Pressure relief valve vs pressure reducing valve

What are the 7 major differences between pressure relief valve and pressure reducing valves?

Pressure Relief Valves and Pressure Reducing Valves are used in different applications to control and regulate pressures.

Function: Pressure Relief Valves are designed to protect a system or equipment from excessive pressures buildup while pressure reducing ones are used to control and reduce the pressures of a fluid flowing through a system.
Operation: The Relief ones operate in a normally closed position and open when the pressures exceeds the set limit while the other one operates when the pressures reaches the desired set point.
Pressure Control: The Relief one is set to a specific pressures limit and opens fully to relieve excess pressure until the pressures drops below the set limit while the other one is set to a desired lower pressures and adjusts its opening to maintain a constant downstream pressure.
The direction of Flow: The Relief one allows the fluid to escape and relieve pressures in the system while the other one restricts the flow and reduces the pressures in the downstream system.
Location: The Relief one is installed at the outlet or discharge side of a system or equipment while the other one is generally installed at the inlet or upstream side of a system, where pressures reduction is required.
Applications: The Relief one is used in steam boilers, pressure vessels, and pipelines while the other one is used in water distribution systems, irrigation systems, and industrial processes.
Set Point Adjustment: In the Relief one set pressures cannot be adjusted during operation while the other one allows adjustment of the downstream pressures by changing the set point or using external controls.

Purpose of pressure reducing valve and pressure relief valves

Purpose	Pressure reducing valve	Pressure relief valve
Working	Controls and reduces fluid pressure to a desired lower pressure	Protects a system or equipment from excessive pressures buildup by opening when the pressures exceeds a set limit, allowing the excess fluid to escape and reducing the pressures
Applications	Water distribution systems, irrigation systems, industrial processes	Steam boilers, pressures vessels, pipelines
Importance	Ensures safe and efficient operation of downstream equipment or systems by maintaining desired pressure levels	Protects equipment and systems from potential damage or catastrophic failure due to excessive pressure

Function of pressure reducing valve and pressure relief valves

Pressure reducing valve	Pressure relief valve
Maintains downstream pressure	Overpressure protection
Allows pressure adjustment	Prevents system damage
Protects downstream equipment	Emergency pressure relief
Ensures system efficiency	Safety measure

What are the limitations of pressure reducing valve and pressure relief valves?

Pressure reducing valve	Pressure relief valve
Limited capacity	Limited accuracy
Dependence on upstream pressure	Pressure buildup during operation
Pressure fluctuations	Noise and vibration
High maintenance requirements	Dependence on system design

Blogger introduction

This blog is written by dinesh, an industry expert with a passion for industrial valves. With a keen eye for industry trends and advancements, he stays up to date with the latest developments. He has acquired extensive knowledge about different valves due to his decade of experience in the field. In this blog let us explore industrial valves with dinesh.