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Cheap pressurised CO2 system DIY guide

Hi does anyone know if the 600g welding cylinders would fit a regulator that fits the 95g paintball disposables?

If it does fit could there be issues of too much pressure?

Thanks Jacob
 
Hi, this has been a really useful guide and I'm thinking of setting one of these systems up. I was just wondering if anyone knew what pressure these regulators release the co2 at?

I ask this question because the solenoid valve I have has a maximum operating pressure of 141psi, is this going to be enough?

Thanks Matt
 
Hi, this has been a really useful guide and I'm thinking of setting one of these systems up. I was just wondering if anyone knew what pressure these regulators release the co2 at?

I ask this question because the solenoid valve I have has a maximum operating pressure of 141psi, is this going to be enough?

Thanks Matt
I've got these on my three tanks the pressure is between 50 and 60 psi so you should be fine with these.
 
Hi, Just another couple of quick questions as I'm in the process of setting this system up.

When set up do you open the regulator completely and only control the output flow with the needle valve, or do you control the output flow with a combination of the regulator and the needle valve.

Also would this solenoid valve work a pressurised system like this. DC 12V 250mA 3W 2 Position 2 Way Air Pneumatic Electromagnetic Solenoid Valve G1/4": Amazon.co.uk: DIY & Tools
is rated to the required pressure but just thought I would get some advice on it.

Thanks, Matt
 
Are most of you using the regulators without the pressure gauge on them? Is the only advantage of having the gauge been able to see when the bottle is about to run out?

I'm trying to decide if I should go with a gauge or not..

Thanks
 
I think most people are using regulators with dual gauges one for tank pressure typically 55 bar when full and other gauge for outlet pressure typically 1-3bar. The main tank pressure stays roughly the same throughout the tanks life, the liquid CO2 evaporating filling the space, keeping the pressure constant. Basically the main tank pressure starts to drop when there is no more liquid left, just pressurised gas (at 55bar) in which case you have a day or two before it runs out completely.

I have written the full weight (with regulator etc) on my FE (5.8Kg when full with 2Kg of CO2) and put the kitchen scales underneath occasionally to see how much is left. I am using about 6gr a day on 180l tank, giving about 11months use.

Also be careful of some "single stage" (and single gauge) regulators, meant for welding, as they can suffer from "tank dump" when the cylinder pressure drops. This is when the tank pressure drops the outlet pressure rises and dumps the remaining CO2 contents out. This is great when welding as it is obvious your tank is running out as flow seriously increases but it will obviously suffocate any fish, again telling you your tank is empty.:hungover:
 
Sooo is there a dual gauge, 2 stage reg that fits disposable bottles or a way of adapting the thread on another reg?
 
I have recently invested in this exact setup.

Do I open the regulator all the way and set the flow rate at the needle valve?
 
Thanks :) I now have a constant flow of co2.

I'm using it with a Hagen Elite Mini, which I plug into a timer. The co2 starts diffusing an hour before the lights come on, but with lights off the bubbles float to the surface without dissolving. Cheap solenoid :)
 
Hi,

Is there an adaptor that can take these disposable bottles to make it DIN 477 combatible?

I followed Sam's original tutorial on making an FE Co2 system and it worked great! Now I would like to do something similiar for a nano (but I don't have space for another FE) and I would like to have at least a solenoid valve on it (as I have on my FE reg setup).

Found these guys CO2 Solenoid Regulator selling a CO2 regulator + soleniod for not a bad price (however this is using the DIN 477 size). If not I might just go with their sodastream method and cough up the £30 for a sodastream thread adapter.
 
On second thought, might just go with another FE setup (the missus will just have to accept I am going to move some of her sh*t out the way :D )
 
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its probably mentioned some where in this post but how long do you guys think a 600g bottle would last on a 65l tank with low light?
 
Quite a while, I'd say. I've been running 1 bubble per second (I know this isn't a precise unit of measurement) for a month now. I had a leak for the first 3 weeks, and I've also accidentally let off a fair amount. It's still going strong and keeping a consistent flow. A rough guess would be around the 3 month mark.
 
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