We recently replaced all our steam traps in our brewhouse. The old ones were very old--used when we built the system--and leaking badly, preventing us from getting a good boil in the kettle.
Now we have a new problem, and it's transient to make things more fun.
When the problem is occurring, it causes the boil from our calandria to pulse with a very regular rhythm. The pulsing is about 5 minutes of boil, then 5 minutes of no boil.
Our steam traps have a thermostatic air-purge valve, and the runs from the steam jackets and calandria are as short as possible.
I've read some about steam locking, but I don't think it's the problem--but it could be as the run of the condensate from the calandria inside the kettle may be long enough to cause the problem. We have never heard any water-hammer in the system.
Sometimes this problem doesn't raise its ugly head, but this last brew has been a nightmare.
Any ideas?
Now we have a new problem, and it's transient to make things more fun.
When the problem is occurring, it causes the boil from our calandria to pulse with a very regular rhythm. The pulsing is about 5 minutes of boil, then 5 minutes of no boil.
Our steam traps have a thermostatic air-purge valve, and the runs from the steam jackets and calandria are as short as possible.
I've read some about steam locking, but I don't think it's the problem--but it could be as the run of the condensate from the calandria inside the kettle may be long enough to cause the problem. We have never heard any water-hammer in the system.
Sometimes this problem doesn't raise its ugly head, but this last brew has been a nightmare.
Any ideas?
Comment