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Condensate Generation in Cold Steam Pipes - Imperial Units

When cold steam pipes are heated up they generate huge amounts of condensate that must be drained away from the pipe

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When cold steam pipes are heated up they generate huge amounts of condensate that must be drained away from the pipe. It is important that the steam traps are designed to handle the start up load.

The diagram and table below can be used as a roughly estimate of the warm-up condensate load generated when the steam system is heated up.

start-up condensate load diagram

Warm Up-Load (lb/100 ft)
Steam Gauge Pressure
(psi)		 Pipe Size (inch)
2 2 1/2 3 4 5 6 8 10 12
0 6.2 9.7 12.8 18.2 24.6 31.9 48 68 90
5 6.9 11 14.4 20.4 27.7 35.9 53 77 101
10 7.5 11.8 15.5 22 29.9 38.8 58 83 109
20 8.4 13.4 17.5 24.9 33.8 44 66 93 124
40 9.9 15.8 20.6 29.3 39.7 52 78 110 145
60 11 17.5 22.9 32.6 44 57 86 122 162
80 12 19 24.9 35.3 48 62 93 132 175
100 12.8 20.3 26.9 37.8 51 67 100 142 188
125 13.7 21.7 28.4 40 55 71 107 152 200
150 14.5 23 30 43 58 75 113 160 212
175 15.3 24.2 31.7 45 61 79 119 169 224
200 16 25.3 33.1 47 64 83 125 177 234
250 17.2 27.3 35.8 51 69 89 134 191 252
300 25 38.3 51 75 104 143 217 322 443
400 27.8 43 57 83 116 159 241 358 493
500 30.2 46 62 91 126 173 262 389 535
600 32.7 50 67 98 136 187 284 421 579
800 38 58 77 113 203 274 455 670 943
1000 45 64 86 126 227 305 508 748 1052
1200 52 72 96 140 253 340 566 833 1172
1400 62 79 106 155 280 376 626 922 1297
1600 71 87 117 171 309 415 62 1018 1432
1750 78 94 126 184 333 448 746 1098 1544
1800 80 97 129 189 341 459 764 1125 1584

This table is based on an ambient temperature of 70 oF. For an ambient temperature of 0 oF, the values should be increased with 15% at 1800 psi and up to 50% at 0 psi.

  • 1 ft (foot) = 0.3048 m
  • 1 psi (lb/in2) = 6,894.8 Pa (N/m2) = 6.895x10-2 bar
  • 1 lb = 0.4536 kg

If you prefer SI units - go here!

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Related Topics

  • Heat Loss and Insulation - Steam and condensate pipes - heat loss uninsulated and insulated pipes, insulation thickness and more
  • Steam and Condensate - Steam & condensate properties - capacities, pipe sizing, systems configuration and more

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