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Air Governors

Legend tells that if left running on its own, a compressor will keep pressurizing air until the pressure gets so high that everything explodes!






An explosion is unlikely due to safety valves that prevent excessive pressure. But on mobile equipment in particular, the air compressor shaft is often driven directly by the engine, continuously compressing air whenever the engine is running. This is inefficient and hard on the air compressor.

This is where the air governor comes in.

In this lesson we will be taking a closer look at an air governor. We will examine the internal structure and the operation of the governor.

The Structure

Despite how it looks from the outside, the governor is a surprisingly complex device.

The side of the governor has three external ports.

There is:

  • An inlet port attached to the reservoir.
  • An unloader port which is attached to both the compressor and the air dryer.
  • An exhaust port which is left open to the atmosphere.


The top half of the governor contains the adjusting screw, pressure setting spring, and the lower spring seat/spring guide combo.

Adjusting
Screw
Pressure
Setting
Spring
Lower
Spring
Seat
Inlet
Port
Spring
Guide
Unloader
Port
Unloader
Port
Filter
Exhaust
Port
Piston
Exhaust
Stem Spring
Exhaust
Stem
Inlet/Exhaust
Valve
Inlet/Exhaust
Valve Spring

The bottom of the governor has the piston.

Within the piston there is the exhaust stem with its spring and the inlet/exhaust valve and its spring.

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