Ball Valves vs Gate Valves - The Home Depot

Gate valves, also called sluice valves, are more likely to be found in older houses. Their mechanism usually involves a knob that, when turned, lowers or raises an internal gate or wedge to control the water flow rate. The familiar outdoor spigot for a garden hose is a good example of a gate valve.

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Gate valves allow you to control the rate of the flow of water, from a slow trickle to a full flow, but don’t provide an immediate stop. They are usually controlled by a manual handwheel that requires more than a 360-degree turn to change the gate’s position.

Tip: Some areas require the use of gate valves placed before and after the water meter in certain systems. This makes it easier for your water department to swap out the meter if needed.

Ball valves, also called shut-off valves, tend to be found in newer homes. Ball valves use a handle to control the placement of a hollow, perforated sphere in the mechanism. When the handle is turned, the hole immediately opens or closes the water flow. This mechanism is a lot quicker than a gate valve because a ball valve needs only a 90-degree turn to go from open to completely closed.

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Tip: You can tell by the handle placement whether the ball valve is opened or closed. When open, the handle lies flat, in alignment with the flow. When the ball valve is closed, the handle sits at a 90-degree angle to the flow.

Now that you know the differences between the two mechanisms, we can compare other factors between ball valves and gate valves.

• Cost: Gate valves tend to be more wallet-friendly than ball valves
• Reliability: Gate valves are more susceptible to corrosion. Over time, the internal stem that connects the knob to the gate becomes more likely to fail.
• Frequency of use: Since gate valves wear out quicker, they are often found in applications where they don’t need to be adjusted very often. Ball valves are recommended for applications that require frequent, quick control over the flow of liquid.
• Space: Ball valves are smaller than gate valves, but the size of their levers means that they require more space for proper operation
• Number of ports: If your application calls for a multi-port flow pattern, then a ball valve will likely be your choice because they are much more widely available in multi-port configurations
• Water hammer: Because ball valves can open and close immediately, they are more likely than gate valves to cause water hammer. When a valve is quickly closed on water moving at high pressure through pipes, it can cause shock waves through the plumbing that create a hammering sound. Under high enough pressure, a water hammer can cause a pipe to weaken and break. For that reason, users are advised to turn the ball valve lever slowly to avoid water hammer.

Since gate valves and ball valves have different strengths, you can find each commonly used in different industries. Gate valves often turn up in large water supply lines, mining and power plants. You’ll see ball valves being used in places like the automotive industry, manufacturing facilities and in food and beverage equipment.

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Good morning all!

I'm getting ready to hook up the plumbing for my 150, and am looking for feedback. It will have a main drain, emergency drain, and one return, all 1". Realistically, do I need a ball or gate valve on any of these? I would think something on the main drain if I ever needed to stop all flow to the sump, but wouldn't turning off the return pump stop the flow too? My understanding is that once the waterline in the DT is below the overflow weir it cannot fill the overflow any further, and the overflow will then drain to below the main drainpipe and stop. Am I correct in that assessment? Granted, that would raise the water level in the sump.

If it's still a good idea to have valves, which would be better/most needed, and on which?

Blessings

Yes if tank is set up for anti siphon then yes cutting the power to your return pump is exactly what I do when cleaning. I did add a lot of valves on mine . I used ball valves but you have to exercise ie turn them on and off once in a while or they will freeze open. I have yet to use them but eventually will have to when my pump fails and I have to replace it. I used to use them to prime my pump as well until I learned how not to lose the prime in the first place

You need a gate valve on your main drain. Everything else can be ball valves, but I would recommend putting gate valves where you may want precise flow. I put ball valves on my reactor and UV but am thinking about switching out for gate valves for more precise control.

I've heard mixed reviews on gate valves and how they aren't designed for what we use them for, even though they work, something about they get clogged more or breaking down because of the way they're built, depends on who you ask. Do you experience either of these complications? The gate on the main drain is mainly for flow control to reduce sound then? My return will be on its lowest setting to start so I can crank it up if needed (ish gph).

Does the return not need anything then, because you could shut off the pump when needed, or would a ball still be better so I could take apart the plumbing if need be? I've heard that hard plumbing is a real pain if you had to replace some of it, clean it, or if it gets clogged, but in my mind I'm not sure how something big enough to clog it would get in there. My overflow teeth are small, and it has a cover, so nothing can jump in.

I don't want to screw up the plumbing and figure that out after its glued and water is in the tank, but it's hard for me to picture how it'll move through the system and at what pace. My equipment has dry-run protection, but I don't want my return draining the sump after 30 seconds because the overflow isn't taking in enough water or draining fast enough. Obviously, I'm also not a fan of ruined floors. :beaming-face-with-smiling-eyes: Maybe I'm just overly paranoid because I can't visualize the water movement.

I've heard mixed reviews on gate valves and how they aren't designed for what we use them for, even though they work, something about they get clogged more or breaking down because of the way they're built, depends on who you ask. Do you experience either of these complications? The gate on the main drain is mainly for flow control to reduce sound then? My return will be on its lowest setting to start so I can crank it up if needed (ish gph).

