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Purchasing low-cost valves can be tempting, especially on a project with tight budget constraints. While this saves dollars in the short run, plant personnel may be faced with costly issues once the plant is operating – shorter valve life cycles, leakage, forced shutdowns, repairs, replacements and, in the worst case, accidents. While it may carry a higher up-front cost, investing in the right quality valve solutions reduces direct maintenance costs and lost production due to downtime, ultimately providing a better return on investment over the service life of the valve.
Increased emphasis on ESG and sustainability reporting will require businesses to adjust their thinking about cost to include the social and environmental impacts of procurement choices from “cradle to grave” or, in a more circular way, from “cradle to cradle” when reuse or recycling are possible. Reducing waste and lowering safety and environmental risks deliver additional value add beyond up-front cost savings when ESG impacts are considered in procurement.
Our goal at Armour Valve is to help our customers select solutions that will deliver the best overall long-term value. We are often called on to help replace “problem valves” that wear out in service much more quickly than anticipated. Our customers are surprised at the full cost of inferior valves selected primarily on price or because they meet minimum specification requirements.
Below is an oversimplified example of TCO for valves that have a significant difference in purchase price to help illustrate this point. The higher quality valve can be repaired in-line at lower cost and with longer time between maintenance. Without accounting for the full TCO that would include additional acquisition costs, disposal costs, and lost production, the high-quality valve that requires less frequent maintenance is the clear winner. The $9,700 saved up front by purchasing the low-cost model is negated in the first 3 years due to maintenance.
Cost Category Low-Cost Option High-Quality Option Purchase price $16,000 $25,300 Installation cost $7,000 $7,000 Maintenance cost per cycle $7,000 $3,000 Maintenance cycle (years) 1 3 Expected lifespan (years) 3 15 Total maintenance 10 4 Total replacements 5 1Total Maintenance Cost $70,000 $12,000 Total Replacement Cost $51,000 $28,300 $121,000 $40,300
Although lowest total cost of ownership can be achieved on your own, working with a reputable supplier can help you save time sourcing a solution. It also allows you to work with industry experts to help you find the best-fit solution for your specific application and support you long after your initial purchase.
When researching a valve supplier, we recommend that you confirm up front how they approach maintenance, whether they stock or can provide replacement parts in a timely manner, and the expected cost and frequency of replacement in the application. These are crucial factors when determining your total cost of ownership.
Conval manufactures valves for the world’s most demanding service that can be repaired in-line, saving time and money and reducing waste and downtime. The modular design ensures that parts that are manufactured today are compatible with valves that have been in service for years. We know of Conval valves that have been performing in service for decades.
Boehmer District Energy ball valves offers durability ensuring several years of corrosion free performance. A fully welded trunnion mounted design ensures there are no leak paths and that the valve is able to operate and fully seal even after several years in service. It is designed to be maintenance free under normal operating conditions, making it especially attractive for buried service where they can perform in service 30+ years.
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VRG Valve Pilot Controllers are easily adaptable to most control valves. The modular plug and play design allows for five (5) Valve Pilot Controllers in a single platform providing flexibility in converting from one model to another with ease. Not only does this make maintenance easier; it is also less costly as fewer repair kits are needed.
Quality engineered solutions and the correct selection of valves for the application are needed to ensure optimal process performance. With 50+ years of experience in energy and industrial applications and a team of knowledgeable valve professionals, Armour Valve is equipped to help you identify solutions that will deliver value to your plant over a long service life. Contact Armour Valve to set up a one-on-one consultation with our team.
There are different types of ball valves with various designs for various uses. But the fundamental ball valve part is common among them. The ball valve can be classified based on the following features:
We will review the most common and popular ones here in detail.
The full port ball valve is one of the most expensive ball valves. In this type of ball valve, the hole is oversized, allowing unrestricted flow of material (liquid, gases, vapors, etc.). In addition, the size of the hole and pipeline are almost the same size allowing the flow of material with very little or no friction.
Full port ball valves are efficient for throttling applications in various systems with high flow coefficients and low-pressure drops.
The standard port ball valve has a smaller ball and port as compared to the full port ball valve. Therefore, it is often cheaper than other types of Ball Valves. The flow is slightly restricted due to the pipe size, but it does not restrict flow too much. Although the standard port valve is cheaper than other ball valves, it has higher pressure drops than other types.
Standard port valves are excellent for systems having a high flow coefficient. They are very common in the market and are used in almost every industry, requiring a ball valve. They can also be used as a one-size-fits-all valve. However, it has one drawback; since they have restricted flow, these types of valve can be worn out by overuse.
A reduced port ball valve, shortly known as RB, has reduced ball valves to control the shrinkage of flow as needed. In reduced port ball valves or reduced bore, the flow area is smaller than the size of the pipe. This means that the incoming pipe is reduced by size on one side of the valve, which helps the valve create the pressure drop in the pipeline. The reduced port ball valve’s feature of restricted flow makes it useful in many industrial applications.
The V in the v-port ball valve represents either the shape of the seat or the shape of the ball, but most commonly, it is the shape of the ball. V port ball valve helps you to control the flow rate efficiently. It also enables you to control the opening and the closing better. It has a linear type of flow characteristic. These types of Valves face high velocities of fluids, forcing designers to develop more robust construction for them since these types of fluids quickly damage a standard valve. V port ball valve is also useful in maintaining flow characteristics.
A ball valve that has a mechanically anchored ball is known as a trunnion ball valve. These ball valves have a pin that secures the ball in place and stops its movement. This valve has two shafts at the opposite ends of the ball, which enable the supporting of a segmented ball by the valve and enable the system to cause less friction between different parts of the true union valve.
The trunnion valve has a high scope in systems with high velocities as they can stand higher pressure than the standard port ball valve. It allows the ball to still operate while being very efficient and long-lasting.
Trunnion ball valves can easily stand pressure even higher than 600 psi. So they are an essential part of operations where high-pressure flow is expected. They are durable and long-lasting, and one can remove them from the system if necessary.
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