financial pitfalls of mechanical steam traps blog

Steam Trap Efficiency

Do you ever think about how mechanical traps work and the mechanisms relationship with steam trap losses, energy waste and plant efficiency?

In any steam system where mechanical traps are used there can be significant costs from steam trap failure and excessive CO2 emissions due to extra boiler fuel being burnt to make up the wasted steam in a facility.

These costs include the following:

  • Boiler Fuel Costs – Steam Loss
  • Labor Hours to Repair or Replace Steam Traps
  • The Material Cost of Replaced Steam Traps
  • Unplanned Process Down Time (ie: $15,000/Hr)

Mechanical Steam Traps Explained

Since mechanical steam trap types rely and operate on the distinction between the gravity and density between steam and condensate, these steam trap system’s efficiency is less than ideal and harsh on energy savings. Steam leakage is common, but luckily there are ways to calculate steam loss and solutions to the problems related to these types of steam traps.

Steam Trap Audits

One way to keep up on your steam trap fleet is by conducting an annual steam audit (or survey). Many Plants/Facilities perform steam audits on a yearly basis, which can leave the plant vulnerable if steam traps fail during the time period between audits. Conventional mechanical steam traps often fail in an open position resulting in steam escaping the process system yielding environmental and financial losses that can add up quickly over time.

Venturi Steam Trap Technology

A relatively new design in steam traps is Venturi Technology. Instead of moving parts in a steam trap, Venturi technology uses the properties of the hot condensate and a designed pressure drop to create flash to keep the steam trapped in the system while constantly draining condensate without any opening/closing of moving parts.

Delta Venturi Steam Trap is a proven, permanent solution to failed mechanical steam traps; a steam trap that has no moving parts and has a factory warranty of 20 years. If you are not using Venturi Technology in your steam system, the chances are you currently have failed steam traps in your facility by using mechanical steam systems.

Implementing Venturi Steam Traps

Delta Steam Systems put together a Sample Steam Survey to show the cost of failed mechanical steam traps and a payback model by switching to Delta Venturi Steam Traps.
Download the full survey 
Download the survey report 

If you are looking to find ways to reduce energy, labor, downtime and material costs while making your facility a safer environment, we can help with our Delta Venturi Steam Trap.
Interested in a demo and complimentary steam trap survey?
About The Author

Greg Bayerl
Business Development – Process/MRO
Greg Bayerl is a Business Development Representative based in Buffalo, NY. He has been with the Peerless team for 6 years specializing in the MRO market.