Patent ID: 6938876

Claim:
A method of a ball valve seal replacement in a gas supply system comprising the steps of: providing a ball valve in a gas supply system comprising: a ball component; a valve body defining flow passage and an interior cavity having an access opening that is independent of said flow passage and communicating with said flow passage, said access opening accepting passage of said ball component to permit installment of said half component in said flow passage to regulate flow; said valve body defining seating ring recesses in said flow passages at both sides of said ball component; seating rings slidably disposed in said seating ring recesses to engage said ball component to effect sealing between said flow passage and said ball component; said seating rings including seals for effecting said sealing between said flow passage and said ball component; closing rings engaging said scaling ring recesses to retain said seating rings; said seating rings having flanges engaging said seating ring recesses and defining working chambers in conjunction with said seating ring recesses and said closing rings; passages providing exterior communication with said working chambers; and a biasing device biasing said seating rings into engagement with said ball component; cutting off gas supply to the valve; degassing the valve; applying a pressurized medium to said working chambers via said passages to disengage said seating rings from said ball component permitting removal of the ball component; removing the ball component from the interior cavity through said access opening; removing said closing rings from said seating ring recesses and said interior cavity through said access opening; removing said seating rings from said seating ring recesses and said interior cavity through said access opening; and replacing said seals on said setting rings.