Valve in the context of Ballcock

Plumbing is any system that conveys fluids for a wide range of applications. Plumbing uses pipes, valves, plumbing fixtures, tanks, and other apparatuses to convey fluids. Heating and cooling (HVAC), waste removal, and potable water delivery are among the most common uses for plumbing, but it is not limited to these applications. The word derives from the Latin for lead, plumbum, as the first effective pipes used in the Roman era were lead pipes.

In the developed world, plumbing infrastructure is critical to public health and sanitation.

An air compressor is a machine that takes ambient air from the surroundings and discharges it at a higher pressure. It is an application of a gas compressor and a pneumatic device that converts mechanical power (from an electric motor, diesel or gasoline engine, etc.) into potential energy stored in compressed air, which has many uses. A common application is to compress air into a storage tank, for immediate or later use. When the delivery pressure reaches its set upper limit, the compressor is shut off, or the excess air is released through an overpressure valve. The compressed air is stored in the tank until it is needed. The pressure energy provided by the compressed air can be used for a variety of applications such as pneumatic tools as it is released. When tank pressure reaches its lower limit, the air compressor turns on again and re-pressurizes the tank.A compressor is different from a pump because it works on a gas, while pumps work on a liquid.

A piston is a component of reciprocating engines, reciprocating pumps, gas compressors, hydraulic cylinders and pneumatic cylinders, among other similar mechanisms. It is the moving component that is contained by a cylinder and is made gas-tight by piston rings. In an engine, its purpose is to transfer force from expanding gas in the cylinder to the crankshaft via a piston rod and/or connecting rod. In a pump, the function is reversed and force is transferred from the crankshaft to the piston for the purpose of compressing or ejecting the fluid in the cylinder. In some engines, the piston also acts as a valve by covering and uncovering ports in the cylinder.

Drip irrigation or trickle irrigation is a type of micro-irrigation system that has the potential to save water and nutrients by allowing water to drip slowly to the roots of plants, either from above the soil surface or buried below the surface. The goal is to place water directly into the root zone and minimize evaporation. Drip irrigation systems distribute water through a network of valves, pipes, tubing, and emitters. Depending on how well designed, installed, maintained, and operated it is, a drip irrigation system can be more efficient than other types of irrigation systems, such as surface irrigation or sprinkler irrigation.

As of 2023, 3% of the world's farmers use drip irrigation.

Steel casting is a specialized form of casting involving various types of steel cast to either final/net or near-net shape. Steel castings are used when iron castings cannot deliver enough strength or shock resistance.

Examples of items that are steel castings include: hydroelectric turbine wheels, forging presses, gears, railroad truck frames, valve bodies, pump casings, mining machinery, marine equipment, turbocharger turbines and engine cylinder blocks.

A pressure regulator is a valve that controls the pressure of a fluid to a desired value, using negative feedback from the controlled pressure. Regulators are used for gases and liquids, and can be an integral device with a pressure setting, a restrictor and a sensor all in the one body, or consist of a separate pressure sensor, controller and flow valve.

Two types are found: the pressure reduction regulator and the back-pressure regulator.

A solenoid valve is an electromechanically operated valve used in heating systems, fuel pipelines, and industrial automation to regulate the flow of liquids or gases. It works by using an electric signal to a magnetic coil, which opens or closes the flow path. When electricity flows through its wire coil, it creates an electromagnetic field that moves a ferromagnetic core (plunger), opening or closing passages in applications like car starters,

Solenoid valves differ in the characteristics of the specific electric current in which they use, the strength of the electromagnetic field that they generate, the mechanism they use to regulate the fluid, and the type and characteristics of fluid they control. The mechanism varies from linear action, plunger-type actuators to pivoted-armature actuators and rocker actuators. The valve can use a two-port design to regulate a flow or use a three or more port design to switch flows between ports. Multiple solenoid valves can be placed together on a manifold.

A check valve, non-return valve, reflux valve, retention valve, foot valve, or one-way valve is a valve that normally allows fluid (liquid or gas) to flow through it in only one direction.

Check valves are two-port valves, meaning they have two openings in the body, one for fluid to enter and the other for fluid to leave. There are various types of check valves used in a wide variety of applications. Check valves are often part of common household items. Although they are available in a wide range of sizes and costs, check valves generally are very small, simple, and inexpensive. Check valves work automatically and most are not controlled by a person or any external control; accordingly, most do not have any valve handle or stem. The bodies (external shells) of most check valves are made of plastic or metal.

A rack and pinion is a type of linear actuator that comprises a circular gear (the pinion) engaging a linear gear (the rack). Together, they convert between rotational motion and linear motion: rotating the pinion causes the rack to be driven in a line. Conversely, moving the rack linearly will cause the pinion to rotate.

The rack and pinion mechanism is used in rack railways, where the pinion mounted on a locomotive or a railroad car engages a rack usually placed between the rails, and helps to move the train up a steep gradient. It is also used in arbor presses and drill presses, where the pinion is connected to a lever and displaces a vertical rack (the ram). In pipelines and other industrial piping systems, a rack displaced by a linear actuator turns a pinion to open or close a valve. Stairlifts, lock gates, electric gates, and the mechanical steering mechanism of cars are other notable applications.

