2-Port Relief Valve vs. 3-Port Relief Valve
Differences Between a 2-Port Relief Valve and a 3-Port Relief Valve | |
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Advantages of a 2-Port Design | Advantages of a 3-Port Design |
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2-Port relief valves require a piping tee for by-pass and relief applications, but not for backpressure or anti-siphon applications. Unlike three-port style valves which are placed directly in-line and cause a drop in both pressure and flow, a valve “teed” off the line usually offers the best system design and ease of maintenance.
In most relief and by-pass applications, 3-port valves do not perform as well as 2-port valves installed on a tee. No 3-port relief valve is suitable for use as a backpressure regulator or anti-siphon valve, and no 3-port relief valve will deliver the flow and performance of a Plast-O-Matic 2-port relief valve.
The illustration below shows the essential differences between 2-port and 3-port relief valves; note the advantage of piping convenience in the 3-port installation compared to the advantage of unhindered flow in the main pipeline shown in the 2-port installation.