PRV on steam jacket of still

[jocko]

This is all low-pressure steam.  My still comes with three ports into the steam jacket.  One for team input, which is a 1.5" threaded NPT.  The other, a 1.25" NPT condensate output on the bottom of the jacket.  The third is a 1.5" tri-clamp for a PRV valve, which I will also put a pressure gauge on.

I was at another distillery recently, and they have a very similar still with the same number of ports in the same locations.  But... they set it up such that their steam input goes to both ports on top -- there's no PRV on the steam jacket.

I called it out to the owner/distiller and asked why they did that.  He was unsure, as he had hired people to do all the steam piping.  The boiler company did not do the steam piping. 

This certainly feels like a potential safety issue.  I certainly would not have done that. But, in thinking about it it seems like a lot would have to go wrong for something bad to happen.  The jacket is rated for low pressure steam.  The boiler is outputting low pressure steam.  Seems like a blockage would just kill efficiency, not burst the steam jacket.  

I told him to talk to his boiler company to make sure that they are aware of the situation and see if they feel its a safety risk.  

Thoughts?

[Bier Distillery]

A blockage inside the steam jacket on the still is nearly impossible, so assuming the boiler is set up correctly while a PRV and gauges are nice, they don't add much value.

Their system is probably a little bit more efficient than yours.

[SlickFloss]

PRVs in the jacket are common gauges are more rare but they're included for super high level operating on pots. Lets you know how receptive your system is to energy