The problem with "lubricated" plug valves is that they don't get lubricated in the field Balance Valves and after a few months or years they can become impossible to operate. I've seen people try to operate them with a length of pipe tied to a rubber-tired hoe and not been able to budge them. With recommended maintenance, maybe they would have aAPI Cast Steel Valves proper place in the world, but field maintenance on small valves is spotty to non-existent. If you ignore a ball valve for a decade it will still most likely operate and there is a reasonable chance that Forged Steel Valvesit will hold pressure. Not so with a plug valve.They are also quite inexpensive. After all it's a simple shape to cast and not really a lot of machining. As for lubrication, there's the weak point. Widely misunderstood that the stuff pumped in is "sealant". Its job is to seal and to lubricate and to hydraulically lift the plug out of contact with the body. The sealant should be selected for Needle Valvescompatibility with the process material so that it neither is soluble in it nor contaminating or reactive. Companies such as Nordstrom have approximately oneFilter bazillion different sealant formulations. The down side of that is that you might not get the right formulation, so the maintenance guys will either skip maintaining the valve or pump it full of the wrong goo. Some valves have a sealant injector built in the top of the plug shaft. Just give THAT a crank, THEN start horsing on the lever.

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