Damn China! Making high quantity low quality crap again.
https://www.glaciertanks.com/sanitary-ball-valves-ball-fnpt-g0375.html
Not sure the quality but the price is right! Anyone use these from glacier tanks?
I live like 15 minutes from GlacierTanks some of the worst in person customer service I’ve ever experienced. All their shit is trash unless you need like a spool or something. honestly never had a problem with Open source steels ball valves and they are compression. They’re around 60 bucks a piece
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Good to know thank you for that info! I saw the OSS regular ball valves are like $8 (1/4”, they have been out of stock of 3/8 for weeks) and that made me nervous how cheap they are.
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Ah damn I figured ball Valves they would have on deck! We def go with the compression ones through them I’m not sure about the $8 ones 
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His are fakes maybe? Idk, Just put a red “hamlet” rubber on any ol vslve?
Edit, just read last posts
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8$ , i wouldn’t put it on my system anywhere
Im looking into the swage clones soon
Here are some really cheap ones, some here said they’ve had no problems with years of use.
Mileage may vary i suppose
Those blue handle one are the worse. Can’t even tighten them without breaking them. I wouldnt even use that for a jacket water valve
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I’ve got a bunch of Swage valves and fittings that I am not using. They are brand new, if any one wants them I’ll let them go for 1/2 the price from swage. I will post pics and a list tomorrow.
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So i just came from putting together a system, they bought all hamlets
1/4"
3/8"
1/2"
None have a nut for packing gland, just what @HashyLarry is saying iis correct
I used blue ones from BHOgart for years with no issues
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I’m not sure if your tone was directed at myself or @Slabby. I was the guy asking questions in an attempt to find out what type of valves you were working with as you did not post any questions and only wrote “Some I have to tighten the nut every day or they are dripping out liquid.” I was not, as far as I can tell, a guy “incorrectly stating how these are built”, just one asking questions… with no more information than that I cannot ascertain if you are tightening the correct nut or not, or if even the style of valve you are working with has a stem seal that can be compressed by a gland nut at all. I cannot find anything in any post by myself or slabby that could reasonably be construed as “telling people they don’t know how to take care of equipment”. I just asked questions to find out what you were working with as I’ve seen dozens of different types of valves employed on hydrocarbon extraction systems, and the majority of those valves are not even rated for high pressure hydrocarbons - let alone cold temperatures. I apologize if the tone of my post was misconstrued as negative or demeaning, anything besides inquisitive was not my intent.
The “red handle Ham-Let” valves you have purchased look to be of an un servicable style. While the blue handle valve you have is of the construction I guessed at in my earlier inquiry. They have a handle which can be removed to access the stem seal nut. You can see the cavity that seal lives in, and the nut is threaded with a rim that pushes against that upper packing. What commonly happens is that upper packing gets real cold and shrinks a litle bit and now there is a gap for solvent to find its way around. The nut is in the same spot so the top of the packing is now loose and now solvent moves into this gapand leaks out the stem. With the blue handle valves the nut compressed the seal and in the even of a leak can be cleaned and tightened down to improve the situation. The red handle Hamlet valve does not have that capability. They might last a few weeks but their construction does not permit easy servicing of the stem seal and when you run cold hydrocarbons through them the seal will shrink and gasses escape out the stem.
There are several valves proven to operate for years on closed loop systems operating at cold (-60°C and lower) whose construction differs substantially than these inexpensive basic ball valves designed for water or other non aggressive fluid to flow through. The Swagelok 40G (and 40T series for the bigger ones) have been a favorite for years. They have a single piece PTFE packing, and a live loaded (spring compressed) packing gland which ensures a constant pressure on the packing across a wide range of temperatures. I have never had to adjust the packing nut on a 43G valves in years. I have occasionally needed to adjust gland nuts on the bigger 44T valves but usually only 1-2 1/16 turns and then she’s good for years.
I’d strongly suggest reaching out to Corlee Valve and Fitting for help with less costly valves that will work a lot better for the type of material you are passing through them> The owner, Ryan, brings decades of experience in the oil & gas industry to help extractors like us get the right tools for the job at a decent price. You could get Swagelok 43G valves from Corlee for what you paid for the crap Ham Let valves from your source. Or you could get Superlok 210 series with PEEK seals for I believe, around $50/valve- substantial savings. They don’t have that patented Swagelok spring loaded packing stem, though the savings are around $30 per 3/8" valve IIRC.
The savings multiply when you convert to compression fitting for less money than crappy NPT valves and eliminate labor in cleaning threads, applying thread tape, clocking plumbing fittings to line everything up correctly. Ryan is a great resource for information about all the details that matter to help you make more product leak free- safely and profitably.
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I’m not the person to argue over little things, but I was not happy about the quote “sounds like you don’t know how to take care of them” from slabby directed towards a friend of mine dealing with the same issue. I posted on here with a problem of low quality valves in an effort to find a solution or better quality for a reasonable price. I have no quarrel with any of you! The community is for sharing of knowledge, not belittling our colleagues! It’s all out of love and advancement of our industry
So thank you @SamuraiSam for that info, that’s the kinda knowledge we need to be sharing!
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Open source has 50 valves in stock image|230x500
https://www.opensourcesteel.com/collections/valves/products/3-8-oss-compression-ball-valve
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Yes you can. Those are the first valves I can recommend from OSS. Previous hydrocarbon valves had a tendency to shed chunks of plastic into the oil and develop serious leaks quickly. Those $8 valves posted earlier are in no way suitable for hydrocarbons. Maybe heating water to your collection, if you like to live dangerously… lol
They’re actually Superlok 210 series valves and have PTFE seals.
You can get Superlok 210’s from Corlee (with PEEK seals and a colder temperature rating) for about 50 bucks a valve. Slight upgrade on the sealing material and $15 savings per valve.
FYI found out the retail pricing on Swagelok 43G 3/8 is 97-98 bucks. around 80 from Corlee for the best quality part we know of.
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Let’s all bitch at hamlet and tell them to get on the forum and explain themselves. We should all get satisfactory equipment…
Edit I just had another one of them damn ptfe washers warp in process just because I turned the valve when cold. Atomized cold fluid right outta the hole… luckily I had another valve I could steal the washer from and fixed it. I’m pissed. It’s not user error. It’s bound to happen with this design…
Edit edit I use the compression 1/2” fwiw
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These are the only style valve ive ever seen leak from the hole even when closed. I dont like those. Not saying they all do just my luck woth them
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The newer ham-let me downs #hfs thanks… Bought 15 valves all the “better” ham-let me downs and first day running already had 2 leaks… No packing nut? Cheaper labor new design fuck safety i guess.
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Where they expensive? Wonder how the 3/8 and 1/2 are?