Mixing Valves

Mixing valves are designed to combine the flows of two or more inlets into a single outlet.  They are extensively used in situations where specific concentrations must be combined and regulated. 

The most common application for mixing valves is to combine, regulate and dispense hot and cold water received from two inlets.  In most cases, a temperature sensitive element is employed, which expands or contracts depending upon the temperature coming into the valve.  The element is geared to dispense water within a certain temperature range, so its expansion and contraction will vary from the cold side to the hot side to maintain the desired temperature balance.  Once the water temperature is balanced, it can be dispense (as from a faucet) or it can be cycled back into a system (as in a boiler or a nuclear power plant) to provide cooling.  Some styles of mixing valves are designed with anti-scald protection to make sure that water is never dispensed beyond a safe temperature.  These are often used within hospitals, nursing homes, child-care facilities and other establishments where the user population requires additional protection.

Mixing valves are not used only used to heat or cool water.  They are used extensively in industrial applications to perform a wide range of temperature and concentration control.  Mixing valves are often found in HVAC service (for use in heating, ventilating, and/or air conditioning systems), petroleum and pipeline operations (for use with petrochemicals such as engine oil, gasoline, diesel, and specialized fuels), chemical production facilities; power plants; food processing (for mixing operations in the food or beverage industry), medical service (for use with pharmaceutical chemicals or medical / surgical fluids), heavy industry (for applications in industries such as mining, quarrying, mills, etc.) and agriculture (for use with solids such as powders, grains, etc.).  Mixing valves can combine and dispense steam, fuels, dry solids, liquids, coolants and other chemicals, as well as water. 

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Part Numbers for Mixing Valves