Ball valves were invented over two centuries ago, yet the application of Teflon to the interior of the ball valve itself is fairly new. Why would companies that make ball valves want to make Teflon ball valves? What was it about original ball valves that made manufacturers think that the addition of Teflon was a good idea? If you are in the market to buy several ball valves, these are questions you are probably asking, especially since non-Teflon coated ball valves are still an option.
Teflon Is Waterproof and Nothing Sticks to It
If you have ever cooked with a Teflon-coated frying pan, you know that everything from eggs to meat to fish just slides right out of the pan. It’s that same property in ball valves that makes Teflon useful. Anything sticky passing through a ball valve would gum up the “ball” inside the valve and prevent it from turning. When the “ball” is coated with Teflon, all manner of sticky or viscous fluids (e.g., corn syrup, crude oil, etc.) flows right past and through. When you have just water flowing through, water doesn’t stay on the valve and cause rust issues either.
Low to No Friction
Now let’s say that your pipelines are used to move more semi-solid material. Teflon’s other property of cutting down on friction makes these semi-solids and solids slide right past with no grating or grinding. That’s important to the life of a Teflon ball valve because it means you’ll replace the valveless often.
