Hobbs Valve Provide The Solution Yet Again

Hobbs Valve can now offer a product suitable for Fire Safe Certified Applications free of graphite eliminating the potential for Galvanic Corrosion between Duplex Valves and Graphite.

Offshore applications have an inherent safety need to be Fire Safe Certified ensuring critical valves are operable during and or after a fire event. This critical need offers an obstacle in choices of material whilst attempting to minimise or remove corrosive opportunities. Galvanic Corrosion has proven to be a Global Problem when in Sea Water applications and combined with Duple Stainless Steel and Graphite.

Hobbs once again has stepped ahead of the class and approved a new innovative material selection that allows the use of non-graphite material but maintaining fire safe certification. Currently Hobbs is the only Triple Offset Butterfly Valve Manufacturer Globally capable of delivering such a result. Ashley Ford Product Engineering Manager states “It is imperative in today’s markets that End Users can rely on Manufacturers to deliver innovative results to solve long standing problems and make all attempts to reduce the cost of exploration in the offshore industry, it is because of this that Hobbs continually attempt to solve the customers need prior to being requested.”

Historically Graphite in certain service conditions would normally have been replaced with PTFE or RPTFE which only has a maximum operating temperature of around 260 deg C restricting its ability to become a true fire safe certified product in our valves.

Hobbs valve can now offer a range of Duplex and Super Duplex Valves that are graphite free and fire safe. The fire safe capabilities of these valves were confirmed by successfully passing the test requirements for confirming the pressure-containing capability of a valve under pressure during and after a fire in line with the international standard ISO 10497:2010 as witnessed by Lloyd’s register.

Hobbs Valve Ltd
Tel: 029 2086 1099
Website: www.hobbsvalve.co.uk

Published: 1st September 2011