Trunnion Ball Valves

Trunnion Ball Valves

The trunnion ball Valve is a special type of quarter turn valve which uses a fixed, perforated or semi-flexible ball and a hollow, closed chamber to control fluid flow in it. A trunnioned valve uses the same principle of a half-turn valve but with a ball which is semi-flexible. In a trunnioned valve, the ball can move up or down to either side of the valve body thereby allowing fluid to either go upwards or downwards, similar to how a quarter turn valve functions.

A tunneled valve is used in an oil-filled engine. As such, when you drive your vehicle you would not need a manual transfer pump to pump the oil into the engine as the tunneled ball valves only allow fluid to move sideways. When the oil pressure in the engine decreases, the trunneled valve will stop allowing fluid flow. The system limits the amount of fluid that flows and the only time that fluid goes backwards is when the oil pressure increases, resulting in maximum efficiency.

A trunnel valve may also be required if you have an oil-filled engine which is not able to support the use of a full-service pump, such as an electric engine. Trunneled valves can help lower your engine's fuel consumption by limiting the amount of fluid that goes backwards into the engine when the oil pressure decreases.

Some engines have no bearing on the trunnions and instead are supported internally. In these engines, a rubber ring is used to hold the trunnions in place. If there is enough resistance to the rubber ring, it can prevent fluid from moving inside the trunnions. In this case, the trunneled valve will allow fluid to flow forward into the oil reservoir, preventing any loss of oil pressure.

Most trunnions are designed to keep the fluid within a specific area inside the oil reservoir, which limits the amount of fluid that can move. Since the oil reservoir is limited, there is also a limit to the amount of fluid that can be pumped into the engine.

There are many internal trunnions available on the market, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. It is up to the customer to decide which type of trunnions is best suited for their engine.

An example of an internal trunnion is a mechanical ball valve, which is designed to provide an extra layer of protection between the oil reservoir and the inner engine block by stopping oil from going backwards into the engine. Although this type of valve is slightly more expensive than a non-internal, it provides excellent protection against the possibility of losing oil pressure.

An external trunnion is another option. External ball valves are mounted on the outside of the engine and work in the same way as a tunneled valve, but they are mounted in front of the engine so that they can protect against the possible loss of oil pressure. It is important to ensure that you install an oil cap on the external ball valve, as you cannot replace it by simply pulling it off of the engine.