A drinking water supply line in Örkelljunga, Sweden, needed a valve. A pipeline was in critical need of repair and required a shutoff for work on a segment. The responsibility for installing the valve on this older drinking water line rested with Karl-Gustav Svenson, the project manager. The 4-in. line serves about 148 customers, and Svenson was anxious to avoid service disruption for the entire system during a lengthy procedure.
A Simple Choice
The decision was made to select the EZ-Valve system, largely based on the viewing of an instructional video supplied by Advanced Valve Technologies, the company that developed the system.
Preparation for the valve insertion is minimal. The compact system reduces the total installed cost by requiring only a single small excavation and reducing—and often eliminating—the use of heavy equipment. The EZ-Valve also incorporates an integral isolation gate within the valve body so that a separate, costly isolation equipment rental (and the man hours to use it) is never needed. Site preparation and site restoration are kept to a minimum.
The pipe dates from the 1950s and was embedded in approximately 6 ft of sand. It was in good physical shape and had been properly exposed for cleaning and preparation. The onsite installation staff included Joseph van der Zee, the European agent for this American product, and technicians from Advanced Valve Technologies’ headquarters. Local water service engineers and staff were on hand to view this first-ever use of the EZ-Valve system in their country.
The installation sequence proceeded according to plan in three steps: Secure the precision-machined valve body to the pipe, mill the 120-degree access slot for the resilient wedge gate and secure the valve bonnet to the body. The process was completed on schedule as promised and without inconvenience to the end users.
New Markets
This EZ-Valve was well received, and orders for one 8-in. and two 10-in. valves soon followed and quickly were completed.
EZ-Valve is offered in sizes from 4 to 24 in. and can be applied to a range of pipe materials, including non-standard geometries. The valve bonnet may be removed and reused should the installation be performed as a temporary line stop. The wedge gate powers through even difficult tuberculation and provides a
drip-tight seal.
Customers have the option to purchase valves and a complete toolkit (including hands-on training sessions) to perform their own installations or to contract installations by Advanced Valve Technologies.
More than 25,000 successful installations have been performed worldwide on cast iron, ductile, steel, A/C, spiral-welded and other pipe materials. Each EZ-Valve is precision-machined and pressure-tested prior to installation. Agency approvals include AWWA, UL and NSF.
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