
Steam and Compressed Air in Food Plants: SDT Ultrasound as a Savings Lever
Food & beverage: a failed-open trap can dump >22.5 kg steam/h; up to 30% of compressed air is lost to leaks. How TRAPChecker, SDT340 and SDT acoustic tools turn losses into money and CO₂ — from SDT 2026 materials.

Source. SDT Ultrasound 2026 overview on F&B sustainability and uptime via ultrasonic financial intelligence.
Why F&B hurts more
Steam drives cooking, pasteurization, sterilization and CIP/SIP. Energy is part of the cost of quality. Compressed air — the “fourth utility” — often loses ~30% to leaks.

Steam traps
One failed-open trap can waste >22.5 kg steam/hour. TRAPChecker / SDT340 hear cycling vs continuous blow-through.


Start with a trap survey, then air-leak mapping and critical-point Vigilant. KEG TRK — savings estimate.
Equipment in this article
TRAPChecker - Steam Trap Testing
A specialised detector for testing steam-trap performance
SDT340 - Advanced Ultrasound Detector
The most advanced ultrasound detector for collecting, analysing and trending dat...
ULTRAChecker - Universal Ultrasound Detector
The universal Checker Range detector: one model for mechanical, leak, electrical...
Vigilant - Permanent Ultrasound Monitoring
A permanent ultrasound monitoring system for critical equipment, 24/7
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SDT340 for Steam Traps and Valves: What One Blow-Through Really Costs
Up to 30% of traps fail without surveys. Fixing one thermodynamic leak can save ~€2,500/year; a stuck-open float at high pressure can exceed €7,000. How SDT340 + UAS3 turn ultrasound into predictive steam maintenance.
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SDT Case: Ultrasound Saved CIP at a Food Plant — 2 of 2 Traps Failed Open
Real SDT case: a contractor at a food plant with ~30 critical steam traps bought an ULTRAChecker and found two blow-through traps on night one — before pasteurizer and CIP downtime.
