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Pressure regulators
Before I get started, let me make this PERFECTLY clear. The information
contained in this post is MY OPINION only. Read this post at your own risk.
I did a "victor +regulator" search on e-bay and found several regulators
that I thought might be adaptable to CO2 service. Victor makes a lot of
pressure regulators for the welding and medical fields.
I contacted a Victor representative about converting a regulator from one
service to another. He stated that would void the warranty. I telephoned a
Victor repair facility and asked them the same question. He stated that
there was no significant difference in the design and materials, the only
real difference being the CGA connection. The CGA connection is the one
that screws onto the cylinder. I was asking about a specific model number,
the VTS250 A, which is for air, oxygen and inert gas service. As I have had
extensive experience with these regulators, working in the oil and gas
industry for the past 25 ears, I am comfortable making this switch. I plan
on buying a CGA 320 fitting and replace the CGA 540 fitting now on the
regulator. As always, before making any change such as this, do your own
research. Here is a link to the page about this regulator.
http://www.thermadyne.com/vec/literature/pdfs/013_65-2007.pdf
This regulator normal sells for $150 or more. I picked this up for $25 on
ebay. If you notice this model is more 3-dimensional than some of the
others. The protrusion on the back of the regulator body indicates a 2
stage regulator in most Victor regulators. The regulators with a flat back
panel are usually, if not always, single stage regulators.
The regulator I currently have on my cylinder is a single stage with only
an output gauge. I wanted one with dual gauges so I could easily determine
when it is time to refill the cylinder.
The repairman did say that a CO2 cylinder should never be used for another
service such as nitrogen, argon, or other high pressure gases. The CO2
regulators are not built to withstand the 2500 psig of pressure these other
cylinders may contain. He also said that any regulator used for with oxygen
should not have been used in any other service, because of the danger the
regulator had been contaminated. Oxygen makes a lot of things burn that
would not ordinarily do so, such as steel wool. High pressure oxygen makes
things explode that normally would not. That is why the gauges on all
oxygen regulators say "Use no oil"
Here is a link to the website with information on Victor Regulators. If
your looking to purchase a regulator for your CO2 system, this is a good
place to start your research.
http://www.thermadyne.com/evolution/category.asp?div=vec
Douglas Guynn
dguynn at nwol_net
915.368.5411
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