Print this page

Durable pressure reducing valve celebrates 14 years in service

Wed, May 18, 2022
The COSPECT PRV has been operating on a daily basis for nearly 14 years without an overhaul or spares fitted The COSPECT PRV has been operating on a daily basis for nearly 14 years without an overhaul or spares fitted TLV Euro Engineering

A pressure reducing valve from steam specialist TLV Euro Engineering has been installed at King’s College Hospital in London and operating on a daily basis for nearly 14 years without an overhaul or spares fitted.

The COSPECT pressure reducing valve was originally specified by TLV Euro Engineering and installed by a contractor in 2008 for the King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust’s Ruskin Wing, the tallest building in the Denmark Hill campus and one housing many of the hospital’s neurological departments. Originally installed outside between two buildings at the site, the COSPECT valve has since been enclosed by further building works at the hospital campus.

Installed to reduce pressure in the main steam line from 8 bar to 2 bar, indirect steam is used for the hospital’s heating batteries and domestic hot water purposes, so the COSPECT valve is operating 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. 

It is estimated that the valve has achieved an average throughput of 950kg/h over its 14-year life, equivalent to 117,000 tonnes of steam. And in that time, the pressure reducing valve has never had any spares fitted, never been overhauled and has only occasionally had the operating pressures adjusted by the end user.

Commenting for TLV Euro Engineering, general manager Michael Povey says: “We were approached by Joji Abraham, the hospital’s estate officer, who was so impressed with the durability and longevity of the valve that he had no hesitation in contacting us when seeking a quote for a new plate heat exchanger system for the refurbishment of the Trust’s bone marrow ward. 

“The age of the COSPECT was subsequently confirmed by our regional sales engineer during an initial site audit for the planned ward refurbishment project, with the programme since being fully commissioned and featuring two new plate heat exchangers from TLV Euro Engineering.”

When the COSPECT was first introduced in 1985, TLV had been manufacturing steam traps and related steam products for over 30 years and was well aware of the limitations and inadequacies its customers were experiencing with conventional PRV’s. Based on this feedback, TLV applied its fluid control technology to solve the many associated problems including fluctuations in primary and secondary pressures and valve hunting and vibration.

The renowned COSPECT, which many believe to be the ultimate pressure reducing valve (PRV), uniquely combines three components in a single valve – a piston-operated pressure reducing valve, a cyclonical effects separator and a free-float steam trap. This innovation not only saves space but also simplifies system layout, piping and maintenance. The COSPECT also ensures that dry saturated steam is provided at constant pressure and temperature, which helps to improve product quality.

COSPECT’s separator achieves 98% condensate separation efficiency and the strainer removes any remaining rust or scale. In addition, the condensate that is separated out is quickly removed through the built-in free float trap. All of which produces a noticeable improvement in the quality of the steam, and its heat conductivity. This can lead to increased valve life as well as increasing the service life and performance downstream equipment. 

Maintenance is also simplified thanks to the COSPECT’s modular construction and use of PTFE gaskets, which makes the unit quick and easy to remove, or to maintain inline.

For further information, call TLV Euro Engineering on +44 (0)1242 227223, email sales@tlv.co.uk or visit www.tlv.co.uk. 

 

Share and subscribe

MEDIA

Quotes

  • "We were approached by Joji Abraham, the hospital’s estate officer, who was so impressed with the durability and longevity of the valve..." (Michael Povey, TLV Euro Engineering)

External Links

About Us

Advanced Insulation (www.aisplc.com)

Since its formation in 2007, Advanced Insulation has become a single source provider for insulation and fire protection systems to the oil and gas industry, and represents one of the most respected and progressive names in topside and subsea insulation worldwide.

Advanced Insulation offers a wide range of products to meet the growing demand for fire protection and thermal insulation systems adaptable for elevated service temperatures and pressures.

AL-KO Kober (www.al-ko-co.uk)

Since 1931, AL-KO Kober has been manufacturing premium, high quality components used in the Automotive, Commercial and Leisure industry.

The extensive range of chassis components, premium accessories and spare parts are engineered to last, ensuring whatever product you have purchased, you will benefit from the generations of development and enjoy a lifetime of service.

Arc Energy Resources (www.arcenergy.co.uk)

Arc Energy Resources is one of the UK’s leading specialists in weld overlay cladding and fabrication for the oil & gas industry. The company’s expertise provides protection against corrosion and wear for a variety of process and pipeline equipment for use in any hostile environment.

