Put the principle of the inverted bucket to work in a tough cast iron package and you have the best of both worlds—energy efficiency and long-lasting reliability. Add the advantages of valves integrated into one compact trap/valve casting, and you extend the benefits into installation, trap testing and maintenance.
The Trap Valve Station (TVS) concentrates all the components in a single, accessible package that can be dealt with in-line. And if you have existing Armstrong cast iron traps in-line, identical face-to-face dimensions will make retrofitting with the patented* Armstrong Trap Valve Station a snap. You’ll also reduce your inventory requirements. So you’ll eliminate what you’re paying just to keep parts on hand.
The innovation is integration
The Armstrong TVS makes what used to be long, complicated steam installation stories simple and compact. It shortens installations by integrating components—specifically an inverted bucket steam trap with two or more valves.
For example, here’s an old description for a typical installation: valve-nipple-strainer-nipple-trap-nipple-check valve-valve. It’s a long tale, even for this simple piping arrangement. The Trap Valve Station rewrites this steam story: pipe-TVS-pipe. In other words, the TVS makes it all one, delivering the functions of multiple components in a dramatically smaller and smarter unit. It integrates two high-value products in a package of revolutionary versatility.
The power of the piston
The TVS partner of the inverted bucket in efficiency is the piston valve. It is a seatless valve that includes two graphite and stainless steel valve seating rings that seal the stem and function as a valve seat. This combination provides long-term protection against leaks to the atmosphere and downstream piping. The piston valve also delivers the following benefits:
- Self-cleaning action. The stainless steel piston slides without rotating between the two valve sealing rings, preventing dirt from damaging the sealing surfaces.
- Sealing integrity. Flexible disc springs automatically provide leak tightness by exerting pressure that keeps the upper and lower valve sealing rings compressed at all times. Compression of the sealing rings against the piston and valve body ensures sealing tightness. This combination of disc springs and dual valve seal rings protects against expansion and contraction due to heating and cooling, ensuring dependable operation, even after years of service.
- Protected valve stem. The valve stem and sealing surfaces are completely protected from dirt and corrosion by the stem cap, whether in an open or closed position.
- In-line repairability. All valve components may be easily repaired in-line.
- Long-term operation. The design of the piston assures actuation even after many years without operation.