2 pc v 3 pc ball valves

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Bensiff

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Figure this is as good a place as any to ask this...

What are peoples pro/con thoughs on 2 piece verses 3 piece ball valves?
 
My two piece valves come apart so that I can easily remove the ball and seals and fully clean them as well.
 
2 peice are cheaper, and ive never had to take a valve apart for cleaning. 3 peice are only good for looks.
 
Figure this is as good a place as any to ask this...
What are peoples pro/con thoughs on 2 piece verses 3 piece ball valves?

Get yourself a couple of pipe wrenches and try to take one of the unitary models apart for cleaning.
They come apart they really do. But you gotta work for it (like for an hour) and re-assembly usually requires a fixture and an arbor press.

They were meant to stop flow in a system where active maintenance of sanitary conditions are not at issue.
 
Proper sized (non adjustable) box wrenches and a table vice should make short work of a 2 piece valve.
3 piece are designed to disassemble and be cleaned without needing a vice and big wrenches.
Many homebrewers never open their valves, some do it religiously. Your pre boil valves are not really a problem and your BK valve is getting boiled. If you had ball valves on a bright tank or fermenter, or other post boil placement, sanitation is more critical.
 
Proper sized (non adjustable) box wrenches and a table vice should make short work of a 2 piece valve.
3 piece are designed to disassemble and be cleaned without needing a vice and big wrenches.
Many homebrewers never open their valves, some do it religiously. Your pre boil valves are not really a problem and your BK valve is getting boiled. If you had ball valves on a bright tank or fermenter, or other post boil placement, sanitation is more critical.

I agree with you on all that. When it comes to sanitation of a fermenter ball valve, wouldn't it be good enough to just let the assembled ball valve sit in starsan solution for a minute? I wouldn't think that any beer could come into contact with any metal that wasn't sanitized...
 
It's well known that crud does get past the seals, which means it can get back out. It just does not matter on pre boil or on the BK where it's cooked.
 
To me, the 3-piece valves are a waste of money. They do look awesome, but in practice the sanitation advantage doesn't make sense to me. As previously stated, anything pre-boil doesn't matter. The valve on your boil kettle is at boiling temps for an hour. And past all that, I am WAY more worried about the threads all over my system that the ball valve itself.

I would not use a ball valve for a fermenter. I would go to sanitary butterfly valves if I ever go that route. Then you can actually sanitize the whole valve and there are no threads to worry about.
 
I recently took my BK's 2 piece apart and found it to be pretty nasty inside. Obviously 90 minute boils on a 60k burner are good enough to sanitize the crap out of it since I have never had an infection; however, I like to keep things real clean just the same so was surprised as to what was hidden in there and what got past the seals. However, it was easy to take apart which got me wondering why someone would pay extra money for a 3 piece when its claim to fame is sanitation and pretty looks. Thanks for all the thoughts folks.
 
Sorry for resurecting this thread but from what I know 3 piece valves are used so that they can be removed from hard piped systems with ease. Depending on how rigid you piping is with a 2 piece valve you might need to remove everything back to the closes mac union, with a 3 piece valve you remove the bolts holding it together and the valve comes out of the pipe work.
 
2 peice are cheaper, and ive never had to take a valve apart for cleaning. 3 peice are only good for looks.

+1 The common brass ball valves are a lot cheaper and work just as well. IMO, the three piece SS valves are nothing more than expensive bling. I would not consider using them on anything post boil for sanitation reasons, but for pre-boil they don't worry me at all and I haven't had any problems as a result of using them pre-boil.
 
Not a huge benefit... but, an advantage of 3 piece valves that has not been mentioned is the ability to re-orient the handle. When installing, you only have to tighten to the nearest 90 degree, you can then take the valve apart and orient the handle to any 90 degree direction you want. With a 2 piece, you have to tighten until the handle is oriented where you want it.
 
ok... where is the best place to get these three piece valves... I may pick up a couple for my conical
 
This is along the lines of what Ohio-Ed was saying. In my rigs plumbing I have the need for NPT threads on one end and Compression fitting on the other end. I was able to get those "pieces" and swap out one end of the 3 piece valve. So I now have two valves with FNPT threads on one end and swage-lok compression on the other with no couplings. It made for very compact routing of my ss lines. Obviously not needed often but it worked for my situation.
 
eBay has some great deals. Search Jomar 1/2" three-piece someone has them for $25 with free shipping and has more than 10 availabe.
 
Get yourself a couple of pipe wrenches and try to take one of the unitary models apart for cleaning.
They come apart they really do. But you gotta work for it (like for an hour) and re-assembly usually requires a fixture and an arbor press.

They were meant to stop flow in a system where active maintenance of sanitary conditions are not at issue.

What? The ones I have from Bargain fitting come apart with Cresent wrenches in about 5 minutes the brass ones I have from HD are the same . No press is needed to assemble .
 
To me, the 3-piece valves are a waste of money. They do look awesome, but in practice the sanitation advantage doesn't make sense to me. As previously stated, anything pre-boil doesn't matter. The valve on your boil kettle is at boiling temps for an hour. And past all that, I am WAY more worried about the threads all over my system that the ball valve itself.

I would not use a ball valve for a fermenter. I would go to sanitary butterfly valves if I ever go that route. Then you can actually sanitize the whole valve and there are no threads to worry about.

I know this is an old thread but it's been on my mind latley and I wanted to see if there were any discussions on it. I agree with this post above 100%. The internal parts on a 2pc and 3pc threaded valve are almost exactly the same so there's no advantage or disadvantage on this as far as sanitation. The threads on either valve are what would (if at all) cause a problem.

Yes the 3pc is very easy to take apart but I wonder how many people that brew beer actually take them apart and why when most of the spots you need to worry about are right on the end...the threads! A 2pc can and should be able to be taken apart just as easy if not easier. A lot of 3pc ball valves are actually used for scocket weld applications where they do not want or can't use threads. This allows the welder to take the valve apart and weld the end without melting the PTFE seats. Another reason is if the application is used for very high temps where the 400 degree rated seats need to be changed often or because of very nasty chemicals being run through it.

That being said, it's something everyone should be considering that is doing there own soldering on here. The valve should be about the same price if not cheaper and away with a few more threads on your setup. Just an idea.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/soldering-stainless-steel-155782/

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By zjosey at 2012-04-18
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By zjosey at 2012-04-18
 
Last edited by a moderator:
That being said, it's something everyone should be considering that is doing there own soldering on here. The valve should be about the same price if not cheaper and away with a few more threads on your setup. Just an idea.
Why would you solder instead of weld? I don't know the pro/cons of either method from a sanitation perspective or longevity. I'd like to know more on this.

Bargin Fittings has the 3 part on sale for 17.99 so it is not that much more then the cost of a ss 2 part. I just installed 2 last weeked on my new boil keggel and my old HLT.
They are $14.95 at ProFlow Dynamics. Just sayin'.
 
Why would you solder instead of weld? I don't know the pro/cons of either method from a sanitation perspective or longevity. I'd like to know more on this.
Nothing really except for the fact that not everybody has a welder and a tig at that. If you can have it welded go for it! Whether it's a hose barb, sani clamp (tri-clamp) or whatever.

I guess one advantage with solder is that it could always be heated up again to remove the fitting.
 
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