Expanded design, cumbersome piping problems, additional actuation costs and a large footprint are often the results of individual valves performing redundant individual functions or tasks. By looking beyond yesterday’s selections you could avoid these cumbersome issues in the future.

Stackable Systems Avoid Redundancies

Valves today are easier to adapt and offer additional advantages you could benefit from.  One example is Evsco’s modular Stack Valve System. Designs that utilize Stack Valve Systems generally handle comparable flows but reduce the complexity and costs, both upstream and downstream. Stack Valve Systems increase performance by reducing the number of actuators in the system leading to a more efficient compact design.

When compared to existing systems, Stack Valves consistently meet and exceed expectations because of these reasons.

• Stackable designs are compact and flexible.
• Their versatile design makes them highly configurable to meet sophisticated and diverse requirements.
• Stack valves can be easily disassembled for service or for adding options and functions.
• Assembly time is reduced.
• System space and overall footprint are lessened
• Operation is easy and reliable.
• Multiple Valves can be operated using one pneumatic or electric actuator.
• Stack valves are available in flow styles, sizes, with modular conceptual design.
• All wetted surfaces provide chemical resistance suitable for use with high purity or aggressive chemicals.
• Innovative valve designs enable a very high flow rate with a small footprint.
• Industry standard FNPT port connections are available for easy integration into a variety of systems.

Valves to Match Your Application

Evsco valves can be used in a wide variety of applications, including instrumentation, research and development, pilot and process sampling, gas chromatography, inks, P&P, medical, pharm., complex fluid transfer circuitry, remote control and positioning, and switching and transfer systems.

Evsco valves have a long history of being able to withstand demanding applications under a wide range of pressure, temperature, and corrosive conditions.  Utilizing a wide variety of materials, porting arrangements and sizes, Evsco valves provide you the ability to select the most efficient and appropriate valve, whatever your requirements may be.

Engineers and repair workers are always trying to make industrial valves fit their needs – needs their valves were just not intended to meet.  In an effort to “meet spec,” design strategies are often driven by constraints, workarounds and tradeoffs resulting in far from “optimal solutions.” OEMs, their customers, nor end users win when they have to settle for less than what is possible and achievable. However, this scenario occurs each time past decisions are repeated without exploring the most current alternatives available.

When Off-The-Shelf Is Still Off the Mark

When you have a specific situation that an off-the-shelf valve won’t quite solve, or maybe nothing exists to address the situation at all, consider a customized approach to meet your exact needs. Today, valves could be customized quickly and within budget when you know where to look.

Range Of Valve Customization

The term custom is conceptually understood, but its definition may vary from company to company. EVSCO, for example, offers standard valves in a variety of sizes and configurations, all of which can be modified in numerous ways to meet your needs. With EVSCO’s unique valve design, versatility and variations, their existing line can potentially be modified into a specialty product to meet your for fit, form, and function requirements.

Some features that EVSCO can customize include, but are not limited to:

• Seal materials
• Flow patterns
• Materials
• O-Rings
• Valve components

A recommendation and quote can be provided in as little as two working days after understanding and analyzing a custom valve’s requirements, application, surroundings, and any other influencing factors. Once approved, the custom valve’s design and flow are tried and tested prior to shipment.

Custom Valve Example

A manufacturing design called for limited space with nearby obstructions. The solution was to eliminate a second valve system by using a 4-way valve to obtain identical flow capabilities. This flow pattern may not have been possible with other valves due to their inherent design. But because of EVSCO’s unique construct, space requirements were met without compromising its design.

Most manufacturers are not interested in offering specialty or custom valves unless they are guaranteed a high-volume, long-term sale. In this case, EVSCO was able to supply the OEM with a custom valve without a mass quantity commitmentor a horrendous short run cost. EVSCO reacted and responded quickly, shifting focus and finalizing a new design within days. In fact it took EVSCO less than a week to respond with the perfect solution and a fair price.

Good Enough Should Never Be an Option

A specialty or custom valve solution will always be a better fix than a compromise or workaround. In many cases a new, highly specialized product can be developed from an existing line of industry proven products to ideally suit stringent applications and requirements.

If you’ve settled for good enough in the past because it was the best option at the time, recheck your equipment for opportunities to improve productivity, minimize parts, space and money. You could add value to your company, customers, and end users now that you know where to look!

Before replacing existing ball valves or developing a new design consider these five often overlooked and misunderstood criteria. These points will help you make the most informed decision by considering a wider array of options including the latest available technology.

1. Performance
   Look for valves with "Full Flow" capability. This feature is essential to scale the appropriate valves for optimal flow. You’ll also benefit from the lighter weight, the ability to adapt actuation and no particle hang-up.

