Feature Report

Safety Relief Valves:

Installation and Maintenance
Using proper installation practices and adhering to maintenance schedules helps ensure
reliable operation of safety-relief valves
Tim Turner and John Kirk
critical on most safety-relief valves. and liquid. All three applications
Advance Valve, Inc.

S
Most manufacturers do not recom- have separate ASME (American
afety-relief valves are criti- mend a horizontal installation, but Society of Mechanical Engineers;
cal components of any there are some that seem to be am- www.asme.org) code certifications,
pressurized system. In fact, biguous regarding this issue. If avail- and while some valves are engi-
a functioning safety-relief able, refer to the installation manual neered for, and can be applied to,
valve could be the most important for the valve, but in general, verti- all three services, the valves can
piece of equipment on a process cally oriented installation is preferred only be code-certified for one type
pressure vessel or pipeline. These in most cases. Horizontal installation of service at a time. For example, it
valves essentially represent the last presents challenges because when is not recommended to use a valve
line of defense if something goes the valve sits sideways, it can allow that is code-certified and designed
wrong in the process. If safety-relief a place for dirt to gather at a critical for liquid, in a steam application.
valves are not functioning properly location within the valve. This can Regarding safety valves specifi-
and can no longer achieve what ultimately prevent the valve from re- cally for steam service, a quick in-
they are designed to do, cata- closing, even after the slightest over- stallation tip involves a special fit-
strophic failures can ensue, poten- pressure event. When installed in a ting called a drip-pan elbow (DPE),
tially causing significant financial proper upright position, the valve used to collect and properly drain
burden, as well as putting lives at has no place for sediment to collect the condensate created during an
risk. Because of the potentially cat- and thus, it will be less likely for de- overpressure event (Figure 1). This
astrophic consequences of relief- bris to get caught between the seat- fitting is mounted as closely as pos-
valve failure, adhering to recom- ing surfaces and cause leakage or sible to the discharge of the valve.
mended or mandated maintenance damage to the sealing surface. Fail- As the steam is escaping through
schedules, along with ensuring that ures of safety-relief valves due to this the external piping, much of it will
proper installation practices are fol- type of improper installation con- cool and turn to liquid, where it runs
lowed, is of utmost importance. tinue to occur.
Another im-
Installation issues portant con-
Several factors must be considered sideration for
during the installation of a safety- safety-relief
relief valve. First is the compatibility valve instal-
of the inlet and outlet connections lation is the
of the safety-relief valve with the match be-
vessel or piping to which it is con- tween the
nected. There are instances where category of
the valve is not compatible with the application
existing connections. Note that the and the type
inlet connection of a valve cannot of valve: the
be larger than the mating connec- proper type
tion size that is available on a vessel of valve must
or line. On the discharge side, the be installed
connection on the outlet of a valve for the correct
cannot be mated to a connection service appli-
that is smaller. cation. There
Another common issue arises as are three main
a result of a misunderstanding about categories of
vertically versus horizontally oriented applications
valve installation. It is important to for safety-relief
understand that vertical (referring valves: air/ FIGURE 1. Drip-pan elbows, such as the one shown here, collect and drain conden-
to vertical valve stem) installation is gas, steam sate (Image courtesy of Kunkle Valve, Inc., a Division of Emerson)
40 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHEMENGONLINE.COM OCTOBER 2022
 TABLE 1†. SUGGESTED TESTING INTERVALS FOR SAFETY-RELIEF VALVES non-functional, the
Service Inspection Type/frequency tighter the preventative
Lift lever test every six months, set pressure test annually or
maintenance sched-
Power boilers less than 400 psi (2.76 MPa)
prior to planned boiler shutdown ule should be. In addi-
Set pressure test every three years or prior to planned boiler tion, testing and main-
Power boilers 400 psi or greater tenance requirements
shutdown
High-temperature hot-water boilers* Set pressure test annually from the owner’s insur-
Lift lever test quarterly, set pressure test annually prior to ance company, state
Low-pressure steam-heating boilers and local inspections
heating season
Organic fluid vaporizers Remove, inspect and set pressure annually and other regulations,
Lift lever test quarterly, set pressure test annually prior to may play a substantial
Hot-water-heating boilers **
heating season part in dictating a regu-
Lift lever test every two months, remove and inspect tem- lar maintenance sched-
