Crane Fluid Systems has relaunched a range of DZR brass ball valves for water, heating, ventilating and air conditioning systems.

The newly-developed Crane D171A DZR ball valve series is WRAS-approved and can be used over a temperature range of -10 to 120ºC. The range will cover eight threaded sizes from 0.25 to 2 inches and six compression sizes from 15 to 54mm.

Crane’s new design of DZR ball valve includes a number of improvements it says add strength, improve leak resistance and reduce the risk of damage through over-tightening during installation – all of which have been identified as common problems throughout the building services industry.

A fundamental change has been to add a primary metal-to-metal seal on the body seat retainer joint combined with Loctite 648 on the threads. A secondary O ring seal has been added as well (for the threaded versions) so the valve remains resilient even under extreme installation conditions.

The company says a permanently-attached tear- and water-resistant installation tag is a valuable extra aid. Outlining best practice, the tag specifies the number of wrench turns needed, according to size, as specified in BS EN 10226-2 for taper threads or compression pipes.

Designed to be lightweight, compact and easy to install and use, the valves have a range of operating handle options including quarter-turn lever, extended-stem lever, T handle and lockshield.

Quarter-turn operation provides positive isolation in conjunction with PTFE seats and stem seals.