2. Customization
   The ability to customize your valve is important because customization allows you to design lighter, more compact valve packages that can be mounted where they will be less susceptible to external damage. With customization you can have exactly what you want instead of settling for what is available (and potentially paying for features you won’t use). Look into companies such as Evsco for customizable valves as a means of addressing your existing constraints.

3. Design
   Take advantage of the latest advancements in design. Many are unique and worth investigating such as the Multi Stack Valve System. The Multi Stack Valve System features a modular design which can be stacked or coupled in any 90 degree orientation with single manual, electric or pneumatic operation for increased versatility and ease of use. Its single actuation provides space savings, cost advantages and are available in most "Flow Solution" configurations.

   Modulating electric actuation is also an option for specific valves, offering positioned intermediate of full open/close. Input signals allow for complete control over the position of the valve. Users can move the valve to the desired set up positions without having to have a handheld control source. Once in position these settings are stored digitally into the microprocessor so there are no trim pots to adjust and allows for control problems such as a blocked valve by shutting down and sending alarm signals to the control room.

4. Serviceability
   Avoid un-piping your system by only investing in valves that can be removed and replaced quickly In-Line, and completely disassembled for easy cleaning.  This is no longer a nice to have feature, but a necessity when selecting a valve.

   Only evaluate valve systems that arrive fully assembled and tested, and ready to run by sampling mounting the package on the machine, connecting and bleeding it.

5. Durability
   Evsco valves are ideal for liquid, gas and vacuum applications. Use them for corrosive and aggressive fluids as well as inks, medical, pharmaceutical, pulp and paper applications to name a few. For long lasting durability and rust-resistance insist on Polypropylene or PVDF. All wetted components on Evsco, for example, use FDA grade materials of construction and use Viton® O-rings as a standard. However, you can substitute O-rings to suit.

   Stack valve systems are available, proven, and can be an optimal cost saving ball valve replacement for you.

You’re probably already familiar with the benefits of ball valves, but do you know how to get ball valve functionality and customized fluid compatibility without flow restrictions?  If not, you’re not alone.

General Ball Valve Limits

When ball valves were initially introduced in the 50’s they were optimized for shutoff applications, frequent on-off service, instantly large flow processes  (i.e. safety systems or cooling water systems), and systems where the pressure drop across the valve is expected to remain fairly constant (i.e. steady state systems).

In addition to its strengths, ball valves in general share inherent limitations. Across all styles, ball valves have known issues with stem leakage, seat leakage, high pressure recovery, stops not properly set or operators not mounted correctly. In addition, they are difficult to clean, which is why ball valves are not recommended for pharmaceutical, bioprocessing, or food and beverage applications. Because ball valves are basically go, no-go devices, they tend to also be lousy regulators unfit for permanent throttling. And its poor throttling characteristics make ball valves prone to cavitation which is why ball valves are commonly found in flowing systems on ships, fire safe protection services and chlorine manufacturers.

Specific ball valve styles have their additional problems. Floating ball valves, for example, encounter issues with high friction and hysteresis.  Segmented and trunnion style ball valves suffer from limited differential pressure.

Overcoming Ball Valve Limits

While the limitations and constraints of ball valves are well known, alternatives are not. Today, not only are there options, but additional benefits such as more configurable pressure, improved machine control solutions and a consolidation of multiple valve functions into one. EVSCO, for example, offers many different flow solutions to support engineering design.

Stack Valve Advantages Not an Option for Ball Valves

Stack Valves are modular systems that combine multiple control functions into a single assembly. Its improved design offers the flexibility to combine similar or dissimilar flow options with a single actuation. In one assembly you could now combine a broad choice of valves, configurations, actuation, and flow styles.

To accommodate the most complex OEM requirement, multiple flow paths with a single, manual, electric or pneumatic actuation are controlled in one operation system. These valves can be configured in parallel, but because they are modular, they allow for any 90 degree port mounting configuration to help eliminate space and ease design.

This functionality allows designers to include any combination of the 2-Way, 3-Way, 4-Way, and 5-Way flow paths in one stack valve system operated by one actuator. As a result, a single actuator driving two valves will improve performance and reduce costs.

EVSCO Modular Stack Valve Systems offer ball valve functionality, in-line cleaning and servicing, a choice of O-ring materials and inert valve body material. Stack valves eliminate the need to design around constraints, space limitations without flow restrictions and volume.  Its unique flow configurations enables the selection of the most appropriate valve for the most efficient system design. Each valve is air-tested under water before shipment for long life and trouble-free operation.

