Heat Exchanger, Coil & Radiator Manufacturing worked example

Coil Pressure Drop with baseline pressure drop of 250 psi: a worked example

Push baseline pressure drop up to 250 psi and the picture changes. This example computes every intermediate figure at that operating point. Use it when an HVAC coil, radiator, oil cooler, or heat exchanger needs a quick pressure drop planning check before a water, glycol, air, or refrigerant test.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Baseline pressure drop: 250 psi (raised for this scenario; the documented default is 100)
  • Flow or fouling correction factor: 1.2 x (unchanged)
  • Test or operating duration: 8 hr (unchanged)

Working through the calculation

  • Applying the documented formula (Adjusted pressure drop = baseline pressure drop × flow or fouling correction factor) to the inputs above produces each figure below.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 300 psi for total load, the number this scenario is built around.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 37.5 psi / hr for pressure drop per test hour.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 250 psi for baseline pressure drop.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 1.2 x for correction factor.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where baseline pressure drop sits at 100 psi and the headline result is 120 psi, this scenario comes in 150% above the baseline at 300 psi.
  • It adjusts a baseline coil pressure drop by a flow or fouling correction factor, then divides the result over the test or operating duration to give pressure drop per hour. The value of this scenario is the size of the gap it exposes: that gap, priced out over a year, is the budget you can justify spending to close it.

Results at a glance

  • Total load: 300 psi (headline result)
  • Pressure drop per test hour: 37.5 psi / hr
  • Baseline pressure drop: 250 psi
  • Correction factor: 1.2 x

Run it with your numbers

  • Every input above is editable in the live Coil Pressure Drop calculator, which recalculates instantly and can be shared with the inputs intact.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.