If you search for “valves”, you’ll find everything from household plumbing parts to high-purity vacuum hardware. On an industrial site, though, a valve is rarely “just a valve”. It’s a pressure boundary, a control element, and sometimes the one component that decides whether a line behaves nicely—or becomes a recurring maintenance problem.
This page is written for people who need industrial valves in Norway: water and utilities, process and manufacturing, gas service, steam, and vacuum. If you already know the exact tag number and spec, great. If you don’t, you’ll still be able to narrow it down quickly.
In most plants, valves fall into three everyday jobs: isolate flow, control flow, or protect equipment. The tricky part is that the same body shape can behave very differently depending on media, pressure, temperature, and materials.
A valve that seals perfectly on cold water may leak on steam after a few cycles. A design that throttles smoothly at low differential pressure can start hunting when the pressure drop grows. The “right” choice is usually the one that matches operating conditions, not the one that looks familiar.
Isolation valves are about shutoff. Control valves are about stable regulating. Safety-related valves are about protecting people and equipment when pressure rises or flow reverses.
If you’re unsure which category you’re in, look at the consequence: do you mainly need a tight stop, or do you need repeatable control? That answer changes everything from trim to actuator choice.
Before you look at brands or pricing, you’ll save time by collecting a few basics:
Once you have that, you can compare valve types without guessing.
Most selection mistakes happen when a line needs control, but the valve chosen is mainly an on/off design. You can throttle with many valves, but not all of them will do it kindly.
If you need to regulate flow or pressure, you typically want a control valve (or a valve purpose-built for throttling). If you need a clean stop, a ball valve, gate valve, or butterfly valve may be the better fit—depending on the service.
There are many valve types, but the everyday decision is often between a handful. If you match type to task, you get fewer surprises later.
A good way to think about it: pick the mechanism that fits the job, then pick materials and sealing that fit the media.
Ball valves are popular because they’re straightforward: quarter-turn, clear open/close position, and typically tight shutoff. They’re often used as isolation valves in process lines, utilities, and skids.
They can work for throttling in some cases, but if you plan to modulate continuously, you’ll usually get better control and less wear with a valve designed for regulating.
If you’re dealing with aggressive media or frequent temperature cycling, a stainless steel body and the right seat material matter as much as the valve type.
Gate valves are classic isolation valves for situations where you want minimal restriction when open. They’re common in water systems, some utility services, and lines where a straight-through passage is useful.
They’re not a great match for throttling. Partially open, a gate can vibrate, erode, and turn into a maintenance item. If you need to “crack it a bit” to control flow, it’s usually a sign to pick another type.
Globe valves are often chosen when you need decent regulating without the complexity of a full control valve package. The flow path creates a pressure drop, but it also gives you stable throttling characteristics.
If your line needs fine adjustments and repeatability, a globe valve is often a safer bet than trying to “make” a ball valve behave like a control element.
Butterfly valves are everywhere in water and low-to-medium pressure applications, especially in larger diameters. They’re light, compact, and quick to actuate.
The trade-offs are in sealing and control at certain conditions. For tight shutoff, you’ll want to confirm the leakage class and seat design. For throttling, you’ll want to ensure the disc position gives stable control where you operate most of the time.
If you’re running steam, high temperature, or abrasive media, it’s worth pausing before defaulting to a butterfly design.
Check valves (non-return valves) prevent reverse flow. They’re simple in concept, but selection and installation details matter more than many expect.
Orientation, cracking pressure, and media viscosity all affect how a check valve behaves. A swing check that works nicely on water may chatter on pulsating flow. A lift check may be sensitive to debris. In vacuum systems, “backflow” takes on a different meaning, so the choice changes again.
Solenoid valves are commonly used for on/off control in smaller lines, pilot control, and automation tasks. They’re popular because they’re easy to wire and fast.
That said, solenoids have limits in pressure drop, temperature, and media compatibility. You’ll often need to confirm coil rating, duty cycle, and whether the design is direct-acting or pilot-operated.
“Normally open” means it opens without power and closes when energized. “Normally closed” does the opposite. If you’re choosing based on a safe state, think about what happens during a power loss: do you want flow to stop, or do you want it to continue?
A small choice here can prevent a big headache later.
If you’ve ever watched a line oscillate—pressure bouncing, flow hunting, temperature drifting—you’ve seen what happens when control isn’t stable. Control valves exist for that reason.
