Frequently Asked Questions About Valve Pressure Test Machines

It depends on the valve type, its size and how you handle it. Flange-connected gate, globe and check valves are usually tested on the KY series hydraulic valve test bench, which covers DN15 to DN1000 across the KY-100 to KY-1000 models, or on the KY-B vertical machine when the valve is heavy and has to be loaded upright. Flanged and wafer butterfly valves go on the KY-T300 to KY-T2000 butterfly valve test bench. Large-caliber welded or threaded power-station valves go on the KY-A series. Valves tested with air or gas are usually handled on a KY-Z immersed bench, where the clamping table can turn the valve through 90 degrees. Tell us the valve type, size range and test pressure and we will recommend the family and the model that fits.

Clamping force has to hold the valve closed against the internal test pressure without crushing the body, so it is calculated from the largest seat bore, the highest test pressure and the valve body material. Oversizing the press costs money and risks distorting light bodies. Undersizing leaks at the seal. On the KY series bench the valve is sealed on the flange end face and clamp jaws grip the back of the flange, so the test result is not affected by external force. Send us the size range and pressure and the clamping force is sized for the largest valve you will test.

Choose the KY-B vertical machine when valves are heavy, tall or awkward to lift, because the valve is loaded upright and the upper cross-beam can swing back 90 degrees to give access. Choose a bench layout — KY, KY-A, KY-T or KY-Z — when you test many small and medium valves and want shorter handling times, or when the workshop bay has limited headroom. Throughput, floor space and the lifting equipment you already own usually decide it. We build all six families, so the recommendation follows your workshop.

Test pressure is not a single fixed figure. It is set from the valve rating, the class of valve and the standard you test to, and the machine is then built and set to reach and hold that pressure. For reference, on the KY series bench the pressure-regulating range is 0 to 6.3 MPa with a high-pressure boost of 3.0 to 31.5 MPa, and the oil cylinder works up to 31.5 MPa across the series. The KY-A/100 power-station bench is rated for a valve maximum caliber pressure of 32 MPa. Because every unit is configured to order, the working pressure, pump duty and circuit rating for your valve are confirmed in the proposal and verified during the in-house function test before shipment.

No. KANGYUAN supplies the test equipment and configures it to the specification you give us; we do not certify valves. Acceptance of a tested valve remains with you and your inspector, against the standard and acceptance criteria you work to. What the machine provides is a controlled, repeatable way to apply pressure, hold it for the agreed time and record what happened, so your inspection decision rests on evidence.

Machines can be ordered with a computerised test-data management system: pressure sensors, a PLC, a liquid-crystal touch screen, printing and CF-card storage. The system logs pressure against time for each test together with the test parameters and can print or store the record. Machines supplied without that package use analogue or digital gauges with a manual record sheet. The level of recording is chosen at quotation stage, so you only pay for the documentation your customers ask for.