Steam trap

Three views of a c.1885 steam trap. The general appearance of this arrangement is as in Fig. 1 or Fig. 3, the center view, Fig. 2, shows the cardinal feature of this trap, that it contains a collector for silt, sand, or sediment which is not, as in most other traps of the time, carried out through the valve with the efflux of water.

A steam trap is a device used to discharge condensates and non-condensable gases with a negligible consumption or loss of live steam. Steam traps are nothing more than automatic valves. They open, close or modulate automatically.[1] The three important functions of steam traps are:

  • Discharge condensate as soon as it is formed (unless it is desirable to use the sensible heat of the liquid condensate)
  • Have a negligible steam consumption (i.e. be energy efficient)
  • Have the capability of discharging air and other non-condensable gases.
  1. ^ Steam Trap Performance Assessment: Advanced Technologies for Evaluating the Performance of Steam Traps. DIANE Publishing. 1999. pp. 5–. ISBN 978-1-4289-1880-1.