The company recently made a major investment in two new Rotating Head welding machines costing £500,000. This has increased productivity and extended the size and scope of work it can handle, which now includes complicated component geometries for the full or partial cladding and fabrication of a huge range of component sizes weighing up to 15 tonnes. The company’s in-house designed cladding workstations feature state-of-the-art control systems developed to suit its customer’s specialised engineering requirements, and can clad bores up to four metres diameter and areas of restricted access within bores as small as 20mm diameter. Arc Energy also offers in-house test weld, heat treatment, PMI and NDT facilities.

Industry certifications include ISO 9001:2008 quality management, ISO 3834-2 fusion welding of metallic materials, and the internationally renowned ASME U and R Stamps, as well as ISO 14001:2004 environment management, Investors in People and OHSAS 18001:2007 Health & Safety management system.

Curtiss-Wright Industrial Group, which includes the legacy brands of Arens Controls, Penny & Giles, PG Drives Technology and Williams Controls, is a recognized leader in providing components and sub-systems which enable customer specific solutions for on- and off-highway vehicles. These include medium- and heavy-duty trucks, buses and motor coaches, construction and agricultural vehicles, materials handling, and other specialty vehicles, as well as sophisticated wheelchairs and scooters for medical mobility.

We are a leading provider of electronic throttle controls, transmission shifters and sensors for commercial off-highway equipment and heavy trucks, so helping to address the long-term trend towards attaining higher fuel efficiency and lower emissions. We also supply operator controls and advanced motor controllers for hybrid and electric vehicles, such as buses, forklift trucks, pallet stackers, wheelchairs and rehabilitation chairs.

With a proud legacy spanning more than 85 years, Curtiss-Wright is a global innovative company that delivers highly-engineered, critical-function products and services to the commercial, industrial, defense and energy markets. Building on the heritage of Glenn Curtiss and the Wright brothers, we have a long tradition of providing reliable solutions through trusted customer relationships.

Further information is available from the Curtiss-Wright Industrial website (www.cw-industrialgroup.com) or by calling +44 (0)1202 034000.

Euchner (UK) Limited (www.euchner.co.uk)

Safety for people, machines and products has been the maxim of this family-owned company since 1953. Stefan Euchner is the third generation to take the helm.

As specialists in industrial safety engineering, Euchner develops and manufactures products and solutions tailored to the requirements of customers from a wide range of sectors. Using its guards on machines and installations helps to minimise hazards and risks, which in turn protects people and processes. For its 800 employees around the world, safety is the watchword.

Further information is available from the Euchner (UK) Limited website (www.euchner.co.uk) or by calling +44 (0)114 256 0123.

Industry Superstore (www.industrysuperstore.co.uk)

Industry Superstore is a one-stop-shop for a wealth of budget-friendly, high-quality products tailored to industry!

Further information is available from the Industry Superstore website (www.industrysuperstore.co.uk) or by calling +44 (0)1892 664499.

Exmac Automation Limited has many years experience in the design, manufacture, and installation of unit conveyors, conveyor systems and associated materials handling equipment for most industry sectors.

Exmac Automation is part of the MacDonald Humfrey group of companies and are market leaders in the supply of automated materials handling equipment to the automotive, aerospace, white goods, warehouse & distribution, nuclear, pharmaceutical and food & beverage industries.

The group supplies to most industry sectors and have over 250 employees with many years experience in the design, manufacture and installation of unit conveyors, conveyor systems and associated materials handling equipment.

Projects have ranged from individual standard conveyors and bespoke handling applications, through to complete turnkey contracts involving conceptual and process design, installation and commissioning.

We are ISO 9001 accredited and constantly strive to achieve continuous improvements in the overall quality of our products and service.

Exmac Automation has has established a reputation for supplying high quality, robust systems at competitive prices.

In-house resources enable us to provide clients with a single source for complete systems integration including simulation, engineering, machining, fabrication, assembly, controls, installation & commissioning and after sales service.

Our 70,000 sq ft facility in Worcester has extensive design, manufacturing and assembly resources. Our skilled team of customer focussed automation professionals offers a broad base of knowledge and experience in a wide variety of industries.

A large workshop enables us to carry out comprehensive pre-installation assembly and factory acceptance tests on all projects.

Fulton Limited (www.fulton.co.uk)

The Fulton name has been synonymous with steam since the company first introduced the vertical tubeless steam boiler in 1949 and Fulton was established in Bristol in 1966. Fulton is still one of the world’s leading manufacturers, producing an unrivalled range of multi-fuel steam boilers. But increasingly these are ordered by customers as part of bespoke turnkey systems designed to meet exacting specifications.

