Re: [APD] CO2 regulator problem

["S. Hieber" <shieber at yahoo_com>]

You might be doing nothing wrong; it's hard to tell from a distance. Is this a problem on the high-side or low-side.  The high side is the portion of the regulator that faces the high pressure formthe COw tank. Low side is th portion that releases tha gas at a low pressure. Most regulators have two guages, one for the high side pressure and one for hte low.
 
RE low side problems -- One possible issue could be that the needle valve is set to open and the regulator is therefore left controlling the low-side pressure, which then fluctuates with cahnges in room temp, back pressure on the CO2 line and a number of other things. This can cause the readings onthe low-side pressure guage to be erratic.
 
High side problems. If the problem is that the high-side pressure guage is reading low, this probably means that there is little CO2 left in the tank. If that's the case, then a reading of 60 psi could easily dorp to 20 psi in a few hours. A freshly filled tank should be at about 700-900 psi, depending on room temperature. The tank will be partially filled with CO2 that is in liquid form due to the pressure. As CO2 is released, the liquid evaporate and the gas escapes but as long aas liquid remains, the high-side pressure remains the same. If the high-side pressure reads 60 psi, there is only a little gas left in the tank.
 
If you have high side problems and it happend with two sets of regulators, I would check diligiently for leaks inthe system starting at the valve that is mounted into the tank. Use soapy water when the tank is full and watch for tiny bubbles indicating escaping gas.
 

 sh
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----- Original Message ----
From: Reinout van Wagtendonk <rvwjr58 at yahoo_com>
To: aquatic-plants at actwin_com
Sent: Monday, March 27, 2006 4:45:39 PM
Subject: [APD] CO2 regulator problem


I am new to injecting CO2 from a tank through a regulator.  I bought an Azoo Co. brand regulator with solenoid through mail order.  The regulator does not reliably hold the outgoing pressure.  I have to manually fiddle with the needle valve, not only after the solenoid opens up again in the morning before the lights go on, but also later in the day to keep the bubble count I set.  The first pressure meter shows a steady 800 psi coming from the gastank.  The second meter started out at 60 but in a couple of days or so fell to just above 20 psi.  The mail order company was very good about exchanging the first regulator, agreeing that there might be a defect.  But the replacement regulator has the exact same problem, except worse.  Is it possible that I do something wrong, for the outgoing pressure to fall the way it does?  Or could this particular brand regulator be flimsy?  If there aren't obvious beginners mistakes to correct in connecting a regulator to a gastank, any
 suggestions
for a reliable one?  
  
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