A ball valve is a form of quarter-turn valve which uses a hollow, perforated and pivoting ball (called a “floating ball”) to control flow through it. It is open when the ball’s hole is in line with the flow and closed when it is pivoted 90-degrees by the valve handle.

The handle lies flat in alignment with the flow when open, and is perpendicular to it when closed, making for easy visual confirmation of the valve’s status. We stock brass ball valves, poly ball valves and PVC ball valves. We also offer several other styles of valves such as gate valves and butterfly valves.

You probably already know not to let any primer or glue drip in to the ball valve, so I'm assuming you're talking about it seizing a few years after installation. In my opinion you should just work your valve regularly in order to keep it moving.

One thing people always does is use the union style pvc ball valve. This let's you change out the ball valve if it sticks without having to repipe.