Sporlan FBVE Series

The Sporlan FBVE is a Type FB body thermostatic expansion valve for R-22 with external equalization — FB (body type) + V (R-22 refrigerant code) + E (external equalizer). The Type FB is one of Sporlan's legacy body designs: per Sporlan Bulletin 210-60, Type FB sits among the older families (alongside Types BI, I, and X) for which replacement valves are sourced through the OEM, Sporlan wholesalers, or Sporlan directly.

This makes the FBVE fundamentally a replacement-market product — and that is exactly where a 35-year distributor earns its keep. Plants across India still run FB-bodied valves; when one fails, the operator needs either the exact legacy valve or a correctly cross-referenced modern equivalent (typically from the F/EF or S families per current Bulletin 10-10). Refrigeration Controls supports both paths.

What the Type FB is: a small brass body valve, straight-through connections only, ODF solder, with external superheat adjustment. Sporlan's condensed catalogue puts the R-22 capacity range at roughly 0.88 to 14 kW — about ¼ to 4 tons.

Thermostatic charge suffix follows the standard Sporlan convention: C (liquid charge, commercial refrigeration), CP100 (gas-cross with MOP), GA, Z (liquid-cross, low temperature) and ZP40. The suffix is the charge, not the orifice.

Important — read the valve, do not guess it. Because FB is a legacy family, we do not publish a tonnage list: the safest route is to send us a photograph of the nameplate stamping on the valve you are replacing, along with the refrigerant, the evaporating temperature and the line sizes. We will either source the exact FB valve or cross-reference it to the current equivalent and tell you plainly which we are quoting. Sporlan also notes that Types FB, I, BI, NI and RI manufactured before 1994 have neither replaceable elements nor internal parts kits — on those, the whole valve is the spare.