How Should Steam Coils Be Designed??

Steam coils

Of all of  the various types of coils, steam coils operate in the most complicated ways. They are, in effect, a product of the system and controls around the coil. If not installed correctly, steam coils simply won’t work properly.

Overview:

The object of any steam coil is to have steam enter the coil as steam and exit as condensate. In a perfect scenario, the BTU load on the coil turns steam into condensate just before it’s ready to exit the coil. Under real world conditions however, condensate usually begins to form inside the tubes almost immediately. Especially when dealing with low-pressure systems, you have to find a way to evacuate the condensate from the steam coil.

Coil Pitch: 

A good coil manufacturer will internally pitch the steam coil within the coil casing to force the condensate toward the outlet connection. This pitch is usually 1/8 “ per lineal foot of coil.

Coil Length: 

If you require steam to travel 144” and make multiple passes through the coil, then, simply put, your system will not work properly. Condensate forms too early, and it cannot escape the coil. Because of this, coils cannot be too long. A better strategy is to break one long coil into two smaller coils side by side, while feeding from both sides.

Tube Diameter:

Steam Distributing coils often have to be 1  1/8 ” diameter tubes. If the BTU load on a coil is really large, then as a result, you will generate many more Lbs./hour of condensate. If the tube diameter is too small, then the condensate, which needs to evacuate, has no place to go.

Traps:

Traps are required on steam coil systems. The traps should be “float & thermostatic” type traps and be located 18 “ below the condensate connection on the steam coil. Without this, the condensate just sits in the system without any place to go.

Vacuum Breakers: 

Vacuum Breakers are often installed in coil systems to remove any excess condensate that may remain within the coil.

Insulated Piping:

There is no such thing as a “Condensate” Heating coil, built as a steam coil. IT DOESN’T WORK.  However, and this happens an astounding amount of times, due to the long distances the steam has to travel from the boiler to the coil, many times, the steam will enter the coil as condensate due to the piping not being insulated.

Anything that makes condensate lay in a coil is harmful to both the steam coil and the system. You will get a “water hammer” when the system is turned on and the incoming steam just blasts against the condensate. Worse than the loud and annoying sound that produces is the fact that it just destroys the steam coil. The brazing was never designed for “water hammer”.  Also, the coils do not heat properly. Have you ever seen a long coil and run your hand down its length only to feel that the entering steam end of the coil is hot but the far end is cold? More times than not, this means that condensate is laying in the coil and not allowing the steam to properly travel the length of the coil.

Steam Coils require a real expertise to design & build. We at Capital Coil have a long history in solving coil problems and building steam coils so that they work correctly the first time. Give us a call for your next job – you’ll be pleasantly surprised!

RELATED POSTS

Different Types of Steam Coils?

Frozen Steam Coils: How Do You Prevent This?

Steam Distributing (Non-Freeze) Coils: The Accidental Coils

CATEGORY SUCCESS

Different Types of Steam Coils

There are two types of steam coils:  standard steam coils, which are used in most reheat applications, and steam distributing coils, which are used in applications where the entering air temperature is below 40 F degrees.  Many times, this type of coil is also known as a “non-freeze” coil, but that name is misleading because in reality, there is no such thing as “non-freeze”. 

Standard Steam

Standard steam coils operate a lot like hot water coils, but the construction is very different even if the coils appear to be constructed the same.  The supply and return connections are often on the same end like a hot water coil.  But, steam is very different than hot water, and the coil must be built for and circuited for steam.  Keep in mind that steam is always more erosive than hot water.  The brazing and tube wall thickness must account for steam. ALWAYS remember that even low pressure steam is more erosive than hot water, and a steam coil needs to be built accordingly.

Steam Distributing (Non-Freeze)

Steam distributing coils are a completely different type of coil because they are constructed as a tube within a tube. Every place that you see an outside tube or header, there is an inside tube and header that you can’t see. The steam on the inner tube keeps the condensate in the outer tube from freezing.  The purpose of the Steam Coiloriginal coil design was to distribute the steam evenly along the length of the coil and to eliminate any dead spots on the coil.  A byproduct of this coil was also found.  The coils didn’t freeze nearly as easily as the standard steam coil, so the coils became known as “non-freeze”, which as mentioned, is not completely accurate.  Any coil can freeze under the right conditions, but, this design is what needs to be used when the entering air is under 40F degrees!!! 

