Don’t Neglect This Critical Component. Your Company Could Depend on it!

Industrial valves are critical to the safety of your plant and employees. Regularly scheduled safety valve testing and pressure relief valve testing plays a big part in reducing risk to employees and facilities. Too often, these critical components are neglected, which means that they have opened their employees and facility up to increased levels of risk.

When we ask companies when they last tested their pressure relief valves, the most common answer we receive is “I don’t remember”. At Extreme Force Valve, we’re passionate about what we do. We’re hoping to increase awareness of the importance of proper safety valve testing and pressure relief valve testing and maintenance.

Other companies tell us that they don’t need our services because they get their valves inspected and recertified by their jurisdictional authority (State Fire Marshall or City Inspector) or their Insurance Company. This too is a scary answer, as neither of these entities recertify safety valves. They are there to visually inspect their boilers and pressure vessels only! Again, your State Fire Marshall or City Inspector do NOT inspect or recertify industrial valves.

Here’s another common question we hear: You mean there’s a difference between safety valves and relief valves? The short answer is, “yes”.
Safety valves are typically employed in steam or vapor settings. When performing properly, it will operate automatically by popping open under high pressure.  It will then reclose when the pressure drops to a pressure that is in line with the blowdown requirements by the appropriate standard or code.

Pressure relief valves are used for liquid applications. Under pressure greater than the initial opening pressure, the relief valve is designed to open further, releasing pressure, and reclosing when the pressure is reduced.

There are also safety-relief valves that operate both as a safety valve and a relief valve. These valves can be used in either setting.
Of course there are many different manufacturers of these industrial valves.
A few of them include: Kunkle, Consolidated, Leser, Crosby, Farris, Anderson Greenwood, GE, Emerson and Pentair. Each valve and manufacturer will have its own directions for proper testing.

Whether or not you contact Extreme Force Valve for safety valve testing or pressure relief valve testing and maintenance, it’s important that your valves are tested by a company that is qualified to perform both testing and repair of your specific valves.

Extreme Force Valve provides industrial valve testing and repair services for companies in the upper Midwest. Located near St. Louis, Missouri, we’re positioned to provide our valve services across the region, into Missouri, Illinois, parts of Iowa and Indiana.

Proper valve inspection, testing and maintenance could very well be the best investment you make in the safety and security of your company and employees.