Ball Valve... What are you willing to pay?

[Dan]

So I called a distributor today for a circle-seal ball valve and here is the scoop I got.

Brass with viton O-ring: $45.85
Stainless Steel with Viton O-Ring: $79.20

Both valves are rebuildable. Also keep in mind my quote was for 1 piece each.

I lean towards the SS model just because it will take a beating much better than the brass. Both are 400 degree rated.

Worth the Money?

 

[Jim Martin]

So I called a distributor today for a circle-seal ball valve and here is the scoop I got.

Brass with viton O-ring: $45.85
Stainless Steel with Viton O-Ring: $79.20

Both valves are rebuildable. Also keep in mind my quote was for 1 piece each.

I lean towards the SS model just because it will take a beating much better than the brass. Both are 400 degree rated.

Worth the Money?

do you know about how long they are supposed to last........??

 

[MattLimbach]

Have not tried the stainless ,but years ago I had a brass circle-seal.
It was a nice, sturdy,compact little valve, but... it chewed threw o-rings like candy.
We've since tried other valves,but after giving up on cc supply house valves, we settled on hardware store brass valves with lever style handles $6-$7, and toss them when the handles fall off.
We probably get about 3-6 months out of them.
Next time, we will try to find one of the more compact, RED handled GAS valves,posted by several people lately.

 

[Dan]

do you know about how long they are supposed to last........??

I think everyones mileage will vary. I beleive you could get a long time out of the SS since you can replace the o-ring. It wont crush like the brass and become hard to use. If it does get damaged should be easy enough to file it out. Taking that into consideration I would expect several years out of it.

 

[Jim Martin]

I think everyones mileage will vary. I beleive you could get a long time out of the SS since you can replace the o-ring. It wont crush like the brass and become hard to use. If it does get damaged should be easy enough to file it out. Taking that into consideration I would expect several years out of it.

If I could get one solid year out of it..I would be happy.....I would pay 79 bucks a year......I am paying more then that replacing the crap that they have now........

 

[Dan]

I am working with a sales rep. These valves are made to order with a 10 week lead time for the SS ones. Anyone else interested and maybe we can get better rates? I am sitting at 95 bucks for one valve that is back east so thats why its more.

 

[idreadnought]

So there are stainless ball valves on ebay. They have an aluminum handle. Ive been using them for a few months and I really like them. For some reason I had a problem with my techs breaking the threads off the brass ones. The quick connect would fall and the threads would break off inside the qc. Anyways they are the ones with blue handles. They last as long as the handle doesn't wear out for me. I am going on a year with a couple of them. They do have a couple problems though. First is that they will sometimes leak where the valve itself screws together. I take it apart and put an oring in it. Second I locktite red the valve back together so it never unscrews itself. And finally I locktite the handle screw in. I know its a few steps but they are bulletproof once you do that. Oh and the price is only 18 bucks or so.

 

[FLYERMAN]

It's simply ridiculous that we have to go out side the industry to find something as simple as a ball valve.

 

[Dan]

So there are stainless ball valves on ebay. They have an aluminum handle. Ive been using them for a few months and I really like them. For some reason I had a problem with my techs breaking the threads off the brass ones. The quick connect would fall and the threads would break off inside the qc. Anyways they are the ones with blue handles. They last as long as the handle doesn't wear out for me. I am going on a year with a couple of them. They do have a couple problems though. First is that they will sometimes leak where the valve itself screws together. I take it apart and put an oring in it. Second I locktite red the valve back together so it never unscrews itself. And finally I locktite the handle screw in. I know its a few steps but they are bulletproof once you do that. Oh and the price is only 18 bucks or so.

Pictures?

 

[idreadnought]

item number 121066762285 on ebay.

 

[Dan]

item number 121066762285 on ebay.

Problem I have with that type of valve is when they wear out the spray out the stem as you turn them on and off. Its just like the one i use now but its brass plated. Price for 2 is pretty good though for SS

 

[SMRBAP]

It's simply ridiculous that we have to go out side the industry to find something as simple as a ball valve.

The vast majority of what we use as cc'ers is an assembly of off the shelf items.