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Nupro Needle Valves
I was looking for a supplier for the Nupro B-4MG2 needle valve for a new
setup and noticed on George's site that he had been trying to track down
sources as well.
Nupro valves are made by Swagelok. Swagelok has a nifty web site at:
http:\\www.swagelok.com
One can click on your part of the world and get the address and phone
number of a representative. The distributor for the Bay Area had the
valve in stock and sent it out the same day (and no guff about being an
individual and buying only 1 valve). I spoke with the technical
representative who said this needle valve allows for very fine flow
control. It takes 10 full turns before it's open all the way. It is a
mechanical valve without a solenoid.
Not having a solenoid switch started me worrying about the recent
experience of killing fish with a CO2 setup gone awry. With a good
needle valve and a KH of 4-5 degrees it seems to me that the only real
worry is a power outage. My current setup has an electric solenoid with
the needle valve--so that a power outage shuts off the CO2--which is
just what I want to have happen.
With the Nupro valve, the CO2 will continue to run following a power
outage. With an Eheim canister filter driving the CO2 reactor this may
not be much of a problem. The CO2 may simply outgas to air or build up
in the top of the canister. I plan to conduct a series of tests to
determine the effect of a power outage for my particular setup. If I'm
still worried, I may see if the Nupro valve can be rigged up with a
solenoid switch.
Yesterday, someone mentioned getting more control over a CO2 setup with
a controller. I wonder if that is really necessary. With a decent KH
and a good needle valve there isn't much of a pH swing at night and the
only thing I can think of to go wrong is a power outage. Any opinions?
Regards, Steve Dixon