VersaQE-3-316Quick Exhaust Valve, 1/4″ NPT Inlet × 3/8″ NPT Exhaust, 5–150 psi, Cv 3.3 Exhaust, Investment-Cast 316 Stainless to NACE MR-01-75

Product Description

What this part is

A quick exhaust valve is a three-ported device — one inlet, one cylinder port, and a deliberately larger exhaust port — fitted directly at the cylinder or actuator port connection. When the inlet is pressurised, a soft-seal “flapper” closes the exhaust and the inlet feeds the cylinder. When inlet pressure falls, the cylinder port is automatically opened to the large exhaust and the cylinder dumps rapidly. The whole point is speed: extra-fast movement of the cylinder rod or valve actuator on the return stroke.

Why fit one at all

Without a quick exhaust valve, the return stroke has to push its air all the way back through the tubing and the directional valve, and on a long run that restriction — not the cylinder — sets your cycle time. Venting at the port removes the entire return path from the equation. This is also the standard way to get emergency-close speed out of a spring-return valve actuator without oversizing the pilot solenoid.

Published specifications (manufacturer catalogue)

Connections: inlet and cylinder 1/4″ NPT; exhaust 3/8″ NPTPressure range: 5 to 150 psi (0.35 to 10 bar)Flow: Cv 3.0 inlet (Kv 43.5); Cv 3.3 exhaust (Kv 48)Body: investment-cast 316 stainless steel, conforming to NACE MR-01-75Seals: FKM (fluorocarbon) O-rings with a CR (Neoprene) coated nylon flapperScrews and miscellaneous parts: 316 stainless steelWeight: 0.81 lb (0.37 kg)Pneumatic application only

NACE MR-01-75 — the reason to pay for the -316:
The -316 suffix is not cosmetic. Conformance to NACE MR-01-75 means the body material is qualified for direct exposure to sour (H₂S-bearing) environments, which is what makes this valve specifiable on wellheads, offshore platforms, gas plants and marine deck equipment where the electroless-nickel-plated brass QE-3 would not be accepted. If your specification does not call for sour service or marine-grade corrosion resistance, the brass QE-3 is the same size and the same flow at lower cost.

Sizing within the family

QE-3-316 is the 1/4″ × 3/8″ size. QE-5-316 is 1/2″ × 3/4″ (Cv 3.8 / 8.8) and QE-6-316 is 3/4″ × 1″ (Cv 4.6 / 13.6, and note its higher 15–175 psi range and single-lip seal design). Do not size a quick exhaust valve off the cylinder port thread alone — the exhaust Cv is what actually sets the stroke time.

What is in the box

The carton is the original Versa Products box, Paramus, New Jersey, printed Product Number QE-3-316, Description: VALVE, QUICK EXHAUST, Qty 1, job number 25824B-1-1. The valve itself is still in its factory-sealed polybag with the instruction sheet, unfitted and unused. One valve per box.

Interchange guidance

Also written QE-3-316, QE3316, QE 3 316, QE-3316. The QE-3-316-T40 is the same valve with an alternative elastomer package — confirm the seal option against your media and temperature rather than assuming it is interchangeable.

Specification deliberately left blank

The temperature range is printed in Versa’s catalogue table but the figures are not recoverable from the available document, and QE-3, QE-5 and QE-6 do not share one range. Rather than quote a neighbouring size’s limits, the operating temperature range is left blank — request it from Versa against the seal option if your application is near ambient limits.

Source-data note: the previous description called this “an exhaust valve… for exhaust system control”, which reads as engine or ducted exhaust. It is a pneumatic circuit component. Port sizes, pressure range, flow, materials and weight were absent from the record and have been added from the manufacturer catalogue.