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Moog Reveals “Oldest Operating Valve” Contest Winner

April 8, 2016
This past September, we covered Moog's oldest-valve contest, in which manufacturers submitted pictures of their oldest operating valves to reveal the most impressive service life. And the winner is

This past September, we covered Moog’s oldest-valve contest, in which manufacturers submitted pictures of their oldest operating valves with the corresponding model number to find the valve with the most impressive service life. The contest was in celebration of Moog’s 50th anniversary of operations in Europe.

1. The University of Saskatchewan’s College of Engineering Fluid Power Lab won the contest by sending in a video showing lab equipment running with a 53-year-old Moog 21 Series Servo Valve.

And the winner is… Doug Bitner, manager for the University of Saskatchewan's College of Engineering Fluid Power Lab, who submitted photos of lab equipment running with a Moog 21 Series servo valve manufactured in 1963.

"I knew we had a lot of Moog valves in the lab, so I thought I had a chance," said Bitner about entering the contest. "But it really surprised me to learn we had won." He added that the valve was still in operation after 1 million cycles of endurance testing for agricultural equipment frames at high pressure.

"Congratulations to Mr. Bitner for finding the oldest operating Moog servo valve; we've always spoken about our valves' reliability, and Mr. Bitner proved it," said Ari Almqvist, Group Vice President and General Manager, Industrial Services, Moog Inc. "Our valves also have a long history running in tough environments like steel production, gas turbines, and industrial machinery."

The second place winner is Walter Andreas from IABG, an analysis and testing company in Germany, with a 22-Series Moog valve manufactured in 1966. It is being used to run test applications. 

2. Germany-based IABG’s second-place entry is a Moog 22 Series Servo Valve manufactured in 1966 and running a test application.

John Shannon of TATA Steel's CPP Trostre Works in the U.K. and Tom Gecse of U.S. Steel in Canada share third place. Their 60-series servo valves, manufactured in 1969, are both applied in mills, one for a steering rod and the other for a tension leveller, respectively.

3. The third place award is shared by TATA Steel’s CPP Trostre Works in the U.K. and U.S. Steel in Canada. The TATA Steel entry (pictured left) is a Moog 60 Series Servo Valve made in 1969 and operating a steering rod in the mill. The U.S. Steel entry (pictured right), also a 60 Series Servo Valve made in 1969, operates a tension level in the Canadian mill.

Some of the award-winners have indicated donating their 500-USD Amazon-voucher prizes to charity.

In 1951, William C. Moog, Jr., developed the first commercially viable servo valve.  Servo valves transform a digital or analog signal into a hydraulic output such as flow or pressure.

About the Author

Leah Scully | Associate Content Producer

Leah Scully is a graduate of The College of New Jersey. She has a BS degree in Biomedical Engineering with a mechanical specialization.  Leah is responsible for Hydraulics & Pneumatics’ news items and product galleries. 

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