Air compressor discharge system

A compressor discharge system, operable to control a flow of compressed air to a load attached to a service line at a system pressure, the system comprising:

• a compressor operable to produce a flow of compressed air at a discharge pressure at a supply rate;
• a filter positioned downstream of the compressor and operable to receive the flow of compressed air at about the discharge pressure and discharge the flow of compressed air at a filter pressure;
• and
• a control assembly including a variable sized orifice movable between a normally open position and a restricted position wherein the restricted position allows a reduced flow of air through the orifice as compared to the normally open position, the variable orifice positioned to receive the flow of compressed air at about the filter pressure and to discharge the flow of compressed air at the system pressure, the control assembly being operable to detect whether the service line is experiencing a discharge rate that exceeds the supply rate from the compressor by detecting a predetermined pressure drop in the service line and in response, the control assembly being operable to move the orifice to the restricted position, such that in the restricted position, the discharge rate is reduced to reduce a pressure drop across the discharge system and allow continued operation of the air compressor to keep up with demand from the attached load.