Are you tired of dealing with stubborn valve stems or having to find a wrench every time you need to open or close a commonly used valve? What about emergencies when every moment counts? If you are, adding handwheels or revolving speed handles to your valves can make them much easier to operate. But what are these devices, how do they work and when do they come in handy? Here are some of the basics to help get you started.

How Does a Handwheel or Revolving Speed Handle Work?

A handwheel is created from ductile iron to provide superior strength. Once the handwheel is placed on the valve, the square head cap screw, featuring a cup point, keeps the handwheel locked down onto the operating nut. At the same time, a 2" square nut still protrudes 3/4" above the top surface of the handwheel. This allows you to add a standard gate wrench if necessary to provide additional leverage in some circumstances. Depending on your needs, handwheels are available in a wide range of sizes from 10" to 24" in diameter, allowing you to customize the handwheel to your needs.

But what about when you need to quickly move the valve open or closed? A revolving speed handle can be attached to the handwheel. Measuring 3/4", it provides a good, solid grip that revolves with the action of the valve, so you don't need to adjust your grip as you open or close the valve. This helps speed up the process, making it easy for your crew to quickly change the valve's position as needed without spending a great deal of time or effort making it happen. Manufactured from high-quality materials, it will provide years of reliable service.

Times When a Handwheel or Revolving Speed Handle May be Helpful

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Do you have valves you need to operate on a regular basis that require fast action or additional leverage? This is one of the areas where handwheels and revolving speed handles can come in handy. Whether it's a valve for part of your system or a customer that requires regular service changes, these tools can help ensure that your workers are able to quickly and effectively work the valves. Handwheels allow your workers to open and close valves without having to have any other tools on site, making the process go faster and save time. Revolving speed handles add even more speed and convenience to handwheels. They allow the valves to be moved even more quickly by providing a grip that rotates with the turning of the handwheel. This is especially helpful during emergencies and disasters, where every second counts.

By adding handwheels and revolving speed handles to commonly used valves, you can speed up the action of those valves and the efficiency of your crew during everyday operations or emergency situations. This allows you to focus your efforts on more important areas in your water utility instead of spending time on everyday tasks. If you're ready to add this equipment to your water utility valves, please feel free to contact us today for more information. Stop improvising and making do with substandard tools that don't get the job done or causes serious problems in the field. At New Concept Tools, our job is creating the high quality tools that you need to get the job done quickly, efficiently and effectively.