Vendor Showcase: Val-Matic Valve & Manufacturing Corp.

Romtec Utilities frequently uses Val-Matic valves in the design and supply of complete lift station systems. Val-Matic is one of the nation’s leading brands for pump station valves, including its signature air release valves. Val-Matic is a great vendor for Romtec Utilities because of its breadth and quality of standard valve types and sizes while also offering unique valves of the same quality.

Romtec Utilities uses Val-Matic valves on many pump station projects for wastewater, stormwater, and industrial water. One of the most interesting applications where the strengths of Val-Matic can be seen, however, took place on a clean water project. The project was for McBryde Resources in Hawaii on a pump station for a clean water irrigation system.

The project was essentially a clean water pump station replacement. McBryde Resources needed to replace an existing pump station after a fire destroyed the existing system, control panel, and building. The large irrigation needs of a nearby coffee plantation (16 MGD @ 415’TDH) required this project to take place on an extremely quick schedule and to meet super high flow and high head requirements. A very crucial aspect to meeting these criteria was using a valve company that could help Romtec Utilities meet the customer’s schedule while providing a product that would be reliable for the pumping requirements of the system.

Romtec Utilities contacted Val-Matic to supply the valves for this project because of the good experiences Romtec Utilities has had purchasing its products. This project required two main types of operation valves from Val-Matic; the Series 2000 Butterfly Valve and Globe Style Silent Check Valve. These two types of valves were chosen to meet the high-pressure, clean water pumping requirements of the McBryde Resources pumping system.

The 2000 Series Butterfly Valve provides this pump station with reliable shutoff operation to isolate one of the triplex pumps or to close the force main. This operation is necessary to perform maintenance on the pumps or to close off the entire system. These valves are large. Three valves are 12” diameter to isolate the pumps. A 10” diameter valves provides shutoff to a separate line off the force main. A 24” diameter valve provides shutoff operation for the complete system at the force main. Butterfly valves like these are designed for clean water systems.

The Globe Style Silent Check Valves serve as the high-pressure check valves on this system. The pumping conditions of this project required pumping water up a steep hill face, creating very high pressure in the lines. The globe style check valve eliminates backflow while also operating reliably under these high pressure conditions. This system included three, 12” inch globe check valves on the discharge piping of each pump.

Val-Matic also provided several air-valves for this project including Well Service Air Valves and Combination Air Valves. These valves are used to vent air out of the pipes as water begins to pump. Once water enters the valve it shuts off to allow normal pumping function. Air valves such as these improve the efficiency of the pumping system while decreasing stress on key system components such as the pumps.

On this project, the Val-Matic valves were manufactured in a very short timeframe, which allowed Romtec Utilities to meet its rapid schedule with McBryde Resources. This could have been a very difficult order to fill because of the number of valves required and the unique sizes of valves needed. Additionally, the operation valves used required 250 pound flanges for the high-pressure in the system, adding to the unique and robust specifications of this pump station.

By working with Val-Matic, Romtec Utilities was able to provide McBryde Resources in Hawaii with a fast and reliable clean water pump station. Not only did Val-Matic work hard to meet a strict schedule, it also delivered its typical high-quality valves that are all completely tested before delivery. Without a reliable vendor like Val-Matic, Romtec Utilities would not have succeeded in meeting McBryde Resources’ pump station requirements.

Check out the McBryde Resources project page to see more about this clean water pump station.

You can learn more about Val-Matic by visiting its website or go “like” them on Facebook to see updates from the company and to view educational videos.

Visit our Tech Info section to learn more about valve configurations like those discussed in this blog.