A single missing strainer can turn a perfectly good valve into an expensive repair job. Debris travels downstream, scores seats, jams trim, and leaves your team chasing leaks at the worst possible time. That is why submitting one combined RFQ for strainers and valves—rather than buying them separately—can save time, reduce compatibility risk, and give suppliers a clearer picture of your entire piping package.
If you are sourcing industrial valves and strainers for a power plant, refinery, chemical unit, water-treatment facility, or OEM skid, this guide will help you write an RFQ that gets accurate quotes faster. We will also show you how to specify the right products, including high pressure stainless steel ball valves, without drowning the supplier in unnecessary detail.
Why Combine Strainers and Valves in One RFQ?
Strainers and valves are often purchased from different vendors, then joined during installation. That approach can work—but it creates avoidable friction.
I have seen projects where the valve arrived on schedule, but the matching Y-strainer was delayed by weeks. The piping crew had to improvise spool pieces, reorder gaskets, and wait again for the strainer. One small procurement split became a schedule problem.
A combined RFQ helps you avoid that by asking one supplier or coordinated supply chain to review the package as a system.
Practical benefits
Better compatibility: The supplier can check flange ratings, end connections, pressure classes, materials, and face-to-face dimensions across both product groups.
Fewer surprises: Strainers protect valves from weld slag, scale, sand, and other solids; specifying them together encourages the right filtration strategy.
Faster commercial comparison: One RFQ produces aligned lead times, packaging terms, inspection requirements, and delivery schedules.
Lower administrative workload: You manage one inquiry, one clarification cycle, and one quotation instead of several.
Cleaner project documentation: Material certificates, test reports, and shipping documents can be consolidated where required.
Strainers are commonly installed upstream of valves, relief devices, and other equipment to remove solid particles from the working medium. That makes their selection inseparable from valve protection—especially in high-pressure or high-value service.
What to Include in Your RFQ
A strong RFQ does not need to be complicated. It needs to be complete enough that the supplier does not have to guess.
Use this checklist before you send your inquiry:
Project name and delivery location
Application and service media—water, steam, natural gas, crude oil, chemicals, compressed air, etc.
Design conditions—design pressure, design temperature, operating pressure, and operating temperature
Line size and pipe schedule
End connections—flanged, butt-weld, socket-weld, threaded, or wafer
Pressure class or PN rating
Material requirements—body, trim, seals, bolts, and gaskets
Standards—ASME, API, ISO, DIN, EN, or project-specific specifications
Strainer type and mesh size
Valve type and operation—manual, gear-operated, pneumatic, electric, or hydraulic
Quantity and required delivery date
Inspection, testing, and documentation needs
Preferred Incoterms and destination port
For valves, ASME B16.34 covers pressure-temperature ratings, dimensions, tolerances, materials, nondestructive examination, testing, and marking for many steel, nickel-alloy, and other alloy valves. Including the applicable standard in your RFQ removes ambiguity and helps suppliers quote the correct construction.
Specify the Strainer Correctly
Do not simply write “strainer required.” The wrong strainer can create excessive pressure drop, clog too quickly, or fail to protect downstream equipment.
Choose the right strainer style
Strainer type | Best use case | Key consideration |
Y-strainer | Compact pipelines, steam, water, gas, and general service | Easy to install; suitable for many standard applications |
T-strainer | Larger pipelines and applications needing more filtration area | Often easier to clean in certain layouts |
Basket strainer | Liquid service with higher dirt-holding requirements | Usually offers greater capacity than a Y-strainer |
Conical/temporary strainer | Commissioning and flushing operations | Typically temporary protection during startup |
N-L Valve supplies industrial strainers including Y-type, T-type, basket-type, and conical strainers, alongside a broad valve range. If your line carries abrasive particles or startup debris, ask the supplier to recommend both a permanent strainer and a temporary commissioning strainer.n-lvalve
Include filtration details
Add these details to your RFQ:
Mesh size or micron rating
Perforated plate versus wire mesh
Differential pressure limit
Blowdown or drain connection requirement
Cleaning access requirement
Material of basket or screen
Whether a magnetic insert is needed for ferrous debris
A useful rule: the finer the mesh, the better the protection—but the higher the risk of pressure drop and clogging. Your supplier should balance filtration performance with allowable pressure loss.
How to Specify Valves Without Overcomplicating Them
Valve specifications can become overwhelming quickly. Focus on the conditions that actually determine suitability.
Start with service conditions
Ask yourself:
What is flowing through the line?
Is the medium clean or particle-laden?
What are the maximum and minimum temperatures?
What is the design pressure?
Is the valve for isolation, throttling, or frequent cycling?
Do you need fire-safe, cryogenic, high-temperature, or metal-seated construction?
For example, N-L Valve lists industrial ball valves in sizes from 1/2 inch to 42 inch (DN15–DN1050), with pressure classes from Class 150 to Class 2500 (PN10–PN420), and materials including carbon steel, stainless steel, alloy steel, and duplex steel. Those ranges matter because a valve that performs well in a low-pressure water line may be entirely wrong for a high-pressure hydrocarbon service.n-lvalve
When to consider stainless steel ball valves
Stainless steel is often the right choice when corrosion resistance, cleanliness, or long service life matters. It is common in chemical processing, water treatment, food-adjacent industrial systems, and offshore or coastal environments where chloride exposure can be a concern.
