©2006 Armstrong International, Inc. Case Study Major Refinery Steam Trap Failure Rates

“Expect many enjoyable experiences!” David M. Armstrong “Expect many enjoyable experiences!” David M. Armstrong 2 Survey Cycle Time vs Failure Rate 10,000 traps, Major Refinery Steam Trap Survey Cycle Time versus Failure Rate Major Refinery (11 Cycles) 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% Months Steam Trap Failure Rate

“Expect many enjoyable experiences!” David M. Armstrong “Expect many enjoyable experiences!” David M. Armstrong 3 Survey Cycle Time vs Failure Rate 80,000 traps World-Wide Steam Trap Failure Rate vs. Survey Cycle Time Major Refinery World-Wide Steam Trap Surveys 0.0% 5.0% 10.0% 15.0% 20.0% 25.0% 30.0% Survey-to-Survey Cycle Time Trap Failure Rate

“Expect many enjoyable experiences!” David M. Armstrong “Expect many enjoyable experiences!” David M. Armstrong 4 How Often Should I Survey Steam Traps? Note traps fail randomly over time. (A 10% failure rate for a population of 10,000 traps means that 1,000 traps will fail each year; after 10 years, they have all failed. Accelerating the surveys does not reduce failures; it only finds them faster! Finding failed traps faster & getting them repaired saves money in steam losses & improves equipment reliability. At this refinery, a 4-mos. cycle time is optimum. Each facility must determine the cost of more frequent surveys versus the additional steam savings realized.

“Expect many enjoyable experiences!” David M. Armstrong “Expect many enjoyable experiences!” David M. Armstrong 5 Failure Rates Drip Traps vs. Tracer Traps 150 psig Drip Trap Failure Rate vs. Survey Cycle Time 1,992 traps 0.0% 5.0% 10.0% 15.0% 20.0% 25.0% 30.0% Months Failure Rate 150 psig Tracer Trap Failure Rate vs. Survey Cycle Time 4,256 traps 0.0% 5.0% 10.0% 15.0% 20.0% 25.0% Months Failure Rate Drip Traps Tracer Traps Application Effects Trap Life

“Expect many enjoyable experiences!” David M. Armstrong “Expect many enjoyable experiences!” David M. Armstrong 6 High Pressure vs Low Pressure Drip Trap Failure Rates 40 psig Drip Trap Failure Rate vs. Survey Cycle Time 777 Traps 0.0% 5.0% 10.0% 15.0% 20.0% 25.0% 30.0% Months Failure Rate 600 psig Drip Trap Failure Rate vs. Survey Cycle Time 467 traps 0.0% 10.0% 20.0% 30.0% 40.0% 50.0% Months Failure Rate 40 psig Drip Traps 600 psig Drip Traps Operating Pressure Effects Trap Life

“Expect many enjoyable experiences!” David M. Armstrong “Expect many enjoyable experiences!” David M. Armstrong 7 0% 2% 4% 6% 8% 10% 12% % Failure Rate Series1 10%0%2% 0%9%6%3%11%0% 40 psi Drip Traps 40 psi Process s Traps 40 psi Tracer Traps 65 psi Drip Traps 65 psi Process s Traps 65 psi Tracer Traps 150 psi Drip Traps 150 psi Process s Traps 150 psi Tracer Traps 600 psi Drip traps 600 psi Process s traps Drip traps now fail at 10% frequency, but Tracer traps fail at only 2-3% frequency. At these rates, drip traps could last as long as ten years & tracer traps as long as years! 2006 Steam Trap Failure Rate

“Expect many enjoyable experiences!” David M. Armstrong “Expect many enjoyable experiences!” David M. Armstrong 8 Options for Optimizing Surveys Survey all traps every 4 mos. Survey only Drip Traps every 4 mos. Survey all Tracer Traps every 12 mos. Use Steam Eye to go to real-time surveys!

“Expect many enjoyable experiences!” David M. Armstrong “Expect many enjoyable experiences!” David M. Armstrong 9 Manufacture Failure Rates Major Refinery Notes: 1. Total trap population is 50,000 traps. 2. Velan has less than 50 traps in this population. 3. Traps with no failure rates have less than 30 traps each in service. 4. Ogontz has less than 45 traps in population.

“Expect many enjoyable experiences!” David M. Armstrong “Expect many enjoyable experiences!” David M. Armstrong 10 Picking a Brand of Trap Comparisons depend on age of traps, service, pressure, etc. It’s difficult to compare database data and come up with meaningful conclusions as to whether one brand is better than another. If one brand is older than another, it may fail more often. Side-by-side comparisons are best. Also, mean time between failures for each brand and model number at various pressures and services would be the best data.

“Expect many enjoyable experiences!” David M. Armstrong “Expect many enjoyable experiences!” David M. Armstrong 11 Refinery’s Trap Recommendations Use an Armstrong Universal Connector IS2 when replacing traps. (This speeds up future replacements.) For all new 40, 65, and 150 psi mud legs or tracer traps use: Armstrong 2010 or 2011 Inverted Bucket trap (first preference because they do not plug easily with fines). For new 600+ psi steam traps choose: Armstrong 2022 (first preference) For process traps, consult the Energy Planner.

“Expect many enjoyable experiences!” David M. Armstrong “Expect many enjoyable experiences!” David M. Armstrong 12 Steam Trap Programs Save Money by Saving Steam

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