The attached photo shows the drain at the bottom of a PK boiler with a P-trap, and the drain at the "bottom" of the flue with a loop trap. There is a collection device in the flue to allow condensate to be collected at the point where the drain is located.
The boiler has decolorization on the...
I have been asked to install a 6" blow out line for a 250 psi steam line that will be powering a turbine. The purpose is to blow out any slag in this temporary blow off line. basically, it will be a 6" line with a gate valve that will vent outside for a couple days worth of testing.
I need...
Any thought on pros and cons of bypassing water into the tower basin (ie not up through the fill) versus completely bypassing the tower. I am specifically talking about a non-winter operation, so the tower fill would not be bypassing as a means of freeze protection. No concerns of freezing at...
What do you think of this one? On a hot water heating system, what if you removed the expansion tank after the system is hot? Everything has expanded and the pressure is stable. worse case, if everything gets cooled down, the pressure would drop. Auto fill would have to be isolated so as to...
I know that chlorine attacks stainless steel, but I see stainless steel ladders, etc in swimming pools. So I am confused.
I will be installing a steam/water heat exchanger to heat pool water. The heat exchanger will be cupro-nickel and I will be piping the pool water in PVC. My concern is...
I am doing a gut check on something designed by someone else. Two (2) 200-ton chillers are being installed that use R134A. Each chiller has 3 relief valves that all tie into a common header. The header is 6" pipe. That seems too large just from experience. I can't seem to find a good...
I have a chiller replacement application where the existing unit is actually 2 chillers. The name tags identify them as "section A' and "section B" of the same unit, but they have separate piping and electrical feeds. They must have interlocking controls so that at least one compressor from...
I keep seeing ads for room air conditioners that only require you to fill them with water, and just like magic, "freezing" air comes out. They make wild claims that they save 300% on your energy bill, etc. What are these things, just evaporative coolers? Certainly that aren't absorbers...
I quite regularly see stop valves on the discharge flanges of "high pressure" (15-150 psi) steam boilers. It is my understanding that the piping between the boiler and the first valve must be ASME piping. Many mechanical contractors do not have the ASME stamp, so valves are connected directly...
Anyone have a good spreadsheet or reference for determining boiler efficiency? I see many threads on the topic but haven't found a good reference or calculator.
My particular situation consists of an old firetube 12psig steam boiler. Hasn't been serviced in a long time and probably runs very...
I have run into a situation that I haven't seen before. I have been asked to make recommendations on a boiler system. The system has 10 Raypack boilers at 2,000 MBH each. The piping is weird. It looks like it may have been intended to be some form of quasi-primary/secondary with a 3-way...
Hi all,
I am looking for ideas on the best way to cool water from 160 deg F to 60 deg F. I have been asked to look at a situation that currently uses city water in a once-through system to cool a process. The water is then dumped. I'm trying to think of a closed-loop way to do it and thereby...
I don't know what this designer was thinking. Please look at the attached flow diagram for a chilled water system. The chilled water flow is primary/secondary, but there are 3 decoupling bridges. Those devices (that look like the letter Y laying on its side) are just regular circuit setters...
I am troubleshooting a job where chillers were just replaced. As the building load satisfies and control valves close, the chillers are going off on low-flow. I suspect that I know why, but I wanted to run something past everyone.
A rough drawing of the system is attached. It is a very...
I am confused by what I am reading in an NFPA white paper on med gas storage. See attached. The table on page 3 states that the volume of gas is needed in order to determine the ventilation requirements. In the table they show the cubic inch volume of the cylinders and the cubic feet volume...
I am looking at some drawings of a chilled water system serving a bunch of data center CRAC units. There are a lot more CRAC units than I have shown on the attached sketch, but the gist is there.
I am confused because the supply piping is a complete loop all the way around and so is the...
In my 24 years in this business, I have never heard that there is a preferred direction of flow through a pipe union. Apparently there is for certain applications (e.g. steam, high velocity, etc.) The "nut side" of the union should be the entering side. A quick Google search indicated such. I...
This is more of a theoretical question, but it is based on some readings I an getting.
If I have a pump that requires 5.7 psi NPSHr operating at sea level (14.7 psi), the lowest I should theoretically be able to see is -9 psi on a suction gauge, correct? Anything more negative would cause...
I have a centrifugal pump that is causing a lot of vibration and knocking in the adjacent piping. The pump draws ambient water from a tank, sends it through a weir-type diaphragm valve (wide open) and then through a UV "exchanger". The water leaves this area and goes out to process branches...
I have a heating hot water system with 2,500 GPM centrifugal pumps at a 90' head design condition. They are constant volume pumps serving a variable volume load of air handler coils. All coils have 2-way valves. At one time, a pneumatically controlled bypass valve was at the end of the line...
