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Dual stage welding reg

hotweldfire

hotweldfire

Member
Joined
23 Mar 2011
Messages
971
Location
South London
Hello all

Can the regulator experts amongst you have a look at the item below and give me your opinions on its suitability for use with a planted tank?

CALOR GAS CO2 TWO STAGE TWO GAUGE REGULATOR | eBay

Specifically

- does the working pressure look OK? The gauges appear to indicate very high pressure or is that just down to a different scale?
- related to that, will this work with an UP inline diffuser?
- any idea where I can get a needle valve that I can attach to this? I would rather have it directly attached rather than hanging on a bit of hose.
- same again for a solenoid

N.b the reason I'm interested in a dual stage is because a) I want to lie it flat and b) I want to eliminate end of bottle dump.

Cheers

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2
 
I looked into that dual stage before and it all seems fine. The pressure will be adjustable and will go higher if needed than any of the single stages for aquariums. I currently have a murex 10 bar and a boc 8500 4 bar. Both still being built but very good regs. Just remember that these are a lot bigger than single stages.
 
I used a Parker metering valve with mine. They are 1/8npt fitting and have 15 turns from closed to open so will be great for fine tuning. For the solenoid most people are using the burkett 6011.
 
I hope it's okay - I bought one last week :)

One odd thing I noticed was the output gauge - it measures flow (litres per hour) rather than pressure.
 
Not quite, I'm afraid.

The input guage is in psi and bar, but the output guage is in cubic feet per minute and litres per minute.
 
Thanks very much for both of your replies - very helpful. Apologies for my delayed response.

Wazuck - do you use the Parker 4170-R or 4170-N?

Parker - METERING VALVES - INSTRUMENTATION

Similarly could you direct me to the correct solenoid:

6011 Burkert Solenoid Valves - Plunger Operated brass 2 way

Also, both of these things will screw on to the reg (with a bit of tape)? I have developed an unhealthy fear of attaching with co2 hose after some hose exploded on me once.

Fishsticks - you're attaching yours to a standard welding bottle right? Something like this?

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_207475_langId_-1_categoryId_255210
 
I use the R but one with 1/8npt fittings not tube connectors. Note I only got mine as it was cheap but really good quality. 15 turns from close to open gives really fine tuning and the marked numbers let you easily go back to a set point. I'll take a look at the solenoid when I get more time and data on my phone.
 
hotweldfire..... I also blew out a short length of CO2 tube because I had it connected in the wrong place... made quite a bang blew back through the regulator and damaged a seal in that and scared the h*** out of the missus :D
Fortunately as it is my job to muck about with pressure regulators and fluids and gasses under pressure i was able to fix the regulator and the stupid piping mistake I had made... I now have the needle valve screwed directly into the output from the regulator and so all the CO2 tube is only seeing the low regulated pressure
 
Yep, precisely my mistake. Problem is I couldn't figure out how to screw it on directly to the reg. Reg is a TMC nano and valve from aquaessentials, neutro I think. Maybe it is only possible with a proper reg? Or maybe I need an adaptor.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2
 
The TMC nano reg should have a 1/8npt fitting after removing the tube connector. It will not be possible if the valve has only tube connectors. I got a valve from germany which I am planing on adding to my fluval nano kit and adding an inline solenoid.
 
My reg has a 1/8 Bsp female port and my needle vale has a 1/8 bsp male...... They go together nicely! I used "Valeda" Plated brass fittings on all external connections and only used the push on stuff to my cheapo check valve and to the diffuser
 
8489732734_23148213de_z.jpg


all working and seems to be ok BOC 8500 Burkert 6011 and parker 2F-H3L-V-SS-TC to jbj bubble counter.
 
Could you not have used more elbows to make the build more compact? I have that reg and Parker valve myself, currently I havnt had time or money to finish the build. More info on your solenoid would be great. I never finish selecting the Burkett model to use.
 
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