Ball Valves: history & mystery
Here is everything you need to know about ball valves. Reading this will cause you to take a second thought on how you treat your natural gas and electricity. You will never think of it the same again. Well, hopefully you won’t anyways.
(Source: Engineering Circle the Independent Global Register of Ball Valve Suppliers)
The origins of the ball valve are not very well known. In fact, it is slightly mysterious as to how this product came to being. Although you do not have to go full Sherlock Holmes to solve the case. Let’s see what we can discover together, shall we? The ball valve is beyond valuable. It is used in a huge array of industries. It is used in restaurants, medical, paper-making, chemicals, electricity, etc. That is just to name a few! This means that the ball valve is critical to our society. We cannot get along without it. Seeing how important it is, it is amazing the invention of it took so long.
How long does the history of the ball valve go? Does it go back to as far as Ancient Greece or the American Revolution? Different sources report different things. It has been reported that the modern ball valve was invented somewhere between 1957 and 1967. Does it even matter when it was invented? Well, the patent owner probably cares about this fact. This has been a major advancement over plug valves that were used in the 20th century. The earliest ball valves were available for commercial consumption around 1967. As far as ancient ball valves, the ruins of Pompeii turned a bronze tapered plug into something that resembles the ball valve we know today. Talk about a mystery, right?
Ball Valve Birth Pains
A ball-type valve was patented in 1871. This led to the invention of today’s ball valve. The original ball was all brass with brass seats. This ball did not do well in the markets and was not available to the consumer as readily as they are today. This ball was not mentioned in any valve catalogs from the late 1800’s. The ball valve we know today is a recent invention. However, the concept of the ball has been around for about 125 years. The first resilient seated ball was issued a patent in April 1945. According to legend, the company’s marketing company did not know how useful the ball valve was. They were not really sure how to market it because of that reason.
Ham-Let is the leading producer in ball valves on basis of quality, variety, and over all development. For more information on Hamlets ball valve line, please contact Ham-Let
Introduction of the Ball Valve
The ball valve was invented sometime in the 1950s. It was developed at a very fast pace. It has grown in popularity all over the world in countries such as USA, Canada, Germany, Japan, France, etc. This is just to name a few. The varieties of ball valves have increased with great intensity and it continues to grow. Engineers continue to to perfect the ball valve. They are always finding ways to make it last longer. They work on applications of high temperatures, high pressure, secure sealing, and greet adjustment. This dedication has helped greatly in the stability and capability of the ball valve. A higher level of achievement was accomplished and this is able to take place of pre-existing valves. Ball valves are used in a wide variety of industries such as food services, beverages, and construction.
The Main Features of Ball Valves:
- Low Flow Resistance
The passage can be divided into full port as well as reduced port. Regardless its factor of flow resistance is similar. The diameter of the full-port valve is similar to the diameter that makes the partial resistance equal to the friction resistance. This means that the full-port valve has the lowest flow resistance in comparison to others.
- Quick and Easy to Open and Close
The valve has a 90-degree manual handle. This makes it easy to open and close.
- Great Sealing
The most flexible materials such as PTFE make up the sealing element. They are combined with metal and non-metal materials that is called soft sealing. This is generally easy to guarantee in terms of effectiveness.
- Longer Duration
The friction between the sealing element and ball is reduced by the PTFE. The rough surface of the ball is also reduced which increases the life span.
- Smooth surfaces facilitate the transportation of sticky fluid, serous fluid, and particles better.
- Lubricants are not needed to assist in maintenance.
- Bi-directional setting can occur under higher pressure and temperature.
- The sealing elements in the body are able to separate the medium that can prevent the growth of erosion.
- It is light in weight and combat in nature which means it is able to handle low temperatures.
- The symmetrical design is easy to take the pressure from pipeline.
- The ball can be buried underground in order to prevent the components inside the body from eroding. It can last up to 30 years underground.