Most valve manufacturers already provide automated solutions for their valves out of the factory. However, there are many situations that would warrant a company or business going to a third party for an actuator to valve retrofitting. Sometimes the actuator may not be suitable for the application, or a manual valve already exists in-house that needs to be automated. Whatever the situation is, iVact is an equal alternative to top brands when it comes to electric actuator to valve retrofitting.
Some valves come with stems designed to fit directly into actuator drives however, it’s likely that a valve either has a stem that is not suitable for the actuator required or has an incompatible packaging flange with the actuator, in this case, retrofitting is required. Retrofitting is usually done by pairing a valve to an actuator with a coupler. Since many variations of valves and actuators exist, the coupler is often different, therefor requires some designing before it is fabricated. If the stem of the valve is too long or has an incompatible packaging flange, it also requires an adaption bracket or plate. Most valves follow a basic engineering standard, ISO5211, where the packaging flange of a valve is machined to meet the conditions of this standard. The actuator is designed in the same way to prevent confusion and make adaptations easier and less costly. The table below outlines some of the conditions outlined in this standard.
iVact and our experienced team can assist you with your retrofitting needs. We have handled countless unique projects from simple direct mounting applications to 3-way tandem valve adaptations. Our team can retrofit our high-quality electric actuators onto any valve.
