Traditional sanitary plug valves are a familiar, cost-effective choice for many food and dairy applications. LIAG arc valves are a higher-investment option engineered for lines where cleanability, product recovery, and flow consistency are priorities.
The right choice depends on your product, cleaning process, production scale, and budget.
What Is a LIAG Arc Valve?
A LIAG arc valve is a sanitary valve designed for food and beverage processing lines that handle thick, sticky, or particulate-filled products. Unlike a traditional plug valve, the LIAG arc valve’s design supports clean-in-place (CIP) operation and pigging, which allows product to be pushed through the line for recovery rather than lost during changeovers or cleaning cycles.
These features make LIAG arc valves well suited for producers running high-value products, frequent cleaning cycles, or lines where manual disassembly is a production bottleneck.
Which Valve Makes More Sense
| Application Need | Better Fit | Why |
| Clean-in-place capability | LIAG Arc Valve | Supports CIP and can reduce manual teardown |
| Pigging / product recovery | LIAG Arc Valve | Allows product to be recovered from the line |
| Thick or high-viscosity product | LIAG Arc Valve | Better suited for heavier, denser products |
| Product with particulates | LIAG Arc Valve | Better fit for products with inclusions |
| Low-viscosity product, simple process | Traditional Plug Valve | CIP and pigging system may not be necessary |
| Manual cleaning already in place | Traditional Plug Valve | Existing process may not require CIP capability |
| Lowest upfront cost | Traditional Plug Valve | Typically less expensive to purchase and install |
Applications Where LIAG Arc Valves Are a Strong Fit
LIAG arc valves are well suited for food and dairy lines handling thick, sticky, or inclusion-filled products, including:
- High-viscosity dairy and frozen desserts: Ice cream, frozen novelties, and similar products where viscosity and particulates create flow and cleanability challenges.
- Prepared foods with inclusions: Products like macaroni and cheese, chicken salad, thick soups, and chowders where pieces in the product need to pass through without damage or buildup.
For lower-viscosity products or smaller operations where equipment is already cleaned manually and downtime is manageable, a traditional plug valve is often the more practical choice.
Understanding the Cost Difference
LIAG arc valves carry a higher upfront cost than traditional plug valves. The question is whether that investment is offset by operational savings, reduced installation complexity, and/or long-term efficiency.
When replacing existing plug valves, LIAG can often supply arc valves with custom shortened valve dimensions. This can help avoid unnecessary re-piping during an upgrade, making the transition to a more hygienic valve solution easier to manage.
In operations with frequent cleaning cycles, the ability to clean in place reduces the labor and downtime associated with manual teardown and reassembly. For lines processing high-value products, pigging allows product to be recovered from the line rather than lost during changeovers. Over time, those recovered yields and reduced cleaning intervals can offset the higher initial cost.
For simpler applications where manual cleaning is already routine and product recovery is not a priority, the additional cost is harder to justify.
Questions to Ask Before Choosing a Valve
- What product is being processed, and is it thick, sticky, or particulate-filled? If yes, a LIAG arc valve is worth evaluating.
- Does the line need to be cleaned in place? CIP capability is a core advantage of the LIAG design.
- Is pigging or product recovery important? If recovering product from the line matters, LIAG is the stronger fit.
- How often is the system cleaned, and how costly is downtime? Higher cleaning frequency increases the value of CIP capability.
- Is the primary concern upfront cost or long-term efficiency? If cost is the priority and the application is straightforward, a traditional plug valve is likely sufficient.
Not Sure Which Valve Is Right for Your Process?
Oliver M. Dean supplies both LIAG arc valves and traditional sanitary plug valves, along with a range of other sanitary valve options. We can help you evaluate which valve fits your product, cleaning process, production requirements, and budget.