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#1
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Frickin CO2 is empty again.
I just had my 20# CO2 cylinder filled up two weeks ago and the damn thing is
empty again! I used the plastic washer (1) AND Teflon tape to be on the safe side. I put the regulator on REAL tight, dumped the whole thing in the bathtub and filled the tub with water to just above the fill pipe. I opened the valve all the way and rolled the tank around a bit, being careful to keep the gauges and solenoid out of the water. No sign of leaks. So WTF is going on? Leaky solenoid, leaky gauge, sudden depressurization, VERY leaky hose? Any help appreciated. |
#2
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#3
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"Bill Stock" wrote in message ... I just had my 20# CO2 cylinder filled up two weeks ago and the damn thing is empty again! I used the plastic washer (1) AND Teflon tape to be on the safe side. I put the regulator on REAL tight, dumped the whole thing in the bathtub and filled the tub with water to just above the fill pipe. I opened the valve all the way and rolled the tank around a bit, being careful to keep the gauges and solenoid out of the water. No sign of leaks. So WTF is going on? Leaky solenoid, leaky gauge, sudden depressurization, VERY leaky hose? Any help appreciated. Bill, All I can say is I had the same problem. I had to refill my 5# tank about 6 weeks ago. I used 1 washer even though the instructions on my regulator says to use "2" washers. (btw I emaild the company as to why they say to use 2 washers, they never got back to me). Didnt even use any teflon tape this time. For the first several days I monitored the gauges, and put small pieces of masking tape on the guage that gives you the pressure in the tank. If I noticed it was going down, I would unscrew the regulator and reconnect it, if the washer was thrashed I would use a new one. I just kept doing that until I knew it wasnt leaking. Its been running for 6weeks now and the guage is just slightly under the 5 lbs mark which I'm attributing to just regular use. Not much help but I just had to monkey around with mine until it stopped leaking, I do remember that the last time I connected the regulator I didnt tighten it as much as I had the previous times, perahp too much tightening was causing my problem. |
#5
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"George Pontis" wrote in message t... In article , says... For calibration, I just tried this experiment on an aquarium that has a CO2 flow rate of 2-3 bubbles per second. I left the CO2 flowing normally into the aquarium with the cylinder valve closed. Over several minutes there was no observable change in the primary pressure. I think you would see a big drop in one minute with the leakage that you are experiencing. George The above suggestion was very helpful. With the solenoid open and the valve closed, the gauges lost pressure almost immediately. The leak is happening where the bubble counter screws on to the needle valve. I can't tighten the BC any further, so I need another solution. Will Loctite solve my problem or is there a better solution? TIA |
#6
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In article , says...
"George Pontis" wrote in message t... In article , says... For calibration, I just tried this experiment on an aquarium that has a CO2 flow rate of 2-3 bubbles per second. I left the CO2 flowing normally into the aquarium with the cylinder valve closed. Over several minutes there was no observable change in the primary pressure. I think you would see a big drop in one minute with the leakage that you are experiencing. George The above suggestion was very helpful. With the solenoid open and the valve closed, the gauges lost pressure almost immediately. The leak is happening where the bubble counter screws on to the needle valve. I can't tighten the BC any further, so I need another solution. Will Loctite solve my problem or is there a better solution? Glad to hear that you have reduced the problem to some leaks. I am a little surprised that you would find a significant leak at the bubble counter, which is after the needle valve on my Milwaukee system. Anything after the needle valve, I would expect that it would be throttled back. Could it possibly be between the regulator output and needle valve input ? Oh well. If the leak is at a metal to metal fitting then I would not hesitate to use a commercial pipe thread sealer. Around here, the Home Depot sells tubes of RectorSeal, which I think would work well. The ideal amount is quite small and you are supposed to try to avoid the first few threads so the material does not get into the working fluid, CO2 in this case. If the leak is where the plastic cylinder meets the metal fitting, then I would try some silicone grease. It is sold for lubricating faucets and sliding valves. Be sure that it says silicone and not some generic grease. This stuff is also useful for lubricating o-rings, and getting hoses to fit over barb fittings that are a little too big. George |
#7
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The regulator shouldn't have to be screwed real real tight as from personal
experience on the dodgy Macca's/coca cola suplied thin red rubber/plastic(fibre?) washers, too tight screws them up and you'll end up with a gushing leak and possible regulator damage, same with the little yellow plastic ones. Tighten them just so it's fairly firm but not realllly tight. I'm almost on my second year for a 9kg tank and tunze regulator. "Bill Stock" wrote in message ... I just had my 20# CO2 cylinder filled up two weeks ago and the damn thing is empty again! I used the plastic washer (1) AND Teflon tape to be on the safe side. I put the regulator on REAL tight, dumped the whole thing in the bathtub and filled the tub with water to just above the fill pipe. I opened the valve all the way and rolled the tank around a bit, being careful to keep the gauges and solenoid out of the water. No sign of leaks. So WTF is going on? Leaky solenoid, leaky gauge, sudden depressurization, VERY leaky hose? Any help appreciated. |
#8
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I meant third year at 1 bubble/sec.