While ball valves have their advantages in specific situations, they are not always the optimal choice. So before replacing or specifying your ball valve, evaluate your options. Many alternatives might have been overlooked in the past or available but unknown. There are also many new entrants that were not previously in existence that could be the optimal valve for you.

Added Costs of Valves in Sequence

Applications often require multiple actuated valves to run in series, which tags on the added baggage of complicated designs and higher costs. With applications that run valves in sequence or multiple actuated valves, each individual valve needs its own actuation. Purchasing several electric or pneumatic actuated units can significantly bump up costs, not to mention the cumbersome planning involved with creating the design footprint. Luckily, a solution exists for OEMs to avoid these added expenses and simplify their design.

Introducing: The Elliptomatic Stack Valve System

The “Stack Valve,” part of EVSCO’s Elliptomatic series, has the capabilities of operating multiple valves with a single actuator. ‘Elliptomatic’ refers to the valve’s technology with simple design and added flow patterns. An innovated system proven to work, pneumatic and electric actuated valves also compact, designed to make installation easy for engineers.

Operate multiple valves at once. The Stack Valve functions and tests very similarly to actuated ball valves … only with the added benefit of one-actuation operation. While traditional valve systems work with one actuator, the stack design performs perfectly with just a single actuator to set off multiple valves. OEMs and engineers now have an easier time managing applications and can avoid the bulk of adding multiple actuations within the application. The stack valve furthermore eliminates the need to purchase additional electric or pneumatic actuators, making it a cost-effective choice.

A Compact Design

The simplified design of EVSCO’s Elliptomatic Series broadens its range of compatibility to fit diverse design footprints for endless applications. The compact, rugged structure of the valve makes it ideal for accommodating space limitations, giving engineers maximum flexibility without having to concern over the systems durability.

Limitless Flow Patterns

In terms of flow patterns, the elliptic stack valves offer a modular design with vast directional capabilities to support OEM’s in an effort to break free of restrictive old-school flow solutions. To help with your next flow pattern selection for your OEM design, check out the Elliptic Valve flow possibilities here.

Made of polypropylene or PVDF, well-built FDA grade materials. The actuated elliptic valves systems are well built to withstand hostile, corrosive environments. Including coated pneumatic and electric actuators to insure your processes is high performance. Elliptic valves inherently have a self-contained wiping and cleaning feature to maintain the integrity of the design, further extending each part’s longevity and lifetime performance. The patented structure decelerates natural build-up in the valve body, with full ports to allow for constant flow in areas as tough as pulp and paper process. By selecting an accompanying elliptic valve O-ring made of materials matching your application, the fluids flowing through will assure compatibility, further prolonging each stack valve’s high level of functionality.

Stack Valves For All Applications

The Elliptomatic series of actuators are offered in AC or DC voltages, with the choice of Pneumatic Air to Air or Air to Spring (fail safe). Combined with the flexibility of flow solutions capable in a much smaller area, the stack valve provides the perfect solution to simplify designs and save on actuator costs.

For more information on the stack valve, visit http://plastic-valves.evsco.com/category/stack-valves-3.

A simple O-ring substitution can make all the difference in increasing the value output of your applications. The right valve will have the flexibility to meet specific flow patterns, design constraints and material qualifications, overall, accomplishing more than simply satisfying your project’s needs.

The Consequences of Valve Material Composition

OEM’s working on projects that involve certain chemicals must be cautious with valve selections. While a certain product might qualify in terms of functionality, the actual material composition of the O-ring or materials of construction often falls short of compatibility restrictions, which can lead to premature durability problems. A few examples of applications that risk frequent valve maintenance include those dealing with:

• Alkalis and Chlorine
• Pharmaceutical
• Paint and Harsh Fluids
• Pulp and Paper
• Inks

These materials tend to cause wear and tear to the valves that fall short of the project’s life cycle, resulting in added downtime. To make matters worse, normal replacements of the O-ring may not be an option depending on the valve’s design. In many cases, the application requires a complete un-plumbing of the entire system to replace the valve assembly. This, no doubt, will incur further added downtime and unnecessary costs.

Reduce the Need for Valve System Replacement 

The key to limiting the frequency of displaced valves lies simply in selecting the correct materials of construction without limitations. Select the most chemically compatible material for the specific application, one that targets your performance criteria. With the right matter, even the most basic designs will result in longer, more dependable performance. EVSCO’s line of valves, custom availability upon request, keeps designs simple to save customer costs while maintaining the quality and strength of the more important facet, the strength of the O-ring’s composition.