A control valve is typically paired with an actuator and often a positioner. The goal is repeatable movement and predictable flow response, even when differential pressure changes.
If you need accurate regulating, it’s often better to choose a proper control valve than to overwork an on/off valve.
Actuation is a big part of control performance. Pneumatic actuators are common for fast response and simple fail-safe behavior. Electric actuators can be practical where air supply is limited or where you want precise position control without pneumatics.
What you pick depends on response time, available utilities, and what “safe” means in your process.
Control valves can suffer from cavitation, flashing, erosion, and trim wear—especially at high pressure drop. If your application involves large differential pressure or noisy operation, it’s worth considering anti-cavitation trim or staged pressure reduction.
The best time to handle this is during selection, not after a year of repairs.
Steam service is a great teacher because it exposes weak selections quickly. Temperature cycles, pressure swings, and condensate all stress sealing surfaces and packing.
If your system uses steam, confirm temperature ratings for body, seats, and seals. Stainless steel may be the right choice for corrosion and temperature stability, but seat material and packing matter just as much.
On high-temperature lines, you’ll also want to think about thermal expansion, bolt loads on flanges, and how frequent cycling affects leakage.
Picture this: you’re standing next to a vacuum chamber during a tight commissioning window. The pump-down curve looks wrong, someone suspects a leak, and suddenly every flange and valve becomes the prime suspect. Vacuum service has a way of turning small details into real downtime.
Vacuum valves are not chosen the same way as pressure-line valves. Leakage expectations are different, conductance matters, and materials/outgassing can be the deciding factor.
Vacuum gate valves are often used for isolation with a clear open passage. Vacuum butterfly valves can be compact and quick, but you’ll want to confirm conductance, sealing, and how the disc position affects flow and pressure stability.
If you need a clean stop between chamber and pump, isolation is the focus. If you need regulation of chamber pressure, vacuum control is the focus.
Isolation valves are about separating volumes. Vacuum control valves are about regulating pressure and flow under vacuum conditions. The selection depends on vacuum level, response needs, contamination risk, and how sensitive your process is to pressure swings.
Material choice is not just “corrosion resistance”. It’s also temperature stability, compatibility, and sometimes cleanliness.
Stainless steel is a common industrial default for many services: water, many gases, steam, and a broad range of process media. For more aggressive chemicals, you may need higher alloy grades or lined constructions.
If weight, cost, or specific standards push you toward other materials, confirm they meet the real operating conditions—not only the nominal numbers.
A valve body can be strong and well-machined, but sealing is where real-world performance shows. Seats and seals decide whether shutoff stays tight after cycling, after temperature swings, or after media deposits build up.
Soft seats can provide tight shutoff at lower torque, but they can be sensitive to temperature, chemical attack, and wear. Metal seats can handle harsher service but may not seal as tightly at low pressure.
PTFE is popular for chemical compatibility and low friction. It can be a solid choice for many media, but it has temperature limits and can creep under load. If you expect frequent cycling, high temperature, or sharp particles, you may want to consider alternative seat materials or designs.
If you’re unsure, describe your media and temperature range first; seat selection becomes clearer after that.
Connections are where good selections can still fail—usually because something “almost fits”. Thread standards, flange faces, pressure classes, and gasket materials all need to match.
Threaded connections can be practical in smaller sizes and lower pressures, but you’ll want to confirm NPT vs BSP and any local practice. Flanged connections are common for maintenance access and standardization, but require correct bolting and gasket choices.
For vacuum service, interface standards and surface cleanliness become even more important.
For industrial procurement, standards are a shared language. ISO and API references can help ensure the valve meets expectations for design, testing, and performance—especially in more demanding services.
If you’re comparing suppliers, documentation is often the fastest way to see whether you’re looking at similar products or not.
You’ll usually move faster if you request a few specific items up front:
That short list often prevents a long email thread later.
A common shortcut is to pick the same nominal size as the line. Sometimes that’s fine. Often, it isn’t.
For control valves, sizing is about achieving stable control with acceptable pressure drop. For steam, it’s about avoiding noise, erosion, and unstable behavior. For vacuum, it’s about conductance and pump-down performance.
If you’re unsure, start by defining the required flow and allowable pressure drop; then the valve size becomes a result, not a guess.
Cv is a measure of how much flow a valve passes at a given pressure drop. You don’t need to be a control engineer to use it, but you do need consistent inputs.
