TRM WaterWire®-HT
TRM WaterWire®-HT Water Detection Cable
for High Ambient Temperature
Related Products:
TRM WaterWire®-HT is a water detection and leak locating cable. It is designed for installation in very high ambient temperature environments. Specifically it is designed for service in steam pipe conduit systems with long term ambient temperature up to 232°C (450°F).
Steam pipe and pressurized condensate return lines often operate well above 100°C. However the current generation of polymer based leak detection cables are for the most part operationally limited to below 90°C.† The maximum operating temperature of these polymer based cables severely limits their use around high temperature piping. In contrast, TRM WaterWire®-HT has been designed specifically for installation in steam conduit systems where the cable will be exposed to high ambient temperature its entire lifetime.
TRM WaterWire®-HT is very small in diameter, flexible and easy to pull into tight interstitial spaces. The cable is fabricated with two high temperature insulated conductors and two bare, corrosion resistant, chromium alloy electrode wires. Woven fiberglass insulating sleeves are used to electrically separate the conductors while retaining the permability that allows water leaks to quickly penetrate the braid for optimal detection. ††
TRM WaterWire®-HT uses the 4-wire detection and locating circuit developed by Raychem Corporation in the 1980’s and which today forms the basis of the leak detection cables manufactured by nVent/Raychem-TraceTek; RLE Technologies; TTK and other suppliers throughout the world. In fact TRM WaterWire®-HT is directly compatible with Raychem TraceTek instrumentation.
† Exceptions are TTK’s FG-ACX rated at 120°C and Permalert’s AGW Gold rated at 205°C
†† TRM WaterWire®-HT detects liquid water. It does not detect steam in the vapor phase. A steam leak will be detected and the location reported when and where the steam condenses to form liquid water.
Key Features
Cable Construction:
Two 18 AWG, teflon insulated, primary conductors color coded red and yellow. Two 28 AWG chromium alloy electrode wires.
Each primary conductor and its companion electrode wire are bundled in a natural color fiberglass braided sleeve. The two internal wire bundles are surrounded by an external fiberglass braided jacket color coded yellow with a black tracer. Finished construction is nominally 2.5 mm x 4.0 mm in cross section.
Cable / Circuit length:
TRM WaterWire®-HT is sold in bulk form. Pull lengths are determined by the number of degree of direction change in the pulling path with a recommended maximum of 360° direction change between pull ports. Adjoining lengths of sensor cable or sensor cable and jumper cable are spliced together using special high temperature crimps, fiberglass tape and protective fiberglass sleeves all rate at or above 232°C. Splicing components and supplies are packaged together in the TRM WaterWire®-USK (Universal Splice Kit). Ultimately the maximum circuit length is determining by the monitoring instruments…up to 1000 m when using the Raychem TraceTek TTSIM-1.
Branch Connectors / Feed Through Fittings:
TRM WaterWire®-BC (Branch Connectors) and TRM WaterWire®– FTF (Feed Through Fittings) are companion parts of the TRM WaterWire®-HT system. Branch connectors permit the monitoring of branch lines and even multiple levels of sub-branches as required to completely trace the piping system. No return leg wiring is needed. Simply splice in a branch connector at each pipe tee and terminate the branch run with an end termination splice. Feed through fittings use high temperature teflon insulated conductors sealed in a stainless steel pipe nipple using high temperature epoxy. A feed through fitting is used whenever the monitoring circuit enters or exits the interior of the conduit system.
Monitoring Options:
TRM WaterWire®-HT is designed to use the Raychem TraceTek instrumentation system. These include TTSIM-1, TTSIM-1A, TTSIM-2, TTC-1, TTDM-128 and TT-TS12 panels. A single calibration register is adjusted to compensate for the different ohms-per-foot standard used for TRM WaterWire®-HT. Like all of the TraceTek sensor cables, TRM WaterWire®-HT is designated “simple apparatus” per CSA/EN/IEC/UL 60079-11. The approvals that apply to the TraceTek instruments transfer to the system as a whole when using TRM WaterWire®-HT. Although rarely required for steam pipe systems, TRM WaterWire®-HT can be installed in hazardous areas up tp CID1 using zener safety barriers.