If you would like to learn more about the Surgebuster Check Valve, please contact us on +44 870 830 2001. To read more detailed product information about the Surgebuster, please see our specific product page.

]]> http://www.mgacontrols.com/2013/03/08/the-problem-of-back-flow-throughout-history-infographic/feed/ 0 http://www.mgacontrols.com/2013/03/06/sustainability-and-the-water-industry/ http://www.mgacontrols.com/2013/03/06/sustainability-and-the-water-industry/#comments Wed, 06 Mar 2013 17:47:18 +0000 PH Creative http://www.mgacontrols.com/?p=4753 Continue reading →]]> Resources and environmental systems used in the water industry are under increasing pressure. To ensure we are able to fulfil the vision for sustainable water now and in the future, it is important to understand the true value of the resources available and to align the overall economic, social and environmental goals.

To achieve the goal of sustainable water systems, Ofwat (the Water Services Regulation Authority) has set out a strategy to work towards this vision. Ofwat is a non-ministerial government department, established in 1989, responsible for the economic regulation of the privatised water and sewerage industry in England and Wales.

One of the key things in achieving a sustainable future in the water industry will be the contribution and involvement of the water companies in helping to save energy and ultimately reduce costs to the end users as well as increasing the efficiency of their processes.

Ofwat have encouraged water companies to take responsibility for wider social, economic and environmental impacts of their activities whilst continuing to meet customer needs and maintaining high quality standards. The regulatory board has also outlined key sustainability principles for companies to work towards. These include:

• Supplying safe and reliable water and sewerage services for consumers that minimise impacts on the environment
• Ensuring that consumers continue to be treated fairly, receiving a level of service that consistently meets their needs
• Maintaining financially robust sectors that are able to meet consumer needs at a fair cost
• Utilising the best information available to support decision making

In working towards a more sustainable future in the water industry, the Val-Matic Surgebuster is suited to almost any water regulating application and has been proven to reduce energy costs up to 50% in water applications. With a shortened disc stroke and angled seating of the valve, the Val-Matic Surgebuster only has to travel 35 degrees to closure, making it the fastest-closing valve in the market. Furthermore, the unique, patented disc accelerator positioned inside the valve away from the flow path, helps to close the valve efficiently and quickly.

The Val-Matic Surgebuster has now been installed in water utility companies across the UK and has been effective in helping these utilities to meet their energy and innovation targets for working towards a sustainable future.

At MGA Controls we have a long-standing partnership, experience and technical expertise in supplying Val-Matics products to the UK water industry. For any enquiries or advice on your water management needs, call our experts on 0870 803 2001.

The ‘Economy’ award

The award for ‘Economy’ goes to the Surgebuster Swing Check Valve by Val-Matic. The Surgebuster has been proven to save up to 50% of energy costs in an application. The Surgebuster check valve has an assisted spring disc accelerator and an angled valve seat which means the valve stroke is reduced down to 35 degrees and the closing time is reduced to 0.5 seconds. This makes the Surgebuster the fastest closing valve in the market!

The ‘Problem-Solver’ award

Singer Valve have tackled one of the biggest problems in water applications; Cavitation damage! Singer Valve’s anti-cavitation trim eliminates damage caused by cavitation and reduces the negative effects of cavitation such as noise, excessive wear of parts and failure of components and nearby pipelines. Singer’s range of control valves have two heavy stainless steel sliding cages that allow for maximum flow capacity throughout the valve. Singer’s anti-cavitation trim is designed specifically for the valve and for the system and takes full account of the pressure differentials across valves to ensure they perform optimally at all flow rates.

The ‘Innovation’ award

The innovation award goes to Hobbs’ Triple Offset Butterfly Valve. Leaders in the field of triple offset, Hobbs Valve have patented their triple offset design, engineered to provide optimum performance and maximum resistance in high intensity applications. The ‘cam action’ and ‘right angled conical sealing’ design ensures that the metal sealing components are never in contact until its final degree of closing, resulting in repeatable sealing and a vastly extended valve life. Metal to metal seating ensures bubble tight closure of the valve, resulting in zero-leakage performance!

The ‘Engineers’ award

The Buschjost CLICK-ON range of solenoid valves wins the Engineer’s choice award for being the most user-friendly product on the market. The Buschjost CLICK-ON range is a range of solenoid or pressure-operated valves that have a unique style of fixing the coil in place. Where normal solenoid valves employ a clip or the use of a nut onto the threaded core tube, the “Click-On” style is a thin stainless steel spring clip which extends from the base of the core tube and latches on to the top of the coil, firmly holding it in place. This means no more tools are required when changing solenoid coils, making the engineer’s life much easier.