For demanding applications, high pressure stainless steel ball valves may be appropriate when you need tight shutoff, quarter-turn operation, and corrosion-resistant construction. Trunnion-mounted designs are often used for larger sizes and higher-pressure systems because the ball is supported by trunnions, reducing load on the seats.
When specifying them, include:
Valve type: floating or trunnion-mounted
Body style: two-piece, three-piece, top-entry, or fully welded
Seat and seal material
Fire-safe requirement, if applicable
Antistatic device requirement, if applicable
Blowout-proof stem requirement
Operator type and torque requirement
Testing and certification expectations
API Spec 6D defines requirements for the design, manufacture, assembly, testing, and documentation of ball, check, gate, and plug valves used in petroleum and natural-gas pipeline and piping systems. If your project falls under pipeline service, state whether API 6D compliance is mandatory.
A Simple RFQ Template You Can Copy
Here is a concise format that suppliers can respond to quickly:
text
RFQ: Combined Supply of Strainers and Valves
Project: [Project name]
Delivery location: [City, country/port]
Required delivery date: [Date]
Incoterms: [EXW / FOB / CIF / DAP]
Service:
Medium: [Water / steam / natural gas / oil / chemical]
Design pressure: [Bar / psi]
Design temperature: [°C / °F]
Line size: [DN / NPS]
Pipe schedule: [SCH 40 / SCH 80 / etc.]
End connection: [RF flange / BW / SW / NPT]
Strainer requirements:
Type: [Y / T / basket / conical]
Quantity: [No.]
Size and rating: [DN / NPS, PN / Class]
Body material: [CF8M / WCB / etc.]
Screen/mesh: [e.g., 40 mesh, 100 mesh]
Differential pressure limit: [Bar / psi]
Drain connection: [Yes / No]
Valve requirements:
Valve type: [Ball / gate / globe / check / butterfly]
Quantity: [No.]
Size and rating: [DN / NPS, PN / Class]
Body material: [CF8M / A105 / etc.]
Trim and seals: [Specify]
Operation: [Lever / gear / pneumatic / electric]
Standards: [ASME B16.34 / API 6D / API 607 / etc.]
Special requirements: [Fire-safe / cryogenic / NACE / etc.]
Documentation:
Material certificates: [EN 10204 3.1 / 3.2]
Hydrotest report: [Yes / No]
Painting: [Specify]
Third-party inspection: [Yes / No]
The more precisely you define these fields, the fewer clarification emails you will receive—and the more comparable your quotations will be.
Common RFQ Mistakes to Avoid
Even experienced buyers make these errors. Avoid them, and your procurement process becomes much smoother.
Quoting design pressure but omitting temperature. Pressure ratings change with temperature, so both matter.
Assuming every supplier understands “high pressure.” State the class, PN rating, and actual design conditions.
Ordering a fine mesh without checking pressure drop. Protection is important, but excessive restriction can hurt system performance.
Forgetting installation orientation. Y-strainers, check valves, and some control valves have orientation requirements.
Ignoring maintenance access. A strainer that cannot be easily cleaned becomes a shutdown problem.
Leaving documentation vague. Say whether you need 3.1 material certificates, hydrotest records, paint reports, or third-party inspection.
Splitting related items across too many vendors. Compatibility issues often hide in the gaps between purchase orders.
How N-L Valve Can Support a Combined Package
N-L Valve positions itself as an industrial strainer manufacturer and supplier, with product categories that include industrial strainers, ball valves, trunnion ball valves, gate valves, butterfly valves, and related valve products. Its ball-valve range includes floating and trunnion ball valves, forged and cast constructions, soft- and metal-seated options, and materials such as carbon steel, stainless steel, alloy steel, and duplex steel.n-lvalve+1
That breadth matters when you submit a combined RFQ. Instead of treating the strainer and valve as unrelated line items, you can ask the team to review the full service condition and propose a coordinated package.
For example, if you need a stainless Y-strainer ahead of a stainless ball valve in a high-pressure line, include both items in the same RFQ. Ask the supplier to confirm:
Compatible flange faces and pressure ratings
Suitable mesh size for the expected solids
Pressure-drop impact at your flow rate
Material compatibility with the media
Required test certificates and delivery schedule
You can explore the company’s ball valve range for isolation and high-pressure applications, or review its industrial strainer solutions for Y-type, T-type, basket, and conical options.
Final Checklist Before You Hit Send
Before submitting your RFQ, make sure you can answer “yes” to these questions:
Have you stated design pressure and design temperature?
Have you identified the media and possible solids?
Have you specified strainer type, mesh size, and allowable pressure drop?
Have you selected the correct valve type for the function—isolation, control, or check?
Have you defined end connections, materials, and pressure class?
Have you listed required standards and certificates?
Have you included quantities, delivery terms, and destination?
Have you asked the supplier to confirm system compatibility?
A clear RFQ is not just paperwork. It is the first step in preventing downtime, protecting equipment, and keeping your project on schedule.
Ready to Request a Quote?
If you are planning a combined strainer-and-valve purchase, send N-L Valve your line conditions, quantities, and required standards. The team can review your requirements and provide a coordinated quotation for strainers, ball valves, gate valves, check valves, butterfly valves, and related products.
Visit N-L Valve to submit your RFQ, browse the ball valve catalog, or contact the team with your project specifications. If you are unsure which strainer mesh or valve configuration suits your application, share your operating conditions—the right question now can prevent a costly problem later.
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