Collect Valves And Industrial Equipment As A Hobby? Don't Let These Valves Get Away!
People have all manner of unusual hobbies. You may think it strange that people collect stamps or old cars, while others think it strange that you collect valves and industrial equipment. There is just something that draws you to these items and you enjoy collecting them. Depending on your collection at the moment, you may want to collect the following valves just because of their unique shape or funny names.
Orbit Rising Stem Ball Valve
These valves have a funny name, but what they can do is very serious. Essentially, you have a ball valve at the bottom, with a stem rising from the top of the "ball." The circular steering wheel handle on the top of the "stem" turns one way to open the valve and then the other to close it. As you turn the wheel to open the valve, the blocking mechanism inside turns to create the open channel while simultaneously moving upward slightly and into position. The action is reversed when you close the valve. Some of these are rather larger, so you may want to place them about your yard as conversation pieces when you add them to your collection.
Cast Globe Valves
Cast globe valves, like NEWCO cast glove valves, are another funny-looking valve. Yet they are still very interesting to look at. Ranging from the tiny two-inch size (perfect for your shelf collection!) to the massive and heavy two-foot size (yard decoration!), these valves have a big, solid globe ball in the middle that is single-cast steel. The connected steel flanges on both ends are part of the single casting process that produces these valves. You may want to collect more than one because of the many various finishes.
Gate Valves
Gate valves simply open nearby gates; that is what they do. It is actually their internal components that are more interesting than their function or overall appearance. If you do not already have a couple gate valves in your collection, get a couple small ones. It just rounds out the whole collection, plus it gives you something to talk about and "warm up" visitors with when you start talking about valves and you do not want them to tune out on the really interesting valves you want them to see.
Flanges
Some flanges that are not die-cast with ball valves or other valves in between can become real conversation pieces. They are round, with lots of bolt holes, which makes them conducive to transforming into tables. When you love your collection that much, it can be done.
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