The ‘Newcomer’ award

The Valve-Tork range of rack & pinion quarter-turn and multi-turn range of pneumatic actuators wins the award for the ‘new kid on the block’. Valve-Tork combines quality, experience, patented technology and expertise to deliver a robust and reliable pneumatic actuator to the marketplace. Available in 18 Models, both Spring Return & Double Acting, Valve-Tork’s actuators are capable of achieving Torque figures up to 10,000Nm. So watch out actuators, Valve-Tork is here to stay!

]]> http://www.mgacontrols.com/2013/02/22/forget-the-brits-its-the-mga-awards/feed/ 0 http://www.mgacontrols.com/2013/02/22/top-5-solution-stories/ http://www.mgacontrols.com/2013/02/22/top-5-solution-stories/#comments Fri, 22 Feb 2013 16:33:35 +0000 PH Creative http://www.mgacontrols.com/?p=4680 Continue reading →]]> Here at MGA Controls we have gathered the Top 5 application stories featuring our range of valves, controls and instrumentation and the problems they solved last year…

Solution #1

Hobbs Valves installed in harsh chemical application in major Petroleum company in Oman

A major petroleum company in Oman, The Occidental’s Mechanical Vapour Compressor (MVC) facility were experiencing severe wear on the valve seats and discs of the standard buttefly valves they had installed in their plant. This was due to the harsh chemicals the plant was using to treat water. With the help of Hobbs Valve in the UK, MGA Controls, specified Hobbs Valve 8” Triple Offset Butterfly Valves in Super- Duplex 6A stainless steel. The operation of Hobbs valves is such that contact of materials is only made at the last possible point in the valve movement – The two sealing components only come into contact at the final 0.01 degree of valve movement. Hobbs Triple offset butterfly valves and their innovative metal-to-metal design, successfully overcame the problem of excessive valve breakdown at Oman MVC.

Find out more…

Solution #2

Val-Matic Surgebuster Check Valves overcame water slam or water hammer at an offshore wind-farm.

Val-Matic Surgebuster check valves were installed in an offshore helipad application with high flow rate, high pressure supply and a 12 metre head. With very noisy and damaging water slam occurring regularly, the dual disc check valves fitted were not up to the task! MGA Controls Ltd supplied Val-Matic Surgebsuter check valves to overcome the problem of water slam. With a spring-assisted disc accelerator and a 45 degree angled valve-seat, The Surgebuster is designed specifically for vertical and high head applications and is the only solution to completely overcome slamming, water hammering or surges caused by reverse flow.

Find out more…

Solution #3

Watson Smith’s I/P converters as a solution to regulating furnace temperatures in a Power generation application.

In fossil fuel applications, it is essential to ensure appropriate electronic control of the plant processes at the interface of the control system. When a furnace is fired up, the temperatures are held high throughout the day and night, even with no or minimal throughput. Cycling of furnace temperatures can invoke stresses on the furnace metal work and associated piping. To protect the plant from such variations a ‘failfreeze’ control mode is often required. Failfreeze I/P convertors can be installed in the control panels in and around the furnaces. The 422 I/P convertors provide closed-loop stability with a ‘failfreeze’ function and have been proven to perform very well in the harsh operating conditions. These devices regulate the air flow into the furnaces via dampers and thereby provide a safe effective electronic control system for the power station.

Find out more…

Solution #4

Buschjost Pilot Operated solenoid valves in laundry application

The Buschjost 2/2 solenoid valves are perfect in textile applications where linen and cloths need to be folded precisely and speedily. 2/2 Solenoid valves can be installed to control the air operating the folding mechanism. In such applications, reaction and response times of the valve are important, usually they need to respond under 25 ms. Control over the operation is essential, as the fold needs to precise, in the middle of the linen. Buschjost solenoid valves lend themselves well to applications such as these. With manual override, and low power consumption, the valves offer a low-cost, easy-to-handle, effective solution. With a larger orifice port and high-pressure capabilities, the solution offers a high flow rate. A fabric diaphragm handles the high cycle demands of such an applications well.