If you can provide media, flow rate, inlet pressure, outlet pressure (or ΔP), and temperature, a supplier can usually help you shortlist the right trim or size. For steam, include whether it’s saturated or superheated. For gases, include the gas type and any compressibility considerations.
Actuators aren’t just accessories. They decide response time, reliability, and how the valve behaves during faults.
Pneumatic actuation is common because it’s fast and easy to make fail-open or fail-closed with spring return. Electric actuation can be practical where air is not available or where you want integrated positioning.
When you think “fail-safe”, define the safe condition: safe for people, safe for equipment, and safe for process quality may not be the same.
Once you add automation, small components start to matter. Positioners can improve control performance. Limit switches confirm valve state. Air preparation protects pneumatic components from moisture and contamination.
If you’re building a skid or upgrading a line, it’s worth deciding early what signals you need (open/closed, analog position, diagnostics). It’s much easier to include it in the first build than to retrofit later.
People often ask for “zero leakage”. In reality, leakage is defined by standards and test conditions. The right question is: what leakage level is acceptable for your process and safety case?
For some applications, a small leakage rate is fine. For others—certain gases, hazardous media, vacuum isolation—it’s not. Confirming leakage class early prevents disappointment later.
You don’t need an elaborate program to improve valve life. You need consistency: inspection, correct operation, and early repair when leakage begins.
Here’s what typically pays off:
Those small habits usually beat “hero maintenance” during an outage.
Spare parts strategies should match criticality. Stocking everything for everything is expensive and rarely necessary.
For critical control valves, spare trim, seals, and packing can prevent long downtime. For common isolation valves, it may be enough to stock seals and a small number of complete valves. For vacuum systems, cleanliness and proper storage of seals and gaskets matter more than people expect.
If you’re unsure, start with the valves that would stop production if they fail.
Sourcing is easier when the specification is clear. It also helps to be honest about what you don’t know yet—because that’s where a good supplier can guide you.
If you can share media, pressure, temperature, connection type, and function, you’ll usually get a useful shortlist quickly. If you can also share drawings or tag data, it becomes even faster.
A simple request that includes operating conditions often beats ten messages about “a valve, size DN50”.
Most valve issues don’t come from “bad products”. They come from mismatches between service and selection.
A few repeat offenders show up across industries:
If any of these sound familiar, it’s worth doing a quick spec check before you order.
Sometimes you can self-select. Sometimes it’s faster to ask—especially for control valves, steam service, or vacuum systems.
When you reach out, these details help a supplier give the right answer on the first try:
That’s usually enough to propose a correct valve, actuator option, and lead time.
They describe common vacuum valve geometries and actuation styles. Angle valves change flow direction (often 90°), inline valves keep a straight flow path, and cylinder valves typically use a cylinder-driven mechanism for movement and sealing.
The differences show up in conductance, footprint, and how the valve behaves during cycling. Angle valves can be compact and robust. Inline valves may offer better conductance in some layouts. Cylinder valves are often chosen when repeatable actuation and sealing force are priorities.
You gain designs tailored for vacuum: better sealing expectations, appropriate materials, and geometries that support pump-down performance. They’re also built with cleanliness and outgassing considerations in mind.
A vacuum gate valve is an isolation valve designed for vacuum systems, typically providing a clear opening when fully open. It’s often used to separate chambers, pumps, or process modules with minimal restriction.
They’re common in vacuum chambers, pump lines, load locks, and systems where you need to isolate parts of the setup for maintenance, process separation, or faster pump-down control.
Vacuum control valves are used to regulate pressure or flow under vacuum conditions. They’re chosen when you need stable control rather than just isolation.
It depends on process sensitivity and required stability, not only the absolute vacuum level. Control valves are especially relevant when small pressure changes affect results and you need repeatable regulation across operating ranges.
Common types include vacuum gate valves, vacuum butterfly valves, angle valves, inline valves, and dedicated vacuum control valves. The “best” type depends on whether you prioritize conductance, tight isolation, compactness, or regulation.
Focus on sealing expectations, cleanliness, flange/interface compatibility, and how the valve affects conductance. Also consider how often it will cycle and whether contamination could damage sealing surfaces.
A normally open solenoid valve allows flow when it is not energized. When power is applied, it closes. This is often chosen when the safe state during power loss is to keep flow available.
