Also, note that pressure regulators work the opposite direction of a flow valve (e.g. most water valves). That is, you turn the top of the knob to the right to
increase the pressure which passes through, and to the left to decrease.
Figure 4-7 in the game manual (at R67) shows how to plumb the pneumatics system. You can make some minor rearrangements, but the following are key:
- The (spring-loaded) pressure relief valve must be directly connected to the pump, as the first item.
- There must be a gauge on each side of the regulator.
- The (quarter turn) vent plug must exhaust all the air pressure in the system. If your regulator does not allow backflow, this will need to be on the low-pressure side; we have seen this issue with non-competition systems such as our air cannon.
We have also found it helpful to connect as many metal fittings as feasible directly to the compressor output, to assist in heat dissipation before the air enters the first plastic hose. In practice for Ultimate Ascent, we blew out several hoses at the first fitting until we made this change. (Our primary climber actuators were pneumatic, so we needed lots of air).