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News Release from: Gardner Energy Management | Subject: GEM steam trap
Edited by the Engineeringtalk Editorial
Team on 02 August 2006
Save energy with the GEM steam trap
The GEM steam trap is very different from the old mechanical traps in that it has no moving parts to jam, wear out or fail.
With fuel prices doubling over the past few years and environmental pressures mounting, every responsible factory manager has to save energy And yet, claims chartered engineer Tim Gardner, British industry still wastes an astonishing GBP 3 billion a year purely through steam loss
This article was originally published on Engineeringtalk on 2 Jul 2008 at 8.00am (UK)
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As the GEM steam traps have no moving parts to wedge open or fail, they provide great reliability, necessitating only minimal maintenance and requiring no spares, testing or monitoring equipment.
What can be done about it? Gardner, who started Gardner Energy Management (GEM) over a decade ago, has shown that his invention - a sophisticated venturi orifice steam trap - is the permanent solution to this needless waste of energy.
The GEM Steam Trap is very different from the old mechanical traps in that it has no moving parts to jam, wear out or fail.
The purpose of all traps is to prevent flooding of the steam system by draining condensate whilst 'trapping' steam (energy) within the supply system.
Instead of using valve mechanisms to shut off against the steam, the GEM uses the condensate within its 'hole' to hold back the expensive steam.
It is the valve mechanisms within mechanical traps that give factory managers headaches.
Further reading
Company makes steam trap choice
Ineos Fluor is now specifying GEM steam traps throughout its UK plant following a trial at its Rocksavage site in Runcorn, Cheshire.
Steam traps save power
Gardner Energy Management has installed a total of 200 steam traps throughout Aesica's Ponders End process plant, achieving a 28% energy saving in just 12 months.
Independent study highlights steam savings
An independent study of GEM steam trap performance by Dutch consultants KW2 has again proven the substantial energy savings available to companies switching to GEM traps.
Their manufacturers state that typically 10% of a factory's mechanical traps fail each year.
When they fail closed flooded pipework causes lost production, water hammer and dangerous steam leaks.
When trap valves jam open they either blow steam to atmosphere or pressurise condensate return pipework thereby preventing drainage from neighbouring traps, again causing production downtime and safety problems.
The cost of this lost steam through failed traps is all too often hidden within large ever increasing fuel bills but it is considerable.
Mechanical trap makers state that a medium sized plant with 200 mechanical traps will blow 8,900 tonnes of steam each year, equivalent to well over a million litres of fuel oil that is needlessly burnt.
At GBP 20 / tonne, this wastage costs GBP 178,000 on the bottom line, year after year.
In the past the factory manager had only two options: to continually test and repair / replace failed traps, which is costly and time consuming; or b) to cut trap maintenance budgets and watch his fuel bill and lost production costs escalate.
(This is an inadvisable option as the safety of the system is compromised).
In 1995 Gardner launched his GEM Trap to provide a permanent solution to this predicament.
His customers have since saved a mint with his hole by constantly saving energy whilst overcoming the safety and reliability problems with their old trap designs.
Typical energy savings range from 11 to 30%, depending on the type and condition of the steam system.
Within 4 years, the performance of the product led the Engineering Council to award GEM the 'Environmental Award for Engineers' and the Institution of Chemical Engineers bestowed its 'Excellence in Safety and Environment Award'.
'Peace of mind is the key for most of our customers' says Gardner.
'The GEM's performance is guaranteed for 10 years and with over 50,000 traps installed over the past decade, we have not had one return.
As steam loss through the trap is avoided, there is no wear or erosion, so we fully expect GEMs to outlast the systems they serve.' Consequently the problem with the business model is that there are no re-sales, but Gardner is not concerned: 'With roughly 5 million steam traps in the UK alone, there is ample potential.
Also, as there are no spares or replacements to continually sell, it has meant that all the mechanical trap manufacturers can do is to denounce our product.
I would have been much more worried if they could have afforded to adopt this technology but they have hungry investors to feed and the majority of their profits are from replacements.' The company has grown steadily over the last decade and now has 12 full time employees, and in 2005 the turnover in trap sales alone was GBP 1,200,000.
Exports have also risen well to almost half the turnover, with agents, distributors or subsidiaries serving Western Europe, Asia and the Americas.
Earlier this year a GBP 250,000 order for 1,500 traps for a refinery in Kuwait has already given the customer major steam savings and operational benefits.
This is just as well as his specification was for the best steam trap on the world market.
Profits have been re-invested for growth and the company has always been cash positive.
Gardner concedes that funding growth through profit is not the fastest route to increased sales.
However he feels that the lack of borrowing has freed his mind to concentrate more on growing the business, whilst significantly reducing the stress of running the company.
Like most other Engineering companies, GEM has found it difficult to recruit good Engineers over the years.
However, the biggest challenge has been to convince customers that their traps with a hole in, really is the simple solution to their problems.
Luckily they managed to employ the help of the late Fred Dibnah to simplify the workings of their steam trap on a video.
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