Flo-Tite

Two-piece threaded-end ball valves for smaller lines, generally under 3 inch.

Use it whenUse it on small-bore piping in a fairly permanent installation where you do not expect to open the valve for service. Cheapest and most compact way to get a quality ball valve into a 1/2 to 2 inch line.

Ball valves with an ISO 5211 mounting pad machined into the valve so an actuator bolts straight on without a bracket and coupler.

Use it whenUse it any time the valve is going to be automated. Direct mount removes the bracket-and-coupler stack, which is where lost motion, misalignment and most field automation headaches come from. If you are buying a bare valve today but will automate it later, buy direct mount now.

Ball valves whose center body unbolts from two end caps, so the trim can be replaced without cutting the valve out of the line. Weld-In-Place versions let the end caps be welded with the seats removed.

Use it whenUse it when the valve will need seat or seal replacement during its life, or when the ends have to be welded. Three-piece is the right default for anything you expect to maintain; the Weld-In-Place variants specifically protect the seats from weld heat.

Flanged-end ball valves for line sizes and classes where flanged connections are the standard.

Use it whenUse it where the piping spec calls for flanges, where the valve is too large for threaded ends, or where you need to be able to drop the valve out of the line without cutting.

A lower-cost ball valve range for undemanding duty.

Use it whenUse it for utility and non-critical isolation. Do not spec it into a process line that cycles frequently or handles aggressive media -- the savings disappear the first time you replace one.

Three-way and multi-port ball valves that divert or mix rather than just isolate.

Use it whenUse it when one stream has to go to either of two destinations, or two streams combine, and you would otherwise build it out of two valves and fittings. One body and one actuator instead of two.

Ball valves built for conditions that shorten the life of a standard soft-seated valve.

Use it whenUse it when the medium is abrasive, hot, or otherwise chewing through conventional valves. Talk to the factory here rather than picking off a chart -- severe service is where a bad selection costs the most.

Ball valves with metal-to-metal seating instead of a polymer seat.

Use it whenUse it when the temperature exceeds what a PTFE or TFM seat will take, or when abrasives would cut a soft seat. Accept that shutoff will not be as tight as a soft seat and confirm the leakage class is acceptable.

Ball valves configured for cryogenic service, typically with an extended stem.

Use it whenUse it on liquefied gas service. The extension keeps the stem seal out of the cold zone; a standard valve will not survive.

Ball valves with the ball supported on trunnions rather than floating.

Use it whenUse it when size or pressure class makes floating-ball torque and seat loading impractical -- generally the larger, higher-class end of the range.

Ball valves with V-notched or contoured balls for modulating rather than on-off duty.

Use it whenUse it when you need throttling from a rotary valve -- often on slurries and fibrous media where a globe-style control valve would plug. Specify the positioner with the valve.

Ball valves with ceramic trim.

Use it whenUse it when abrasion is the failure mode and even metal seating wears out -- heavy slurries, catalyst, ash. Ceramic buys wear life, not corrosion resistance.

Ball valves with a PFA fluoropolymer lining, a line Flo-Tite added in 2025.

Use it whenUse it when the medium attacks metal and you need a fluoropolymer barrier over the whole wetted path -- strong acids and aggressive chemicals. Lined valves have temperature and vacuum limits, so confirm those before specifying.

Manual ball valves with a spring-loaded lever that returns the valve to closed when released.

Use it whenUse it for dead-man service: sampling points, hose stations, anywhere a valve must not be left open by accident.

Ball valves configured for blow-down and drain duty.

Use it whenUse it on boiler blow-down and equipment drains where the service is intermittent, hot and hard on a general-purpose valve.

Rubber- or elastomer-lined butterfly valves for general isolation and coarse throttling.

Use it whenUse it on water, cooling and other clean, low-pressure service at 3 inch and up, where a ball valve would be heavy and expensive and bubble-tight shutoff at high pressure is not required.

Butterfly valves with a higher-integrity seat and body than a resilient-seated valve.

Use it whenUse it when a resilient seat is not enough on pressure, temperature or media, but you still want the size and weight advantage of a butterfly over a ball valve.

Butterfly valves whose shaft is offset twice so the disc cams off the seat as it opens.

Use it whenUse it when a resilient-seated valve is cycling too often and wearing its seat. The offset reduces rubbing, so seat life goes up on modulating and frequent-cycle duty.

Metal-seated butterfly valves with a third, conical offset so the disc seats without rubbing.

Use it whenUse it when you need tight shutoff at high temperature from a butterfly footprint -- steam, hot oil, high-cycle isolation. This is the butterfly you reach for when a soft seat will not survive.