Find out more…

Solution #5

Val-Matic Swing-Flex check valve as a solution to valve, pump and pipework blockages

It is a very common problem in waste water applications to experience blocking of valves and the associated pumps and pipework. This is because the design of a typical weight and lever swing check valve has multiple ‘snagging’ points where material can get caught and rags can build up.  This prevents the valve from sealing and fails to prevent back flow of the media nor does it protect the pump from high surge pressures – a check valves’ primary goals! The Swing-Flex check valve overcomes these problems – the resilient hinged check valve, with no exposed components within the hinge and the integrated and fully encapsulated disc forms a single component.  The benefit is that the simplistic design offers no points of purchase for material within the media. The body is 100% ported and a 4” unit will allow a 3” solid to pass unhindered whilst the raised 45° seat reduces the likelihood of solids becoming trapped between the seat and disc as can be found with a typical swing check or ball check.  Also since the valve is fully opened at lower flow rates there is less restriction allowing the media to pass more freely.

Find out more…

Our rack & pinion, pneumatic quarter turn actuators combine quality, experience, patented technology and expertise, to exceed customer and market expectations by offering reliable and customised solutions, with a qualified service.

MGA has the capabilities in-house to assemble and test customised actuation packages offering a one-day turnaround to our customers. Investment in machinery, stock and components means we can offer competitive prices and exceptional delivery, without comprising on product quality or the customisation of our solutions.

Our Pneumatic actuators are Available in 18 Models, both Spring Return & Double Acting. The Valve-Tork Actuator is capable of achieving Torque figures up to 10,000Nm.

So if you are looking for customised actuation packages, or simply a high-quality supply of pneumatic actuators for your application, give Valve-Tork a try! We are confident we can meet your expectations, at a very competitive price.

Current systems that serve process automation and power automation within the same plant are usually separated by architectural standards, a lack of common communication and differences between company departments. Recent developments in this field mean that by integrating process automation and power automation into the same plant control system millions of pounds could be saved either through increased production or reduced operating costs.

Taking an integrated approach to automation systems allows a single overall strategy in the areas of operations, engineering and maintenance. This system, known as IEC 61850, is considered the global communication standard in substation automation and represents a massive development in simplifying the integration of protection and control IEDs.

Traditionally intelligent electronic devices (IEDs) are coupled by hard-wiring or serial interfaces and due to the extensive cabling needed and number of available protocols the cost-efficiency and bandwidth of this approach is limited. When using these complex setups it can often result in solutions being implemented on a specific project or device basis. This multiple system setup also requires a number of databases, additional engineering tools, operator systems and further system administration and maintenance.

Integration of process and power systems combines cutting-edge manufacturing technologies with IT-led solutions to provide significant benefits and setting new global standards in substation automation.

MGA Controls Ltd has expertise in designing and implementing such systems. We have over 20 years’ experience in engineering, consultancy and solution design and have successfully designed and engineered customised solutions for many end-user and OEM applications. Using state of the art technology from manufacturers such as Endress & Hauser and Emerson, our integrated systems are bespoke, fit for purpose and 100% compatible with your existing controls and instrumentation.

For more information visit our services page or get in touch!

Asset integrity specialist Control Point is proving that poor joining practices are the real reason behind pipe leakages, not polyethylene pipes.

Severn Trend Water (STW) has now established its role in improving PE pipe joining by making it compulsory for all contractors undertaking its capital programme to use a RedBox telemetry system, developed by Control Point.

The RedBox technology offers significant improvements in the installation quality of electrofusion joints. Since the introduction of this technology into Severn Trent Water the company have noticed marked improvements in the quality of their pipes.

RedBox monitors the quality of pipe joints before fusion takes place, which increases the quality of work and can help to provide a better indication of the location of any failed pipes. This system provides clear evidence that it is poor instillation that leads to pipe failure as opposed to the polyethylene product as originally thought. The telemetric technology used is made up of GSM, GPS and camera modules that are retrofitted to electrofusion boxes and butt fusion machines. To ensure that each joint is installed correctly these are then approved or sent for investigation, which ultimately leads to cost and time savings in the long term.

Reducing the damaging effect of surge in pipelines

Other ways to protect pipes, reduce wear and tear and increase longevity, is by reducing the amount of stress the pipes are under. The common problem of water surge, water slam or water hammer occurs when a valve in a water or wastewater application closes suddenly, pushing water back down the pipelines. This causes a shockwave and can cause serious damage to valves and pipelines downstream.

There are several ways of doing this, but ValMatic’s innovative design of swing check valve has proven to be the most beneficial in many applications.

