Email #63 - Steam Pipe Hot Spots

The Steam Pipe story just won't go away...Here are two more recent photos showing the new & improved steam pipe as it enters the Archnet Computer Rooms from the east. The steam is moving to the west (to tops of photos).

I've checked the surface temperatures of the new pipe with a remote sensor. So far the insulation seems to be working fine because the pipe temperatures are almost always the same as the adjacent ceiling and wall temperatures (45-49°F).

However, as shown in the right photo, there are HOT SPOTS at the hangers where the pipe is suspended from the ceiling. The metal plates holding the pipe typically read over 100 °F because the plates are welded directly to the pipes via un-insulated rods which transfer the heat. However, the insulation is otherwise very effective because the temperature drops to 55° just inches from the metal plates. Within a foot from the plates, the pipe surface temp drops to its steady state of about 48°.

There are three of these "hot spot" hangers in the area of the computer rooms, but none are in the Server Room itself.

At a steam pipe expansion joint exposed in the hallway outside, the pipe temp reaches 191°F ! But it's supposed to that, I'm told.

John Stamets
Jan 15, 2007

See also #ee, #5, #49 and #56