Advantages of Brass Ball Valves
1. Simple and easy to operate
One of the greatest benefits of brass ball valves is ease of use and installation. Brass as a material is softer than other materials such as stainless steel. This makes it easier to seal them. Also due to the popularity of brass valves, products for sealing them are very readily available. When sealing other types of metals, you often need specific pipe tape and/or thread sealants, and brass sealing products are easier to find than others.
2. Leaded and No Leaded
With the transition to lead-free over the past few years, brass products have had to change quite a bit. From a materials standpoint, there is a significant price difference between leaded brass and lead-free brass, making it an option to use leaded brass in non-potable water applications. This can save you a lot of money.
Where are brass ball valves used?
Brass ball valves can be used for a wide range of applications. Most of the time, brass is a good choice. For potable water applications, lead-free brass is a good choice, unless the water is corrosive to it, such as with high salt content. In this case, another material such as stainless steel or PVC would be better. Due to the cost of lead-free brass, other materials such as stainless steel, which is also lead-free, have become more possible options. Brass ball valves are also used in residential and commercial plumbing, water wells, HVAC and other applications. Basically, as long as what goes through the valve is not highly corrosive,
What is the difference between Brass and Bronze?
Brass and Bronze are often mistaken for a big problem. Although they look very similar, the materials that make them up are different. Brass is a malleable metal composed of copper and zinc. The amount of copper vs. zinc will vary, but generally copper will make up the majority of the material.
Bronze, on the other hand, consists mainly of copper with small amounts of other additives. Bronze is a higher quality metal and will be more expensive compared to brass. Bronze is also harder and more resistant to corrosion than brass.
This is an important thing to note. The material that makes up the ball valve is very critical. If you are buying a lower quality brass ball valve, it may contain less copper, which will make it more susceptible to corrosion in some environments.
