{"id":1530,"date":"1970-01-01T00:00:00","date_gmt":"1970-01-01T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/equilibar.conscioweb.com\/?page_id=1530"},"modified":"2025-11-24T16:22:57","modified_gmt":"2025-11-24T20:22:57","slug":"about-vacuum-regulators","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.equilibar.com\/it\/vacuum-regulators\/about-vacuum-regulators\/","title":{"rendered":"Definition of Vacuum Regulator"},"content":{"rendered":"

What is a Vacuum Regulator?<\/h2>

A vacuum regulator is a device used to maintain a desired vacuum pressure in a system. There are multiple types of vacuum regulators, but the mechanical vacuum regulators discussed here work on a force balance principle.<\/p>

What does a vacuum regulator do?<\/h4>

A vacuum regulator adjusts its opening to maintain vacuum pressure at a consistent level. As conditions in the vacuum system fluctuate due to changes in load, temperature or other process parameters, a vacuum regulator opens or closes just enough to precisely maintain the vacuum level required by the process.<\/p>

Two types of Vacuum Control<\/h2>

How do you regulate a vacuum? There are two major types of vacuum control devices: vacuum regulators\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0vacuum breakers<\/strong>. This page seeks to explain the purposes of each type and how they work. To view a video explaining the difference, please follow this link.<\/a> To speak to an engineer about your vacuum system use the “contact an engineer” button at the right.<\/p>

Type 1: Vacuum Regulators<\/h3>

Vacuum Regulators, like Equilibar Vacuum Regulators (EVR)<\/a>, work by throttling flow between the vacuum supply pump and the process in order to control the process vacuum. This type, which is often referred to as a Vacuum Regulator, is actually a Back Pressure Regulator<\/a> because the pressure is controlled at the inlet port. The regulator closes to increase absolute system pressure (or reduce vacuum level).<\/p>

In the simplified example at right, the vacuum regulator uses a spring-loaded diaphragm to control the vacuum pressure. The process vacuum is on the lower side of the diaphragm and the atmospheric pressure is on the top. The spring is pulling up to provide the negative setpoint bias. As the process pressure becomes too low (vacuum too intense), the diaphragm lowers, restricting of the gas flow between the process and the vacuum supply pump, thereby reducing vacuum level. As the absolute pressure increases above setpoint (vacuum too low), the plunger rises and the gas flow between the process and the supply pump is increased, thereby increasing vacuum level.<\/p>

Type 2: Vacuum Breakers & Vacuum Relief Regulators<\/h3>

Another type of vacuum controller lets ambient air into the vacuum system to control the vacuum pressure. This type of regulator is often called a Vacuum Breaker or Vacuum Relief Regulator. These regulators are actually a type of Pressure Reducing Regulator because the pressure controlled is at the outlet port. The regulator opens to increase absolute process pressure (or reduce vacuum level).<\/p>

Vacuum relief regulators typically use a spring loaded diaphragm with atmospheric pressure on the upper side and process vacuum pressure on the lower side. In this simplified example at right, the spring actually pulls the diaphragm up to provide the negative setpoint pressure. When the absolute process pressure becomes too low (vacuum too high), the plunger forces the valve seat down, allowing more outside air into the process. As the absolute process pressure increases, (vacuum pressure increases) towards setpoint, the plunger rises again to restrict the in-flow of air.<\/p>

Some vacuum regulators are considered “relieving vacuum regulators”, which mean that they can allow gas into the process when the setpoint of the vacuum regulator is reduced (to increase absolute pressure). Others are considered “non-relieving vacuum regulators”, which means that gas flow must be provided from another source in order to lower the vacuum intensity in the process. Fortunately, most vacuum process have at least a small amount of in-leakage, alleviate the concern when using the non-relieving type. Some vacuum regulators provide relief by allowing a small but controlled amount of in-leakage into the inlet port.<\/p>

Larger vacuum regulators are often referred to as Vacuum Control Valves. Equilibar sells vacuum control valves<\/a> as large as 6″ in size.<\/p>

Request A Quote<\/a>Download Brochure<\/a><\/p>

 <\/p> <\/div>


\"Equilibar<\/p>

Contact an Engineer<\/a> Download Brochure<\/a><\/center><\/p>

\"\"
Vacuum Regulator
<\/strong>controls process pressure by throttling flow to the vacuum pump<\/p>

\"\"
Vacuum Breaker or Relief Regulator<\/strong>
controls process pressure by allowing bleed air into the entire pump system
<\/div><\/div>

Pros and Cons of Vacuum Control<\/h3>
<\/td> Vacuum Breakers<\/strong><\/th> Vacuum Regulators<\/strong><\/th> <\/tr> <\/thead>
Pros:<\/strong><\/td>
  • Are sometimes smaller than Vacuum Regulators because it typically takes less mass flow to reduce the system vacuum.<\/li>
  • Typically cost less than vacuum regulators.<\/li>
  • Useful in protecting certain types of vacuum pumps from exceeding their design vacuum level (i.e. some dry and liquid ring pumps)<\/li> <\/ul> <\/td>
  • Minimize the gas flow through system, which can be very advantageous where multiple process share a common vacuum utility.<\/li>
  • Minimized gas flow is very desirable for pumps such as oil flooded or oil sealed pumps.<\/li>
  • Minimized gas flow may, depending on the pump specifics, reduce electrical energy consumption Depending on design and sizing, can provide very precise control<\/li> <\/ul> <\/td> <\/tr>
Cons:<\/strong><\/td>
  • For some types of vacuum pumps, the excessive gas flow caused by the vacuum breaker is not desirable or a waste of energy.<\/li>
  • For multiple vacuum process sharing a common header, using a vacuum breaker can degrade the performance of the other processes. In some situations, the pressure variations between one vacuum process and another can lead to very poor process control.<\/li>
  • In most situations, vacuum breakers do not provide precise control across a wide flow rate window<\/li> <\/ul> <\/td>