The Smoot Slide Diverter Valves feature a unique sealing method that uses regulated compressed air applied to the sealing rings, which results in an air-tight seal between the inlet and outlet ports. The unique model design features minimal line deflection and full port flow from low pressure drop. Valves are available for pipe or tube sizes from 2-inch to 6-inch, bi-directional (divert or converge), air and dust tight, pressure or vacuum applications and available in carbon steel or stainless steel contact surfaces.
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DIVERTER VALVES: DECREASING DOWNTIME WITH EFFECTIVE DESIGN
Diverter valves are effectively the traffic cops of a pneumatic conveying system, routing materials along the desired path with just a touch on a screen instead of the manually intensive and cumbersome efforts of switching a hose. In today’s market there are many different styles of diverters from flapper style to plug / tunnel style to a knife gate style to a hose style. How does a user best determine which valve design is best for them?
In this article we will attempt to take a brief look at the main types of valves on the market, and the pluses and minuses of each when evaluating what the best valve is for your application.
Flapper style:
Flapper style diverters are a machined take-off of the traditional gravity diverter valves for inline use. A flapper is actuated to either left or right, diverting material in the other direction. On the plus side, these valves are relatively inexpensive in terms of cost to purchase. On the down side they have a higher propensity to leak conveying air and product down the unused line making the overall conveying system more inefficient and cause possible cross contamination. They also typically require that the blade be coated in some sort of resilient material or an internal sleeve or seal be present that is in the product stream and thus exposed to higher wear, causing higher maintenance costs and downtime for servicing over the life of the valve. This resilient material is also the biggest problem in regards to the leakage/cross contamination issue. Because its inside the valve and the leaks are internal, this wear/leak can go on unnoticed for long periods of time before correctly being identified as the problem.
Plug or tunnel style:
These 2 designs are very similar and operate off of the same principle. An internal plug or parallel tunnel is turned from one discharge point to the other diverting the material as needed to the desired connection path. On the plus side, these cast-machined valves are in general more rugged and abrasion resistant than the flapper style valve. On the down side, because of their machined design and heavy castings they typically carry a much more substantial capital cost. Also when they do wear, the cost of a replacement plug/tunnel can be substantial and may require machining in the field to fit exacting tolerances. And the weight of the valve (especially with the larger valves) can also cause all sorts of problems with the mounting and supporting of these valves that can weight up to 300 lbs.
Knife gate style:
This design utilizes a sliding gate or gates to open or close a path for material to route through transition laterals. The design is typically very cost effective and is also fairly compact in nature. On the down side these laterals can have “dead areas” that allow for material build up in pockets that may be unacceptable over time. Also the fabricated transition pieces may not hold up as well to wear on some more abrasive materials over time when compared to machined valves.
Hose style:
Hose style diverters are probably the most direct descendent of the manual approach of switching hoses by hand. An automated slide plate can move the hose from one position to another creating the correct path. These valves typically provide a much lower angle of divert (10 to 15 degrees) than other styles of valves (22.5 to 45 degrees) meaning there is less material impact on the diverting mechanism, improving overall life. They are very low capital cost and maintenance cost when compared to a plug or tunnel style valve. Also the seal plate design and material-handling hose will allow for conveying pressures of up to nearly 100 PSIG with virtually no air loss to the system. On the down side, in order to keep the material angle of divert to such a low number, the hose length required can create a space issue in some installations where a tight fit or multiple valves in a row are required. These valves are usually a lot easier to install because they can be stacked on top of each other and can be installed in any configuration (horizontal or vertical). Another nice thing about the Hose style is that without having the 22.5 to 45 degree divert angle, the diverted leg is not running out away from the path of the convey line but parallel with it which a lot of times makes installation of the convey lines much simpler.
