A Bronze Check Valve Overview

Check Valves have two ports that allow fluids to flow in one direction and then closes to stop flow in the opposite direction, often called backflow. Check valves are typically simple and inexpensive. Their bodies can be made of varying materials like plastic or metal. A bronze check valve is a type of check valve considered to be durable and corrosion resistant. Most of the time, bronze check valves are applied on the discharge side of pumps. When a pump stops and backflow occurs, it can severely damage destroy the pumping equipment or system. If a piping system uses a single downward sloping pipe, the possibility of a backflow is minimal. In such case, a check valve may not be necessary.

A bronze check valve is designed to open under a certain cracking pressure, which refers to the minimum upstream pressure which the valve can work in. Generally, this valve type operates automatically but in some cases, it can be controlled manually. Bronze check valves can come in different styles, which include spring check, swing check, lift check, ball check, heart valves and piston check. The various designs are made to suit specific application needs. Leading manufacturers are capable of customizing bronze check valves by adding more advanced features to meet some clients’ requirements.

Different bronze check valve classifications assume specific function. A bronze ball check valve has a movable spherical ball that blocks the flow. This type of valve is typically small and cheap, and is used in liquid dispensers, rubber bulbs, spray devices, manual air pumps. Lift check valves possess spring loaded discs that aids in fast closure and rarely slams loudly. Swing check valves are the most common type and have a flat disc which swings about hinge pin. They normally come with various accessories like weight and lever. Pump control valves are capable of synchronized function that allows systematic control of the pipeline fluid velocity, because it is wired electrically to a pump control circuit.

Bronze check valves can be used in various settings and for different applications, but it is mainly necessary to control the risk of condensate backflow or drainage from a piping system. A bronze check valve is often used in steam locomotive and different kinds of pumping mechanisms like injectors and feed pumps. Metering pumps typically use piston-driven and diaphragm check valves. While chromatography pumps typically utilize back check valves. Ball check valves are common in hydraulic jacks to assist in building pressure in the lifting function of the jack. Chemical and power plants used this type of check valve for mixing multiple gases into one gas stream. Irrigation sprinklers and irrigation emitters used check valves to keep the lines from draining while rainwater harvesting systems require check valves to prevent water contamination from the main supply.

A number of bronze check valves offered in the market are manufactured with distinct designs and features so that they can be used in highly technical applications. Thus, they also have varying costs. There is no single bronze check valve model that can suit all applications.