Have you chosen the right main water valve for your home? Ball valve or globe valve? What's the difference?

2025-06-12 08:05:30

What is a ball valve and what are its characteristics?

Brief Introduction to Ball Valves

In China's national standard GBT21465-2008, the terminology of valves includes a specific definition of ball valves. It states: A ball valve is a valve driven by an opening/closing rod that drives a sphere to rotate around the sphere's axis. This type of valve can be used for flow regulation and control, so it can be installed on both main pipelines and branch pipelines in households.  

Characteristics of Ball Valves  

1. High Wear Resistance: The valve 

body and sphere materials (often stainless steel, brass, or PTFE) have strong durability, suitable for long-term use in water pipelines with sediment or particulate matter.   

2. Excellent Sealing Performance: The spherical structure forms a tight seal with the valve seat, minimizing leakage even under high pressure.   

3. Convenient Operation: It only requires a 90° rotation of the handle to fully open or close, featuring quick and labor-saving switching.   

4. Long Service Life: With minimal wear on moving parts and corrosion-resistant materials, the service life can reach 10-20 years under normal conditions.   

5. Low Flow Resistance: This is arguably the most important feature. The through-hole design of the sphere allows fluid to flow through with almost no obstruction, making it the valve with the Smallest flow resistance among all types.  

Working Principle of Ball Valves   

The principle is straightforward: the interior of a ball valve contains a spherical element with a through-hole. The sphere is installed inside the valve body, and during operation, it rotates around the valve body's central axis to achieve opening and closing. When the ball valve is fully opened (at a 90° position), the through-hole aligns with the pipeline, creating a straight-through channel that imposes no resistance on the fluid flow. This design ensures minimal pressure loss and high flow efficiency, making it ideal for main water supply pipelines requiring large flow rates.

What is a globe valve and what are its characteristics?  

Brief introduction to globe valves:   A globe valve, commonly known as a "shut-off valve" in everyday terms, is currently one of the most widely used types of valves. Its operation relies on a closing principle: the pressure from the valve stem forces the sealing surface of the valve disc to closely fit against the sealing surface of the valve seat. This mechanism enables the opening and closing of fluid flow, blocking the medium to fulfill the valve's function.  

Characteristics of globe valves:  

1. Simple Structure: This makes it easy to manufacture and maintain, reducing production and repair costs.   

2. Internal sealing surface: The sealing surface is positioned inside the valve, minimizing wear and abrasion while ensuring good sealing performance.   

3. Lower friction during operation: Compared to gate valves, the frictional force on the sealing surface during opening is smaller, offering higher wear resistance.     

- Drawbacks:       

- High flow resistance: Opening and closing require more effort, especially unsuitable for fluids containing impurities or particles in the pipeline.       

- Poor flow regulation: It is less effective in precisely controlling flow rates compared to other valve types.  

Working principle of globe valves:

In essence, a globe valve operates by raising or lowering a screw stem, which drives the valve disc's sealing surface to贴合 (fit) or separate from the valve seat's sealing surface. This movement regulates, opens, or closes the fluid flow, achieving control over medium passage through mechanical adjustment.

Analysis of Installing Ball Valves or Globe Valves on Main Tap Water Pipelines  

First point: We must first understand that valves installed on tap water pipelines essentially serve to control the indoor water circuit. In other words, they enable the closing and opening of the entire indoor tap water supply. Therefore, when selecting valves, we need to consider this characteristic.   

Second point: Let's understand the common valve types applicable to main tap water pipelines. The first most common type is the globe valve, and the second is the ball valve. Both types are used on main tap water pipelines.  

Factors to Consider When Selecting Valves for PPR Main Tap Water Pipelines  

First factor: Installation space. Since ball valves generally come with handles, they occupy a certain amount of space during installation. Therefore, when choosing a ball valve, ensure that the installation space is sufficient.   

Second factor: Operational convenience for the future. As we all know, most globe valves currently feature a handwheel, and we need to rotate the handwheel to open or close the valve. If operational difficulty is expected in the later stage, it is not recommended to choose globe valves.  

Personal Recommendations for Valve Selection on Main Tap Water Pipelines  

First recommendation: If there is sufficient installation space indoors, it is personally recommended to choose a ball valve. This is because ball valves are more labor-saving to operate, and they impose minimal resistance on water flow, meaning they will not affect the water pressure at home.   

Second recommendation: If the installation space for the main tap water pipeline valve is limited, it is personally recommended to choose a globe valve. If there is insufficient space for the ball valve handle, it will be difficult to open later, which is a key concern.         

What Are the Material Options for Valves on PPR Main Tap Water Pipelines?         

First option: It is personally recommended to choose PPR material for ball valves or globe valves. Valves of this material are resistant to any corrosion, easy to install, and—most importantly—much cheaper than copper or Stainless Steel Ball Valves/globe valves.         

Second option: Choose copper or stainless steel ball valves/globe valves. There is essentially little difference between copper and stainless steel valves, so either can be selected.