what kills ball valves
Comments
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minerals
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Crappy valves ?
There was an error rendering this rich post.
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cereal killers?
Edward Young Retired
After you make that expensive repair and you still have the same problem, What will you check next?
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I don't think you can point to any one specific thing. Lack of use certainly doesn't help, though. Mineral buildup on the ball, if it's not fully open, won't help — but periodic use should keep that to a minimum. On the other hand there are some chemicals — even additives in water, if in high enough concentrations — which can attack some seals materials. But I'm not sure you'd ever see concentrations high enough to be a problem in most of our work.
Br. Jamie, osb
Building superintendent/caretaker, 7200 sq. ft. historic house museum with dependencies in New England0 -
Letting them sit for years without being touched building up minerals etc
Also rust / grit from steam boilers from my own experience.
Use good valves and exercise them every 6 months and they'll outlast most people.
Single pipe 392sqft system with an EG-40 rated for 325sqft and it's silent and balanced at all times.
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seize up, break, leak??
Misapplied, installation error, over-heating a sweat valve.
Water quality, aggressive, high mineral content
Fluid temperature, higher temperature, more minerals precipitate
Lack of use
Quality of valve construction, low quality alloy, thin forgings
Manufacturers quality control
Bob "hot rod" Rohr
trainer for Caleffi NA
Living the hydronic dream0 -
Getting OT, but can anyone recommend a specific brand and model of ball valve that will last more than 6 months on a well system with ~ 6.5ph water? The failure mode is the shaft inside the ball corrodes and the valve can't be turned fully on or off. The valve is right off the tank manifold so it's before the acid mitigation tank.
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Curious if someone makes an inline valve like the stops I've seen that have a plastic shaft. They seem to hold up very well in general.
Single pipe 392sqft system with an EG-40 rated for 325sqft and it's silent and balanced at all times.
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Not leaving them fully opened, or fully closed.
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Of all the brands and models of ball valves we regularly use, I think the Apollo #77 are best. They do fail occasionally, but less than any other brand.
As others have mentioned the following issues are problematic:
Grit in system
Lack of usage
Heating systems with certain types of antifreeze
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pvc
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Maybe a globe or gate valve is a better option. They are less prone to sticking. Exercise it a few times a year.
Quality valves are easy to spot, thicker forging, packing nut. Apollo Watts, Nibco still build some better valves in the US.
Jomar has a quality Italian valve line.
Bob "hot rod" Rohr
trainer for Caleffi NA
Living the hydronic dream0 -
Exercise shut off annually? I try to remember to do them each leap year.
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The more you work it , the better the chance of it working when you need it.
The Caleffi LegioMix is a ball type mixing valve and once a day it rotates all the way around, to wipe scale off.
Bob "hot rod" Rohr
trainer for Caleffi NA
Living the hydronic dream0 -
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