Automatic Recirculation valves in service for minimum flow protection on centrifugal pumps. Service is water condensate at ~330 F.
The issue that we are having is that there is scale buildup on the inside of the valve and it is causing the recirculation plunger to stick, hence causing maintenance downtime. Has anyone else experienced this problem? If these valves can't handle a little bit of scale, how could they possibly handle a more harsh fluid such as one with entrained solids?
Many applications are poorly matched with the selected valves.  Cage style control valves are great.  However, in the upstream oil production business entrained sand is not a good match for cage style trim.
For each valve furnish the maintenance history to the manufacturer.  Include the current process conditions along with the original specification data.  Advise of the water properties, total disolved solids, hardness, etc.  Request the manufacturer to propose modifications to resolve the problems.

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