How Do Ball Valves Work?
Ball valves have increased in popularity over the last few years, offering excellent solutions to many diverse applications. Ball valves offer ease of use in both the fitting and its maintenance. It is a preferred option, adopted by many Engineers. A ball valve is classed as a quarter-turn shut-off or isolation valve that controls the flow of a liquid or gas by way of a spherical ball with a hole bored through the centre and held into the valve body by two identical seat seals. Once fitted the valve is turned 90°, the valve opens or closes. When the valve is open the ball's, hole is in line with the flow direction and closes when it is turned 90°by either a manual handle or by actuation. When the valve is open the lever handle should align with the pipe or flow and is perpendicular to the pipe when it is closed. This makes it easy to determine the position status of the valve. Ball valves usually have a long operating life before maintenance is required (around 50,000 oper