Ball valves are on/off valves that spin a quarter turn to regulate the flow of gas or liquid. As the name suggests, they use a hollow pivoting ball that turns 90° to stop or let media travel through the port (or bore).
Ball valves may be opened and closed automatically or by hand. They can be powered by air, water, or electricity, although most of the time they are opened and closed by hand using a lever handle. The location of this lever makes it easy to see whether the valve is open or closed. Ball valves are a quicker way to manage media on and off than valves that need to be turned all the way around or more than once to get to their open or closed states.
One- or two-way ball valves feature a single port in the middle of the ball. However, there are multi-port ball valves that can send (or choose) media in more than one direction or that can handle media from more than one source in the pipe system. There are full-port, standard-port, reduced-port, and V-port ball valves. You may also pick from several different body styles, such as 1-piece, 2-piece, and 3-piece bodies.
When to Use Ball Valves?
People like ball valves a lot because they last a long time, can be used in many different ways, have a rapid cycle time, and provide a leak-proof seal. They are often used in homes and businesses. They can handle both liquids and gases, and they let process pigging happen. This is a cleaning procedure that uses a device called a pig to clean pipes. Ball valves are quite useful, however they shouldn’t be used for control applications where very accurate flow control is needed.
Ball valves are used in pipe systems in these fields and uses:
- Oil and gas
- Refining oil
- Food and drink
- Car
- Car wash systems Power processing
- Medicinal
- Chemical additives and treatment
- Tools for watering plants and cleaning water
- Factories
Butterfly Valves:
Butterfly valves are like ball valves in that they are on/off quarter-turn valves. They are called that because they look like butterfly wings. Butterfly valves, on the other hand, feature a disk that cuts the valve chamber in half vertically instead of a perforated ball. You may get them in one- or two-piece designs. In the one-piece form, the disc will turn on a vertical axis to let media through. The two-piece design has two parts that fold toward one other (like a butterfly) to let media through.
Butterfly valves, like ball valves, may be opened or closed mechanically or by hand using a level or handwheel. It’s not a good idea to use butterfly valves for applications that need precise control.
The disk on the butterfly valve usually makes a tight seal while the valve is closed, however, this seal becomes less trustworthy as pressure rises. When the media is under high pressure, it is harder to open the valve when it is closed, and the pressure drop is more when the media starts to flow again. Sometimes, particularly in pipelines with a greater diameter, a bypass valve is needed to relieve this pressure.
When should you use butterfly valves?
People like butterfly valves for systems that move fluids without any solid particles. They are also good for hygienic uses since they don’t trap media while they are “off,” which is not the case with ball valves. It’s not hard to clean three-piece butterfly valves (with a removable middle part) or those with tri-clamp connections. You may find butterfly valves in these industries and uses:
- Treatment of sewage and wastewater
- Transporting water in cities
- Processing chemicals
- Irrigation and processing systems for agriculture
- Making food
Ball Valve or Butterfly Valve? Important Things to Think About:
An expert valve maker can help you figure out which valve is ideal for your system and answer any questions you have.
- There are always exceptions to the rule, but in general, you should choose a ball valve if
- Your application needs quick cycle times.
- Your system can produce up to 1,000 PSI of pressure.
- Seals that are reliable and don’t leak are needed.
- You need a valve that can handle both liquid and gas media and a multi-port flow pattern.
- Your system works a lot of the time
- Your system needs pigging.
- Your application is on the smaller side since the pipes are less than 6 inches wide.
If you want a butterfly valve,
- Your system generates less than 250 PSI of pressure, and you don’t have a lot of money.
- Heavy valves can’t be supported by your system.
- A decline in pressure and a danger of leaks won’t be a big problem.
- Your mechanism for processing is based on water.
- You don’t need to pig your system.
Butterfly valves are usually thought to be lighter than ball valves, particularly when they are bigger, since the disc puts less weight on a pipe system than a solid ball of the same size. People also think they are cheaper than ball valves since they have fewer components.