When the Time Comes, Make O-Ring Replacements Easy

Even with the best choice for compatibility including, well-suited O-rings, eventual valve replacements are still inevitable. EVSCO designs their Elliptical valves for quick and easy in-line servicing to make replacements simple and efficient. These valve systems are ideal for Original Equipment Manufacturers that handle harsh materials or designs with multiple flow patterns (http://evsco.com/flow-patterns.html).

When replacing EVSCO O-Rings, the following 5 steps take only minutes and will get applications rerunning in a manner of minutes:

1. Pull the handle.
2. Push the piston out of the body.
3. Replace the O-Ring.
4. Push the piston back in the valve body.
5. Replace the handle.

A simple product with a simple reinstallation process often equates to the most reliable cost effective results. By choosing a durable valve with hassle-free reinstallation capabilities, your engineers save time, reassembly routines and unwanted additional costs.

Check your O-Ring’s chemical compatibility now using the following link from Cole-Parmer: http://www.coleparmer.com/Chemical-Resistance

For help with design or questions about what O-rings best suit your application, contact EVSCO Tech. Service here: http://plastic-valves.evsco.com/request/all-categories

Four major factors should be considered when selecting the most functional and cost-effective valve for chemical applications. Be aware not to overlook these attributes during the planning and design process:

• Material Selection
• Seal
• Flow
• Maintenance

Engineers may disregard some, if not all, of these factors that affect not only efficiency and longevity of the individual part but the entire application’s level of performance. We examine how Polypropylene and PVDF valves rate in each of these category, detailing how these durable selections can lead to lower costs of total ownership and higher levels of lifetime functionality.

Material Selection

Polypropylene and or (PVDF) valves are composed of pure, non-toxic FDA grade materials. They impart no odors or tastes into the fluids that pass through, a crucial element to maintaining the liquid’s purity. Meanwhile the materials are highly resistant to corrosion, abrasion and strong chemicals, especially those of acidic nature. This results in a surface with a long-cycle life, a key factor for OEM’s (Original Equipment Manufacturers) seeking a durable product. For example, PVDFs have excellent resistance against some of the most erosive chemicals: 1) halogens, such as chlorine and bromine, 2) strong acids, such as nitric, 3) strong salts and alkalis, and 4) organic solvents and oils.*

In addition to handling anti-corrosion in typical temperatures and flow patterns, Polypropylene and PVDF valves, the standard inert materials used in Evsco’s valves and construction, can also withstand explosion proof rating actuation. The non-toxic FDA grade materials make them safe and suitable for chemical applications. Evsco also offers solutions that combine the valves with selected O-rings to suit custom designs.

*As a word of caution, not all PVDF is created equal. Evsco’s line of products conform with FDA grade ratings, the highest awarded, which allows its applications to take on aggressive services as well as higher purity choices.

Seal

Maintaining a seal on chemical applications is an absolute MUST, and the tighter the seal the better. The proper O-Ring will ensure full security from leaks that could significantly setback flow patterns. Manufacturers like Evsco offer choices for O-Rings, even custom designs to match particular applications.

An Interchangeable O-Ring functions best with a correct fitting to wetted PVDF or Polypropylene base valves. The combination guarantees service compatibility that customers will notice.

Flow

When it comes to flow, the broader the range of possible patterns, the easier the Engineer can manage design criteria for various or multiple applications. The more precise patterns allotted, the more likely a configuration will exist that is appropriate for the exact combinations of chemicals in the process. Evsco offers many, if not the most, diverse flow patterns in the industry.

If the application requires sequential actuated valves to run simultaneously in a system, reach for a ball-valve alternative. Evsco offers a Stack Valve system which makes it possible to operate two or more valves with one actuator to drive the lowest base actuation costs in the market. The Polypropylene or PVDF material maintains a consistent flow even in the stacked setup for multi-directional applications. Also consider electric or pneumatic actuators, which may serve best under varied types of continuous process conditions.

Maintenance and Serviceability

No matter how durable or functional the process, OEM’s must also consider the serviceability of the application. What is the downtime like for quick fixes and interruptions? Are the valves and other parts easily accessible in the application? Quick and easy operational maintenance stems from a smart, simple design and results in optimum performance and long service life. Valves made with Polypropylene or PVDF from Evsco’s line of products possess a compact design for easy placement and removal. In-Line service features allow for extensions on designs to better suit the applications needs.

The Right Valve, the Best Performance

Factoring in all four of these considerations during the design phase, the Polypropylene or PVDF valves prove strong candidates for chemical applications that service harsh or erosive chemicals, unique flow patterns, or require durability and easy maintenance. A simple choice of the right product from the start can lead to the most reliable performance over the course of the application’s lifetime.