Steam Coil Design

Steam coil designs can be very tricky.  Steam coils are totally a function of the system and installation, while other coils operate more independently of the system.  There needs to be correctly designed traps, and they need to be installed in the correct place and depth in the system.  Often, vacuum breakers are also needed in the system.  The piping must also be installed correctly to make sure the steam is entering the coil and not the condensate.  Even with all of those factors, you’ll need a correctly designed steam coil that matches the steam pressure, length of the coil, and the entering air temperature.  Coils can freeze easily.  Coils can be too long in length and the steam cannot travel the length of the coil and distribute evenly.  Condensate can easily be trapped somewhere in the coil, and the result is water hammer. 

Capital Coil & Air has years of experience designing steam coils, and is here to answer any questions and help to design the right coil for your project! 

Related Topics

Frozen Steam Coils: How to Prevent it!

Commercial Steam Coils; Lengths & Controls

HEATING SEASON WILL SOON BE UPON US

 

CATEGORY SUCCESS

Quick, Reliable & Uncommonly Fast

 Quick, Reliable & Uncommonly Fast

You have many choices when buying replacement coils and choosing a coil supplier. You could decide to diversify and work with numerous suppliers, based on a particular need. However, Capital Coil & Air can make your buying decisions a lot easier. We have been in the coil business for many years, and in this industry, we recognize what is important vs. what is irrelevant. That translates into us having good insight on what you need and how best to support you as a customer.

Quick

Coils today typically do not have much “preventative” maintenance done on them. Most everybody just waits until a coil fails and then worries about the problem at that time. And when coils inevitably fail, they fail during the times when you need them most; i.e. cooling coils failing in the summer and hot water coils breaking down in the winter. As a result, there is usually an urgency attached to most HVAC projects. Generally speaking, most jobs require some form of “quick-ship”. Capital Coil & Air gives you (4) different shipping options for all replacement coils. Our standard ship time is 3 – 4 weeks, but if you need your order faster, Capital Coil will accommodate that need. We do not want to have a “one and done” transaction. Capital Coil’s goal as a business is to have a customer base that we work with for 20 years, not 20 minutes. While we will do our best to give you the fairest price possible, you have to recognize that there is an additional premium associated with quick-shipments on replacement coils. However, you will never pay that premium if Capital Coil is late on manufacturing your order. We’ve built our business on quick-ships, and we hit 99% of all deadlines on orders the last two years. In other words, we rarely miss! We give you options, and you only pay for what you really need.

Reliability

Reliability encompasses so many things in the coil industry. For example, if you need a price today, and the sales rep takes (2) days to get back to you, that’s unacceptable and unreliable. If you require a drawing to help you design a job, and you are waiting for a week to have it returned? Again, not what Capital Coil considers reliable. If a coil supplier promises you a ship date and ships (2) weeks late? Once again, not reliable. Do any of the above issues sound familiar? It is easy to make extravagant promises, and companies do it all of the time. However, Capital Coil’s success rate on meeting and exceeding shipping schedules says more than any promise we can make. We believe in under-promising and over-delivering, not the reverse!

  • Capital Coil responds quickly to all inquiries for pricing, general information, and engineering assistance
  • Capital Coil manufactures high quality equipment in the U.S.A. and is AHRI Certified
  • Capital Coil’s years of experience will help you quickly pick the correct product for the correct application
  • Capital Coil provides accurate shipping dates, real-time tracking and common carrier information after your order has left our factory

We do all of the above to make everything in your life easier. Capital Coil holds itself to the highest standards for both reliability and customer service. In short, we want your experience with us to be professional and simple. Please call or email our sales department for any job – no matter how large or small. We greatly look forward to the opportunity to work with you on your next project.

RELATED POSTS

Your Commercial HVAC Replacement Experts-Why Work With US?

Customers are a business top priority. So why is customer service such a challenge?

Large enough to service all of your replacement coil needs, but small enough to care about what you think

CATEGORY SUCCESS