Technology

This Is What You Need To Know About Gate Valves

Electricity and water supply are two things that we need the most in our homes daily. However, while we can survive without electricity for a day, we cannot survive without a proper water supply. This is because water is fundamentally the most useful and used natural resource in this world. We need water for washing, bathing, cleaning, fire protection services, etc. However, the most important form of water is potable water. Humans cannot survive without potable water, as we need to drink to stay hydrated. Thus, a continuous supply of potable water to our water filters or taps, or RO systems is extremely important.

To make sure that the proper supply of water is always available, the contractors must make sure that the pipes are in a proper shape. A pipeline with poor support and poor valves is more likely to fail or collapse under the enormous pressure that the pipes are put through every day. The pipes are like the blood vessels in our body, every day they have to carry gallons of potable water to residential homes all over the world. If the pipelines stop working due to some kind of failure or malfunction, the whole operation comes to a crashing halt. For this reason, valves are very important. Valves can ensure that the water supply is smooth all the time, they can also prevent backflow. 

There are several types of valves, check valves, double check valves, gate valves, butterfly valves, metallic valves. Each of them have their own unique functions. Some valves are used to create isolations while others are used to modulate the flow. Some valves even have different variations, like the gate valve. When it comes to installing a valve, the contractor must be extremely careful as a wrong valve in the wrong place can cause a lot of problems. Today we will be specifically looking at gate valves, their function, their operation, and their design. There are several variations of the gate valves such as knife gate valve and ball type valve however, today we will be discussing the standard one.

A gate valve is one of the most common types of valves that you can find in any piping system. These valves are used for isolation purposes in case there is a need to isolate a specific part of the pipeline. The discs in the gate valve form a barrier-like obstruction that prevents the water from entering. The gate-like structure that the discs create gives the valve its name. A gate valve is helpful for isolation when a particular part of the pipe needs maintenance or new equipment needs to be installed. The workings of the valve are very simple however, the user must make sure that the valve is either opened or closed. These are not regulation valves so they cannot work in a semi-open position and if they are kept in that state, their discs will erode.

The design and working of a gate valve are pretty simple. There is the main body that is made out of cast iron, ductile iron, brass, or bronze. Then the discs are there which is the main part of the whole valve, as these are the things that actually stop the water from flowing. And there is the handle or the wheel which is used to control the movement of the disc. A 90-degree turn of the wheel can close or open the valve. The valves need to be completely water-tight so that there is no leakage once the discs are closed. Now that we know what these valves are, and how they work, let's look at the different types of gate valves.

There are quite a few different types of gate valves however, the most common ones are the resilient seated gate valve, the rising stem gate valve, and the non-rising stem gate valve. The seat is between the edge of the wedge and the valve body. This does not require a groove in the bottom of the valve. Therefore, resilient seated gate valves can seal around small solids carried by the water stream. The main difference between the rising stem and the non-rising stem gate valve is that the non-rising stem variant is suitable for underground services, and requires less space for installation. That is why this variant is often preferred over the rising stem one. 

All in all, gate valves are extremely easy to install and use. They are standard valves that are essential for flow isolation, and they come in a lot of different varieties. While standard gate valves are perfect for potable water supply systems, in sewage water and wastewater systems, the knife gate valve is preferred. These valves are leak-resistant, robust, and require low maintenance however, one must remember that they cannot be the replacement for regulation valves.