Meet the new Iris Gravity Valve

Posted by Megan Thompson on Mar 18, 2019

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Manual iris valve for gravity-flow applications

If you think an iris valve works the same as your run-of-the-mill rotary airlock, clearly you don’t understand the gravity of the situation.

(Sorry, we had to.)

Puns aside, iris valves come in handy when you need to control the flow of powders, granules, flakes and crystals. They work great with specific equipment, applications and industries where a rotary valve just doesn’t make sense.

That’s why we recently added the Iris Gravity Valve to the ACS Valves family.

Kiss me, I’m Iris

The Iris Gravity Valve’s basic components include a ring, a flange at each end and a polyurethane-coated nylon diaphragm with another ring in the middle. It works best with equipment like bulk bag unloaders, hoppers, bins, dryers, blenders and vertical pipe lines.

The valve’s ring comes in aluminum or stainless steel for sanitary applications such as food processing and pharmaceuticals. Companies processing chemicals, fertilizer, dairy products, detergent and plastics will also find plenty of uses for the iris valve.

Because the bottom flange is stationary, you can also use the valve in down-line equipment.

Take a picture, it’ll last longer

The valve’s levers control the middle ring to open and tightly shut the diaphragm by hand — much like the iris or aperture of a camera.

Let’s say you’re using the Iris Gravity Valve with a bulk bag. With the iris open all the way, you’ll guide the neck of the bag through the valve’s ring. Then you’ll use the locking lever to close the diaphragm until everything is locked in place.

Once you’re ready to discharge the material, unfasten any ties keeping the bag shut and unlock the valve. The lever manually controls the material flow, so you don’t have to worry about letting it loose too quickly.

An open and shut case

If you’re working with specific materials and equipment, it should be fairly easy to determine whether an Iris Gravity Valve is right for your process. Talk to one of our friendly ACS representatives if you have questions.