"Tasslehoff" wrote in message u... The regulator shouldn't have to be screwed real real tight as from personal experience on the dodgy Macca's/coca cola suplied thin red rubber/plastic(fibre?) washers, too tight screws them up and you'll end up with a gushing leak and possible regulator damage, same with the little yellow plastic ones. Tighten them just so it's fairly firm but not realllly tight. I'm almost on my second year for a 9kg tank and tunze regulator. "Bill Stock" wrote in message ... I just had my 20# CO2 cylinder filled up two weeks ago and the damn thing is empty again! I used the plastic washer (1) AND Teflon tape to be on the safe side. I put the regulator on REAL tight, dumped the whole thing in the bathtub and filled the tub with water to just above the fill pipe. I opened the valve all the way and rolled the tank around a bit, being careful to keep the gauges and solenoid out of the water. No sign of leaks. So WTF is going on? Leaky solenoid, leaky gauge, sudden depressurization, VERY leaky hose? Any help appreciated. |
#9
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"George Pontis" wrote in message t... In article , says... "George Pontis" wrote in message t... In article , says... For calibration, I just tried this experiment on an aquarium that has a CO2 flow rate of 2-3 bubbles per second. I left the CO2 flowing normally into the aquarium with the cylinder valve closed. Over several minutes there was no observable change in the primary pressure. I think you would see a big drop in one minute with the leakage that you are experiencing. George The above suggestion was very helpful. With the solenoid open and the valve closed, the gauges lost pressure almost immediately. The leak is happening where the bubble counter screws on to the needle valve. I can't tighten the BC any further, so I need another solution. Will Loctite solve my problem or is there a better solution? Glad to hear that you have reduced the problem to some leaks. I am a little surprised that you would find a significant leak at the bubble counter, which is after the needle valve on my Milwaukee system. Anything after the needle valve, I would expect that it would be throttled back. Could it possibly be between the regulator output and needle valve input ? snip Yeah, I was surprised too. I did not think I could lose that much gas in so short a period of time on the low pressure side. Once (24 hour cure) I put Loctite (Blue) on the threads between the bubble counter and the needle valve the bubble count went off the scale, whereas I was only getting about two or three BPS before. The guage also holds its pressure now with the valve closed and the solenoid open. Thanks. George |
#10
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"Tasslehoff" wrote in message u... The regulator shouldn't have to be screwed real real tight as from personal experience on the dodgy Macca's/coca cola suplied thin red rubber/plastic(fibre?) washers, too tight screws them up and you'll end up with a gushing leak and possible regulator damage, same with the little yellow plastic ones. Tighten them just so it's fairly firm but not realllly tight. I'm almost on my second year for a 9kg tank and tunze regulator. Thanks, I've seen fibre, nylon and Teflon listed. Are the yellow ones Teflon? "Bill Stock" wrote in message ... I just had my 20# CO2 cylinder filled up two weeks ago and the damn thing is empty again! I used the plastic washer (1) AND Teflon tape to be on the safe side. I put the regulator on REAL tight, dumped the whole thing in the bathtub and filled the tub with water to just above the fill pipe. I opened the valve all the way and rolled the tank around a bit, being careful to keep the gauges and solenoid out of the water. No sign of leaks. So WTF is going on? Leaky solenoid, leaky gauge, sudden depressurization, VERY leaky hose? Any help appreciated. |
#11
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#12
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Frickin CO2 is empty again.
On Fri, 16 Sep 2005 04:32:09 UTC, George Pontis
wrote: So WTF is going on? Leaky solenoid, leaky gauge, sudden depressurization, VERY leaky hose? Any help appreciated. Bill - that is a lot of CO2 gas to lose in two weeks. It is at a level where you might hear a hissing sound of gas escaping somewhere. In order to make the most of your latest 20# batch, I suggest a simple test of flow rate. Open the cylinder valve so the primary gauge comes up to full pressure of 800psi or so. Then close it and see how long it takes for the pressure to drop to 0. You can start with the solenoid unplugged (closed) to test only the cylinder fitting, regulator, and solenoid. I second that. And I find that the time it takes for the primary pressure to go away is like forever. Well, anyway, more than 5-10 minutes to see any drop at all on the gauge. You might want to test it first with the regulator set to 0 pressure, then with it at the normal pressure and the solenoid closed. Then open the solenoid and close the needle valve. I've seen a solenoid that leaked *only* when it was open (and downstream flow was completely stopped); it tested fine when closed. Beyond the needle valve the pressure should be next to nothing, and it's hard to imagine anything leaking significantly. -- Dan Drake http://www.dandrake.com/ porlockjr.blogspot.com |
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