Blowing a jet of compressed air at an object is a common but “poor” use of compressed air. Often the blowing nozzle is a piece of pipe on a hose with a manual valve for control. This quickly solves a production problem when a more efficient factory made nozzle is either physically too big, too expensive, or not on site when needed. Retrofitting with factory made nozzles is often ruled out by for the same reasons, and the time needed by managers and fitters to change a nozzle for often little gain in production.
This article defines different aspects of regulator design and how they affect air wasted by droop. Some ways to reduce droop have be shown and some special case situations discussed. By taking care with regulator selection and installation, regulators can save large amounts of air instead of wasting it.
Pressure regulators are everywhere compressed air is used. These simple devices, essential for safe and steady equipment operation, can be a big waster of compressed air. This article shows how with proper regulator selection, installation and setting management you can save compressed air and lower system pressures. This article looks at regulators on production equipment not central regulators or Process Flow Controllers.
