Cylinder Head Assembly For Reciprocating Compressor

A compressor comprising:

• a housing defining a cylinder;
• a piston disposed within the housing and movable within the cylinder to define a compression chamber within the cylinder;
• a valve plate mounted to the housing and including a discharge valve seat and a discharge passage extending through the valve plate, wherein the discharge passage is defined by the discharge valve seat;
• a discharge valve movable between a first discharge-valve-position in which the discharge valve is seated on the discharge valve seat to restrict fluid flow through the discharge passage and a second discharge-valve-position in which the discharge valve is spaced apart from the discharge valve seat to allow fluid flow through the discharge passage, the discharge valve including a valve stem;
• and
• a head cover cooperating with the valve plate to define a discharge chamber that is in selective fluid communication with the compression chamber via the discharge passage, wherein a guide post extends from the head cover into the discharge chamber, the guide post including a pocket that receives the valve stem for reciprocating motion therein,
• wherein the guide post includes an aperture spaced apart from a distal end of the guide post and providing fluid communication between the discharge chamber and the pocket.