Does the return not need anything then, because you could shut off the pump when needed, or would a ball still be better so I could take apart the plumbing if need be? I've heard that hard plumbing is a real pain if you had to replace some of it, clean it, or if it gets clogged, but in my mind I'm not sure how something big enough to clog it would get in there. My overflow teeth are small, and it has a cover, so nothing can jump in.

I don't want to screw up the plumbing and figure that out after its glued and water is in the tank, but it's hard for me to picture how it'll move through the system and at what pace. My equipment has dry-run protection, but I don't want my return draining the sump after 30 seconds because the overflow isn't taking in enough water or draining fast enough. Obviously, I'm also not a fan of ruined floors. :beaming-face-with-smiling-eyes: Maybe I'm just overly paranoid because I can't visualize the water movement.

The return wont need a valve unless you are running a manifold off of it/using it for more than 1 output (balance the flow between multiple outputs) or want to use a union ball valve for an easier access service point (especially if theres no easy point of removal otherwise)

Adjusting the flow down on the return to quiet down the overflow isn't a good trade off vs using higher flow + a gate valve (provided you have 2+ drains)

Ball valves are best in areas where small adjustments aren't necessary (manifolds/uv/closed loop/etc)
There is no substitute for a gate valve on the main drain (small adjustments are important to find that balance with creating a full siphon + generating little to no noise)

Theres almost no risk of a clog causing problems if you have a secondary properly sized drain (no gate valve on the secondary is needed) and even more so if you have a third emergency drain.

Typical clog causes would be stray fish or snails (easily preventable if you're mindful) which can be sorted out by opening the valve to max (full siphons for a lot of tanks will have the valves closed to a degree)

Not sure what kind of gate valves people with longevity issues are using but my oldest gate valve is some unknown brand one (white pvc) from my lfs thats been in service on a main drain since with 0 issues in function. Since then most of the ones I use are spears (gray sch80) which have also had no issues in my experience.



Perhaps these images might be of assistance? (Don't put your ato feed line in the emergency drain, that was temporary)

I've heard mixed reviews on gate valves and how they aren't designed for what we use them for, even though they work, something about they get clogged more or breaking down because of the way they're built, depends on who you ask. Do you experience either of these complications? The gate on the main drain is mainly for flow control to reduce sound then? My return will be on its lowest setting to start so I can crank it up if needed (ish gph).

Does the return not need anything then, because you could shut off the pump when needed, or would a ball still be better so I could take apart the plumbing if need be? I've heard that hard plumbing is a real pain if you had to replace some of it, clean it, or if it gets clogged, but in my mind I'm not sure how something big enough to clog it would get in there. My overflow teeth are small, and it has a cover, so nothing can jump in.

I don't want to screw up the plumbing and figure that out after its glued and water is in the tank, but it's hard for me to picture how it'll move through the system and at what pace. My equipment has dry-run protection, but I don't want my return draining the sump after 30 seconds because the overflow isn't taking in enough water or draining fast enough. Obviously, I'm also not a fan of ruined floors. :beaming-face-with-smiling-eyes: Maybe I'm just overly paranoid because I can't visualize the water movement.

Nope, I haven’t noticed either. I hope I don’t have to worry about clogs because I have two emergency drains.

I realize what I neglected to say is I am using a bean animal setup from IM and the gate valve is what was recommended as seen in @B&CinB.C. ’s post. For other setups, different valves may be more appropriate.

Nope, I haven’t noticed either. I hope I don’t have to worry about clogs because I have two emergency drains.

I realize what I neglected to say is I am using a bean animal setup from IM and the gate valve is what was recommended as seen in @B&CinB.C. ’s post. For other setups, different valves may be more appropriate.

This is a direct recommendation from ASME(American Society for Mechanical Engineering). I am geeky and an engineer so I try to follow standards to a t like a do during work. I am sure for short periods of time it will not cause that much damage, but if you plan on having a 10+ year reef tank I would not recommend a gate valve for regulating flow.
Actually what I would do is do a stop check valve, and then a butterfly valve. This would allow for replacement of the throttling valve(butterfly) whenever if need be, and allow flow in only one direction.

I have one drain, one emergency drain, and the return. Tank was pre drilled. No secondary drain unfortunately, so I don’t know if that makes a difference. So gate valve of some kind on the main drain for flow control, ball would be fine on the emergency and return, to be used as needed, as long as they were occasionally turned to keep from getting locked up? Would a valve on the return be able to restrict the flow further if the pump was already at its lowest setting and needed to be lower, or would the pressure cause leaks?

Attached are a few pictures of the sump as is, please ignore the poor silicone job lol

In your case, the secondary and emergency are the same. You can run a herbie set up vs the beananimal style.

At least from my experience, if no unfortunate snail/fish went into the main drain, there was no need to make adjustments just to "degunk" a gate valve.
If it ever started to make noise, that was a tell tale sign that my return pump(s) needed to be cleaned or something else is wrong.

As far as dialing down a pump further with a valve, theres 0 issue with leaks unless you did a bad job plumbing the return itself (not sure why you would want to based on your display size though)