BT6-B and BT6-B Food+ Hygienic Balanced Pressure Thermostatic Steam Trap Installation and Maintenance Instructions

This article is compiled from the Spirax Sarco BT6-B and BT6-B Food+ hygienic balanced pressure thermostatic steam trap English installation and maintenance instructions, for installation, commissioning, operation, maintenance and spare parts ordering reference. See the product page at BT6-B Clean Steam Balanced Pressure Thermostatic Steam Trap.

1. Safety Information

Safe operation of this product can only be guaranteed if it is properly installed, commissioned, used and maintained by qualified personnel in accordance with these installation and maintenance instructions. General installation safety requirements for pipework and plant construction, as well as correct use of tools and safety equipment, must also be observed.

1.1 Intended Use

Before installation, confirm that the product is suitable for the intended use and application conditions by referring to these installation and maintenance instructions, the nameplate and the technical data sheet.

BT6-B and BT6-B Food+ comply with the requirements of the European Pressure Equipment Directive 2014/68/EU and fall under the SEP category. Products in this category are not required to bear the CE mark under the directive.

• This product is designed for steam, air or water/condensate, which are Group 2 fluids under the Pressure Equipment Directive. If planning to use with other fluids, contact Spirax Sarco first to confirm suitability.
• Check material suitability, pressure and temperature, as well as maximum and minimum operating values. If the product’s maximum operating limits are lower than the system limits, or if failure could cause dangerous overpressure or overtemperature, safety devices should be installed in the system.
• Determine the correct installation position and flow direction.
• Spirax Sarco products are not designed to withstand external stresses generated by the connected system; installers should evaluate these stresses and take measures to reduce their impact.
• Before installation into steam or other high temperature applications, remove all protective caps from connections and protective film from the nameplate.
• BT6-B Food+ is suitable for systems running EC1935 compliant processes. To reduce the risk of unintended additives in the system, the end user must perform an appropriate CIP cleaning cycle before first use in food contact applications. A list of materials that may come into direct or indirect contact with food is available in the product’s Declaration of Conformity.

1.2 Access, Lighting and Site Environment

Ensure safe access before operation; install a safe working platform with guarding if necessary. If lifting is required, arrange suitable lifting equipment. Adequate lighting should be provided in areas requiring detailed or complex operations.

Consider the current or previous media in the pipework, including flammable materials, substances hazardous to health and extreme temperatures. There may be explosion risk areas, oxygen deficient environments (such as tanks or pits), hazardous gases, extreme temperatures, hot surfaces, welding fire risks, excessive noise or moving machinery around the product.

1.3 System, Pressure and Temperature

Before carrying out any work, consider the effect on the entire system. Actions such as closing isolation valves or disconnecting electrical isolation should not put other parts of the system or personnel at risk. Open and close isolation valves slowly to avoid system shock.

Ensure that pressure has been isolated and safely vented to atmospheric pressure. Consider double isolation (double block and bleed), and lock or tag out closed valves. Do not assume the system is fully depressurized even if the pressure gauge reads zero.

After isolation, allow sufficient time for temperature to return to normal to avoid burns. If Viton components approach or exceed 315 °C (599 °F), they may decompose and form hydrofluoric acid — avoid skin contact and inhalation of fumes. If PTFE components approach or exceed 260 °C (500 °F), toxic fumes may be released; smoking must be prohibited in areas where PTFE is stored, handled or processed.

1.4 Tools, Protective Equipment, Permits and Handling

Before starting work, prepare suitable tools and consumables, and use only genuine Spirax Sarco spare parts. Assess whether protective clothing is needed against chemicals, high/low temperatures, radiation, noise, falling objects, and eye and face risks.

All work must be carried out or supervised by competent personnel. Installation and operating personnel should be trained in the correct use of this product. If a permit-to-work system is in place on site, it must be followed; warning signs should be posted where necessary.

