Group Condensation Trapping

Connecting a Single Steam Trap to More Than One Machine

Our question today is "Group Steam Trap", that is, is it appropriate to connect a single steam trap to more than one machine/ coil ?

First answer: no. So why?

Let's look at the figure below:

In the process, even if the product is loaded at the same time and the steam inlets are opened at the same time, the steam will naturally enter first the pot A, then the pots B, C and D respectively. Of course, the first condensation will also be in the pot A. When the steam fills the empty jacket, its pressure will be relatively higher than that of pots B, C and D. With the same process starting in B, C and finally D respectively, the steam inlet pressures will be the same, but the outlet pressures will decrease sequentially. Now, according to the “Law of Compound Vessels”, it is time for the pressure to equalize. The condensate discharged from A will go to the jacket of B, the condensate discharged from B will go to the jacket of C, which will go to the jacket of D. Therefore, as the process moves away from the inlet, the steam intake will become more difficult, in other words, the heating period will increase.

Be sure not to connect a single steam trap to two or three coils. In fact, due to the nature of the work, after a while these steam traps will not be able to withstand the accumulation in front of them and will leak steam.

Final note: If that were to be the case, all the machine outlets in the factory would be combined and the job would be completed with a single steam trap, right?