ValMatic swing check valves have an unrestricted 100% flow area, smooth streamlined body contouring and the simplicity of one moving part allowing passage of large solids, minimising the potential for clogging. Non-slam is achieved by utilising a “Short Disc Stroke” (35 degree stroke) in conjunction with the unique “Memory Flex action” of the valve’s disc. This reduces potentially destructive water hammer. The Surgebuster swing check valve is even more innovative. The Surgebuster deploys a unique patented technology to provide fast closure – an adjustable disc accelerator. The disc accelerator is a precision formed stainless steel mechanism that closes the valve disc rapidly and thereby avoids slamming caused by flow reversal whilst at the same time allowing the disc to be stabilised under flow conditions.

If you are having problems with damage to your pipelines or valves in water or waste water applications, please contact us on +44 870 803 2001 or at www.mgacontrols.co.uk – we would be happy to share our expertise in this area.

It is recommended Air Valves are installed every ½ mile on a straight horizontal pipeline, and on every high point greater than one pipe diameter where the pipeline converts from a positive grade to a negative grade.

Why Air Vacuum Valves?

Air Vacuum valves are used to exhaust large quantities of Air upon system start-up, and allow air to re-enter the line upon system shut down or system failure. The valve remains closed when the system is under pressure.

An added benefit of an Air Vacuum valve is its ability to provide pipeline vacuum protection. If a negative pressure develops, the valve will open, admitting air into the line. This reduces the potential for surges and collapse of pipelines.

Why Air Release Valves?

As Air Vacuum valves do not continuously release Air during operation (they only release large quantities of air upon system start-up and shut-down), in systems where this is a requirement, an Air Release Valve is required too.

Air Release valves continuously release accumulated air during system operation; as air enters the valve, the float drops, releasing air into the atmosphere. As air is released it is displaced by water which raises the float and closes the valve.

Why Combination Air Valves?

Combination Air valves perform the functions of an Air Vacuum valve and an Are Release valve, meaning large quantities of air is released on system start-up and system shut-down, as well as air continuously being released during operation.

Val-Matic provide MGA Controls with a range of Air Vacuum, Air Release and Combination Valves in various sizes, materials and with various functions. Val-Matic’s range of Air Valves have unique features making them highly suited to potable and wastewater applications, such as stainless steel guided floats and trim and fusion-bonded epoxy coatings.

For more information on our range of Air Valves, or for specific information relevant to your unique application, please phone our technical team on +44 (0) 870 803 2001 – we have plenty of case studies which we can offer you.

Successful product lines tend to be the 82540 series, which is a general-purpose solenoid valve with forced lifting. The material is brass making it a very cost-effective valve and it used in application without differential pressure, and with neutral gases and liquid fluids.

82540 series Stainless Steel Solenoid Valve datasheet

We have also increased the stock levels for series 82590 and 82730. These solenoid valve ranges are also for without differential pressure and operate using forced lifting. The difference is these solenoid valves are in stainless steel material and can therefore be used in more harsh or critical applications, for example with aggressive gases and liquids.

82730 series Brass Solenoid Valve datasheet

These solenoid valves are for your everyday operations, and are cost-effective solutions for controlling process media.

Why buy from MGA?

• High stock levels mean we can offer competitive prices and next day shipments
• Returning customers are entitled to loyalty discounts
• Our technical engineers can specify valves & instrumentation for you – all you have to do is provide the application details.
• We are certified to ISO:9001 and therefore follow and adhere to approved quality procedures. We strive to on-time, reliable and accurate 100% of the time.
• We are generally able to offer credit accounts to our customers, which reduces admin and processing time significantly.
• We have 25 years experience in specifying and delivering Buschjost products – we know what we are doing!

If you have any feedback on Buschjost products, please leave your comments below. For any product enquiries or for technical information please visit our Buschjost solenoid valve page, or ring our technical team on +44 (0) 870 803 2001.

The Surgebuster swing check valve achieves rapid valve closure through a short disc stroke of 35 deg with an adjustable disc accelerator. This short disc stroke is less than half the stroke deployed in a conventional swing check valve. The disc accelerator is a precision formed stainless steel mechanism that closes the valve disc rapidly and thereby avoids slamming caused by flow reversal whilst at the same time allowing the disc to be stabilised under flow conditions. The accelerator is fully enclosed within the valve and completely out of the flow path.

The Surgebuster deploys a unique patented technology to provide fast closure. It prevents both slam and the resultant surge without obstructing flow or the need for maintenance. Val-matic is so confident in the Surgebusters non- slam performance that they guarantee the valve will outperform any air cushion swing check valve with weight and lever.

For more information on the Val-Matic Surgebuster swing check valve, please click on the link. Alternatively, please call our technical team on +44 (0) 870 803 2001.