Water heaters*** perature probe for damage, buildup or corrosion every three ule on these valves. As
years a general guideline only,
Pressure vessels / piping-steam service Set pressure test annually the National Board of
Pressure vessels / piping air / clean, dry gas Set pressure test every three years Boiler and Pressure
Pressure vessels / piping propane / refrigerant Set pressure test every five year Vessel Inspectors (Co-
Pressure-relief valves in combination with rupture disks Set pressure test every five year lumbus, Ohio; www.
All others Per inspection history nbbi.org) publishes a
suggested testing in-
*NOTE 1: For safety reasons, removal and testing on a steam test bench is recommended. Such testing will avoid damaging terval for safety-relief
the pressure-relief valve by discharge of a steam-water mixture, which could occur if the valve is tested in place. valves (Table 1). Again,
these intervals should
**NOTE 2: The frequencies specified for the testing of pressure-relief valves on boilers is primarily based on differences be adjusted based on
between high-pressure boilers that are continuously manned, and lower-pressure automatically controlled boilers that are
not monitored by a boiler operator at all times. When any boiler experiences an overpressure condition such that the pressure- each user’s particular
relief valves actuate, the valves should be inspected for seat leakage and other damage as soon as possible and any deficien- process details, appli-
cies corrected. cation and experience.
In the petrochemi-
***NOTE 3: The temperature probe shall be checked for the condition of the coating material and freedom of movement with- cal industry, the valves
out detaching. If the probe pulls out or falls off during inspection, the valve shall be repaired or replaced. Due to the relatively inserted into most pro-
low cost of temperature- and pressure-relief valves for this service, it is recommended that a defective valve be replaced by a
new valve if a repair or resetting is indicated. cesses will see much
† This table was adapted from the National Board Inspection Code, Part 4, and was reprinted with permission from the Na- more harsh service con-
tional Board of Boiler and Pressure Vessel Inspectors ditions than those found
in many other industries,
back down the pipe. The job of the above-mentioned DPE, when prop- such as the food-and-beverage sec-
DPE is to collect the liquid conden- erly installed, will help to isolate dis- tor. There may be certain instances
sate and drain it away, so that it charge piping stress from affecting where plant-outage timeframes
does not back up into the valve. It is the safety-valve body. might be too tight to have the safety
recommended in most steam instal- valves repaired or replaced. In those
lations. The only situations where Valve maintenance practices cases, it is particularly important to
it may not be used is if the steam There are several factors that can af- keep spare valves on site for critical
contains other chemical vapors that fect best practices in terms of main- applications. In these situations, it
might not be allowed to vent directly tenance of a safety-relief valve. The may be possible to service them on
to the atmosphere. DPEs are also biggest question most people have a more frequent basis. However, this
not needed or recommended for is: “How often do I need to test my may not always be feasible based on
air/gas or liquid applications. valves to make sure they are per- the application. Across the board,
Finally, it is important that the forming correctly?” Fortunately, many companies are now carrying
safety-relief-valve discharge pip- many companies have a mainte- a smaller spare parts inventory than
ing be properly supported. If too nance schedule in place that ad- they once did. Unless the application
much weight is placed on the valve dresses this question. Typically, the is critical, they may not necessarily
after installation, not only will it not nature of the process has the big- be stocking a spare valve.
function properly, but depending on gest impact on this schedule. The In these situations, having a pre-
the valve materials of construction, questions to be asked are: “What ventative maintenance plan and
the valve body may even distort. exactly is the application? And how taking full advantage of scheduled
Operators may believe that there severe are the service conditions?” shutdowns is critically important.
is a defect with the valve, when in The answer to these questions will The maintenance on valves during a
fact, it is a problem with the instal- determine the maintenance sched- scheduled outage is much less ex-
lation. Depending on the setup, the ule and ultimately, the testing fre- pensive than maintenance during an
discharge piping may need to be quency for the valves. emergency outage. Not only will the
supported with an external support The more critical the application expedited repair costs rise during
system to prevent this from hap- and the higher the risk associated emergency situations, but the down-
pening. In steam applications, the with the safety-relief valve being time experienced by the operation

CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHEMENGONLINE.COM OCTOBER 2022 41

 — and the lost revenue associated needs to happen quickly. Keep take a plant can make is to have its
with this — can be devastating. in mind that the price of a repair valves repaired by a non-certified
During scheduled maintenance, is usually a fraction of the cost facility. With this approach, an op-
valves are typically sent to an of purchasing a new valve. If the erator heightens the risk of cata-
ASME- and National-Board-certi- valve is just beginning to weep or strophic failure.
fied testing facility. When tested, leak, a judgement call needs to be In summary, safety-relief valves
if a valve falls within the recom- made: “Can we wait until the next are critical pieces of equipment
mended set pressure on the affixed scheduled shutdown to address that must be installed properly, and
data plate and is not leaking, it will the valve’s issues?” If the normal regularly maintained and tested by
be deemed properly tested on that system-operating pressure is near repair shops that are certified by
date and approved for use. How- the set pressure of the valve, and the National Board of Boiler and
ever, if the valve fails the set pres- the leak prevents the system from Pressure Vessel Inspectors. Failure
sure, has issues with sticking open, maintaining the necessary operat- in any of these areas can result in
or is leaking severely, the valve will ing pressure, then the valve needs catastrophic failures that will ulti-
have to be disassembled and re- to be repaired immediately. mately cost the owners and opera-
pairs will need to be made. In these When servicing an ASME-certi- tors money and even worse, possi-
situations, the valve internals are in- fied valve, any required replacement bly risk the safety of employees. n
spected, checked and refurbished parts must be purchased either Edited by Scott Jenkins
or replaced with only OEM (origi- directly from the OEM or from an
nal equipment manufacturer) parts authorized distributor for the OEM. Authors
to return the valve back to precise All valve manufacturers must sup- Tim Turner is the vice president
working condition. ply information on tolerances and of Advance Valve Inc. (212 Fabri-
cator Dr., Fenton, MO 63026;
Some valves are more prone critical valve dimensions to National Phone: 636.343.8525; Email:
to failure due to their age. In fact, Board-certified repair shops in order sales@advancevalve.com; Web-
many safety-relief valves in opera- for proper repair and testing to take site: www.advancevalve.com).
tion have been in use for decades. place. It should be emphasized that Turner has over 25 years of expe-
rience in supplying and repairing
As with any product, the older the a National Board “VR” certified facil- safety-relief valves.
valve, the more difficult it becomes ity is the preferred choice.
to service, due to reduced general The National Board Inspection
availability of OEM parts or to sim- Code (NBIC) does allow for op- John Kirk is a technical sales
ple obsolescence. erators who hold a “VR” stamp to specialist at Advance Valve (same
There are circumstances, how- have their maintenance person- address as above); Kirk has 20
ever, when a safety-relief valve will nel repair and recertify their own years of experience with Advance
Valve, which, for nearly 50 years,
fail while in use, and the common valves. However, some operators has provided exceptional customer
indicator is leakage. When there many not be as well-versed in valve service, ASME-Code-certified
is process media leaking from the repair as a dedicated “VR” shop, safety-relief valves spanning mul-
tiple manufacturers, and National
valve on a constant basis, while because their plant may contain Board “VR” valve repair services.
under its normal operating pres- numerous valves from a variety of
sure, a repair or replacement manufacturers. The biggest mis-

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