Whenever you’re dealing with chemical or petrochemical materials, you can bet that those valves are made of steel. That steel comes in a variety of stripes – including carbon steel, stainless steel and the like. Due to their ability to resist heat and corrosion, they have become a popular product over the years.

Conversely, one of the valve that’s most often used is called a water check valve, or if you want to be technical a ‘dual-plate check valve.’ They are comprised of two, spring loaded, half-moon discs that revolve around the shaft. The valve has a torsion spring that keeps it in the closed position; only opening when liquid moves forward through the valve allowing it to pour through. When the flow or material stops moving through, the valve closes and keeps the material from moving back the other way.

Water check valves deal primarily with the concept of cranking pressure, or in layman’s terms – the minimum pressure that has to exist in order for the valve to work. Water Check valves are great because they can be specifically designed to exact cranking pressures.

Unlike their bulkier, more expensive cousins the swing valve; Check Valve Manufacturers came up with a way to minimize constraints on their size and make them more adaptable and scalable across applications. The design itself, is specifically made to fit between a pair of flanges, allowing for a variety of different design modifications that at their core – perform the same essential function.

Simply put, think of a check valve like you would a door. You open your door to your office at the beginning of the day and when you’re done, you close up and go home. That’s very similar to what happens during a pump cycle. All in all, the sleek design and small production cost have made water check valves the valve of choice for a wide range of applications.