko/bullheaded%20tee%20on%20return%20line.JPG">https://www.dropbox.com/s/nhbpd4ffmt3wsko/bullheaded%20tee%20on%20return%20line.JPG</a>



The next two photos are a branch line off of one of the runs.



<a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/n32akipi0rzbsqr/515%20steam%20line%20vent%20and%20bull%20tee.JPG">https://www.dropbox.com/s/n32akipi0rzbsqr/515%20steam%20line%20vent%20and%20bull%20tee.JPG</a>



<a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/r3mge0oh2m32q4y/515%20steam%20line%20bull%20tee.JPG">https://www.dropbox.com/s/r3mge0oh2m32q4y/515%20steam%20line%20bull%20tee.JPG</a>

Comments

  • lza
    lza Member Posts: 40
    bullheaded tee

    A bullheaded tee means the flow enters the branch of the tee, rather than one of the runs (the runs being opposite one another, the branch perpindicular). 



    In the first pic, one of the runs is capped off, so that is not really an issue.  Bullheading a tee is a poor piping practice, but it might not be worth changing.  I would take care of the bigger issues first!
  • Jamie Hall
    Jamie Hall Member Posts: 23,275
    The only time

    a bullheaded T can present serious flow problems is when flow enters both runs (the crossbar) and exits through the branch (the leg).  The flow head loss and turbulence in that case is quite large.  The other possible configurations for flow through a T are nowhere near as bad.



    Considering just the T itself.  There may be other, very good reasons for not wanting a specific configuration!
    Br. Jamie, osb
    Building superintendent/caretaker, 7200 sq. ft. historic house museum with dependencies in New England
  • jgs2nd
    jgs2nd Member Posts: 10
    speaking of Tees

    Just curious... I'm noticing a balancing issue with a "U" shaped building. Two large (8") steam mains run down to the front of each side of the U. One side of the building is running a couple of degrees cooler than the other. Both sides have equal main vents (4 Gorton #2s each side).

    Could the piping arrangement be the cause? The header off the boiler supplies both mains. The first (cooler side of building) off the header comes off a branch T. The second main comes off the Run of the T. Is it possible that the flow of steam favors this "straight shot" to the point of minutes in difference reaching the end of each main?

    Gerry Gill suggested in another post that I time the mains... Going to do this and post my findings but I'd thought I'd ask some more knowledgable folks...
  • HoyteKing
    HoyteKing Member Posts: 85
    I live in a U-shaped building

    I would be very interested in a discussion on U shaped buildings. As you can see, my building is U shaped.

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