Safety Relief Valves - Capacity vs. Pressure

Maximum safety valve free air relief capacity.

Safety valves and maximum relief free air capacity:

For full table - rotate the screen!

Safety Relief Valves - Capacities vs. Pressure
Valve Diameter (inches)	Max. Relieving Capacity of Free Air (cfm)
	Gauge Pressure (psi)
	50	100	150	200	250	300	350	400	500	600	800	1000	1200	1600	2000	2400
1/4	12	20	27	33	38	43	48	53	61	70	84	97	109	128	147	160
3/8	17	27	36	44	51	58	65	72	83	95	115	133	149	176	197	215
1/2	20	32	42	51	59	67	74	111	129	147	177	205	230	270	304	330
3/4	37	59	78	96	112	127	141	176	224	232	242	346	386	423	474	518
1	58	94	124	152	178	202	224	248	286	324	390	450	500	586
1 1/4	84	135	180	221	259	293	325	352	400	443	509
1 1/2	114	186	248	302	354	400	444	478	528	568	634
2	189	306	410	501	592	668	741
2 1/2	282	457	613	750	880	998	1114
3	393	638	856	1050	1230	1398	1557

1 inch = 25.4 mm

The relief capacity for a safety valve depends on

the relief discharge area
the compressibility factor of the actual gas
the temperature of the gas
the geometry of the safety valve

A safety relief valve must be capable of relieving the capacity of the connected compressor(s) at operating pressure. Note that the relief pressure can not be set higher than the maximum rated working pressure of any equipment in the system. If the operating pressure is right below the relief pressure of the valve the valve may start leaking.

A "rule of thumb" is to set the relief pressure 10% above the working pressure of the system.