Today Fulton Limited is an important design and manufacturing base in Fulton’s global network that also includes production facilities in the USA and China. The company’s UK facility makes it possible to manufacture products more efficiently and assemble completed units for whenever and wherever they are needed throughout the UK and in export markets.

Once just a steam boiler manufacturer, Fulton now specialises in ready-to-ship skid mounted and fully packaged boiler plant rooms to meet the current demand for off-site fabrication. The company puts great emphasis in providing sales and application advice and a full commissioning and after sales service to a growing customer base in hospital and healthcare facilities, food and beverage processing, laundries and other applications.

Design and manufacturing resources are shared and coordinated around the world, but no matter where your product originates, it will always be produced to the highest quality in a facility that is wholly owned and managed by the Fulton Group, which remains a privately owned family business.

Fulton’s heating and hot water systems can be delivered as fully prefabricated plant rooms or complete skid-mounted units, built to fit a prepared location and connect direct to your services.

Using the latest CAD equipment its design team can accommodate the most sophisticated engineering specifications in surprisingly compact spaces, locating components in the best possible position to suit the installation.

In every sense, today’s Fulton boiler systems are solutions that fit the requirements of the modern age of steam.

Gast Group (www.gastmfg.com / www.jun-air.com)

Since 1921, Gast Manufacturing, Inc. has been designing and manufacturing quality air-moving products. Our vacuum pumps, compressors, air motors, gear motors, vacuum generators, regenerative blowers and Smart Air technology meet the many challenging applications of OEMs and end-users worldwide.

For industrial manufacturing, health care lab, or environmental cleanup applications, Gast provides a full range of ideally suited and cost-effective solutions to any pneumatic problem.

Monodraught (www.monodraught.com)

In the current climate of soaring energy prices and the fear of global warming, increasing attention is being focused on Monodraught’s range of energy-free products.

Monodraught has always sought to invent, explore and develop innovative technologies that harness the wind and sun. Products include Windcatchers, Sunpipes, Suncatchers, Sola-vents, Sola-boosts and Cool-phase.

Nexen Lift Trucks (www.nexenlifttrucks.com)

Disillusioned with the ever-increasing complexity of new forklift trucks and the failure of the major manufacturers to provide a high level of support to their dealer networks, the decision was taken to develop its own range of forklifts.

In 2003 Nexen Lift Trucks was established with the vision to design and manufacture its own range with a combined 70 years experience of the lift truck rental industry. Nexen's ultimate goal is to build worldwide brand recognition based on its product's design and build quality as well as outstanding reliability at competitive prices.

In 2007 Nexen completed the purchase of the second largest lift truck manufacturer in Taiwan, creating the Nexen Motor Corporation. Initially the existing models were improved whilst a European based design team was established to develop a completely new range of trucks from the ground up to meet Nexen's standards.

Q8Oils (www.Q8Oils.co.uk / @Q8OilsUK)

Q8Oils has become a major player in the global lubricants market. Our success is founded on significant corporate resources, a commitment to product development and uncompromising standards of quality and service.

Q8Oils has a unique and innovative approach producing some of the world´s finest quality lubricants. Manufactured in its state of the art plant at Leeds, West Yorkshire, Q8Oils represent the very best and latest in lubricant technology. With over 1000 grades of finished lubricants, base oils, process oils, extracts and waxes.

We are dedicated to serving the needs of our customers by striving to understand, anticipate and satisfy their needs faster and better than our competitors. To achieve this our objective is to develop and supply products and services which reflect customer demands in each of our market sectors.

TLV Euro Engineering (www.tlv.co.uk)

TLV Euro Engineering UK is part of TLV, an internationally-established designer, manufacturer and provider of steam traps, condensate recovery pumps, pressure reducing valves and other specialist steam solutions. The company plays a leading role in the promotion of efficient energy systems and increased environmental conservation on a worldwide scale through its products and consulting and engineering services.

Rockatek (www.rockatek.com)

Cheltenham-based Rockatek Ltd is an engineering consultancy that offers design, analysis and physical testing services that set it apart from others. Its directors have over 40 years’ experience in complex engineering product optimisation and development; and its engineers specialise in engineering solutions for harsh environments and value improving reliability and performance.

Verco (www.ver.co.uk)

Founded in 1965, Verco quickly built a reputation for supplying quality refrigerated glass door and open chill cabinets to supermarkets, convenience and forecourt stores. Verco is now a leading supplier of retail refrigeration and the largest UK manufacturer of glass door cabinets.