The Hidden Costs Of Gate Valves
What are the Hidden Costs Of Gate Valves? Businesses are looking for more and more ways to cut costs while maintaining profits. One option many may consider is using cheaper materials for installations and repairs. Gate valves, available in a wide range of options from different manufacturers, may seem like a suitable area to cut back, but the total lifecycle costs of low-grade gate valves can cost more than you think.
What are the costs of low-quality gate valves?
The total cost of ownership for gate valves must be considered more than the initial installation cost of the system, especially for poor-quality, inexpensive valves that inevitably fail before high-quality gate valve alternatives. Premature failure can lead to any number of the following:
- Additional labor and equipment costs for excavation, de-installation, and repair
- Additional replacement material costs
- Damage to surrounding infrastructure from water damage or erosion can be severe at times, when a pipeline can’t be shut off in time due to a jammed gate valve
- Lost production, downtime costs, or penalties when the network is out of service
- Scheduling issues and delays on other jobs for ad hoc repairs of failed gate valves
- Costs for new permits
- Costs for non-revenue water (NRW) or water loss if there is leakage
- Disruption of surrounding infrastructure and public life due to traffic obstruction or the need to shut off other utilities
- Damage to reputation for needing to prematurely replace damaged valves
- Potential health and safety risks from the valve materials leaching hazardous contaminants or from the ingress of pollutants through leaky valves
- Disposal cost of old materials.
Most common gate valve failure modes
Over their lifetime, gate valves can be exposed to various harsh conditions which could lead to failure, such as corrosive soils or ground movement due to freezing. Our recent survey conducted among water supply companies found that gate valves failed:
- 22% of the time by not closing anymore (jammed);
- 20% of the time by corrosion;
- 20% of the time by leakage at the bonnet and flange connections; and
- 22% of the time by being hard to actuate (high torque).
Lower-quality gate valves can be even more prone to these types of failures. Poor processing consistency and less stringent quality requirements can lead to manufacturing defects that cause early failure of moving parts or lead to leakage at sealing faces. Parts that fall outside acceptable tolerances may still be used by these manufacturers.
That can unfortunately result in partial or complete jamming of gate valves after installation. Leaving the line with a reduced flow or the inability to be shut off. The use of lower-quality materials and processing methods can also lead to gate valve failures, resulting from increased corrosion at coating imperfections, inconsistent material properties, increased damage from cavitation, or brittle components that crack more easily under stress. Additionally, using materials with a lower corrosion resistance can lead to highly destructive localized corrosion due to the difference in corrosion potential between different materials. Corrosion can also result from poor-quality designs. That could include sharp edges that cause coatings to easily debond, complex geometries that prevent adequate coating, or crevices that create highly corrosive environments.
