Steam trap

A steam trap is a device used to discharge condensates and non-condensable gases with a negligible consumption or loss of live steam.

Steam properties such as density, latent heat, and saturation/boiling point are affected by pressure.

Steam traps can be split into three main categories; Mechanical, Thermodynamic, and Thermostatic.

Each type uses a different operating principle to remove condensate and non-condensable gases and keep steam in the system.

Steam traps are sized for specific applications based on amount of condensate they can remove, as well as other factors such as the ability to remove air and non-condensable gases.

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.