Stainless Steel Ball Valves

Why Use Stainless Steel Ball Valves?

Stainless steel ball valves tend to be a little bit more expensive than valves made from other materials such as carbon steel, but keeping the old adage, "you get what you pay for in mind," let's examine the unique properties of a stainless steel ball valve itself, and determine why it's a superior choice for so many applications.

The Advantages of Stainless Steel

• Corrosion Resistance: Besides being stain resistant, stainless steel is highly corrosion resistant--alkaline solutions, acids, and chlorides--making it ideal for saltwater and industries that produce or otherwise work with a variety of chemicals.
• Extreme Temperature Resistance: "Scaling," an oxidation phenomena that occurs at high temperatures, is dependent upon an alloy's chromium content (much in the same way as corrosion). The higher the chromium content, the more resistant a metal is to scaling. Stainless steel alloys contain higher concentrations of chromium. They also possess qualities which resist thermal expansion, which occurs at extremely high temperatures. Likewise, these alloys are also resistant to extremely low temperatures (as found in cryogenics labs), because (particularly austenitic) stainless steels retain their rigidity, and do not become as brittle as other alloys when subjected to freezing temperatures.
• Longevity: Besides giving stainless steel its shiny appearance, the process of passivation--which occurs naturally--is accelerated during manufacturing to give stainless steel's surface a shielding layer of protection (which resists corrosion and rust), increasing longevity. This quality makes stainless steel ball valves preferable when exposed to corrosive environments.
• Strength: In terms of cost, stainless steel ball valves are worth their weight in gold when it comes to strength. Because of stainless steel's hardening properties, the valves are strong against external and internal forces.
• Durability: Because of its higher chromium content, stainless steel has the amazing ability to "heal" itself. If the surface is scratched, or even gouged, the chromium film will naturally reform over the damaged area, retaining its rust and corrosion resistance. This novel characteristic adds a degree of ruggedness to the steel, increasing its defense against the elements. This self-healing property won't hide blemishes acquired during installation, but it will prevent those disfigurations from corroding or rusting and becoming weak spots in the metal.

Stainless Steel Ball Valves

Knowing the advantages of stainless steel, it should then be an obvious summation that choosing stainless steel ball valves is a wise choice for many applications. They are not only aesthetically appealing, they are also corrosion resistant, and possess other characteristics which maximizes integrity and longevity. Valves incorporating stainless steel balls also generally seal better due to their resistance of scratches compared to other materials, providing excellent efficiency in any application. They have an excellent track record: stainless steel ball valves are resilient, and have an incredibly low failure rate. That's why the valve store at ValveMan.com highly recommends stainless steel ball valves for numerous applications.

We've been in the valve business for over 50 years, and have kept an eye on advancing metallurgy, manufacturing, and production technologies that have evolved over that time. We know which manufacturers produce the most technologically advanced and highest quality valves at the lowest prices.That's why, we strive to sell only the finest, highest quality, industrial rated valves available today. We know more about valves more than anybody. That's because all we sell are valves. It's all we do, and we do it better than anyone else.