Gate valves with a thin plate that shears through the medium.

Use it whenUse it on slurry, pulp, ash and powders that would pack a conventional gate or wedge a ball.

A special-alloy program covering ball, butterfly, check, gate, globe and plug valves, engineered per application. Flo-Tite states its engineering team writes specifications for difficult service conditions including corrosion, high temperature and abrasion.

Use it whenUse it when the service has defeated standard stainless -- aggressive chemicals, high temperature, abrasive media. This is an engineered-to-order path, so start with the application data rather than a part number.

Forged and cast gate, globe and check valves under Flo-Tite's IVT line.

Use it whenUse it when the piping spec calls for forged construction on small-bore high-pressure service, or when you need conventional linear valves to complete a package alongside the ball valves.

Air-powered rotary actuators in rack and pinion, cylinder and scotch yoke designs, including a stainless (Inox) and a compact option.

Use it whenUse pneumatic when you have plant air and want fast, high-cycle, inherently fail-safe operation. Pick scotch yoke or the extended-range HD at the high-torque end, Kompact where space is tight, Inox in washdown or corrosive areas.

A vane-style pneumatic rotary actuator.

Use it whenUse it where you want quarter-turn air actuation in a smaller, simpler package than a rack and pinion unit.

A rack and pinion pneumatic actuator built without return springs.

Use it whenUse it when spring maintenance and spring-related torque loss are the problem, and the process does not need a spring-return fail position. Double-acting only, so confirm the failure mode is acceptable.

Electric quarter-turn actuators across a range of frame sizes and torque ratings, catalogued as ELO models.

Use it whenUse electric when there is no plant air, when the valve is remote from the air header, or when you need modulating position control without an air supply. Confirm the duty cycle and whether you need a fail-safe -- electric units generally hold last position on power loss.

Spring-and-diaphragm actuators.

Use it whenUse it for spring-return service on smaller valves and for modulating duty where a diaphragm gives smoother, more linear response than a piston.

Manual gear operators with handwheel.

Use it whenUse it when the valve is too large to turn by lever, or when an operator needs mechanical advantage and a visible position indication without automating the valve.

Electrically operated pilot valves that switch air to a pneumatic actuator.

Use it whenUse it on every pneumatically actuated valve that a control system commands. Match voltage, port size and area classification to the installation.

Devices that drive an actuator to a commanded intermediate position.

Use it whenUse it whenever the valve has to modulate rather than just open and close -- required on V-ball and control valve applications.

Switch boxes and visual position indicators that report actual valve position.

Use it whenUse it when the control system or the operator needs confirmed position rather than a commanded state. Standard on interlocked and safety-related valves.

Air preparation for pneumatic actuators.

Use it whenUse it on every air-actuated valve. Dirty or wet plant air is the most common cause of premature actuator and solenoid failure, and this is the cheapest fix there is.

Flow restrictors that slow actuator travel.

Use it whenUse it when a fast-closing valve is causing water hammer or shocking the piping, or when a process needs a controlled stroke time.

Inserts that fill the dead space in a ball valve body around the ball.

Use it whenUse it when the medium polymerizes, crystallizes or cannot be allowed to collect -- slurries, monomers, sanitary service. The filler removes the pocket where product hangs up.

Ball valves with a steam jacket around the body.

Use it whenUse it when the medium solidifies or gets too viscous at ambient temperature -- sulfur, asphalt, heavy waxes -- and the valve has to be kept hot to keep working.

Ball valves designed to mount at a tank outlet with an unrestricted bore.

Use it whenUse it at a vessel discharge where you want no pocket between the tank and the valve and no restriction in the flow path.

Hardware that captures media rather than letting it escape at the valve.

Use it whenUse it where a leak is a safety or environmental problem rather than a housekeeping one.

Pressure relief devices in the Flo-Tite catalog.

Use it whenUse it for overpressure protection. Sizing and set pressure come from the code calculation, not from the valve catalog.

A compact valve and actuator package.

Use it whenUse it in skids, panels and tight equipment enclosures where a standard valve and actuator stack will not physically fit.

Extensions that move the operator away from the valve body.

Use it whenUse it when the valve is insulated, buried, in a cold box, or otherwise out of reach -- and for cryogenic service where the seal must sit outside the cold zone.

The mechanical interface hardware between a valve and an actuator.

Use it whenUse it when you are automating a valve that is not direct mount. If you are buying new, prefer a direct mount valve and skip this stack entirely.

Replacement and special ball configurations, including V-notched balls.

Use it whenUse it to convert an existing valve to throttling duty or to solve a specific flow-characteristic problem without replacing the whole valve.