Fresno Metropolitan Flood Control select Valve Assist

In mid 2014 we were contacted by Fresno Metropolitan Flood Control District who were tasked with finding a portable valve drive tool suitable for operating large sluice gates.

After gathering information about the sluice gate and the gear drive mechanism it became apparent that the existing drive mechanism was somewhat unconventional. The gear box had two (2) input drive shafts. This type of configuration is sometimes used on large valves where the effort required to open and close the valve varies considerably.

Gear drive with dual input shaft

One of the input shafts is a much lower gear ratio and is ideal to get the valve (or sluice gate) off its seat. The lower gear ratio allows more torque to be driven through the mechanism to get it moving.

Once the valve has broken free of its seat, the operator moves to the second input shaft which has a higher gearing ratio. From this shaft, more speed is achieved to reduce the operating time.

The flexibility of the Scapin APS140N gas motor portable valve drive meant it was unaffected by this drive configuration and the power tool could be moved between each drive shaft depending on the performance required.

The portable valve drive unit we supplied incorporated a fixed reaction device bolted to the gearbox outer casing. This components serves to absorb and torque load transmitted thought the hand-held tool, thereby protecting the operator from torque ‘kick-backs’.

The power tool itself was supplied with a drive adaptor designed to fit neatly on the gearbox drive shaft.