057 - Plumbing Valves: Every Type You Need to Know

Plumbing valves explained - every type you need to know for the ARE exam and real-world practice. This episode covers gate valves, ball valves, butterfly valves, globe valves, check valves, backflow preventers, PRVs, pressure relief valves, angle valves, and float valves, organized by function so you understand what each one does.

We break down the four categories every plumbing valve falls into: stop valves, regulating valves, one-way valves, and specialty valves. Each valve gets its own custom diagram showing how it works open and closed, plus a simple analogy to make it stick. Visit youngarchitect.com/valves to see all the diagrams and grab free study notes.

📝 Key topics covered:
- Gate valve vs ball valve and when to use each
- Butterfly valves for large-diameter piping
- Globe valves and angle valves for flow control
- Check valves vs backflow preventers
- Pressure reducing valve (PRV) vs pressure relief valve
- Float valves for automatic water level control
- How plumbing valves appear on the PPD and PDD exams

⏱️ Chapters:
0:00 - Introduction
1:54 - Stop Valves
2:11 - Gate Valve
3:08 - Ball Valve
3:45 - Butterfly Valve
6:00 - Regulating Valves
6:35 - Globe Valve
7:37 - Angle Valve
8:31 - Pressure Reducing Valve (PRV)
9:53 - One-Way Valves
10:24 - Check Valve
11:01 - Backflow Preventer
12:31 - Specialty Valves
13:01 - Pressure Relief Valve
14:01 - Float Valve
14:51 - Come Study With Us
15:48 - ARE Study Tip

📖 Full Blog Post With Valve Diagrams:
https://academy2.youngarchitect.com/plumbing-valves/

📝 Free Plumbing Valves Study Notes:
https://youngarchitect.com/valves

🎯 ARE Boot Camp - 10-week coaching program:
https://youngarchitect.com/arebootcamp/

📚 ARE 101 Membership - All ARE study materials:
https://academy2.youngarchitect.com/are-study-materials/

Individual Courses:
PPD 101 (Project Planning and Design): https://academy2.youngarchitect.com/are-project-planning-and-design/
PDD 101 (Construction Documents and Specs): https://academy2.youngarchitect.com/are-project-development-and-documentation/
Mechanical Systems 101: https://academy2.youngarchitect.com/are-mechanical-systems-101/
Building Codes 101: https://academy2.youngarchitect.com/are-building-codes-101/
CDT 101 (Construction Documents Technologist): https://academy2.youngarchitect.com/cdt-exam-prep/
CCCA 101 (Construction Contract Administration): https://academy2.youngarchitect.com/ccca-exam-prep/
PcM 101 (Practice Management): https://academy2.youngarchitect.com/are-practice-management/
PjM 101 (Project Management): https://academy2.youngarchitect.com/are-project-management/
CE 101 (Construction and Evaluation): https://academy2.youngarchitect.com/are-construction-and-evaluation/
PA 101 (Programming and Analysis): https://academy2.youngarchitect.com/programming-analysis-101-are-5-0-exam-prep/
AIA Contracts 101: https://academy2.youngarchitect.com/are-aia-contracts-101/