Continuing my "Back to Basic" series, I thought I'd address sizing natural gas regulators.

As a stocking distributor of natural gas regulators, I’m often asked by my customers which regulator to use for a particular application. I usually ask a few questions and am able to quickly direct the customer to a product. Occasionally a DIY-type (do-it-yourself) will ask, “What’s the secret to selecting the correct product?”

There’s no secret, and I’m happy to share the information which is why I’m posting it here. There are five areas which help me ascertain which regulator to recommend:

• What type of gas are you regulating? While the majority of my customers are inquiring about natural gas, or methane, I can assist in the regulation of other fuel gases.
• What is the inlet pressure? If you don’t have a pressure gauge, you can always call your gas distributor, or inquire about some of the fine gauges (gages) we have available.
• What is the desired outlet pressure?
• What is the flow? 
• What is the desired pipe size?

If you have the answers to these questions, you have the information needed to select the correct regulator. Without a background and knowledge of regulator capabilities however, you may find yourself studying endless sizing charts and graphs. This download will give you an idea what a sizing chart looks like.

While there are some sizing programs available, they’re not foolproof and until they are, I personally still size my customer’s regulators the old-fashioned way.

Before you get the magnifying glass out to pore through those charts, remember I am happy to assist my customers by sizing regulators for their applications.

photo: Itron