Spray paint (formally aerosol paint) is paint that comes in a sealed, pressurized can and is released in an aerosol spray when a valve button is depressed. The propellant is what the container of pressurized gas is called. When the pressure holding the gas is released through the valve, the aerosol paint releases as a fine spray. Aerosol painting is one form of spray painting; it leaves a smooth, even coat, unlike many traditional rolled and brushed paints. Aerosol primer can be applied directly to bare metal and many plastics.

Most aerosol paints also have a metal, marble, glass or plastic ball called a pea inside of the can, which is used to mix the paint when the can is shaken.

A fitting or adapter is used in pipe systems to connect sections of pipe (designated by nominal size, with greater tolerances of variance) or tube (designated by actual size, with lower tolerance for variance), adapt to different sizes or shapes, and for other purposes such as regulating (or measuring) fluid flow. These fittings are used in plumbing to manipulate the conveyance of fluids such as water for potatory, irrigational, sanitary, and refrigerative purposes, gas, petroleum, liquid waste, or any other liquid or gaseous substances required in domestic or commercial environments, within a system of pipes or tubes, connected by various methods, as dictated by the material of which these are made, the material being conveyed, and the particular environmental context in which they will be used, such as soldering, mortaring, caulking, plastic welding, welding, friction fittings, threaded fittings, and compression fittings.

Fittings allow multiple pipes to be connected to cover longer distances, increase or decrease the size of the pipe or tube, or extend a network by branching, and make possible more complex systems than could be achieved with only individual pipes. Valves are specialized fittings that permit regulating the flow of fluid within a plumbing system.

A tap (also spigot or faucet: see usage variations) is a valve controlling the release of a fluid.

A poppet valve (also sometimes called mushroom valve) is a valve typically used to control the timing and quantity of petrol (gas) or vapour flow into or out of an engine, but with many other applications.

It consists of a hole or open-ended chamber, usually round or oval in cross-section, and a plug, usually a disk shape on the end of a shaft known as a valve stem. The working end of this plug, the valve face, is typically ground at a 45° bevel to seal against a corresponding valve seat ground into the rim of the chamber being sealed. The shaft travels through a valve guide to maintain its alignment.

In mechanical engineering, an eccentric is a circular disk (eccentric sheave) solidly fixed to a rotating axle with its centre offset from that of the axle (hence the word "eccentric", out of the center).

It is used most often in steam engines, and used to convert rotary motion into linear reciprocating motion to drive a sliding valve or pump ram. To do so, an eccentric usually has a groove at its circumference closely fitted a circular collar (eccentric strap). An attached eccentric rod is suspended in such a way that its other end can impart the required reciprocating motion. A return crank fulfills the same function except that it can only work at the end of an axle or on the outside of a wheel whereas an eccentric can also be fitted to the body of the axle between the wheels. Unlike a cam, which also converts rotary into linear motion at almost any rate of acceleration and deceleration, an eccentric or return crank can only impart an approximation of simple harmonic motion.

A trocar (or trochar) is a medical or veterinary device traditionally used in draining or venting procedures, now also (informally termed a port) prominent in minimally invasive surgery. Trocars are typically made up of an obturator (which may be metal or plastic, and with a pointed or tapered tip), within a cannula (essentially a rigid tube), and often with a seal. They allow passive evacuation of excess gas or fluid from organs within the body; some also include a valve mechanism to allow for insufflation. Trocars designed for placement through the chest and abdominal walls during thoracoscopic and laparoscopic surgery function as portals for the subsequent insertion of other endoscopic instruments, such as grasper, scissors, stapler, electrocautery, suction tip, etc.

A rotary valve (also called rotary-motion valve) is a type of valve in which the rotation of a passage or passages in a transverse plug regulates the flow of liquid, gas or dry bulk products through the attached pipes. The common stopcock is the simplest form of rotary valve. Rotary valves have been applied in numerous applications, including:

• Changing the pitch of brass instruments.
• Controlling the steam and exhaust ports of steam engines, most notably in the Corliss steam engine.
• Periodically reversing the flow of air and fuel across the open hearth furnace.
• Loading sample on chromatography columns.
• Certain types of two-stroke and four-stroke engines.
• Most hydraulic automotive power steering control valves.

A ball valve is a flow control device which operates using a spherical ball with a hole (also known as a bore) through the middle. When the valve handle is turned, the ball rotates to align the bore with the flow path—allowing fluid to pass through. When turned 90 degrees, the solid side of the ball blocks the flow entirely, creating an airtight seal. By convention, the handle lies flat in alignment with the flow when open and is perpendicular to it when closed, making for easy visual confirmation of the valve's status. The shut position 1/4 turn could be in either clockwise or counter-clockwise direction.

Ball valves are durable, performing well after many cycles, and reliable, closing securely even after long periods of disuse. These qualities make them an excellent choice for shutoff and control applications, where they are often preferred to gates and globe valves, but they lack the fine control of those alternatives in throttling applications.