What types of valve lockouts are there?

Currently, a growing number of valve lockouts have entered people’s lives. This kind of lockout is widely applied in many situations.

Along with the widespread availability of valve locks, the practical application of valve locks is also of great interest. Today, we are mainly talking about the types of valve locks and their specific applications.

Why use valve lockouts?

What are the characteristics of butterfly valve lockouts?

What are the characteristics of the gate valve lockouts?

What are the precautions when using a valve lockout? 

Why use valve lockouts?

Commonly used valve locks are divided into ball valve locks, butterfly valve locks, gate valve locks, rotary valve locks, and universal valve locks. Although it has so many types in terms of shape, the ultimate aim is to protect workers from injury in commercial and industrial applications.

Besides, it worth pointing to the development of valve lockouts. The pipeline valves in power plants are known to be very important ancillary equipment during operation and are important for safe operation. However, some valves are normally open and others are normally closed. This requires consideration of safety in order to avoid mishandling. With this aim in mind, valve locks have been designed for use with normally open and normally closed valves or for temporary use, to ensure that misuse of the valves by both operating and non-operating personnel is avoided. Valve locks are used for two main purposes, one as a warning and the other to protect against accidental injury.

What are the characteristics of butterfly valves?

Butterfly valve lockouts are designed for manufacturing, mining, utilities, municipal service, and oil and gas applications.

Butterfly valves are rotary valves in which a disc-shaped seat element is rotated by 90° to open or close the flow path. It can be applied in restrictive conditions, especially where large size valves with an automatic actuator are required. However, butterfly valves cannot be used where a full opening is required without obstruction. With the use of chemically resistant elastomers on butterfly valves, butterfly valves can have a very positive working performance.

What are the characteristics of the gate valve lockouts?

Gate valve lockouts are also a typical kind of valve lockout. Gate valves are made of extremely durable materials and are virtually indestructible. Noticeably, when the valve is locked, the gate is able to rotate around the handwheel, but the handwheel itself does not move

For gate valve lockouts, the most important feature is a Strong polyurethane plastic design resistant to cracks and abrasions

What are the precautions when using a valve lockout? 

With the development of society, valve lockouts are widely applied in many fields, especially for manufacturing industries.

Meanwhile, there are precautions that need to be noted. Valve locking devices need to be isolated from hazardous energy sources such as gases, hydraulics, and fluids before servicing. This is to ensure the safety of your workers.

In addition, there are very strict international standards for the production of valve locks. All valve locking devices are made of durable materials to ensure that they can withstand the extreme environments to which they may be exposed.