Heat tracing is the practice of applying a heating line and insulation to piping. This is done in very cold climates where there is a possibility of the pipes becoming frozen. Romtec Utilities recently applied heat tracing to the piping and valves in eight vault structures on both stormwater and wastewater lift stations installed at the Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) in Cheyenne, Wyoming.
Typically, locating the piping and associated mechanical components in an in-ground vault structure will protect them from freezing, but the UPRR site required extra frost protection for some of the pump station components. A Romtec Utilities field technician traveled to the UPRR site in Cheyenne to install the heat tracing components, which were part of the Romtec Utilities package pump station design and supply.
The supplied kit for this installation used Raychem and Digitrace components from the Pentair Thermal Management division. The system was installed by first mounting a power connection to piping in the valve vault. The power connection unit was then tied in to a digital controller and thermostat. These two devices measure and adjust temperature levels surrounding the piping and associated mechanical.
The next step was to “wrap” the piping, valves, other vault components in a thermal heating line. This line is what actually delivers heat to the components. All of the line connections and splices were located in specialty kits that extend at least four inches above the piping. After all the connections are made, the entire mechanical assembly gets covered with insulation to reduce heat loss. All of the connections, sensors, and control devices sit above the insulation so that basic maintenance functions can take place without its removal.
Heat tracing for the mechanical assemblies in these eight Romtec Utilities pumping systems was an affordable option, providing long-term frost protection for the stormwater and wastewater lift stations at UPRR in Wyoming. Romtec Utilities provided the complete scope of work, supply, and installation of the heat trace in each pump station package where it was required. This type of work and supply is typical with a complete Romtec Utilities packaged pump station.
Contact Us to see if heat tracing is right for your pump station project.
See the project pages for the stormwater and wastewater pump stations at the Union Pacific Railroad yard.