Milwaukee and Hammond butterfly valves offer great performance capabilities including bubble-tight on/off service, dead-end service and ease of installation, along with a variety of trim options to handle a wide array of service conditions. The lighter weights of butterfly valves (
compared to traditional gate valves), quarter-turn operation and the smaller overall product envelope make butterfly valves perfect for buried service or on original equipment where stem extensions may be required.
Milwaukee and Hammond have provided butterfly valve extensions from just a few inches in length to over 16 feet, and can customize our extensions to meet your conditions. Clearly, smaller extensions are not very challenging, but as the extension gets longer and heavier, design criteria of the valve must be considered. For instance, the weight of the extension sitting on top of the stem can affect valve performance. A longer extension may require a different gear operator. Extensions can prove to be custom to each application.
The valve pictured is a perfect example of a well-engineered extension stem for a particular service and butterfly valve. The 48" extension on a 16" stainless steel high-performance butterfly valve allows for the use of the standard gear operator and mounting hardware.
The added weight of the extension was
considered during design and negated by the use of bearings and a shoulder in the outer tube to carry the total weight of the extension thus leaving the valve to perform as originally designed and advertised.
In addition, the factory designed and assembled extension insures a perfectly vertical stem, reducing operating torque. Field designed extensions may not incorporate all of the valve design features and may not yield the service life expected from the valve.
If you find yourself in need of a butterfly valve with stem extension, contact your Milwaukee Valve or Hammond Valve representative to help design an extension with the valve and application in mind.