Wafer Butterfly Valves

Wafer butterfly valves are an ideal option for many different applications. When you buy these valves, you'll find they are similar in many ways to flanged butterfly valves, though there are some additional differences that set them apart.

Purchase Options for Butterfly Valves

Wafer Butterfly Valve Vs. Flanged Butterfly Valve: Which Should You Buy?

In many ways, wafer butterfly valves are remarkably similar to flanged butterfly valves. Sometimes, people even confuse them. So, let’s take a quick look at some of the differences between the two before you purchase.

As you can see, the differences between them are both minor and significant. If you’re looking for an end-of-line valve, then the wafer-style butterfly valve definitely isn’t the right choice to buy. However, if you need a lightweight valve that’s easy to install earlier in a line, the wafer valve is an excellent option to purchase.

If you’d like to read more, check out our article about lug vs. wafer-style butterfly valves.

Wafer Butterfly Valve: Key Features

So what makes wafer butterfly valves unique? There are a range of different features that make the wafer-style butterfly valve stand out.

Of course, it shares many characteristics with the standard butterfly valve. This means that it requires fairly little torque to accomplish any purpose. It takes only a quarter-turn of the disc to either open or close the valve.

It also means that a wafer-type butterfly valve has a larger opening than many other types of valves. As a result, it works exceptionally for controlling the flow of slurries and dense liquids.

Like other butterfly valves, wafer-style butterfly valves are also compact, making them ideal for installation in systems with space constraints. They also have a unique design which means that they offer little to no resistance to fluid flow.

Should You Purchase Wafer Butterfly Valves?

One critical fact to bear in mind is that wafer butterfly valves cannot be used as end-of-service valves. In other words, you can’t use them as the last valve in a series or pipeline. Unfortunately, this also means that you’ll need to shut down the pipeline if you need to do any maintenance on the valve itself.

Design of a Wafer-Type Butterfly Valve

All butterfly valves share the same basic design and consist of four main parts: the disc, stem, body, and seat. However, there are minor differences that help define the various types of butterfly valves.

• Body - The part of the valve that houses all the other valve components.
• Seat - The seat is the sealing surface where the disc and the valve body connect.
• Disc - The disc acts like the handle on a standard faucet, and turns to open or close the valve.
• Stem - The stem is the part of the valve that connects the disc to the body of the valve. It also serves as the pivot on which the disc turns.

So what makes the design of a butterfly valve of a wafer type different than the other butterfly valves? The main difference is that it is sandwiched between two flanges. While flanged, or lug style, butterfly valves share this trait there’s one significant difference: wafer-style butterfly valves need to be clamped between the flanges. In flanged butterfly valves, the flanges are incorporated into the valve design.

Are Wafer Butterfly Valves the Right Choice For You?

When you’re trying to decide whether the wafer butterfly valve is the right choice to buy, there are a range of different questions you can ask yourself.

The first thing is, how compact is your system? If you have a relatively compact system, butterfly valves like the wafer butterfly valve are a great option.

The next thing is, where in the pipeline will you be placing the valve? If you require a valve for the end of the pipeline, wafer butterfly valves aren’t the right choice since they can’t be used as end-of-line valves.

Another question is, do you have space in your pipeline to clamp the wafer butterfly valve? If not, then a flanged butterfly valve or standard butterfly valve may be a better choice, depending on your pressure requirements.

The high-performance butterfly valve is the best choice if you require a butterfly valve with high pressure and temperature ratings.

Buy Your Wafer Butterfly Valves From ValveMan

With over four decades of experience in the valve industry, you can rely on ValveMan to help meet all your valve buying needs. From deciding which valve is right for you to purchasing the wafer butterfly valve that works best for your system, we can help.

If you’re unsure whether wafer-style butterfly valves are the right choice for your order, feel free to contact us. We’d love to help.

Need to buy other valves for your project? We stock a wide range of valve types to meet diverse industrial requirements, including Ball Valves, Solenoid Valves, and Check Valves.

Resources

Butterfly Valves and the MSS SP-67-2022 Standard - American National Standards Institute - Accessed 22/08/2024