When it comes to your business’s steam needs, choosing a quality steam trap system is essential for the lowest energy use and cost over time. Why? Steam traps are used to filter out condensation and air without allowing steam to escape. In other words, they keep your heating system from losing its most important part: the steam.
Spirax offers multiple different types of steam traps and valves depending on your needs. There are mechanical traps, thermo-dynamic traps, and thermostatic traps, each of which handle condensation differently. They also offer multiple different quality valves (including Spence valves which are ASME and API 527 tested) and steam vents. Spirax steam traps come with a quality guarantee and immediate nationwide shipping.
Aside from Spirax, other brands include Armstrong, Hoffman, and Mepco, each of which offer a similar variety of equipment and credentials. For example, Hoffman steam traps include the Thermostatic BearTrap, which is not offered by other steam trap companies. When choosing the right company and steam trap for your system, you’ll want to take note of size, type, price, shipping, and how well it may work with the equipment you already have.
When purchasing steam traps, it’s also important to pay attention to maintenance needs. Standard systems come with a one year warranty and last three to seven years depending on upkeep, location, and usage. In order to give your system the longest life possible, you’ll need to have regularly scheduled maintenance performed. In steam systems that are not maintained for three or more years, up to 30% of the installed traps may fail, resulting in $8,000 in steam waste every year. To avoid the heavy financial and energy cost of a failing steam trap, it’s imperative to pay attention to your system’s maintenance needs.
A good rule of thumb for scheduling maintenance is that higher pressure systems (150 PSIG and above) should be inspected weekly to monthly, whereas systems with lower pressures (30 PSIG and below) can be inspected once per year.
In steam systems that undergo routine maintenance, less than 5% of the traps fail. With quality equipment from companies like Spirax, and others that produce high efficiency traps, and a regular maintenance program that ensures maximum performance, steam loss can be reduced to less than 1%, saving your company thousands of dollars annually.
To learn more about Spirax steam traps, steam trap parts, and the best option for your facility, visit www.albindustrial.com.
