Gate valves are the opening and closing devices when there is a need to start and stop the flow of liquids or gases. They are usually used in plumbing systems which require strength and reliability. In this post, we examine the brass gate valve in detail covering its components, types, advantages, working principles, applications, and more. So, keep learning!
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“Brass gate valves allow for the adjustment of fluid flow by raising or lowering a gate(disc) on the inside of the valve body.”
Gate valves have been in circulation for centuries, and they are used to place water systems. They are improved from using wooden components to what are now the brass gate valves that are used today. Such valves have become extremely common within the plumbing schemes in industrial and construction settings.
The corrosion resistance that brass offers allows gate valves to be made from brass to optimize their use in water and chemical applications. Also, copper machining cutting provides excellent durability which allows it to withstand harsh environments for a long time.
Most importantly though, it is cost-effective and allows for the perfect balance on the performance and price for a range of applications.
Knowing the particulars of a brass gate valve can greatly affect the selection of the valve for your systems. So, let’s see what are those essential components of a brass gate valve;
Gate valves operate by lifting or lowering a gate or disc located in the center of the valve body with every fluid flow.
A Gate valve brass does not restrict the full opening and closing but it does minimize fluid friction when in use and ensures a close seal when required. Simply turning the hand wheel will allow spinning of the valve stem which will allow the gate to be raised or lowered as necessary.
Some of the valves will have a visible stem, which will indicate that the valve is operational.
Based on application requirements and processing requirements brass gate valves can be categorized into several types. The six most common types include:
i) Wedge Gate Valves: The wedge gate valve has a V-shape with two surfaces, the wedge angle is usually 2°52′ or 5°. The wedge design allows for better pressure resistance, suitable for high-pressure, high-temperature applications, or enhanced sealing performance situations.
ii) Parallel Gate Valves: Most parallel gate valves have two layers of gates, providing an additional layer of protection. Also, the complex structure makes the double-layer parallel gate valves a higher price.
iii) Outside Screw and Yoke (OS&Y) Gate Valves: This type of valve has an open or closed indicator OS&Y which allows seeing its status visibly.
iv) Rising Stem Gate Valves: The valve stem and gate are connected and rise and fall simultaneously. When the hand wheel is turned, the valve stem will rise and exceed the height of the hand wheel. This external structure allows easy lubrication of the stem threads, extending the valve’s service life. Additionally, it visually indicates the valve’s open or closed position, making operation convenient.
v) Non-Rising Stem Gate Valves: Also known as the concealed stem gate valve, the stem nut is located within the valve body and comes into direct contact with the medium. The valve’s opening and closing are controlled by rotating the stem.
The advantages of a non-rising stem gate valve include maintaining a constant height regardless of whether it is open or closed, making it suitable for installations with limited space.
However, its disadvantages include the inability to lubricate the stem threads, leading to potential corrosion at the bottom of the stem, which is submerged in the pipeline medium. Additionally, it is not possible to visually determine whether the valve is open or closed.
vi) Specialized Brass Gate Valves: Specific to an industry such as marine or food-grade, these types of valves are specialized.
Brass gate valves come in so many sizes which vary with applications. The size of the pipe determines the size of the valve. These sizes are, as a rule, stated in inches like brass gate valve 1/2, 2 inch brass gate valves and others, the most frequent are as follows:
Here is the corresponding data table for valve sizes and flow rates.
The valve features standard inch machining, so it can be adapted to the proper pipe size without problems and permits ease of fitting and functioning. So, make sure you take into account the specifics of the task and select the appropriate size.
Several common brass alloys are employed during the manufacturing process of gate valves. Let’s discuss the most common brass alloy numbers with their to the point description:
Lead-free brass does not put a strain on the environment and is engineered to minimize health and environmental hazards.
Following are a few points due to which brass gate valves excel in different systems:
+ Corrosion Resistance: Brass exhibits excellent corrosion resistance which guarantees durability in hostile atmospheres.
+ Durability: Withstands high pressure and temperature suitable for both private and industrial sectors.
+ Cost-Effectiveness: Reasonably priced material enabling a fair ratio of cost over performance.
+ Ease of Maintenance: Minimal service/maintenance is needed as the valves are wear-resistant.
+ Versatility: Used in various industries such as plumbing or industrial fluid systems.
