How do I know if my Venturi Steam Trap is working properly?
Venturi style traps are meant to provide that peace of mind you are looking for but understanding they are working properly after installation is important too.
In this article, we are going to discuss how to check if your Venturi steam trap is working properly.
Testing the Steam Trap
Once a Venturi steam trap is in-line running, the simplest way of testing the trap is by using ultrasonic steam trap testing equipment. This equipment measures vibration and temperature at the same time. If the trap is leaking steam, the readings will be high on the steam trap tester.
The high reading indicates that the trap is leaking steam and a smaller insert venturi needs to be fitted.
If the temperature is low, then the insert is too small and it needs to be sized up.
If the temperature matches the required steam temperature but the reading on the ultrasonic device is low, then the insert is sized correctly.
Steam waste can be extremely costly to any steam producer and knowing your Venturi trap is working properly will give peace of mind to your maintenance staff, operators and production.
Having one failed open steam trap can cost a facility up to $1,000/annually of wasted steam. Now multiply that number by the number of traps you have at the facility, and that cost can add up very quickly, so its important to check its working properly.
As their popularity continues to grow, facilities are moving away from the use of conventional traps like inverted bucket, thermodynamic and thermostatic steam traps, and installing Venturi’s instead.
Venturi style traps are still relatively new to the steam industry but they’ve proven to be highly efficient, long lasting and a better choice for maintaining plant efficiency than mechanical traps. They’ve improved plant efficiency and substantially lower maintenance costs.
If you have any questions, feel free to send us an inquiry online or call us at 1-800-234-3033 and we will make sure to get back to you as soon as possible.