Side Entry, Top Entry, and Welded Body Ball Valves
Generally speaking, ball valves are divided into three types from the perspective of body style. There are side entry, top entry, and welded body ball valves. The main difference is based on how the valve body is manufactured and assembled.
For the side entry (or end entry) ball valve, we assemble its ball from the side, which means we have to remove the valve from the pipeline when doing the trim repairing. There are two-piece type body and three-piece type body. Each part of the body is assembled by bolts and nuts.
For the top entry ball valve, we assemble its ball from the top side. In other words, we can just remove the top of the valve to get access to the ball and seats instead of moving it from the pipeline. The less thread connection could minimize the possible leak paths.
The welded body ball valve means the whole body is fully welded without any thread connection, which means it is not possible to do the maintenance on the pipeline. The fully welded ball valve features in larger strength with less weight. No thread connection means it has the smallest body size and the least leak paths among the three types.
For the side entry (or end entry) ball valve, we assemble its ball from the side, which means we have to remove the valve from the pipeline when doing the trim repairing. There are two-piece type body and three-piece type body. Each part of the body is assembled by bolts and nuts.
For the top entry ball valve, we assemble its ball from the top side. In other words, we can just remove the top of the valve to get access to the ball and seats instead of moving it from the pipeline. The less thread connection could minimize the possible leak paths.
The welded body ball valve means the whole body is fully welded without any thread connection, which means it is not possible to do the maintenance on the pipeline. The fully welded ball valve features in larger strength with less weight. No thread connection means it has the smallest body size and the least leak paths among the three types.
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