Brass gate valves are widely used in the following fields:
Brass gate valves are the best option to use when regulating the flow of fluids within any system. For any device to work properly and remain in operation for a long time, it has to be installed correctly while also being maintained regularly.
Here are some simple tips which can assist an individual or a business install and maintaining their valves in an efficient manner.
! Examine the Equipment: Watch out for rusting, leaking, and tangible gouging to avert issues from worsening.
! Maintain the Valve: Eliminate impurities and accumulation to perform well.
! Provide Lubrication for Parts that Move: Provide lubrication so that sticking occurs and wearing out is reduced.
Brass gate valves are essential elements in fluid control systems and deliver high reliability, excellent determination, and low maintenance. Knowing the parts, kinds, and benefits of these valves is beneficial to you if you are a homeowner, or plumbing specialist as they can assist you in your endeavor.
Given their high corrosion resistance and durability, brass gate valves represent an economical option for home and industrial applications.
BMAG as a professional valve manufacturer, offers high-quality brass valves at highly competitive prices, ensuring we meet our customers’ needs with the best service. Contact us.
Q.1 What is a brass gate valve used for?
A brass gate valve is employed in regulating the flow of liquids or gases in a tube as a means to restrict it to a quarter turn shut or open.
Q.2 Which is better brass or bronze gate valves?
Being less costly, the brass gate valves are most preferred as this type has heightened resistance to corrosion and increased longevity.
Q.3 What are the 2 types of gate valves?
For more information, please visit Irrigation Gate Valve.
Two types of gate valves are wedge gate valves and parallel gate valves.
Q.4 Are brass valves better?
Yes, because brass is effective weldable, easily cast, solid in machining, and cost-effective while proving to be durable.
Q.5 When not to use a gate valve?
Gate valves are not to be applied in cases when flow regulation of any kind is required. Gate valves are designed for fully open or fully closed cases.
Q.6 What are the disadvantages of gate valves?
Gate valves tend to be bulky, which makes them larger than other valves parts which makes them more difficult to install.
Q.7 What is the most commonly used gate valve?
Wedge gate valves are usually the most used as they are the simplest type and can provide a reliable seal.
Q.8 How to open a brass gate valve?
Turn the hand wheel in an anti-clockwise direction to open a brass gate valve.
Creating design/builds for commercial irrigation projects can feel like walking a tight rope. You need to find balance between overdesigning, which has the potential to price you out of the market, and under-designing where you may not meet a client’s needs or expectations.
When you find the right balance, the opportunity is tremendous and will allow you to outperform and outsell the competition. Better yet, having the right balance doesn’t mean you have to choose the least expensive products to stay competitive either. The opportunity is in how you help your client approach total cost of ownership for a project. So, what do I mean by that?
The total cost of ownership includes hard costs such as installation, maintenance, repairs, water, power and landscape replacement, and maintenance costs. But there are nontangible costs that are often just as critical to the client such as playability of sports fields, usability of open park spaces, and curb appeal to renters/commercial tenants/users.
Offering value-added solutions can help lower the total cost of ownership for your client. Yes, there may be a higher upfront investment cost but things like less maintenance, remote monitoring to fix issues before they become a problem, increased usable lifespan (doubling to tripling it), and the functionality to add service contracts help lower the total cost of ownership for a client. A brief explanation in your proposal of each value-added option could separate you from the competition and help create a consultative relationship with the decision makers.
Below are four examples of value-added options to help you find the right balance with your commercial irrigation projects and help you stand out from your competition:
End-Fed Zone
Think of a row of ten heads fed from a valve at one end. This is referred to as end-fed. Since dynamic pressure is always greater closer to the valve, the first head will see the most pressure. Due to friction loss through pipe, the tenth head will see the least pressure, assuming no downward slope.
For best performance, dynamic pressure at the last head of any zone should be within 5 – 10% of the first head. This can be difficult to achieve in end-fed zones. Operators will often increase run time to make the furthest area of the zone as lush and green as the area closest to the valve. This however results in wasted water, need to water outside of acceptable times, overwatered plant material, saturated/unhealthy turf—and ultimately wasted money.
Center-Fed Zone
Now, think of those same ten heads being fed by the valve placed between the fifth and sixth heads. There will be five heads on each side. This is referred to as center-fed. When the zone operates, the dynamic pressure at the first two heads on each side of the valve will be the same, as will the second two heads, and so on. Essentially, there will be only five different dynamic pressure readings at all ten heads rather than ten different readings like with end-fed.
