Identify this Seacock/Ballvalve Material

emsworthy

emsworthy

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Hi hoping for some advice please.

The attached photograph is of a circa 20 year old ball valve which needs replacing as the valve shaft is badly worn from a loose fitting handle meaning the valve can't be easily shut without the use of mole grips.

As there is no sign of galvanic corrosion on this or the skin fitting (recent survey) I am keen to replace it with a ball valve of the same material. Can anyone assist in identifying what it is from the markings? The boat was fitted out in South Africa so the standard EU/UK marking may not be present.

Many thanks in advance of some sage like advice!
IMG_0045.jpg
 
I've done a fair bit of research on this of late - my guess is almost certainly brass. I don't think DZR existed that long ago and don't believe it is possible to buy an all-bronze ball valve nowadays so I suspect not then either.

I ended up buying new fittings from Aquafax (who have been super-helpful) which are all bronze through hulls and hosetails with DZR valves. Not a cheap exercise.
 
Probably bronze, but not possible to identify from markings so there is no standardization of markings. As Robih suggests replace with DZR, although bronze is available at a significant price premium.
 
KellysEye said:
It's definitely not bras or DZR it's the wrong colour. It has the same shape as marine stainless steel ball valves http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/1612...3=1&ff11=ICEP3.0.0-L&ff12=67&ff13=80&ff14=108.

But it's a different colour metal, we had one on the boat on a hot water tank but I don't know what metal it is. Maybe consider a stainless steel one.
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Why? DZR or bronze is the correct materials to use as it is corrosion resistant and compatible with the skin fitting.
 
KellysEye said:
It's definitely not bras or DZR it's the wrong colour. It has the same shape as marine stainless steel ball valves http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/1612...3=1&ff11=ICEP3.0.0-L&ff12=67&ff13=80&ff14=108.

But it's a different colour metal, we had one on the boat on a hot water tank but I don't know what metal it is. Maybe consider a stainless steel one.
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All you can deduce from the shape surely is that its a ball valve.

emsworthy said:
Hi hoping for some advice please.

The attached photograph is of a circa 20 year old ball valve which needs replacing as the valve shaft is badly worn from a loose fitting handle meaning the valve can't be easily shut without the use of mole grips.

As there is no sign of galvanic corrosion on this or the skin fitting (recent survey) I am keen to replace it with a ball valve of the same material. Can anyone assist in identifying what it is from the markings? The boat was fitted out in South Africa so the standard EU/UK marking may not be present.

Many thanks in advance of some sage like advice!
Click to expand...

The blue deposits indicate that it is a copper alloy ... a brass or a bronze, not stainless steel, but you would not expect to see the effects of galvanic corrosion or of dezincification on the outside. If its ordinary brass then after a number years in seawater service you would very likely see the effects of dezincification on the inside surfaces ........... after 20 years you'd be lucky if it was not suffering from severe dezincification.


Your choice I think whether to replace it with DZR brass or bronze. Inspect the inside of the skin fitting ...... or replace it anyway.
 
Thanks all. I think I will go with Vic's advice and replace with DZR after checking the skin fitting isn't going pink. Certainly the surveyor had a good scrape around the fitting from outside and it was him who spotted the ball valve was closing properly by scoping up the outlet from outside so he may have also spotted dezincification of the valve body too perhaps. Either way it's being replaced but I'd rather not have to do the skin fitting as well if I don't have to.
 
The fitting pictured in your original post is bronze. If it was brass it would be pitted as the zinc would have corroded away by quite a bit after 20 years. ASAP do them in DZR, but bronze is way better in the long run. £25.02 + VAT = £30.02 for DZR, £43.32 + VAT = £51.98 for bronze. I know which one I'd choose if it were a through hull fitting for my boat. Don't skimp!

http://www.asap-supplies.com/marine...-seacock-ball-valves/bronze-ball-valve-405726
 
I agree that the patina and verdigris looks more like bronze than brass but in practice it is impossible for any of us to differentiate between the two without access to analytical techniques. A typical problem is that many bronze valves have a brass ball and stem, which may well have corroded, in some cases totally so that nothing remains.

DZR has been available in UK since the early 1980s and I believe was used for Blakes seacocks from about 1984. It was developed in UK for corrosion resistance in soft waters and has spread very slowly outside UK, now more widely in Europe but still rare further afield. It has always been identified with the CR marking.
 
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