I was looking at JonW's thread on his brew rig and came up with a general question (I'm sure he could answer it, but I am trying to not to bother him too much since I will surely be bothering him more later ).
What would be the reasoning behind choosing between a solenoid and a motorized ball valve for hot liquids? I see that valves4projects.com sells solenoid valves that are way cheaper than the ball valves (~$40 compared to ~$230) with an operating temperature well within the ranges of boiling wort. Is there something with the internals not being food quality, or do the ball valves offer greater flexibility when it comes to opening a certain percentage, whereas solenoids are pretty much open or closed (I can handle that issue with hand operated ball valves further upstream).
What would be the reasoning behind choosing between a solenoid and a motorized ball valve for hot liquids? I see that valves4projects.com sells solenoid valves that are way cheaper than the ball valves (~$40 compared to ~$230) with an operating temperature well within the ranges of boiling wort. Is there something with the internals not being food quality, or do the ball valves offer greater flexibility when it comes to opening a certain percentage, whereas solenoids are pretty much open or closed (I can handle that issue with hand operated ball valves further upstream).