1 reply to this topic

[benoyjohn]

Hi,

I have a querry. What is a "high integrity check valve"? How is it different from the swing check valves we normally see?

I have come across usage of two dissimilar check valves in series to minimise possibility of backflow. Does the high integrity check valve serve the same purpose?

Regards
Benoy

[Art Montemayor]

Benoy:

As an engineer, never be naive in believing what others claim without seeking proof and detailed information.

I could easily claim the same "high integrity" about my calculated products - without offering nothing more than the adjectives and adverbs attached to my verbiage. Talk is cheap. Ask for proof or challenge the assertion until you are convinced.

Some check valves work better than others. They are machined with more precision, made of tougher materials, quality-checked with detailed inspections, and others are designed for "soft" seats that form an almost bubble-tight seal. But all are subject to installation, operation, and maintenance practices and abuses. There are no "magic" check valves. There are detailed, demanding and tough engineers who make it their business to know the insides and outsides of everything they specify, purchase, install, and operate. They are the ones who make a piece of equipment "high integrity", in my opinion.

I've never heard of "high integrity" check valves as a type. I've bought and installed check valves that never failed while I operated with them. They were of several types and I wouldn't call them "high integrity". They delivered the performance that I expected out of them, that's all.

In all fairness, check valves are forever receiving "bad press". A lot of engineers seem to forget that the success or failure of a check valve depends primarily on the fluid that it is operating in and the maintenance it receives. If you expect a check valve to operate 100% with no leaks on a salt slurry at 1,000 psig and without any maintenance, forget it.