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The Heavy Hitters: Common Industrial Valves When people start asking about the different varieties out there, they're usually looking for the big four or five that do most of the heavy lifting. These are the workhorses found in everything from city water lines to oil refineries. Gate Valves This is probably the most common type of valve for "all or nothing" situations. It's got a flat "gate" that slides up and down to open or close the flow. You don't want to use these to try and control the speed of the water (throttling), because that's not what they're built for. If you leave a gate valve halfway open, the rushing fluid will vibrate that gate and eventually wear it down until it doesn't seal properly anymore. It's either fully on or fully off. ...