With the Monoball KHO, Klinger Fluid Control is launching a new, even more robust ball valve.
District heating pipes are like an accordion. They constantly expand and contract. They are hundreds of kilometers long and seasonal pressure and temperature fluctuations cause enormous changes in length. They have to withstand all this to keep us comfortably warm.
This is true not only for the pipes, but also for the ball valves, which are placed between the pipes at regular intervals in order to be able to shut off the water if necessary. In particular, the weld seams of these ball valves are placed under extreme stress. If they were to fail, the heating supply would be disrupted, and extensive excavation work would be needed. To prevent this, Klinger Fluid Control (KFC) is launching a whole new generation of ball valves: the Monoball KHO.
Single cast housing
The Klinger Monoball KHO is a true product innovation: “We have set ourselves the goal of improving good products and at the same time offering them more cost-effectively,” says Xaver Gruber, Managing Director of Klinger Fluid Control. Whereas ball valves used to be welded together from bent metal pipes, the Monoball KHO is a new approach: “The Monoball KHO has a neatly cast housing that can absorb even more force than the previous model. Inside, there is a ball with a full bore to keep the flow losses to a minimum, instead of a tube bent into a ball as before. “Klinger Fluid Control made a conscious decision to increase quality. After all, we want to do justice to the company’s reputation and offer the “Mercedes of ball valves”, as Gruber puts it.
One ball valve, many models
This “Mercedes” is available in a variety of models. Models with threads or flanges can be adapted to customer requirements with very little effort. “The modular design means we only have to import a few parts. We receive a housing that we can customize on site,” says Gruber. The precision casting of the housing is a complicated process in which a thin-walled steel casting is created around a wax mold. Its low weight saves material and transport costs. “Casting requires more personnel, but we can reduce the processing time in Gumpoldskirchen and make optimal use of the available resources,” explains Gruber.
Unbeatable value for the money
The KHO ball valves were previously produced with a partner in Hungary. Now, Klinger Fluid Control is moving the entire production to the Austrian site in Gumpoldskirchen. The plan is to outperform the competition thanks to the unbeatable price-quality ratio: “We are the only ones offering a cast metal housing. Penetration welding is used where welds are required. The Monoball KHO does not have any weaknesses,” proudly explains Gruber.