Mueller Lineseal III, XP, and XPII Butterfly Valves Overview The Mueller Butterfly valve is a seat in the

body design. The seat in the 3-20 Lineseal III and XPII valves (3 and 4 Lineseal XP) is molded in a recess in the valve body (i.e., protected by metal on three sides). The standard seat materials is Buna-N (also known as Nitrile or NBR). The molding of the valve seat is a time proven process which has been repeatedly tested to over 100 pounds pull using the ASTM test M-429, Method B. The seat in the 24 and larger Lineseal III and XPII valves (6 and larger Lineseal XP) is also Buna-N, mechanically retained by injecting epoxy behind the seat in a groove machined in the valve body. The patented E-LOK seat design allows for field seat adjustment by injecting epoxy directly into the seat (contact the factory for details). An option exists (contact factory) where the valve can be supplied with a fitting on the valve body O.D. which allows the end user to adjust the seat with the valve in-line without entering or Patented E-LOK Seat Design dewatering the pipeline. The epoxy behind the E-LOK seat mechanically retains the seat in the body groove and provides uniform pressure to effect a bubble tight seal between the seat and disc edge. This design eliminates the need for screws and segments in the flow stream, which can be misadjusted or adversely affected by vibration and corrosion. Ridges on the seat provide multiple sealing lines and permit higher levels of radial compression. As a result, rubber stress is deduced for lower seating torque, better sealing action, and longer seat life. Advantages of Seat on Body Design The primary advantage of a seat on the body design if the lower risk of damage to the seat as a consequence of tuberculation. This is because the sealing edge of the disc, which in this design is metal, is much harder than any correction deposits that may have built up with the valve or pipeline. Further, on the Mueller molded-in seat, the seat itself is slightly recessed

and therefore more protected than would be a seat if on the disc. Since the sealing edge of the Mueller butterfly valves, which is stainless steel, is much harder than the tuberculation, the build-up is simply swept away each time the valve is exercised. There are three major disadvantages of the seat-on-disc design valves. First, when the seat is located on the disc, it is the relatively soft rubber seat that comes in contact with corrosion deposits on the valve each time it is exercised. The inevitable result is a cut, torn or damaged seat, which in turn leads to a loss of seat integrity and significant valve leakage. Another disadvantage occurs when solid materials flow through the system, striking or impinging the rubber seat located on the disc. A third problem with this seat design arises because the maximum velocity in a pipeline occurs at the upstream and downstream leading edges of the disc, making the rubber seat on the disc susceptible to wear, vibration and potential loosening of hardware. For valves in on/off service applications, these conditions must be recognized since impingement will occur every time the valve is opened or closed. For valves used in throttling applications, the situation becomes even more serious since the rubber sear and associated mechanical hardware in seat on disc designs is exposed to high velocity and eroding effects on a continuous basis. End users should be particularly concerned with the overall potential impact of valve performance on the operation and maintenance of their plant and distribution systems. How well the valve seat withstands plant/system conditions is a long-term service issue that must be addressed. The Hidden Costs of Butterfly Valve Ownership Butterfly valve designs differ greatly from one producer to another despite the AWWA C504 standard. These differences relate to the size of the body bore and the cross sectional geometry of the valve disc. A larger bore offers more flow area, and therefore less resistance to flow. The disc design

also affects the amount of flow resistance for a valve. One having flow through disc geometry allows far more open area for flow and further reduces resistance. The large diameter Mueller butterfly valve has been shown to have very little resistance to flow compared to other manufacturers butterfly valves. The cost of butterfly valve ownership can be clearly demonstrated by comparing the CV of a 30 Mueller Lineseal III butterfly valve versus a typical 30 valve manufactured by a competitor. The Mueller 30 valve has a CV of 37,240 versus the competitors CV of 25,378 (this was determined by an actual test of the competitors valve). The Mueller valve offers 46% additional capacity over this competitors valve. In fact, in order for the competition to equal the flow rate of the Mueller 30 valve, the competitors 36 valve would have to be used. In this instance, for a given flow rate, the competitors valve would create nearly twice the pressure drop of the Mueller valve, thereby consuming nearly twice the amount of energy than required with the Mueller valve. Mueller customers stand to save money by considering the cost of ownership in addition to the purchase price when writing butterfly valve specifications. Calculating Energy Costs Know the CV valve for each valve in your system Know the flow rate Calculate the pressure drop across each valve at desired flow rate (note: refer to Mueller Butterfly Valve flow charts elsewhere in this book) H = S.G. (Q/CV)2 H = Head loss (ft. of water) S.G. = Specific gravity of media in pipeline Q = Flow rate (GPM) CV = Valve flow coefficient Calculate energy cost over ten years for each valve

Cost = 10(QHRT/(5810)(e)) Q = Flow rate (GPM) H = Head loss (ft. of water) R= Electric rate ($/KW hour) T = Yearly use (hours) e = Pump efficiency (.8 typical) Compare calculated costs between Mueller valve(s) and the competition

Summary 1. Some butterfly valves have less resistance to flow than others. 2. Valves with lower flow resistance require less energy to pass any given flow rate. 3. Valves with higher flow resistance will reduce system flow capacity. 4. The Mueller Butterfly Value has far less resistance to flow than the valve of certain major competitors. In fact, a 30 Mueller butterfly valve, given the same pressure drop, will flow about the same amount as some competitors 36 valve. 5. Mueller butterfly valves incorporate design features and materials of construction which contribute to longer service life without maintenance. 6. Users should be aware of the added costs and lower system flow capacity that results from low CV valves in their process. 7. Users should consider the total cost of their products over the whole like of the product in addition to the initial purchase price.