co2 pressure dumping

kari · #1 01-07-2006, 04:48 PM

Has anybody seen sudden pressure dumping in a co2 regulator occur when the co2 tank pressure is very low (eg. not getting a refill when you are supposed to)

It's noted in the link under "Important - read carefully" part.

With my regulator I just see a small increase in pressure at the low pressure side of the regulator.

Also, is there any other methods to testing a co2 regulator other then metioned in the link below

http://www.wcf.com/co2iron/faq.html

christyf5 · #2 01-07-2006, 06:07 PM

I was always told to get my co2 tank filled when it hit 500lbs (or the red "warning" mark on the regulator. The first time this happened (I've only had to fill the tank twice so far) and I took the tank in, the guy told me that the tank still had "tons" of co2 in it and it wasn't really worth refilling (on my part) as he would only be giving me half a tanks worth for a full tanks price.

So the last time it hit 500 I just let it go do its thing. I couldn't believe how fast it went from 500 to zero if the tank is so "full" considering it had taken about a year and a half to get to the 500 point. I guess it lasted about 2-3 weeks after hitting 500. I never paid much attention to the pressure gauge though, I'll have to do that in the future.

wayner · #3 01-07-2006, 08:07 PM

I set up a Reactor 2 weeks ago, completely filled 5lb co2 bottle, when I started it up the guage read 750 which is about right I think for a full bottle, 1 week later, the needle has dropped below the 500 mark, has this ever happened to anyone?

I can only think that the regulator is faulty and the co2 is leaking somewhere, I did a test where you completely close off the valve on the co2 tank to see if you still get bubbles in your bubble counter, I still did which is suppose to mean that there are no leaks.

I'm confused, has anyone ever ran across faulty guages?, if there is a leak where it would be leaking from, I did the soap test before it was set up and no indication there that there was a leak.

Anyone know where to pickup guages for a regulator here in Calgary.

kari · #4 01-07-2006, 08:20 PM

Christy, IMO get the tank refilled once the pressure starts falling. Watching the pressure drop for another week or two doesn't save any refill cost by using whats left (time/dollars.)

The reason I'm asking about regulator testing is because there seems to be a problem with a regulator used by a canreefer. He is using a 5lb tank and it has lasted a week until the pressure started to drop on the high pressure guage. Initially the tank was at approx 750psi. I've heard rumors that the previous owner had the co2 tank suddenly empty out thru the regulator. Could it be a pressure relief valve problem or just a plain screwed regulator

I thought that they would either leak or not leak. This one seems to be unpredictable.

martym · #5 01-07-2006, 09:14 PM

Test for leaks in the system.

christyf5 · #6 01-07-2006, 09:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kari

Christy, IMO get the tank refilled once the pressure starts falling. Watching the pressure drop for another week or two doesn't save any refill cost by using whats left (time/dollars.)

The reason I'm asking about regulator testing is because there seems to be a problem with a regulator used by a canreefer. He is using a 5lb tank and it has lasted a week until the pressure started to drop on the high pressure guage. Initially the tank was at approx 750psi. I've heard rumors that the previous owner had the co2 tank suddenly empty out thru the regulator. Could it be a pressure relief valve problem or just a plain screwed regulator

I thought that they would either leak or not leak. This one seems to be unpredictable.

Yeah in the future I will definitely do that. I just figured the guy filling the tank knew more about it than me so I'd defer to him. From now on I'll just tell him I want the fill no matter how much is left in it.

Thanks for the post Kari, good stuff to know