I have been a loyal reader of Dan Holohan’s interesting engineering articles. One question was raised with reference to his column in Plumbing & Mechanical’s January 2012 issue (“Where there is air”). In steam design applications, doesn’t the end of a steam supply line terminate with a drip-and-trap assembly that connects to the condensate return line? Not an air vent. Venting of steam to the atmosphere only occurs from a discharge of a safety steam relief valve or a steam condensate collection tank, correct?
Tal Rabiah, P.E.
DNG Engineering
Fountain Hills, Ariz.