Manual handling of large or heavy products may cause injury, particularly back injury. Assess risks considering the task, person, load and working environment, and adopt appropriate handling methods.

1.5 Residual Hazards, Freezing, Disposal and Returns

Under normal use, the product’s external surface may be hot. At maximum permitted conditions, some product external surface temperatures may exceed 177 °C (350 °F). Many products do not fully self-drain — exercise extreme care when removing or dismantling from the installation.

In environments where freezing may occur, protect systems that cannot self-drain from frost damage. This product is recyclable; properly disposed, it typically causes no ecological harm. Viton and PTFE components should be disposed of with attention to high temperature decomposition risks — do not incinerate. When returning products, provide information on risks from contamination residues or mechanical damage in accordance with health, safety and environmental regulations, and attach relevant safety data sheets.

2. Product Information

2.1 Product Description

The Spirax Sarco BT6-B hygienic balanced pressure thermostatic steam trap is designed for condensate drainage in clean (chemical-free) and pure steam applications, while minimizing condensate retention. Typical applications include sterile steam barriers, containment and bleed installations, main line drainage, and CIP/SIP of vessels, reactors and process lines.

BT6-B is manufactured from 316L material with a crevice-free body design incorporating a 15° angled seat to ensure complete drainage. The standard sensing element is very responsive to condensate temperature changes. Under typical conditions, with 50 mm of condensate above the trap and pressure below 2.4 bar g, the design opening point is nominally 2 °C subcooled below steam saturation temperature. Actual performance may be affected by working pressure, installation and environmental conditions.

Each trap is individually packaged in an ISO CLASS 7 clean environment, with protective end caps and sealed in a protective plastic bag.

BT6-B Food+ is suitable for steam and condensate applications and complies with EC1935:2004 food contact material requirements, as well as EC2023:2006 good manufacturing practice requirements for food contact materials and articles.

Options

• High capacity version.
• Version for steam main drainage applications.
• Tube end or clamp connection configurations.

Standards

Standard BT6-B and BT6-B Food+ comply with ASME BPE and the European Pressure Equipment Directive 2014/68/EU. All seals comply with:

• FDA CFR Title 21, Paragraph 177.1550.
• USP Class VI Biological Reactivity Cytotoxicity Testing In-Vitro <87> and In-Vivo <88>, 121 °C extraction for 1 hour.
• ADI Free (no animal-derived ingredients).

BT6-B Food+ also complies with:

• EC1935:2004 Food contact materials.
• EC2023:2006 Good manufacturing practice for food contact materials and articles.

2.2 Surface Finish and Certificates

Standard internal surface finish is better than 0.6 μm Ra (25 micro-inch Ra), external surface finish better than 1.0 μm Ra (40 micro-inch Ra).

Optional features available on order:

• Electropolishing.
• Oil and grease free.
• Weld end caps.

Available certificates include:

• EN 10204 3.1 material certificate.
• Typical internal surface finish certificate.
• FDA, USP Class VI test declaration and ADI Free certificate of compliance.
• TSE-BSE declaration.
• EC1935:2004 Declaration of Conformity (Food+ series only).
• BS EN ISO 14644-1:2015 Class 7 cleanroom certificate of compliance.
• Passivation certificate.
• Typical test report.

All certificate and inspection requirements must be specified at the time of order, and may incur additional costs depending on the certificate type. For more product data, refer to Technical Information TI-P180-30.

2.3 Sizes and Pipe Connections

Sanitary clamp connection:

Tube end connection:

Note: Available types should be confirmed with the SSP list; consult Spirax Sarco for other connection types. BT6-B Food+ is available with ASME BPE connections.

2.4 Pressure and Temperature Limits

The product must not be used in the prohibited area of the diagram; also avoid use in areas that could damage internal components. For sanitary clamp connections, the maximum pressure or temperature may be limited by the gasket or sanitary clamp used — consult Spirax Sarco for detailed information.

