Gas pressure regulators are used to reduce the pressure of gas supplied from a high-pressure cylinder to a safe workable level while operating gas requiring equipment and instruments. Although they are not flow control systems they do maintain the pressure within a gas delivery system. Gas pressure regulators have three main operating components that work together to accomplish pressure reduction. These are a loading mechanism (usually a spring) that determines the setting of the regulator delivery pressure, the sensing element that senses the force placed on the spring and sets the delivery pressure and the control element that is a valve responsible for the reduction of the inlet pressure to the outlet pressure.
There are four main types of gas pressure regulators that can come as single-stage or two-stage regulators. Single-stage gas pressure regulators reduce the pressure to the outlet in a single step while two-stage regulators reduce the cylinder pressure to workable levels in two steps. Depending on the type of application they are used for, regulators can be line gas pressure regulators, high purity gas pressure regulators, general purpose gas pressure regulators and special service gas pressure regulators. Line gas pressure regulators serve low-pressure pipelines while specialized service gas regulators are used for oxygen, fluorine and acetylene service, high pressure, ultra high pressure and corrosive service.
General purpose and high purity gas pressure regulators are the most commonly used regulators and are suited to non-corrosive general plant, pilot plant and maintenance shop applications and applications that require diffusion, resistance and easy clean-up, respectively. General purpose gas pressure regulators are very economical and durable. The two parameters that are used to select gas pressure regulators for different applications are droop and supply pressure effect. The difference in delivery pressure from zero-flow to maximum flow capacity is known as droop while supply pressure effect occurs when the delivery pressure varies due to the emptying of the cylinder.
There are different aspects to consider when buying gas pressure regulators and at Hanbay, you will find a team of professional application engineers and technical staff to assist you with making the correct choice. Some of the criteria for choosing gas pressure regulators include the type of gas to be used such as general all-purpose gas, high purity gas, LP gas or natural gas, the type of regulator such as pressure reducing regulators, two-stage gas pressure regulators or point of use regulators and whether the valve is stack mounted or severe service rated. Other points to consider include the regulator size and media temperature. The next time you need gas pressure regulators to reduce pressure for any application consider the following:
1. Use gas pressure regulators that reduce pressure that suit your requirements.
2. Use a valve for flow control.
3. Decide if you need line gas pressure regulators, cylinder gas pressure regulators or both.
4. Determine the delivery pressure requirements.
5. Ensure that the materials used in the construction of the gas pressure regulators are compatible with the intended choice of gas to be used.
6. Determine how the gas pressure regulators are to be used e.g. single-stage gas pressure regulators are good for short duration applications while two-stage gas pressure regulators are generally suited to long-term applications.
7. Finally, determine the accessories that will be included with gas pressure regulators.
More information on the type of gas pressure regulators available can be found at www.hanbayinc.com.
