Blowdown valve

A blowdown valve for a boiler system for removing fluid that contains debris, the blowdown valve comprising:

• a housing having a fluid inlet and a fluid outlet in axial alignment therewith, the fluid inlet being fluidly connected to the boiler system;
• a shutoff valve disposed within the housing and in fluid communication with the fluid inlet, the shutoff valve comprising:
• a rotatable valve ball having a shutoff valve bore formed therethrough and defining a bore axis, the valve ball defining a rotation axis oriented normally relative to the bore axis;
• and
• a valve handle fixedly connected to the valve ball;
• wherein rotation of the valve handle about the rotation axis through an angle of about ninety degrees alternately places the shutoff valve bore into and out of alignment with the fluid inlet for selectively unblocking and blocking fluid flowing from the boiler system;
• and
• a reversible throttle valve disposed within the housing and in fluid communication with and interposed between the shutoff valve and the fluid outlet, the throttle valve comprising:
• a rotatable valve ball having a throttle valve bore formed therethrough, the throttle valve bore being axially alignable with the fluid outlet and defining a bore axis and having first and second bore ends, the valve ball defining a rotation axis oriented normally relative to the bore axis;
• a valve handle fixedly connected to the valve ball;
• and
• a bore insert interposed within the throttle valve bore between the first and second bore ends and configured for reducing energy of fluid flowing therethrough, the bore insert and the first bore end collectively defining a first debris zone therebetween, the bore insert and the second bore end collectively defining a second debris zone therebetween, the first and second debris zones being configured to alternately entrap debris therewithin when the throttle valve bore is oriented such that the second and first debris zones are respectively disposed adjacent the fluid outlet;
• wherein rotation of the valve handle about the rotation axis through an angle of about one-hundred-eighty degrees reverses positions of the first and second debris zones such that entrapped debris may be flushed out of the fluid outlet by fluid flowing through the blowdown valve when the shutoff valve bore is rotated into alignment with the fluid inlet.