Center-fed zones make it easier to keep dynamic pressure throughout the zone from varying by more than 5 – 10%. Center-fed zones may require more lateral pipe, which means a higher initial cost but ultimately the long-term results will speak for themselves: water savings, labor savings, less likely to need to treat unhealthy turf or replace plant material—and ultimately a lower total cost of ownership for your client and less headaches all around.
How to Calculate the “Sweet Spot”
The manufacturer’s spray and rotor performance charts are based on dynamic pressure at the base of the head and show the resulting flow in gallons per minute and radius of throw. All nozzles available for the head are shown in the charts. For each nozzle, 5 or 6 dynamic pressure points are usually given. The “sweet spot” of best performance for that product is usually in the middle of the points shown. I always recommend to design at the “sweet spot.”
For your system to work correctly when installed, it is critical that the heads operate at the dynamic pressure selected in your design. If pressure is higher than the design point, too much water will flow. This could result in an inefficient spray pattern that is more susceptible to wind drift or the radius of throw could be reduced, resulting in dry areas. Operators will often increase run time, attempting to eliminate the dry areas but they actually just end up wasting water and money.
Eliminate Excess Pressure & Inefficiencies
Pressure regulation can easily eliminate the consequences of excess pressure. You should always perform friction loss calculations on your design—it is better to know before installation that regulation will be necessary than to have to add it later. There are several pressure regulation choices: an in-line regulator at the point of connection, an add-on regulator at the master and/or zone valves, and built-in regulation at the spray or rotor.
Generally, regulation at the head is best because it is closest to the nozzle. Virtually all manufacturers have optional regulation built into spray and rotor bodies designed to reduce excess pressure to the sweet spot. Since it is built into the body, it cannot be added later without replacing the existing body. This is never a good choice; plan carefully in advance so it will not be necessary. Also note, that several states are now requiring pressure regulating heads, I anticipate that we will see this trend continue and more regulations added.
Manufacturers offer optional add-on regulation for their commercial valves. Read the specifications carefully – they work only within certain flow and pressure ranges. They often require higher flow than the valve is capable of managing without the added regulator.
In-line regulators at the point of connection are typically made of bronze and rated for very high pressure – often up to 300 PSI. Common regulators can be used to reduce pressure by 20 to 75 PSI.
In cases of very high system pressure, it is often necessary to use two forms of regulation: at the point of connection and at the valve or head. Regulation at the point of connection lowers system pressure to a range that the regulator at the valve or in the head can manage.
Flow sensors should be used when clients need to report water usage or if they wish to track usage for their own purposes. Several types of sensors are available: impeller, magnetic and ultrasonic. Care should be taken in selecting the right type and size.
For most relatively simple commercial applications, an impeller meter is fine and is usually the most cost effective. Different sensors provide different outputs to the controller. It is important to know the differences and the types of inputs your controller of choice can accept. If you are not sure, let us advise you. We can also advise you if the controller and controller software can provide data in the format that meets your client’s needs.
Depending on hydraulic design, flow sensing can become complex. Commercial controllers may manage multiple mainlines, there may be multiple controllers managing one mainline or multiple points of connection into one mainline. In very large mainlines, a “bypass” sensor in a small section of main can pick up lower flow rates beyond the capability of the large sensor.
Isolation valves can be on the mainline and before each zone valve. These can be either gate or ball valves and brass or plastic. Isolation valves are helpful on long mains, looped mains, and those with various submains. Think in terms of repairing the main in case of a leak or break. Instead of shutting down the entire system, it is always better to isolate just a section for repairs while letting the rest continue to operate.
Isolation valves in front of zone valves are helpful when the valve needs to be opened for repair. This avoids the need to shut down and drain the entire main, or a section of the main to do a simple valve repair. I once saw a large system take 24 hours to drain before a damaged valve diaphragm could be replaced. The replacement took 15 minutes, but an entire irrigation cycle was lost.
Finally
At Central Turf, we are experienced in commercial design and projects. Ask us your toughest questions; we are here to assist and help make you more efficient, competitive, and profitable in your commercial work.
About Dave Shane
Dave has more than three decades of experience in the irrigation industry in both distribution and manufacturing roles. He specializing in commercial project solutions with an emphasis on controls to meet complex requirements. He is an excellent resource for any technical questions about irrigation systems and finding the right solutions for efficient irrigation systems.
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