Summary of Precautions and Application Experience for Balancing Valve Selection

1.Generally speaking, low pilot pressure ratio valves have better motion control performance and stability, especially for spring like systems with large inertial loads.
2.For hydraulic motors, valves with high pilot pressure ratios can provide good dynamic control. However, due to the leakage of the motor, a spring brake device needs to be added to lock the load.
3. Valves with high initial pressure ratio can improve the efficiency of hydraulic systems (reduce heat consumption), but reduce stability and smoothness of movement.

4. Generally, it is advisable to avoid using balance valves in closed-loop static pressure systems as it can cause   overheating of the system.
5. The balance valve is not a low-pressure working component. Using large-sized valves does not   reduce energy consumption. The system pressure should generally be greater than 750psi (50bar).
6. It is recommended to install the valve closest to the actuator to minimize the impact of pipeline failure on the system. The valve can be directly integrated onto the actuator using a plate mounted valve block, which can be directly bolted to the mounting surface of the oil cylinder/motor.

7. The minimum setting value for the balance valve is 1.3 times the load pressure.
8. For Sun plug-in balance valves, rotating the adjustment screw clockwise (facing the valve)   reduces the   pressure setting value; Raise it counterclockwise (it can be considered that adjusting the thread is a reverse match).
9.When selecting a balance valve, its size can be slightly smaller, not slightly larger, because the goal of the valve is to generate valve pressure drop.
10. Choose a smaller pilot pressure ratio to ensure system stability. The smaller the pilot pressure ratio, the better the control performance.

11. Valves with a pilot pressure ratio of 10:1 are only suitable for use in motor circuits or pilot check valve circuits that require a pilot pressure ratio of 10:1.
12.When the balance valve reaches 85% of the opening pressure, it will reset.
13. The leakage of the balance valve during the reset pressure test shall not exceed 5 drops per minute. When the valve setting value is set to 1.3 times the maximum load pressure, the maximum pressure will not exceed 77% (1/1.3) of the setting value, so it can be considered a leak free component. The back pressure will counteract the pilot pressure. For valves without external interfaces, the added valve setting value is still (1+pilot pressure ratio) x back pressure value (for example, for a valve with a 3:1 pilot pressure ratio, the added back pressure valve setting value is 4 times the back pressure value).

14.Although the balance valve has an overflow function, it cannot be considered a complete overflow valve (as a pure overflow valve, its stability, noise, and lifespan will all be affected).
15.Adding an accumulator to the pilot oil circuit can improve system stability (making the pilot pressure more stable).
16.Adding an outlet throttle valve between the oil cylinder/motor and the balance valve can improve system stability (reducing the requirement for the balance valve's flow limiting ability).

17.Compared to valves without external interfaces, balance valves with external interfaces have a higher gain in the overflow performance curve, similar to direct acting sequential valves (for example, small changes in pilot pressure can cause significant changes in flow capacity). This makes the system stability of the application with external interface balancing valve relatively low. However, if there are other components in the system that can cause changes in back pressure (such as proportional valves), attention should be paid to this issue (this back pressure problem needs to be solved by using a balance valve with an external interface!).
18.Before installing the balance valve into the system, its pressure value must be set. This is not only for safety reasons, but mainly because once installed, it is extremely difficult to make precise settings. It is only necessary to make adjustments after installation in very rare situations.