Valmatic – Solutions in Water Management with Ball Valves…


The Roseland Pumping Station is in Chicago and is the largest of three stations in the city.  They transport on average 39000 million gallons of potable water annually.  The station has five pumps which each have a 24” metal seated ball valve, one of which started to leak and stick.  The seat on the valve had been replaced and was continuing to stick and the condition of the valve was deteriorating to a point of needing a full replacement.

 

The station contacted Valmatic, a leader in the design and manufacturing of quarter turn shut-off valves, air valves, check valves and foot valves for municipal,  water/wastewater, power, industrial, and HVAC building applications.  The needs of the station were discussed and Valmatic invited them to witness their ball valve testing.  They decided that the 24” double seated AWWA class 150  Ener•G® Ball Valve would be the ideal valve for their application.

The key design features of the ball valve and the short lead time for the replacement of a failing valve led to this decision.

 

The main selling points for the plant were;

  • Valmatics ability to create a solution to their problem and their quick response
  • The ball valves compatibility with the existing actuator and adjustability
  • The replacement seat
  • The flow characteristics being equivalent to the existing metal seated ball valve
  • The Ener•G® Ball Valves ease of serviceability – adjustment of the resilient seat is easily performed with a torque wrench, unlike many other valves which require hypodermic needles or pressure pots for adjustment
  • The valve is coated internally and externally with NSF 61 fusion bonded epoxy per AWWA C550.
  • The materials and engineering of the Ener•G® Ball Valve are specifically designed for continuous service and the fusion bonded epoxy coating is able to withstand the rigors of most liquid applications

 

The Ener•G® AWWA Rubber Seated Ball Valve

The Ener•G® Ball Valve is designed for tight seating, long life and energy savings.  The Ener•G® Ball Valve utilizes resilient seat technology and when fully open the seat is completely out of the flow stream. The seat is fully adjustable or replaceable with minimal downtime and is available in single or double-seated for sealing in one or two directions. The Ener•G® Ball Valve seat utilizes the Tri-Loc™ seat retention system and is secured by three methods: clamp force, through-bolting, and opposing registers in the ball and seat-retaining ring. Tightening the Nylok cap screws provides the clamp force and these same screws provide through-bolting seat retention by passing through the precision molded holes in the Buna-N seat. Finally, molded shoulders in the seat are captured by registers and serrations in the ball and the retaining ring preventing outward movement of the seat.

 

The Ener•G® Ball Valve offers long-term energy savings. When fully open, the Ener•G® Ball Valve provides a 100% clear flow area equal to the valve size. Thus, the valve headloss is equal to an equivalent length of pipe and will represent a significant savings in pumping costs. The Ener•G® Ball Valve consumes the least amount of energy of any control valve

 

Workers at the water plant stated that they were impressed with the availability of the Ener•G ® Ball Valve, the design features, long-term cost savings, and the ability to incorporate the valve into an existing application.