[APD] Re: problem with tank/regulator seal

["David Grim" <grim1214 at bellsouth_net>]

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<
following up to my own question. I spoke to a guy at National Safety
Auditors, which apparently does safety inspections of compressed gas tanks.
He told me that steel tanks like the one I got from the welding supplier
don't use washers or o-rings, and I should just use Teflon tape, instead.
<

Nick,
I'm not an expert, but this doesn't sound right to me. I have been using
compressed CO2 since the late 1990's and I have never had to or have ever
been told to use Teflon tape on the threads connecting the tank to the
regulator, and I use steel tanks as I swap out my three 20# tanks with a
local welding gas supplier. Good idea temporarily if you need a quick fix,
but a washer or O-Ring does the sealing in a CO2-regulator setup, not the
threads.

In my experience you use one of two type sealers between the regulator and
the tank: either a hard plastic (Teflon perhaps), usually white or black in
color, washer to seal them, or your regulator has an O-Ring integrated into
the flat side that seals against the tank. If your regulator has an O-Ring,
then do not use a hard plastic washer. You don't need it. I usually ask for
a new plastic washer each time I swap out a tank with a regulator that uses
one.

I currently own and use four regulators, and two are the washer type and two
have the O-Ring setup. The only problems I have encountered with the O-Ring
setups is that occasionally the O-Ring sticks to the tank instead of staying
it it's groove on the regulator and I don't notice it and lose it when I
swap the tank. Otherwise, both types have worked very well.

The soap test is a smart thing to do after you reconnect a fresh tank to the
regulator. Nothing like bleeding out a 20# tank in day or so because of a
leak. Been there, done that.

Regards,
David Grim


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