Here are some of the highlights from February 2022 as told by the Sales Team . . .
Jim Krochune: Jeff at The Bountiful Company
As you can see from the job note below, Jeff killed it at The Bountiful Company. The Bountiful Company has been a tough customer for APM and Jeff was able to resolve the issue of excessive steam. After 4 years of steam loss and issues, Jeff was able to find out that one of the operators had been opening a bipass valve. Jeff solved this problem after working until 2:00 a.m. at a previous job site and was still there at 7:00 a.m. Jeff is one of the most detailed troubleshooters we have and this goes above and beyond what we do as a company.
The Bountiful Company – Steam Trap Install – 2022
1/28/2022 job note from Jeff Czerniak
Areas worked in –
Access issues –
Parts issues –
Additional comments – Troubleshooting went well. Found the issues causing the high condensate system pressure. Bellowing steam from the rooftop vents is reduced by 90%.
The 2″ FT-15 trap in the boiler room is in fact blowing as Ryan Patterson previously pointed out. After isolating this trap, the blowing steam from it’s condensate tank rooftop vent stopped. This should be a warranty repair.
The coating room process units discharge to a condensate main that has a cross-connect valve, splitting the condensate return into two separate condensate tanks. The lower number units discharge to the condensate tank above the entry way that is shot and needs to be completely replaced. The upper number units discharged to the condensate tank in the steam room. The cross connect valve was open. I shut this valve, but I believe it may be leaking by or broken. The upper units side is where the pressurized condensate originated. Two trap stations for coating unit 14 had opened bypass valves. One is for the rooftop pre-heat unit 9, and the other is for the reheat coil on coating unit 14. It’s not that simple though. Both traps are relatively new and were installed by the tenant’s plumber. The pre-heat trap works, but is undersized to keep up with demand when the outside temps are low. So the plumber opened the bypass to restore pre-heat setpoint. The reheat trap is plugged and was bypassed. I believe both are underrated. I left both stations with the bypass cracked to ensure they can move condensate without over pressurizing the system. Thus causing the maintenance crew to open bypasses to facilitate production requirements.
The lower number units side (with the shot tank) is still venting steam and sputtering a little condensate. Although not nearly as bad as before, there are still some issues that need to be troubleshot . It may be a culmination of slightly leaking traps, or a component we haven’t identified yet. Many traps have been replaced by us so they seem to be working, but there are older traps that may need to be replaced. I don’t find any smoking gun issues on this side.
My recommendation to pinpoint the issue is to troubleshoot on a Sunday when the system is aligned but no production is happening. We could operate, align, secure equipment as needed to definitively identify the problem components.
The cross-connect 1-1/2″ ball valve is not in FORMS. If we decide to quote this, it will require cutting and threading the pipe and installing a union. All while working from a lift (which they have on site).
Great work Jeff!
New Sales Engineer Jonathan Eno
Thank you to everyone I have met so far at APM.
It has been a pleasure to get to know all of you.
I was at my last job for over 7 years, so a new job is definitely a big adjustment.
However, a special thanks to Stephanie and Courtney, who have made the onboarding process a breeze!
To those I have not met yet, I look forward to meeting the rest of you and working with you all of you going forward!
Welcome to the Team Jonathan!