Industrial valves come in many types, and choosing the right type of valve can help improve production efficiency and ensure worker safety. Before selecting the right valve, it’s crucial to understand the differences between various valves.
A single article can’t cover all the differences between valves. In this article, we’ll use common valves—globe valves, ball valves, and gate valves—as examples to help you understand their differences and how to choose the right valve.
Comprehensive comparison of key points
| Core Comparison | Globe Valve | Ball Valve | Gate Valve |
| Core opening and closing component | valve flap | Through-Hole Sphere | Gate Valve Plate |
| Opening and closing speed | Slow | Super fast | Slow |
| Flow control capability | Excellent | Ordinary ball valves have almost no ability to regulate. | Doesn’t support adjustment at all |
| Sealing properties | The seal is tightly pressed, with very little leakage under high temperature and high pressure, and the single-seat valve has high sealing reliability. | The flexible soft seal can achieve zero leakage in both directions | The sealing surface is wedge-shaped, so it can get worn down by the medium over time, and internal leaks can easily happen under high pressure differences. |
| Operation Frequency Adaptation | Not suitable for frequent opening and closing, requires a lot of force to operate | Suitable for frequent opening and closing, requires little effort to operate, and can achieve emergency shut-off within seconds | Frequent operation is strictly prohibited. The opening and closing stroke is long, and repeating operations will accelerate gate wear. |
| Compatible Caliber Range | Mostly small to medium sizes below DN200 | Usually below DN400 | Covers the full range from DN50 to DN1000 |
| Installation Requirements | The ‘low inlet, high outlet’ flow direction must be strictly followed; reverse installation will result in failure to open and close properly. | No flow direction restrictions, supports bidirectional sealing, can be installed in any direction | No flow direction restrictions, the medium can flow both ways, no need to specify installation direction |
After understanding the core differences between these three types of valves, it’s important to know some details to watch out for when selecting them:
- Globe Valve: Absolutely not for media containing solid particles, as particles can scratch the sealing surfaces of the valve disc and seat, causing permanent internal leakage; use caution with large-diameter pipelines over DN150, as excessive pressure loss will significantly increase pump operating energy consumption.
- Ball Valve: Do not use for flow regulation in a partially open state for a long time; for high-speed media, grooves will appear on the ball’s sealing surface within 3–6 months, making the valve unable to fully close.
- Gate Valve: Never throttle in a half-open state; high-speed media will erode the gate’s sealing surface, causing seal failure in 2–3 months and completely losing the shut-off ability.
Based on the above information, we can roughly determine the usage scenarios for globe valves, ball valves, and gate valves:
- Globe Valve: Steam mains, boiler feedwater, chemical feed regulation lines, instrument sampling valves, pressure gauge valves; the key requirements are reliable sealing and slight precise throttling, making it the preferred valve for high-temperature steam conditions.
- Ball Valve: Long-distance gas transmission lines, oil and gas transport, chemically corrosive pipelines, emergency fire cut-off systems, automated filling production lines; the key requirements are fast shut-off, zero leakage, and suitability for remote high-frequency operation.
- Gate Valve: Municipal water supply and drainage mains, circulating water systems, large-diameter steam and water pipelines in power plants, inlet and outlet pipes in wastewater treatment plants; the key requirements are large diameter, low flow resistance, long-term fully open or fully closed operation, used only for mainline on/off shut-off.
This is the method for valve selection, and we hope it helps you choose the right type of valve. Of course, you can also contact us directly—Leina can provide you with the most professional advice.
