  A Ball Valve is a directional flow valve
that has a Ball inside of the valve body. The Ball of the Ball valve has a large hole
bored through the center of it. When the handle of a Ball valve is parallel to the valve
body, as shown, the open hole is in the direction of the water flow, allowing the water to
flow through. As the handle is turned toward a perpendicular position, the flow of the
water through the valve is gradually reduced until, when the handle is completely
perpendicular, the water cannot pass through the valve. Unionized ball valves, like the
Hayward Ball Valve shown on the right, allow access into the valve body, for ball
inspection or replacement, or the union may be used as a means of simply disconnecting
equipment components for transport, repair or off season storage.My Ball Valve handle broke off, what now?!? Many times you
can replace the handle of the valve. Swimmingpoolparts.net has most valve parts available.
Super glue is some times a suitable repair to these types of plastics, or when desperate,
grab the stem with a pair of vice grips or channel type pliers and turn the valve in this
manner. These valves are usually fairly inexpensive to replace completely, as another
option.
My Ball Valve seems to be clogged, how do I unclog it?!? If
the valve is unionized, you could possibly take the valve apart at the union and inspect
the valve for a clog of acorns, sticks, leaves or Gum tree "spiky balls". (then
get out the chainsaw :-) For non-unionized ball valves, a snake can be used sometimes to
try to clear out the blockage. As a third option, use a Drain King on a garden hose to
build up pressure and blast out the clog in the direction from whence it came. A chemical
product such as Drano or other type of organic clog dissolver could be the solution to the
problem. |
