Fire Valves

A fire valve is the isolation and hose connection valve on a fire main. It spends nearly all of its life closed and unused, then has to open first time under pressure, which is a different demand from a process valve that is cycled regularly. That drives the material choice: bronze and gunmetal bodies resist the standing seawater or treated water in a charged main and do not seize the way an unprotected ferrous body can.

Straight and oblique (30 degree) patterns are both used, the oblique form giving a straighter flow path and lower loss where the outlet turns away from the main. Sizes here cover DN40 to DN65 at PN16, which are the usual hose and branch sizes on a shipboard or building fire main. Bodies are bronze Rg5 and CuSn10 with cast steel options, and the stem and seat materials are selected to survive long periods standing wet.

When specifying, confirm the bore, the pressure rating, the outlet arrangement and any coupling or thread standard the hose equipment requires, since a fire valve that will not mate with the local brigade or shipboard hose is unusable regardless of its rating. Approval requirements usually decide the selection, so state what the project demands on an enquiry.