Thirty-one valve patterns, from the gate valve on a water header to the triple offset butterfly on a high-temperature isolation duty. Each page below describes what the pattern does, what turns up in surplus, and what a seller should preserve before it goes on a pallet.
The point of listing them separately is that they do not sell the same way. A gate valve is bought on size and body condition. A control valve is bought on the assembly. A relief valve is bought on set pressure and paperwork. Knowing which one you are holding changes the advice.
By pattern
The full list
- 01 Gate ValvesThe workhorse of every plant and terminal. Gate valves are the most common surplus item in a crib and the most o… →
- 02 Globe ValvesGlobe valves do the throttling and the frequent operation that gate valves should not. They are also the valve m… →
- 03 Ball ValvesQuarter-turn, high flow, easy to actuate. Ball valves are the most commonly upgraded valve in a plant, which mak… →
- 04 Butterfly ValvesLight, cheap to replace, and produced in enormous numbers. Butterfly valves fill plant stores because every proj… →
- 05 Plug ValvesThe chemical industry's isolation valve. Plug valves survive dirty, viscous and aggressive service that ruins a … →
- 06 Check ValvesNon-return valves are bought by the dozen and replaced by the dozen. They are small, heavy, and almost never dis… →
- 07 Swing Check ValvesThe oldest non-return design and still the most common. Swing checks are heavy, simple, and highly saleable in w… →
- 08 Control ValvesThe highest-value surplus in most plant cribs, and the one most often broken up by people who do not realise the… →
- 09 Safety Relief ValvesThe most paperwork-sensitive item in a plant stores department, and the one where a buyer who understands certif… →
- 10 Pressure Reducing ValvesRegulators are bought for a specific pressure and a specific service, then the service changes. That is why so m… →
- 11 Pressure Sustaining ValvesThe mirror image of a reducing valve: they hold upstream pressure rather than downstream. Common on water system… →
- 12 Needle ValvesSmall, precise and expensive per pound. Needle valves accumulate by the thousand in instrument shops and rarely … →
- 13 Diaphragm ValvesThe valve that keeps process fluid away from the mechanism. Common in aggressive chemistry and clean service, an… →
- 14 Pinch ValvesFor abrasive and fibrous slurries nothing else lasts. Pinch valves are niche, heavy and often sitting unused aft… →
- 15 Knife Gate ValvesHeavy, simple and built for abuse. Knife gates are among the easiest surplus valves to sell because the body is … →
- 16 Triple Offset Butterfly ValvesHigh-specification, high-cost, and increasingly common as a replacement for gate valves. Triple offset surplus i… →
- 17 Eccentric Plug ValvesThe wastewater industry's throttling valve. Eccentric plugs are long-lived, rebuildable and frequently replaced … →
- 18 Solenoid ValvesBought by the box, replaced by the box, thrown away by the box. In quantity, solenoid valves are a real surplus … →
- 19 Angle ValvesA ninety-degree turn that solves a piping problem and adds value in the right service. Angle valves are common i… →
- 20 Cryogenic ValvesLNG country surplus. Cryogenic valves are expensive, specialised, and frequently left over when a project phase … →
- 21 Sanitary ValvesPolished, clamp-ended and expensive per kilogram. Sanitary surplus is small in volume and strong in value when t… →
- 22 Forged Steel ValvesSmall bore, high pressure, and stored in their hundreds. Forged valves are the densest value in most instrument … →
- 23 Cast Steel ValvesThe backbone of process isolation. Cast steel valves are heavy, standard and highly recoverable when the body is… →
- 24 Trunnion Ball ValvesLarge, expensive and built to pipeline standards. Trunnion ball valves are the highest-value single item in many… →
- 25 Top Entry Ball ValvesBuilt to be serviced in place. Top entry ball valves are expensive, repairable, and a strong surplus item when t… →
- 26 Three Way ValvesDivert or mix, in one body. Three way valves are specified for a particular piping layout, which is exactly why … →
- 27 Four Way ValvesFour ports, one body, and a very specific purpose. Rare in resale, and valuable to the right buyer when the port… →
- 28 Wafer ValvesThe cheapest way to put a valve between two flanges. Wafer valves are bought in bulk and, in bulk, they are wort… →
- 29 Lug ValvesThreaded lugs on both sides mean a lugged valve can dead-end a line. That capability is why they cost more than … →
- 30 Lined ValvesThe lining is the value. A lined valve with a sound lining is worth many times its scrap weight, even with worn … →
- 31 High Performance Butterfly ValvesA butterfly valve built to process standards. HPBVs sit between a resilient butterfly and a triple offset, and t… →
How to read a lot
Three questions that decide the price
What is it, what is it made of, and is it complete. Those three questions cover most of the review. The rest — documentation, service history, certification — refines the number but rarely changes whether we are interested.
If you cannot answer them, photographs will. A nameplate, a body marking and a wide shot of the whole valve is usually enough for us to answer them for you.