Champion CHX Series Compressed Air System Flow Controller (75-1000 SCFM)

The Champion CHX Series is a balanced compressed air system flow controller that gives your plant a single point of control over delivered air pressure. Unlike a simple regulator, which cannot pass air volume above its set point, the CHX is engineered to recognize an increase in flow demand and react to it immediately, holding a steady low system pressure while your compressor and receiver bank store air at a much higher pressure.

Available in 75, 200 and 1000 SCFM, in either right to left or left to right flow, with 300 PSIG maximum inlet pressure and a 0 to 160 PSIG control range.

Select your capacity and flow direction from the dropdowns above.

Why a Flow Controller Pays for Itself

Every compressed air system leaks. The US Department of Energy and the Compressed Air Challenge put typical plant air usage at roughly 50% operational, 30% leaks and 20% artificial demand and waste. Half of what your compressor produces never reaches a productive tool.

Leak and waste volume scales with pressure. Drop the pressure delivered to the plant and the air escaping through every unsealed fitting, worn cylinder and open blow-off drops with it. Champion states the relationship as the 10/7 equation: reducing plant pressure by 10 psi results in roughly a 7% reduction in energy consumption.

Champion's Published Savings Example

A 15 HP compressor running 3,000 hours per year at $0.10 per kWh consumes about $3,300 in electricity annually. Against that baseline, Champion publishes the following:

Those figures are for a 15 HP machine. Scale them to a 100 HP system and a single CHX controller typically returns its purchase price within the first year. Savings are illustrative and depend on your actual leak load, duty cycle and utility rate.

Model Selection Chart

Choosing Your Flow Direction

Flow direction is specified from the perspective of someone standing in front of the unit looking at the gauge panel. On a right to left unit, air enters on the right hand side and leaves on the left. On a left to right unit, the reverse. Walk to the spot in your compressor room where the controller will hang, face the wall, and note which side the supply header arrives from. Price is identical either way, so there is no cost penalty for ordering the correct hand, and there is no field conversion between the two.

Key Features at a Glance

• Balanced Valve Design - Responds immediately to changes in air demand rather than starving the plant the way a fixed regulator does above its set point.
• Left to Right or Right to Left Flow - Order the hand that matches your piping instead of reworking the header.
• Glycol Filled Dual Stainless Steel Gauges - Inlet pressure and system pressure are both readable at a glance, and the glycol fill keeps the needles steady under pulsation.
• Tamper Proof Central Dial - One centrally located dial for quick adjustment and easy calibration, with no exposed screw for a passer-by to bump.
• Nitrile Seals - High level of chemical resistance, compatible with normal compressor lubricant carryover.
• Single Powder Coated Steel Chassis - The same footprint across the entire product range, so the panel cutout and mounting pattern do not change if you upsize later.
• NPT Threaded Connections - Drops straight into new or existing steel or aluminum piping with no proprietary fittings.
• 300 PSIG Maximum Inlet - Headroom to store air well above plant working pressure, which is the whole point of installing a flow controller.

Shared Technical Specifications

Ideal Applications

A CHX flow controller belongs in any plant where the compressor is set high to cover a handful of short, high demand events while the rest of the facility runs happily on far less. Typical installations include machine shops and fabrication plants running 100+ PSIG headers to satisfy one press or one blow-off station, automotive and body shops, food and beverage packaging lines, plastics and injection molding plants with large intermittent demands, textile operations, woodworking shops with dust collection blow-down, and any multi-compressor system where a controller plus storage lets a trim compressor unload instead of modulating.

It is also the standard remedy for a plant that keeps nudging the pressure switch upward year after year to chase a pressure drop that is really a leak problem or a piping restriction.

Storage Is Not Optional

A flow controller does not create air. It releases air from storage at a controlled pressure, which means the upstream storage volume is what carries the plant through a demand spike while the compressor comes up. Installed without adequate receiver capacity, a controller will simply hold a lower pressure and then sag during the same events that were causing trouble before.

The general rule for a flow control installation is at least 1 to 3 gallons of dry storage per SCFM of the demand event you are trying to ride through, placed upstream of the controller, with the header pressure held above plant pressure by enough margin for the controller to work with. Size the storage to the event, not to compressor horsepower. Our compressed air engineers will run the numbers for your system at no charge before you buy.

Browse air receiver tanks to pair with your controller, and see the rest of our pressure flow controllers if you want to compare options.

Where the CHX Goes in Your Air System

Install the CHX downstream of the compressor, the aftercooler, the dry storage receiver and the air treatment package, and upstream of the plant distribution header. The correct order is compressor, then air dryer, then filtration, then dry storage, then the flow controller, then the plant. Putting the controller ahead of the dryer starves the dryer of the pressure it was sized for and gives up the storage benefit entirely.

Mount the unit at a height where the two gauges can be read from the floor, support the piping on both sides so the valve body carries no pipe weight, and leave the tamper proof dial accessible for the initial commissioning sweep. Set the controller only after the system is leak tested, since a fresh controller set against a leaking header will simply hide the problem you paid to fix.

Ordering Note

All CHX flow controllers are sold no cancel, no return. Champion builds these to order by flow direction, so please confirm your capacity and your flow hand before placing the order. If you are unsure, call us first and we will size and orient the unit with you.

Why Buy from Air Compressor Store

Air Compressor Store is an authorized Champion Pneumatic distributor. Every CHX controller ships with the full factory warranty, free sizing and storage calculations, and access to our compressed air engineers before and after the sale. We do not sell you a flow controller without first checking that your storage volume can actually support it.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between a flow controller and a pressure regulator?

A regulator cannot deliver air volume above its set point. When demand rises, the regulator becomes a restriction and downstream pressure falls. The CHX uses a balanced valve that recognizes and reacts to the increase in flow demand, so it holds the set pressure while passing the additional volume out of upstream storage.

How much can I actually save?

Champion's rule of thumb is that every 10 psi of plant pressure reduction cuts energy consumption by about 7%. On Champion's published 15 HP example at 3,000 hours per year and $0.10 per kWh, a 20 psi reduction saves $462 a year and a 70 psi reduction saves $1,617. Your result depends on how much artificial demand and leakage your system carries today, which is exactly what a compressed air audit measures.

Which capacity do I need?

Size the controller on the peak SCFM that will pass through it, not on compressor nameplate horsepower and not on average demand. The 75, 200 and 1000 SCFM ratings are maximum flow. If your peak sits close to a model boundary, go up a size, since a controller run at its limit adds pressure drop rather than saving energy.

Do I need extra air storage to install one?

Yes, in almost every case. The controller works by releasing stored air at a controlled pressure, so there has to be meaningful dry storage upstream. Plan on 1 to 3 gallons per SCFM of the demand event you want to ride through. Call us and we will size it with you.

Can I change the flow direction in the field?

No. Right to left and left to right are built as separate part numbers and cannot be converted after the fact. Confirm the hand before ordering, especially since these units are no cancel, no return.

Will it work with a variable speed compressor?

Yes, and the two are complementary. A VSD compressor trims production to demand, while the controller and its storage stabilize the pressure the plant sees and absorb short spikes the drive cannot follow. Together they usually let you drop the target pressure further than either would on its own.

What maintenance does it need?

Very little. There is no electrical connection, no timer and no consumable element. Keep clean, dry air going into it by maintaining the dryer and filters upstream, check the two gauges periodically against a known reference, and verify the set point after any major change to the plant header.

Does it come with a pressure gauge?

It comes with two. Glycol filled dual stainless steel gauges read inlet pressure and system pressure right on the face of the panel, so you can see the differential the controller is working across without adding instrumentation.