Pressure regulators are a fairly simple utility. They allow for only a certain amount of throughput to be administered to a given output pipe system. This is especially useful when you are setting up a sleeper since a sleeper does not have it's own way to regulate the pressure. Without using a pressure regulator this excess pressure could result in death by crushing.


Here we see the pressure reading from the input side of the air line. This is line is currently pressurized to 2803kPa. We don't want to work with that high of a pressure system so we put in a pressure regulator.


The pressure regulator is set to a pressure allowance of 950kPa. This means that the pressure on the output will not exceed 950kPa.


And now we see that we have an out put no more than 950kPa. Just as we wanted based on the pressure set at the regulator.


Note: If our pressure on the input falls below the 950 kPa of the pressure regulator, the pressure regulator will attempt to maintain the set pressure but without an input that exceeds the set pressure, your air line will eventually lose pressure until it matches what is coming through the input.

Back Pressure Regulators are good for maintaining backside pressure of an air system and releasing excess pressure into another system. Think of them as an overflow controller. Using them on the output of a gas Furnace would allow for a way to maintain a specific pressure within the gas Furnace.


Here we see the pressure reading from the output side of the air line. This line is currently pressurized at 1794kPa. This is going to some storage tank and we aren't concerned with that pressure at the moment.


The pressure regulator is set to a back pressure allowance of 50kPa. This means that the pressure on the input will not exceed 50kPa. If the pressure is above this set value the bPR will push the excess pressure into the output until the input is at 50kPa.


And now we see that we have an input no more than 50kPa. Just as we wanted based on the pressure set at the bPR.


EXAMPLE:
Let's build a base with a group of players. Your task is to develop a method of collecting gasses from oxide and volotiles. With this in mind we collaborate with the guy who is setting up the Arc Furnace array for smelting the ores needed for contruction. Your system is complete and is ready for integration into the rest of the atmospheric system.

One overbearing problem: your friend that built the atmospherics filtering and storage room 50 meters away for "safety reasons". You know that even the pipe in a system is a storage space and can inhibit the total usable pressure so you turn to a Back Pressure Regulator. Placing a Back Pressure Regulator at the point of entry for the atmospherics will drain all pressure from the input at the furnaces leaving all usable pressure in the primary system.

Installed as follows with a 50kPa setting:
___________________________________________________________________
(storage)----5+mPa----<bPR<--------------------50kPa-----------------(arcFurnace)
___________________50kPa___________________________________________

This will allow our system to fully utilize as much pressure as possible where it is needed.

NOTE: Be wary of your pressure system on the output of the bPR. Unless it is regulated some other way you could face a blowout.