Gas traps are used in drainage and piping systems to prevent the escape of gaseous fumes. They rely on structural design rather than filters and can be found in plumbing, natural gas heating systems, and even engines. Dry traps can cause failure, but running fresh water through the lines can restore their filtering action. Gas traps are designed to prevent fumes from causing discomfort or damage and require little maintenance.
Gas traps are devices that are used as part of drainage and piping systems as a means of minimizing the escape of gaseous fumes from those systems. A gas trap can be found on such diverse systems as plumbing to the kitchen sink and sewer line leading away from a building and to the main sewer system in a city or town. Trap action often occurs due to the structural design of the device, rather than relying on the inclusion of filters.
A good example of a basic gas trap is set up with the pipes and drain attached to a sink. As part of the overall design, a section of pipe is bent at an angle which creates a chamber within the pipe system. The presence of this chamber allows water to flow through the pipe, creating a barrier that prevents gases from escaping from the exhaust and into the surrounding space. Such a trap requires nothing more than the flow of water through the drain and into the piping system to prevent harmful gases from the sewer system from escaping the drain.
One reason the gas trap on this type of drainage system may fail has to do with the development of what is known as a dry trap. This is a situation where no water flows through the pipe for an extended period of time. To correct the situation, all that is usually required is to run fresh water through the lines, thus restoring the siphon’s filtering action.
The same general principle of gas flow blocking is found with other forms of gas trap. A natural gas trap may include components that allow a section of pipe to be opened and closed, thereby impeding the ability of the gas to move through the system. Appliances of this type are often used with natural gas-fired heating systems, allowing the gas supply to be shut off when repairs to the system are required, or when the heating system is not used for long periods.
Nearly every type of gas trap is designed to prevent gas from escaping into an area where the fumes could cause some amount of discomfort or damage. In addition to the traps found in plumbing designs and those used to manage gas flow through heating systems and devices, there are also traps of this type found in some engine designs, as part of the safety measures taken in mining situations, and even in some ventilation systems. Most designs are fairly simplistic and require little or no maintenance to effectively block the flow of fumes.
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