PRESSURE REGULATOR

Typical Number in Hospital:

Cost Bands:

References: 2

These are used in very large numbers in medical gas supplies. Their function is to reduce the pressure of cylinder or piped gases, to a working level (usually 4 or 7 bar), or to a low pressure suitable for breathing. They consist of a valve on the high pressure supply which is linked to a diaphragm on the low pressure side. Variations on the low-pressure side (for instance due to flow rate changes) will cause the high-pressure valve to adjust to give the correct flow to keep the low pressure correct. Various types exist such as the Adams regulator but those used on cylinders are usually two stage (i.e. there is an intermediate stage of pressure reduction) since this gives a more stable low- pressure output with widely varying demands on gas flow.