Steam Trap Testing

All steam traps fail with the typical service life being from less than one year to a large number of years before failure occurs. Traps should be checked at least twice a year since a single small trap can waste over $1,500.00 of steam per year.

A properly working steam trap will be hot and quiet. The definition of hot is an inlet temperature about equal to the temperature of steam at the inlet pressure. As examples, 50 psig steam is 298 F, 100 psig steam is 338 F, and similar numbers from a steam table. Contact us if you need a copy of steam table for reference. The outlet temperature for traps discharging to a vented receiver or deaerator should be 200-225 F. An infrared gun is the best device to perform this temperature scan.

Once you have determined that the trap has a proper temperature profile, a vibration check needs to be taken of the trap to determine if it is leaking or blowing steam. A screw driver held to the top of the trap can sometimes give an indication of leakage or blowing but a vibration pen is the better way to make this test.

Vibration testing combined with temperature is the most reliable method to test traps.