Air-cooled, vacuum steam condenser

Claim 1

An air-cooled, vacuum steam condenser, comprising a plurality of tube bundles each having an inlet header for introducing steam into one end of the tubes, and an outlet header at the other end of the tubes of each bundle from which condensate may be removed, fans for causing air to pass over the tubes of the bundles and arranged with the bundles as first and second sets of fan cells, having respectively greater and lesser numbers of fans, means for removing non-condensible gases from the outlet headers of the bundles, including first manifold means common to the outlet headers of the first set of fan cells, second manifold means common to the outlet headers of the second set of fan cells, first and second independent non-condensible gas removal means connected, respectively, with said first and second manifold means for discharging the non-condensible gases therein to the atmosphere at a pressure which prevents backflow into the manifold means, and means for turning the fan or fans of each set on or off independently of the fan or fans of the other set, whereby the total air flow through the tubes of the bundles of said sets may be controlled by selectively turning the fans of both sets on or off, or turning the fan or fans of one set on and those of the other set off, without interfering with the non-condensible gas removal means connected with other sets.