Episode 44: Getting Compressed Air Header Pressure Right

Jason Reed

Alright, folks—welcome back to The Big Dog Podcast, powered by Kaishan USA! I'm Jason, and as always, I'm with Lisa. Today, we're getting into a topic that, honestly, comes up every single time I set foot in a plant: header pressure. But before we get deep into settings, let's rewind to step one...system design. Lisa, how many times have you seen a dead-end—like a straight shot from the compressor with just one way to go?

Lisa Saunders

It’s way too common. And I get why—someone's in a hurry, they just run a line straight to where it’s needed, and then as production grows, they keep tacking things on the end. It's quick, but, man, you end up wasting a lot of air and chasing your tail on those pressure problems.

Jason Reed

Exactly. When you’ve got a dead-end setup, big users closer to the compressor grab all the air, and the folks further out, they’re the ones with tools that just...well, they just sputter. Loops solve a lot of misery here—they give air two paths, so it actually gets where it needs with fewer headaches.

Lisa Saunders

Yeah, and when you run that loop, you can add drops for each application, instead of making one long snake. That makes balancing the system so much easier. And with loops, you’re better insulated from pressure dips—even if someone adds another line down the road.

Jason Reed

Let me jump in—because this reminds me of a plant visit I had, oh, maybe two years back? Automotive supplier, running a dead-end and fighting low pressure at the furthest drops. Their solution was always, “Bump up the header!”—which just made the compressor work harder and still didn’t fix those farthest applications. We walked their line, and, I kid you not, a simple re-route—closing the loop with some extra pipe—completely evened out their pressure. Sometimes it’s that straightforward.

Lisa Saunders

And can we talk about those curves and bends? Every sharp turn, especially those 90-degree elbows, chews up pressure and cranks up your leak risk. The more straightforward you can keep it, the better. I know you can’t always avoid ‘em, but do your best to limit those hard turns so you’re not losing air before it even gets to the tool.

Jason Reed

Right. Air's always going to take the path of least resistance, so the more bends you throw in, the more turbulence and drop you introduce. Sure, you can’t get every layout perfect, but you don’t want those extra curves and angles if you can help it. Loop it, keep it simple—that’s rule number one when you wanna get your header pressure right from the start.

Lisa Saunders

And it’s not just a theory thing—we've talked about pressure drop before in our 'Fixing Pressure Drop Problems' episode, and it keeps coming back to the basics: good layout, fewer turns, avoid dead-ends. It's worth doing right the first time. Should we move to the next piece, Jason?

Jason Reed

Yeah, let’s get into it. So, the next trap a lot of folks fall into: sizing. People love to blame the compressor anytime there’s pressure trouble, but honestly, it’s usually the pipes or the headers that are undersized. If you choke down pipe diameter as you get away from the compressor? You’re pretty much guaranteeing yourself pressure drop, wasted energy—the works.

Lisa Saunders

And it’s such a common misstep! Facilities will start with a big main, but as they add drops or run branches, they’ll size down to save a few bucks or just because that’s what’s on the truck. Next thing you know, that 2-3 PSIG drop you expect turns into 10…15 PSIG, easy. Suddenly, all those end uses just aren’t getting what the compressor’s putting out anyway.

Jason Reed

Exactly. That’s actually one of those things we covered in our recent episode on pressure drop—if you missed it, seriously, go check it out. You want pipe sizing to stay consistent over the distance, at least as much as possible. And, while we’re at it, don’t forget about properly sizing headers too. If you shortchange the main lines, you’re just running the compressor harder for no good reason.

Lisa Saunders

I’ve got a case study for this—facility kept griping about low pressure, figured they needed a new, bigger compressor. Turns out, upsizing just a handful of their branch pipes fixed it. Didn’t touch the compressor at all. Once that extra flow could actually get through the lines, all their problems disappeared. Sometimes, it really is just the piping bottlenecking you, not the machine.

Jason Reed

Right—and I know we sound like broken records, but “bigger isn’t always better” holds true with compressors, too. People think adding a monster unit solves every issue; all it really does is rack up your energy bill and create new headaches like rapid cycling. If you oversize, you end up with a compressor that’s starting and stopping all the time, burning out bearings, and actually lowering reliability.

Lisa Saunders

Plus, a lot of “pressure complaints” are actually flow issues. You try to fix flow by cranking up pressure out of habit, and all you’re doing is aggravating everything else—especially with rotary screws. There really isn’t a shortcut; get your sizing—piping and compressor—matched to your actual demand and system layout, and suddenly…most of those headaches just go away. Alright, should we dive into the nitty-gritty of pressure and pressure bands?

Jason Reed

Let’s do it. Now, this is where a lot of wasted dollars sneak in—setting your header pressure and your pressure bands too high. Nearly every place I visit, they’re running way above what they need, just “to be safe”—or because that one tool out in the back corner needed 125 PSIG once back in ’09. Then everything else gets over-pressurized. Your electricity bill just keeps climbing, and your equipment's not happy about it either.

Lisa Saunders

I feel like every plant’s got “that tool”—and it makes everyone nervous enough to run the whole system hot. The thing is, most of your applications can make do at 85 or 90 PSIG, and a lot even lower. If you’re at 110, 120, or more, you’re basically feeding energy into the air just to let it bleed away in regulators—if you even have those. Regulators can help, but it’s not a real fix, right?

Jason Reed

Nah, it's not. Regulators are a workaround, not a solution. And this gets into the idea of pressure “bands.” Set ‘em too tight, your compressor starts rapid cycling—on/off all day long. That’s not good for bearings, not good for motors… plus, the constant start/stop eats up more power than you’d think.

Lisa Saunders

And a lot of the time, you see totally mismatched bands, especially if you’re running, like, two or three compressors that aren’t electronically synced up. One’s loading at 110, another at 115, one at 120… You’re stacking bands left and right, basically just letting compressors fight each other and burn energy. Every 2 PSIG higher costs you roughly 1% more in energy, so those numbers really add up.

Jason Reed

I remember troubleshooting a line where they set the whole plant to 125 PSIG, all because of this ancient, rarely used impact tool at a remote station. Every other zone in the building could’ve lived happily at 90 or even 80, but nope—125 across the board. Their electricity bills were, I mean, out of sight. We isolated that remote tool with its own small compressor, scaled everything else back, and just like that—real money saved, and no more reliability headaches.

Lisa Saunders

That’s honestly the best kind of fix. And hey, sometimes the answer is creating separate pressure zones or just dialing everything back to what you really need. If you’re not sure, don’t just crank the dials—get with a local expert. They’ll help you find that sweet spot for every application. And like we’ve said before, a little advice upfront is nothing compared to what you’ll spend on wasted power and repairs over time.

Jason Reed

Absolutely. Header pressure isn’t set-and-forget stuff—it’s where you find real gains if you take the time to get it right. And do yourself a favor; partner up with your local distributor or trusted techs. They've seen it all, and they’ll make dialing in your settings a whole lot less painful.

Lisa Saunders

So, that wraps it for today—get your layout right, size everything to match, and don’t fall for the “bigger and higher pressure is better” trap. There’s real savings and better reliability when you tune your system to your actual needs. Thanks for joining us on The Big Dog Podcast. Jason, any last thoughts?

Jason Reed

Nope, I think that’s it—you said it all, Lisa. Appreciate having you in the shop again. We’ll be back soon with another episode, so stay sharp and keep those systems humming. See you next time.

Lisa Saunders

See you, Jason. And thanks to everyone for listening. If you're struggling with header pressure, don’t be shy—reach out and let’s fix it the right way. Bye, everyone!