Selecting and Implementing Cast Iron Check Valves

Cast iron check valves perform essential operations in larger systems. These systems could be large and industrial, or small and residential, but cast iron check valves could still be vital to their success. Any type of system that is required to regulate the flow of process media needs to possess the ability to actually ensure that those liquids or gases are always moving to the appropriate locations at the appropriate times. For medias that need to be circulated this is especially essential, because a system would not be performing its required operations if it circulated medias that had already been used, contaminated, or had not yet been cleaned. Cast iron check valves can help guarantee that process media only flows in the required direction, and that the only process medias that are circulated on a larger scale are those that have been through the appropriate filtering procedures that make them acceptable for circulation. Any type of backflow would lead to possible contamination. Cast iron check valves ensure that backflow does not occur.

Many different types of systems require the use of cast iron check valves. These include systems that are used to provide heating, ventilation and air conditioning, known as HVAC systems. Other systems that require the use of cast iron check valves include systems working with steam, gas, hot and cold water, as well as other types of utility services. Regardless of the type of system or the media that flows through that system, cast iron check valves work to enforce unidirectional flow. When cast iron check valves are in the closed position, gases and fluids are equally unable to travel back in the direction from which they came.

Cast iron check valves are two-port valves, which are comprised of a port where process media can enter and a port where it can exit. When there is a large volume of gas or liquid passing through in the appropriate direction, the valve remains open so that this passage can take place. One of the ports opens or closes when there are changes in the flow of process media passing through in the desired direction. If the volume, and therefore the pressure, of process media moving through a pipe system drops below a certain point, then there is no guarantee that substances that have already passed through the pipeline will have additional pressure to keep them beyond that point. This is especially true of pipe systems that move process media against the effects of gravity. In situations where cast iron check valves are being implemented, that dropping pressure serves as a trigger to close one of the ports in the valve. All of the substances that have already passed through are then stopped before they backflow. The specific pressure point that triggers this type of action in cast iron check valves, called the cracking point, can be selected by the company planning the research and purchase these fixtures. When size and pressure options are selected appropriately, cast iron check valves could prove to be incredibly valuable for system operations.