This is a high quality, medium weight, stainless (304SS) 3-piece body with a non-restricting "full port" ball and 1/2" NPT female threads on both ends. Use them on your boil kettle, HLT, mash tun, pumps, etc.
3 piece (3PBV) valves as they come apart much easier than 2pc. Just loosen the four bolts and the whole unit comes apart. The end block can even remain attached to your plumbing or vessel. Another benefit of the 3 piece valve is when tightening into a welded port, the orientation of the valve may end up upside down when the threads fully mesh. A 3pc valve can be reoriented in increments of 90 degrees of rotation.
Note when comparing pricing that these are absolutely the smoothest operating valves that we've seen to date in the "under $50 price point". So many companies are offering cheaper and cheaper valves to attract customers but we dare anyone to compare the quality of these valves against the competition. In some cases the handle is so hard to turn you think you may be tweaking the metal on your brew pot wall. We won't mention any names but they are out there on some of the highest priced kettles.
Our primary stock on valves have vinyl handle wraps branded with the BrewHardware.com name but we may ship units with generic graphics from time to time. Be assured that the actual valve is exactly the same. Despite the picture showing a sliding lock on the handle, you may receive a valve without a lock. If it matters to you, please call ahead and we'll advise if the handles have locks or not.
Remember to use teflon tape on all threaded connections.