Almost four years ago, Metraflex took the standard Y-strainer and turned it into the new and improved LPD Y-Strainer for the ultimate energy savings, and it rocked the hydronic engineering industry. The LPD Y-Strainer from Metraflex even made it on the short list of finalists for the Consulting-Specifying Engineer Magazine Product of the Year! But, what is so special about this Y-Strainer anyway? Let’s dive in!
What is a Y-strainer?
Y-strainers are widely used in hydronic systems and have been the most common type of strainer because:
The strainer was created to protect expensive equipment, such as pumps, chillers, boilers and heat exchangers, by removing debris from fluid before it reached these components. There were many advantages to using a Y-strainer for debris removal, including the ability to use them for both horizontal and vertical flow. Unfortunately, the traditional Y-strainer significantly increased the pressure drop because of the change of flow direction.
How is the LPD Y-strainer different form a traditional Y-strainer?
The LPD Y-strainer is redesigned from the ground up to lower pressure drop to increase energy savings across the system. Its internal geometry has been completely re-engineered, allowing for a much larger screen with significantly increased debris capacity.
The conventional Y-strainer design had a bridgewall that caused restriction and an abrupt change in direction of flow, which is a big contributor to pressure drop. In the new design, this bridgewall was completely eliminated. The pitch of the screen was also lowered from 45 degrees to 22.5 degrees. The lower pitch resulted in a much larger are of the screen to be in the flow path. This resulted in lower internal velocity and lower pressure drop.
For an example, Metraflex compared a 6-inch LPD Y-strainer with 50% of the screen clogged with debris to a competitor’s completely clean 6-inch Y-strainer. The partially clogged LPD Y-strainer still had a lower pressure loss than the completely clean traditional Y-strainer!
I use basket strainers, should I switch to the LPD Y-strainer?
The short answer is, YES! Even though basket strainers have been considered easier to clean than Y-strainers, the LPD strainer can be blown down, where the basket strainer cannot. If blown down, the LPD may not even need to be cleaned.
The LPD design also features a cover with 4 or 6 bolts, depending on the size. The cover of LPD strainer 10” and larger are even hinged for easier handling. There is also no need to replace the custom gasket when a cover is removed from the LPD strainer since it uses a reusable O-ring seal.
What’s in it for me if I use the LPD Y-strainer?
Have we mentioned the significant energy savings yet? The new design results in significantly lower pressure drops resulting in energy savings so significant the LPD Y Strainer can pay for itself in months. Click on the cost savings calculator now to see if the Metraflex LPD Y-Strainer can save money on your projects!
This LPD Y-strainer design is now four years old. That’s four years of significant savings that you may be missing out on! Don’t keep throwing away money, contact your local manufacturer’s rep today!
Watch the video on how the LPD strainer works below!
Image and Blog Content: Metraflex