2 Tips For Maintaining Your Factory's Pipe Valves
If your factory uses pipes to deliver liquids to the manufacturing area, you most likely make use of valves to either turn off or regulate the amount of fluid flowing through the pipes. However, after repeated use, these valves can become worn out. To extend the life of the pipes' stainless steel valves, use the following tips for keeping them maintained.
1. Keep the Valves Clean
One way you can extend the life of your pipes' valves is to keep them clean. When the valves become dirty, they are no longer able to create a complete seal because they are hitting the dirt, sludge, and other debris that gets caught inside and clings to their sides.
Even if your factory only runs water through the pipes, minerals can deposit on the insides of the valves. As the deposits cling to the sides, they cause a buildup that can become difficult to remove if left for too long.
If you run oil, gas, or other chemicals through the valves, this buildup will accumulate even faster. Not only with the accumulation make it difficult to close the valves, but it will also eventually break down the seals to the point that they will not close no matter how hard to turn them.
Once or twice a month, schedule a time to shut off the liquid going through the pipes so that the interiors of the valves can be cleaned. Use an industrial-grade cleaner for this task that can eat away at most types of buildup.
2. Lubricate the Valves
While you have the pipes shut off and are cleaning the interior of the valves, make plans to thoroughly lubricate them before you reattach them to the pipes and run liquid through them. Lubrication is key for keeping the valves moving smoothly so that they can create a complete seal.
If you neglect to lubricate the valves, they will become stiff and hard to move. Because of this, you or your workers will try to forcefully open or close the valves. If this forceful movement continues, the seals inside the valves may break, requiring replacement.
Even if you regularly perform maintenance on the valves, there may come a time when they no longer work properly because of age or excessive wear. If so, contact an industrial supplier that offers stainless steel valves for sale to discuss your options for replacing the old ones.