3. Installation

Read and follow the safety information in Section 1 before installation. Confirm that the product is suitable for the intended installation conditions by referring to the installation and maintenance instructions, nameplate and technical data sheet.

1. Check materials, pressure and temperature, and their maximum values. If the product’s maximum operating limits are lower than the system limits, install safety devices to prevent overpressure.
2. Determine correct installation position and flow direction.
3. Before installation into steam or other high temperature applications, remove all protective caps from connections and protective film from the nameplate.
4. The trap is designed for vertical pipework with flow downwards to achieve self-draining. Check the flow arrow during installation. Required fittings, clamps and gaskets for tube end connections are not supplied with the product.
5. Do not subject the sensing element to overheating conditions, as excessive expansion may cause damage. Installation should include a suitable cooling leg to prevent condensate from returning to the process equipment under normal conditions.

Caution: Do not overtighten the clamp. Overtightening may cause the seal to expand or extrude, and may interfere with the sensing element support. Typically, only snug fit plus a maximum of an additional half turn of the nut is required.

If hydrostatic testing of the trap is required (maximum pressure 15 bar g), the internal components must be removed and the standard gasket replaced with a Viton gasket. After replacing the gasket or removing internal components, retighten the clamp to 50 lbf.in (5.65 Nm).

Handle the body and sensing element carefully to avoid damaging machined surfaces. If the trap discharges to atmosphere, confirm that the discharge location is safe, as discharge fluid temperature may reach 100 °C (212 °F).

4. Commissioning

After installation or maintenance, confirm that the system is fully functional and test all alarms or protective devices. As with all steam systems, pressurize slowly to avoid damaging sensitive equipment.

5. Operating Principle

The BT6-B operates using a stainless steel capsule filled with WFI temperature sensing fluid. When cold or during startup, the capsule is fully open, allowing large volumes of air, condensate and/or CIP fluid to be discharged. As the system approaches steam temperature, the fluid inside the capsule expands, closing the valve to prevent live steam loss. The closing point is very close to steam temperature to ensure effective system drainage.

6. Spare Parts and Maintenance

Read and follow the safety information in Section 1 before performing maintenance.

6.1 Spare Parts

Available spare parts are shown in solid outline; greyed components are not supplied as spare parts.

When ordering spare parts, use the description from the “Available spare parts” column and specify the trap size and type.

Example: 1 capsule sensing element assembly for a 1/2” BT6-BH hygienic balanced pressure thermostatic steam trap.

6.2 Maintenance Procedure

Before maintenance, isolate the trap from the steam supply and return lines, and allow pressure to slowly return to atmospheric pressure. The trap assembly should then be allowed to cool.

Caution: Removing the body clamp before the trap has cooled to 60 °C or below may damage the capsule sensing element assembly.

Handle the body and sensing element carefully to avoid damaging machined surfaces. During maintenance, remove the sanitary clamp from the pipe connections and take the complete trap off the line. After removing the body sanitary clamp (4), the inlet and outlet bodies (complete with seat) (2), seals (5) and capsule sensing element assembly (3) can be removed for cleaning or replacement.

When reassembling, use new seals and ensure the valve head is positioned to close the seat bore. Refit and tighten the sanitary clamp before returning to service; check for leaks and retighten as necessary.

Sometimes the gasket can be difficult to remove from metal components, and the sensing element mounting plate may stick to the gasket. To avoid damage, do not pry or pull on the welded capsule to separate the sensing element — instead, gently lift the gasket from the body as shown below.

After cleaning or replacement, reassemble using new seals, ensuring the valve head is positioned to close the seat bore. Refit and tighten the sanitary clamp before returning to service; check for leaks and retighten as required.

7. PDF Documentation and Related Products

The original English PDF is retained as reference: BT6-B and BT6-B Food+ Hygienic Balanced Pressure Thermostatic Steam Trap Installation and Maintenance Instructions PDF.

For product selection, specifications and gallery, please refer to BT6-B Clean Steam Balanced Pressure Thermostatic Steam Trap product page.