What they are
Butterfly valves are quarter-turn valves that are used to regulate flow. A metal disc in the body of your application is positioned perpendicular to the flow in the closed position and rotated one quarter of a turn to be parallel to the flow in the fully opened position. They come manufactured in a variety of metals and materials, including carbon steel, stainless steel, nickel alloys, titanium alloys and Nickel Aluminum Bronze.

What they do well and what they don’t do well
Butterfly Valves – in general – are known for being a jack-of-all-trades when it comes to pneumatic valves. Not only can they be deployed in a wide range of settings, they also cost little and require even less maintenance. Long story short, they’re cheap, convenient and can take an absolute pounding in any kind of setting.

While butterfly valves can do a lot – they can’t do everything. They require a higher-than-normal degree of torque required to control them and are very susceptible to cavitation at lower flows. While you’re unlikely to run into frequent issues, as is the case with any product, you want to be sure to keep an eye on them.

What kinds of applications can they be used with?
Butterfly valves work best with liquids, but are also usable with gases and slurries as well. In many cases, you’ll see them used in agricultural and water or waste-water treatment applications.

How you should use them
Butterfly Valves are ideal for any kind of situation where you have fully open or closed throttling services. They’re also extraordinarily durable, meaning they can withstand heavy use and frequent operation. They also come particularly handy for any application that has minimal fluid trapping in the line. That reduced wear improves the valve life cycle and cuts down on the costs associated with working hours to maintain them.

They’re also easy to configure and can operate either manually, electronically or pneumatically. They only require a single gearbox to open or close and in the case of pneumatic valves- can be single and double actuated.