admin@bljiss.com.au
07 3245 2203
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Client:
Gold Coast client
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Location:
Gold Coast, Queensland
Related Services:
Project Brief
BLJ In-situ Solutions machined the sealing faces on 20 gate valves for a Gold Coast client, restoring all 40 faces in our Brisbane workshop because the faces had paint on them.
The scope covered 11 x 4 inch and 9 x 6 inch gate valves, all rated 125#. With a flanged end on each side of every valve, that came to 40 sealing faces in total, and every one of them had paint on it.
A gasket needs clean, sound metal to seal against. Paint on a sealing face sits between the gasket and the flange, where it can break down under bolt load and leave a leak path. The faces had to be machined back to bare metal before the valves could be relied on to seal in service.
Solution
The client chose to send the valves to the BLJ workshop rather than have technicians and equipment mobilised to site, which saved them cost. Twenty valves in two sizes suited a single controlled run in the workshop.
Our technicians machined each face with a Mirage MM610i flange facer, an internal mount machine that covers flanges from 2 inch to 24 inch. Each valve was set up with its flange face upright, the facer mounted in the bore, and the paint machined off to leave a clean sealing surface.
Working in the workshop meant every valve went through the same machine and the same setup routine, one after another, with the finished valves staged and tagged alongside.
Results
All 40 sealing faces across the 20 gate valves were machined clean of paint and returned to the client with a sound surface for the gasket to seat on.
Sending the valves to BLJ saved the client the cost of an on-site mobilisation. It follows a similar workshop job on 42 separator vessel nozzle flanges damaged by sand blasting.
Clean, flat sealing faces are the starting point for flange joint integrity, alongside the right gasket and controlled bolting to load it evenly. For batches of valves and smaller flanged components, sending them to a BLJ workshop is often the more economical option. Where the plant cannot be moved, the same machines come to site through our on-site machining services. For a batch of your own, request a quote for workshop flange facing.
Gate Valve Flange Facing FAQs
Paint on a sealing face sits between the gasket and the metal, where it can break down under bolt load and leave a leak path. BLJ In-situ Solutions machines painted faces back to clean metal so the gasket seats on a sound, flat surface.
Yes. BLJ In-situ Solutions machines valves, flanges and other components in our workshop when they can be removed and transported, which is often more economical than mobilising to site for a batch of smaller items. On this job a Gold Coast client saved cost by sending 20 gate valves to BLJ.
BLJ used a Mirage MM610i flange facer, an internal mount machine that covers flanges from 2 inch to 24 inch. It machined all 40 sealing faces on the 4 inch and 6 inch valves.
